Browsing by Author "Kuraoka, Masayuki"

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    3Conserved cryptic recombination signals in V kappa gene segments are cleaved in small pre-B cells
    (BMC IMMUNOLOGY, 2009-06-25) Lieberman, Anne E; Kuraoka, Masayuki; Davila, Marco; Kelsoe, Garnett; Cowell, Lindsay G
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    A non-neutralizing glycoprotein B monoclonal antibody protects against herpes simplex virus disease in mice.
    (The Journal of clinical investigation, 2023-02) Kuraoka, Masayuki; Aschner, Clare Burn; Windsor, Ian W; Mahant, Aakash Mahant; Garforth, Scott J; Kong, Susan Luozheng; Achkar, Jacqueline M; Almo, Steven C; Kelsoe, Garnett; Herold, Betsy C
    There is an unmet need for monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for prevention or as adjunctive treatment of herpes simplex virus (HSV) disease. Most vaccine and mAb efforts focus on neutralizing antibodies, but for HSV this strategy has proven ineffective. Preclinical studies with a candidate HSV vaccine strain, ΔgD-2, demonstrated that non-neutralizing antibodies that activate Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) to mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) provide active and passive protection against HSV-1 and HSV-2. We hypothesized that this vaccine provides a tool to identify and characterize protective mAbs. We isolated HSV-specific mAbs from germinal center and memory B cells and bone marrow plasmacytes of ΔgD-2-vaccinated mice and evaluated these mAbs for binding, neutralizing, and FcγR-activating activity and for protective efficacy in mice. The most potent protective mAb, BMPC-23, was not neutralizing but activated murine FcγRIV, a biomarker of ADCC. The cryo-electron microscopic structure of the Fab-glycoprotein B (gB) assembly identified domain IV of gB as the epitope. A single dose of BMPC-23 administered 24 hours before or after viral challenge provided significant protection when configured as mouse IgG2c and protected mice expressing human FcγRIII when engineered as a human IgG1. These results highlight the importance of FcR-activating antibodies in protecting against HSV.
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    A Prevalent Focused Human Antibody Response to the Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin Head Interface.
    (mBio, 2021-06) McCarthy, Kevin R; Lee, Jiwon; Watanabe, Akiko; Kuraoka, Masayuki; Robinson-McCarthy, Lindsey R; Georgiou, George; Kelsoe, Garnett; Harrison, Stephen C
    Novel animal influenza viruses emerge, initiate pandemics, and become endemic seasonal variants that have evolved to escape from prevalent herd immunity. These processes often outpace vaccine-elicited protection. Focusing immune responses on conserved epitopes may impart durable immunity. We describe a focused, protective antibody response, abundant in memory and serum repertoires, to a conserved region at the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) head interface. Structures of 11 examples, 8 reported here, from seven human donors demonstrate the convergence of responses on a single epitope. The 11 are genetically diverse, with one class having a common, IGκV1-39, light chain. All of the antibodies bind HAs from multiple serotypes. The lack of apparent genetic restriction and potential for elicitation by more than one serotype may explain their abundance. We define the head interface as a major target of broadly protective antibodies with the potential to influence the outcomes of influenza virus infection. IMPORTANCE The rapid appearance of mutations in circulating human influenza viruses and selection for escape from herd immunity require prediction of likely variants for an annual updating of influenza vaccines. The identification of human antibodies that recognize conserved surfaces on the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) has prompted efforts to design immunogens that might selectively elicit such antibodies. The recent discovery of a widely prevalent antibody response to the conserved interface between two HA "heads" (the globular, receptor-binding domains at the apex of the spike-like trimer) has added a new target for these efforts. We report structures of eight such antibodies, bound with HA heads, and compare them with each other and with three others previously described. Although genetically diverse, they all converge on a common binding site. The analysis here can guide immunogen design for preclinical trials.
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    Germinal center entry not selection of B cells is controlled by peptide-MHCII complex density.
    (Nature communications, 2018-03-02) Yeh, Chen-Hao; Nojima, Takuya; Kuraoka, Masayuki; Kelsoe, Garnett
    B cells expressing high affinity antigen receptors are advantaged in germinal centers (GC), perhaps by increased acquisition of antigen for presentation to follicular helper T cells and improved T-cell help. In this model for affinity-dependent selection, the density of peptide/MHCII (pMHCII) complexes on GC B cells is the primary determinant of selection. Here we show in chimeric mice populated by B cells differing only in their capacity to express MHCII (MHCII+/+ and MHCII+/-) that GC selection is insensitive to halving pMHCII density. Alone, both B cell types generate identical humoral responses; in competition, MHCII+/+ B cells are preferentially recruited to early GCs but this advantage does not persist once GCs are established. During GC responses, competing MHCII+/+ and MHCII+/- GC B cells comparably accumulate mutations and have indistinguishable rates of affinity maturation. We conclude that B-cell selection by pMHCII density is stringent in the establishment of GCs, but relaxed during GC responses.
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    Immune checkpoint modulation enhances HIV-1 antibody induction.
    (Nature communications, 2020-02-19) Bradley, Todd; Kuraoka, Masayuki; Yeh, Chen-Hao; Tian, Ming; Chen, Huan; Cain, Derek W; Chen, Xuejun; Cheng, Cheng; Ellebedy, Ali H; Parks, Robert; Barr, Maggie; Sutherland, Laura L; Scearce, Richard M; Bowman, Cindy M; Bouton-Verville, Hilary; Santra, Sampa; Wiehe, Kevin; Lewis, Mark G; Ogbe, Ane; Borrow, Persephone; Montefiori, David; Bonsignori, Mattia; Anthony Moody, M; Verkoczy, Laurent; Saunders, Kevin O; Ahmed, Rafi; Mascola, John R; Kelsoe, Garnett; Alt, Frederick W; Haynes, Barton F
    Eliciting protective titers of HIV-1 broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a goal of HIV-1 vaccine development, but current vaccine strategies have yet to induce bnAbs in humans. Many bnAbs isolated from HIV-1-infected individuals are encoded by immunoglobulin gene rearrangments with infrequent naive B cell precursors and with unusual genetic features that may be subject to host regulatory control. Here, we administer antibodies targeting immune cell regulatory receptors CTLA-4, PD-1 or OX40 along with HIV envelope (Env) vaccines to rhesus macaques and bnAb immunoglobulin knock-in (KI) mice expressing diverse precursors of CD4 binding site HIV-1 bnAbs. CTLA-4 blockade augments HIV-1 Env antibody responses in macaques, and in a bnAb-precursor mouse model, CTLA-4 blocking or OX40 agonist antibodies increase germinal center B and T follicular helper cells and plasma neutralizing antibodies. Thus, modulation of CTLA-4 or OX40 immune checkpoints during vaccination can promote germinal center activity and enhance HIV-1 Env antibody responses.
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    TSC1 Promotes B Cell Maturation but Is Dispensable for Germinal Center Formation.
    (PLoS One, 2015) Ci, Xinxin; Kuraoka, Masayuki; Wang, Hongxia; Carico, Zachary; Hopper, Kristen; Shin, Jinwook; Deng, Xuming; Qiu, Yirong; Unniraman, Shyam; Kelsoe, Garnett; Zhong, Xiao-Ping
    Accumulating evidence indicates that the tuberous sclerosis complex 1 (TSC1), a tumor suppressor that acts by inhibiting mTOR signaling, plays an important role in the immune system. We report here that TSC1 differentially regulates mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2/Akt signaling in B cells. TSC1 deficiency results in the accumulation of transitional-1 (T1) B cells and progressive losses of B cells as they mature beyond the T1 stage. Moreover, TSC1KO mice exhibit a mild defect in the serum antibody responses or rate of Ig class-switch recombination after immunization with a T-cell-dependent antigen. In contrast to a previous report, we demonstrate that both constitutive Peyer's patch germinal centers (GCs) and immunization-induced splenic GCs are unimpaired in TSC1-deficient (TSC1KO) mice and that the ratio of GC B cells to total B cells is comparable in WT and TSC1KO mice. Together, our data demonstrate that TSC1 plays important roles for B cell development, but it is dispensable for GC formation and serum antibody responses.