Heterosubtypic Antibodies to Influenza A Virus Have Limited Activity against Cell-Bound Virus but Are Not Impaired by Strain-Specific Serum Antibodies

The majority of influenza virus-specific antibodies elicited by vaccination or natural infection are effective only against the eliciting or closely related viruses. Rare stem-specific heterosubtypic monoclonal antibodies (hMAbs) can neutralize multiple strains and subtypes by preventing hemagglutinin (HA)-mediated fusion of the viral membrane with the endosomal membrane. The epitopes recognized by these hMAbs are therefore considered promising targets for the development of pan-influenza virus vaccines. Here, we report the isolation of a novel human HA stem-reactive monoclonal antibody, hMAb 1.12, with exceptionally broad neutralizing activity encompassing viruses from 15 distinct HA subtypes. Using MAb 1.12 and two other monoclonal antibodies, we demonstrate that neutralization by hMAbs is virtually irreversible but becomes severely impaired following virus attachment to cells. In contrast, no interference by human anti-influenza virus serum antibodies was found, indicating that apically binding antibodies do not impair access to the membrane-proximal heterosubtypic epitopes. Our findings therefore encourage development of new vaccine concepts aiming at the induction of stem-specific heterosubtypic antibodies, as we provide support for their effectiveness in individuals previously exposed to influenza virus. IMPORTANCE The influenza A virus hemagglutinin (HA) can easily accommodate changes in its antigenic structures to escape preexisting immunity. This variability restricts the breadth and long-term efficacy of influenza vaccines. Only a few heterosubtypic antibodies (hMAbs), i.e., antibodies that can neutralize more than one subtype of influenza A virus, have been identified. The molecular interactions between these heterosubtypic antibodies and hemagglutinin are well characterized, yet little is known about the functional properties of these antibodies. Using a new, extraordinarily broad hMAb, we show that virus neutralization by hMAbs is virtually irreversible and that efficient neutralization is possible only if stem-specific hMAbs bind to HA before the virus attaches to the cell surface. No interference between strain-specific human serum immunoglobulin and hMAbs was found, indicating that preexisting humoral immunity to influenza virus does not limit the efficacy of stem-reactive heterosubtypic antibodies. This knowledge supports the development of a pan-influenza virus vaccine.