Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay
Abstract The large number of atypical monkeypox (Mpox) cases caused by emerging monkeypox virus (MPXV) strains was recently found in countries and regions where the Mpox was not reported before. Diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents are important countermeasures for preventing Mpox outbreak. H3L p...
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Springer
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-025-13466-6 |
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| author | I-Hsiang Huang Guan-Chun Lai Tai-Ling Chao Wang-Da Liu Sui-Yuan Chang Shih-Chung Chang |
| author_facet | I-Hsiang Huang Guan-Chun Lai Tai-Ling Chao Wang-Da Liu Sui-Yuan Chang Shih-Chung Chang |
| author_sort | I-Hsiang Huang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The large number of atypical monkeypox (Mpox) cases caused by emerging monkeypox virus (MPXV) strains was recently found in countries and regions where the Mpox was not reported before. Diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents are important countermeasures for preventing Mpox outbreak. H3L protein is the important surface antigen of MPXV for binding to host cell receptors and mediating viral infection. A broad range of murine anti-MPXV H3L monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) recognizing various binding epitopes have been generated in the study. The rapid test composed of the mAbs 4-2A and 3-3F can specifically detect H3L protein and MPXV virion. The mAb 3-3F exhibited strong MPXV neutralizing activity in a complement-dependent manner. Notably, 3-3F binds to a unique epitope within residues 35–89 of H3L protein. The serum samples collected from Mpox patients barely bound to the N-terminal portion of H3L protein ranging from 2 to 89 residues, indicating that the content of the 3-3F-like antibody is very low in Mpox patient sera. In contrast, the seropositivity was mostly observed using the C-terminal portion of H3L protein ranging from 185 to 282 residues as the target antigen in the immunoblot analysis. Taken together, the anti-MPXV H3L mAb can be developed as the Mpox diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Furthermore, H3L protein is the promising biomarker for serological analysis. Key Points •Anti-H3L mAbs can cross-react with H3L proteins in MPXV and VACV virions. •The LFIA rapid test using the mAbs 4-2A and 3-3F can specifically detect MPXV. •MPXV was neutralized by mAb 3-3F in a complement-dependent manner |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ac3f3a90d1454ae8a063b8b4334084cf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1432-0614 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-ac3f3a90d1454ae8a063b8b4334084cf2025-08-20T04:01:52ZengSpringerApplied Microbiology and Biotechnology1432-06142025-04-01109111210.1007/s00253-025-13466-6Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assayI-Hsiang Huang0Guan-Chun Lai1Tai-Ling Chao2Wang-Da Liu3Sui-Yuan Chang4Shih-Chung Chang5Department of Biochemical Science and Technology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Biochemical Science and Technology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan UniversityDepartment of Biochemical Science and Technology, College of Life Science, National Taiwan UniversityAbstract The large number of atypical monkeypox (Mpox) cases caused by emerging monkeypox virus (MPXV) strains was recently found in countries and regions where the Mpox was not reported before. Diagnostic tools and therapeutic agents are important countermeasures for preventing Mpox outbreak. H3L protein is the important surface antigen of MPXV for binding to host cell receptors and mediating viral infection. A broad range of murine anti-MPXV H3L monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) recognizing various binding epitopes have been generated in the study. The rapid test composed of the mAbs 4-2A and 3-3F can specifically detect H3L protein and MPXV virion. The mAb 3-3F exhibited strong MPXV neutralizing activity in a complement-dependent manner. Notably, 3-3F binds to a unique epitope within residues 35–89 of H3L protein. The serum samples collected from Mpox patients barely bound to the N-terminal portion of H3L protein ranging from 2 to 89 residues, indicating that the content of the 3-3F-like antibody is very low in Mpox patient sera. In contrast, the seropositivity was mostly observed using the C-terminal portion of H3L protein ranging from 185 to 282 residues as the target antigen in the immunoblot analysis. Taken together, the anti-MPXV H3L mAb can be developed as the Mpox diagnostic and therapeutic agents. Furthermore, H3L protein is the promising biomarker for serological analysis. Key Points •Anti-H3L mAbs can cross-react with H3L proteins in MPXV and VACV virions. •The LFIA rapid test using the mAbs 4-2A and 3-3F can specifically detect MPXV. •MPXV was neutralized by mAb 3-3F in a complement-dependent mannerhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-025-13466-6Monkeypox virus (MPXV)H3L proteinLateral flow immunochromatographic assayNeutralizing antibodyComplementSerological assay |
| spellingShingle | I-Hsiang Huang Guan-Chun Lai Tai-Ling Chao Wang-Da Liu Sui-Yuan Chang Shih-Chung Chang Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Monkeypox virus (MPXV) H3L protein Lateral flow immunochromatographic assay Neutralizing antibody Complement Serological assay |
| title | Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| title_full | Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| title_fullStr | Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| title_short | Monkeypox virus H3L protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| title_sort | monkeypox virus h3l protein as the target antigen for developing neutralizing antibody and serological assay |
| topic | Monkeypox virus (MPXV) H3L protein Lateral flow immunochromatographic assay Neutralizing antibody Complement Serological assay |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-025-13466-6 |
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