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Journal of Virology, January 2007, p. 1043-1047, Vol. 81, No. 2
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01710-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Immunogenic and Functional Organization of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Glycoprotein E2 on Infectious HCV Virions
Zhen-Yong Keck,1
Jinming Xia,1
Zhaohui Cai,2
Ta-Kai Li,1
Ania M. Owsianka,3
Arvind H. Patel,3
Guangxiang Luo,2 and
Steven K. H. Foung1*
Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305,1
Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky 40536,2
MRC Virology Unit, Institute of Virology, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow G11 5JR, United Kingdom3
Received 8 August 2006/
Accepted 23 October 2006

ABSTRACT
Development of full-length hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNAs replicating
efficiently and producing infectious cell-cultured virions,
HCVcc, in hepatoma cells provides an opportunity to characterize
immunogenic domains on viral envelope proteins involved in entry
into target cells. A panel of immunoglobulin G1 human monoclonal
antibodies (HMAbs) to three immunogenic conformational domains
(designated A, B, and C) on HCV E2 glycoprotein showed that
epitopes within two domains, B and C, mediated HCVcc neutralization,
whereas HMAbs to domain A were all nonneutralizing. For the
neutralizing antibodies to domain B (with some to conserved
epitopes among different HCV genotypes), the inhibitory antibody
concentration reducing HCVcc infection by 90%, IC
90, ranged
from 0.1 to 4 µg/ml. For some neutralizing HMAbs, HCVcc
neutralization displayed a linear correlation with an antibody
concentration between the IC
50 and the IC
90 while others showed
a nonlinear correlation. The differences between IC
50/IC
90 ratios
and earlier findings that neutralizing HMAbs block E2 interaction
with CD81 suggest that these antibodies block different facets
of virus-receptor interaction. Collectively, these findings
support an immunogenic model of HCV E2 having three immunogenic
domains with distinct structures and functions and provide added
support for the idea that CD81 is required for virus entry.

TEXT
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a positive-stranded RNA virus containing
at least three structural proteinscore and two envelope
glycoproteins, E1 and E2and six nonstructural proteins
(
1). Studies with infectious retroviral particles pseudotyped
with HCV E1E2 (HCVpp) showed that virus entry requires both
E1 and E2 glycoproteins associated as a heterodimer, involves
interactions with CD81, is low pH dependent, and is blocked
by antibodies to HCV E2 and sera from HCV-infected individuals
(
3,
8,
13). Detailed information on the immunogenic and functional
organization of HCV envelope glycoproteins and in particular
E2 is needed to facilitate immunotherapeutics and vaccine development.
Cross-competition studies with a panel of HCV E2 human monoclonal
antibodies (HMAbs) showed that the HCVpp E2 glycoprotein contains
three immunogenic conformational domains, designated A, B, and
C, that are accessible on the surface of HCVpp (
10). Each domain
carries epitopes that are either highly conserved among diverse
HCV genotypes or more restrictedly conserved. Epitopes within
two domains, B and C, are targets of HCVpp-neutralizing antibodies,
and the other domain, A, contains nonneutralizing epitopes that
participate in structural changes as part of a pH-dependent
virus envelope fusion process (
9). Recently, three groups developed
full-length HCV RNA genomes replicating efficiently when transfected
into human hepatoma cells (Huh7) and producing infectious virions
(
11,
15,
17). The availability of these and other cell-cultured
infectious HCV virions, HCVcc, should greatly accelerate studies
of HCV biology (
4,
11,
14-
17). This report focuses on the immunogenic
and functional organization of HCV E2 on HCVcc virions.
Three immunogenic conformational domains on HCV virion.
It has been reported elsewhere that stable human hepatoma cell lines containing a chromosomally integrated cDNA of HCV genotype 2a (JFH1) RNA constitutively secrete infectious virions into the medium (4). This provides a robust source of virus to study each aspect of the entire HCV life cycle. HCVcc virions from stable cell lines could reinfect naïve Huh7.5 cells, and viral replication could be suppressed by alpha interferon. We examined whether HCVcc infectivity can be neutralized by a panel of immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) HMAbs to three distinct immunogenic domains on HCV E2 glycoprotein. Four antibodies (CBH-2, -5, -8C, and -11) to domain B, three antibodies (CBH-4B, -4D, and -4G) to domain A, one antibody to domain C (CBH-7), and a negative-control isotype-matched HMAb to cytomegalovirus (R04) were tested. Production of HCVcc, titration of infectious units, and HCV infection assays were performed as described previously (4). To determine HCV-neutralizing activities of HMAbs, HCVcc-containing culture medium (HCV titer, 2 x 104 IU/ml) was used to dilute HMAbs to different concentrations and then added to Huh7.5 cells in a 12-well cell culture plate. After 3 h of incubation, the HCV and antibody mixture was removed, and the cells were washed twice with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and incubated with 1 ml Dulbecco modified Eagle medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum. Infectivity was determined by measuring the levels of positive-stranded HCV RNA using an RNase protection assay (RPA) (4). Some of the antibodies (CBH-7, -4G, -4B, and -4D and control antibody R04) were assessed at concentrations up to 50 µg/ml. The total cellular RNA was extracted from the HCV-infected Huh7.5 cells in six-well cell culture plates at 3 days postinfection (p.i.) and quantified by an RPA using an [
-32P]UTP-labeled RNA probe containing the negative-stranded HCV 3'-untranslated-region RNA (Fig. 1). The HMAbs to domain B, CBH-2, -5, -8C, and -11, neutralized HCVcc infectivity with high potency, while antibodies to domain A, CBH-4G, -4B, and -4D, had no neutralizing activities. The HMAb to domain C, CBH-7, showed a modest HCVcc-neutralizing activity. HCVcc neutralization was confirmed with NS3 protein expression measurements by Western blot analysis. Huh7.5 cells were infected in the presence of each of the antibodies as described above; cells were lysed at 3 days p.i. and analyzed. The abilities of each domain A and representative domain B (CBH-5) and domain C (CBH-7) HMAbs to neutralize HCV infectivity to Huh7.5 cells are shown in Fig. 2A and B. All domain A HMAbs showed no effect on NS3 protein levels (Fig. 2A). Strikingly, HCVcc was completely neutralized at low antibody concentrations by all domain B HMAbs as represented by CBH-5 in Fig. 2B and more fully discussed below. However, the domain C HMAb, CBH-7, showed neutralizing activity only at an IgG concentration of
5 µg/ml (Fig. 2B). The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein used as an internal control was detected by using an anti-GAPDH monoclonal antibody in Fig. 2A and B (Abcam, Cambridge, MA).
To determine whether a reduction in HCV RNA and NS3 expression
by neutralizing antibodies is correlated with a reduction in
infectious virion production, CBH-4G and CBH-5 as respective
representatives of domains A and B HMAbs were assessed in an
infectivity reduction assay (Table
1). HCVcc were incubated
with each HCV HMAb and R04 (control) at 0.1 to 100 µg/ml
for 1 hour prior to Huh7.5 cell infection. Huh7.5 cells were
preseeded the previous day at a density of 32,000 cells/well
in a 24-well plate. At 3 h p.i., HCV-containing medium was replaced
with 1 ml of Dulbecco modified Eagle medium containing 10% fetal
calf serum. At day 3 p.i., 1 ml of supernatant from each well
was centrifuged at 1,000
x g for 5 min to remove cell debris
and 350 µl was then added to a second corresponding well
containing uninfected Huh7.5 cells. Following another 3 days,
cell culture medium was removed. The cells were harvested and
fixed in triplicate sets onto a 24-spot Teflon-coated microscope
slide as described previously (
7). Infection was assessed for
NS3, NS5A, and E2 expression by an indirect immunofluorescence
assay as described previously (
7), employing a mouse monoclonal
antibody to NS3 (
4), a polyclonal sheep anti-NS5A serum (
12),
and antibody CBH-2 to E2. Detection was with fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated
anti-species IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories), and
counterstaining was done with Evans blue. Bound antibody was
revealed by fluorescence microscopy. At all tested antibody
concentrations for CBH-4G and R04, the HCVcc yield in the first
set of infected cells was not reduced, as sufficient amounts
of virus were passed to the second set of Huh7.5 cells, leading
to the majority of the cells being infected. For CBH-5, reduced
HCVcc infection was observed starting at 0.5 to 1 µg/ml,
with complete infectivity reduction at concentrations above
1 µg/ml. Collectively, these findings support an immunogenic
model of HCVcc E2 containing three distinct functional domains
as previously shown with HCVpp studies.
Virus neutralization potency with HCV virions.
A more quantitative measure of neutralization potency was determined
by calculating IC
90, the inhibitory antibody concentration reducing
HCV infection by 90% (Fig.
2B and C). HCVcc virions were incubated
for 2 h with each HMAb at 0.001 to 100 µg/ml prior to
Huh7.5 cell infection. Figure
2B shows representative antibodies,
with CBH-5 blocking NS3 expression at 0.02 µg/ml but CBH-7
requiring >10 µg/ml. NS3 reduction as quantified by
phosphorimager analysis for each HMAb is summarized in Fig.
2C. The four antibodies to domain B, CBH-2, -5, -8C, and -11,
completely neutralized HCVcc with respective IC
90s at 0.4, 0.1,
1, and 4 µg/ml. The average Ig concentration of domain
B HMAbs for the IC
90 was 1.37 µg/ml or 9.14 nmol/liter.
For domain C HMAb CBH-7, the IC
90 was at 50 µg/ml or 332
nmol/liter. The neutralization potency is in the order CBH-5
> CBH-2 > CBH-8C > CBH-11 > CBH-7, which is in agreement
with HCVpp pseudotyped with JFH1 2a E1E2, with domain B HMAbs
having greater activities than domain C-specific CBH-7 (Fig.
3A and B).
Although these HCV HMAbs were derived from a genotype 1b-infected
donor, the IC
50s of domain B HMAbs for 2a strain JFH1 were lower
than with genotype 1b E1E2-pseudotyped HCVpp (Fig.
3B). Also,
these antibodies were not able to completely neutralize 1b HCVpp
(
9,
13) in contrast to complete 2a HCVpp neutralization. Maximum
neutralization of genotype 1b HCVpp ranged between 50 and 85%
at a saturating IgG concentration of 50 µg/ml or higher
as shown in Fig.
3A. The IC
50s for 1b HCVpp neutralization for
CBH-2, -5, -8C, -11, and -7 were 1.33, 1.77, 34.58, 16.74, and
23.67 µg/ml, respectively. The respective IC
50s for JFH1
2a HCVpp neutralization for CBH-2, -5, -8C, -11, and -7 were
0.35, 0.10, 1.50, 1.50, and 60 µg/ml. This genotypic difference
cannot be explained by antibody affinity, as the antibody disassociation
constant,
KD, is similar for each antibody with both genotypes
except for CBH-8C (Fig.
3C). Studies are under way to assess
the relative density of each epitope as identified by these
HMAbs on the surface of both genotype 1b and 2a HCVpp, as the
critical number of binding sites being occupied is another contributing
factor for virus neutralization.
The IC50 of these antibodies for either 1b or JFH1 2a HCVpp (Fig. 3B) was higher than that for JFH1 2a HCVcc (Fig. 2C). The basis for the global differences between HCVcc and HCVpp is not known but could reflect differences in how these particles are assembled, leading to differences in the relative copy number of the incorporated viral glycoproteins and in amino acid alignment and altered accessibility of these epitopes. This could include differences in E2 glycosylation with HCVpp and HCVcc affecting the surface exposure of their epitopes. Lending support to differences in how these particles are packaged are earlier studies with CD81, a putative HCV receptor (6). All domain B (CBH-2, -5, -8C, and -11) and C (CBH-7) antibodies blocked recombinant E2 protein binding to CD81-expressing cells or to CD81-coated plates and were designated as neutralization-of-binding (NOB) positives. All antibodies to domain A, CBH-4B, -4D, and -4G, were NOB negative as they failed to block E2-CD81 interaction. While an antibody designated NOB positive or negative was generally predictive of HCVpp and HCVcc neutralization, there are subtle differences. CBH-7 blocks recombinant 1a E2 binding to CD81 and neutralizes 1a HCVpp but did not block 1a plasma-derived HCV virion binding to CD81 (6). While multiple factors can account for a lack of binding to plasma-derived virions, if HCVcc is more structurally similar to plasma-derived virions than HCVpp is, the findings with CBH-7 are consistent with the view that the structural arrangement of envelope glycoproteins is different with HCVpp and HCVcc and certainly with the CBH-7 epitope.
Another observation was the HCVcc neutralization profiles for CBH-5 and CBH-7 displaying a linear relationship with antibody concentration from IC50 to IC90 (Fig. 2B and C). However, the profiles for CBH-2, -8C, and -11 displayed a nonlinear relationship between IC50 and IC90, in which 5 to 14 times more antibodies were required to achieve IC90 than IC50. The possible contributions to differences with neutralization profiles include affinity of antibody binding to different viral epitopes, kinetics of antibody association and dissociation with targeted antigen, IgG subclass, and mechanisms of neutralization whereby these antibodies inhibit different facets of HCVcc interaction with its putative receptor(s) (5). However, IgG subclass or antibody affinity is an unlikely factor in this case as these antibodies are all IgG1 and their relative KD values are similar apart from CBH-5 (Fig. 3C). More studies will be required to find out whether these antibodies block at distinct steps in virus-receptor interactions. In summary, the immunogenic organization of HCVcc E2 glycoprotein consists of three distinct domains with epitopes mediating virus neutralization restricted to two domains as described for HCVpp. The fact that the ability to block E2 binding to CD81 is predictive of neutralization provides additional support for the idea that CD81 is a required molecule for HCVpp and HCVcc entry.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are grateful to Charles Rice, Rockefeller University, for
providing the Huh7.5 cells; Mark Harris, University of Leeds,
for the sheep anti-NS5A serum; and Neil Greenspan, Case Western
Reserve University, for helpful discussion, and we appreciate
the technical assistance of H. Y. Chen and Dana Bangs.
This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health grants HL079381 and AI47355 to S.K.H.F. and CA93712 to G.L. and by the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom.

FOOTNOTES
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Stanford Medical School Blood Center, 800 Welch Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94304. Phone: (650) 723-6481. Fax: (650) 498-6283. E-mail:
sfoung{at}stanford.edu.

Published ahead of print on 1 November 2006. 

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Journal of Virology, January 2007, p. 1043-1047, Vol. 81, No. 2
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.01710-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
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