Anti-Influenza B Antibody Clones Derived from Children and the Epitopes That These Antibodies Target

Influenza B virus causes epidemics and is one of major pathogens for respiratory tract infections around the world. Infected children may spread influenza B viruses among susceptible populations and young children have an increased risk for developing pneumonia, encephalopathy and encephalitis associated with influenza B virus infection. Neutralizing antibodies induced by prior infection and vaccination are protective against influenza illness. However, the efficacy of trivalent influenza vaccine may not be ideal in Taiwan. The mismatch between vaccine virus and circulating virus has been frequently detected in the influenza B outbreaks. While the breadth and potency of antibody immunity affect the level of protection, the content of anti-influenza B antibody response remains largely unclear in children. In this study, we will investigate the profile of anti-influenza B IgG clones in response to antigen exposure in children, examine antigenic determinants on the surface protein of virus and their relationship with the antigenic evolution of virus, and explore the working mechanism of human neutralizing anti-influenza B antibodies. We believe this study will provide a novel platform for examining anti-influenza B antibody immunity and assessing the trend of influenza B outbreaks in the near future.

Project ID:PC10708-0977
External Project ID:MOST107-2314-B182-042