Characterization of Hantaan virus envelope glycoprotein antigenic determinants defined by monoclonal antibodies

Abstract

A panel of 24 monoclonal ntibodies (MAbs) to the G 1 or G2 envelope glycoproteins of Hantaan virus were used to determine the surface topography and functional properties of antigenic sites. Nine distinct, partially overlapping antigenic sites, two on G1 and seven on G2, were demonstrated by competitive binding assays. Analyses of the antigenic sites by haemagglutination (HA) inhibition and plaque-reduction neutralization tests howed that all of the sites, except one on G 1, were related to viral HA. Only one of the G 1 antigenic sites and two of the G2 sites were involved in virus neutralization. These results suggest hat certain epitopes related to HA were not critical for virus neutralization. The nine antigenic sites could be further divided into 13 based upon the serological cross-reactivity of MAbs with viruses representative of each of the four known antigenic groups within the Hantavirus genus of Bunyaviridae, i.e. Hantaan, Seoul, Puumala and Prospect Hill viruses