Passive immunotherapy for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus infection with equine immunoglobulin or immunoglobulin fragments in a mouse model

Zhao, Yongkun; Wang, Chong; Qiu, Boning; Li, Chufang; Wang, Hualei; Jin, Hongli; Gai, Weiwei; Zheng, Xuexing; Wang, Tiecheng; Sun, Weiyang; Yan, Feihu; Gao, Yuwei; Wang, Qian; Yan, Jinghua; Chen, Ling; Penman, Stanley; Zhong, Nanshan; Zhao, Jincun^*; Yang, Songtao^*; Xia, Xianzhu^*

Science Citation Index Expanded

广州医学院; 吉林大学; 中国科学院; 1

摘要

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a highly lethal pulmonary infection caused by a coronavirus (Coy), MERS-CoV. With the continuing spread of MERS-CoV, prophylactic and therapeutic treatments are urgently needed. In this study, we prepared purified equine F(ab')(2) from horses immunized with MERS-CoV virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing MERS-CoV S, M and E proteins. Both IgG and F(ab')(2) efficiently neutralized MERS-CoV replication in tissue culture. Passive transfer of equine immune antibodies significantly reduced virus titers and accelerated virus clearance from the lungs of MERS-CoV infected mice. Our data show that horses immunized with MERS-CoV VLPs can serve as a primary source of protective F(ab')(2) for potential use in the prophylactic or therapeutic treatment of exposed or infected patients.

关键词

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus Equine immune serum Immunoglobulin F(ab ')(2) fragment Animal model