Generation and characterization of new monoclonal antibodies against swine origin 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus and evaluation of their prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model

In 2009, a swine-origin influenza A virus - A(H1N1)pdm09 - emerged and has became a pandemic strain circulating worldwide. The hemagglutinin (HA) of influenza virus is a potential target for the development of anti-viral therapeutic agents. Here, we generated mAbs by immunization of baculovirus-insect expressing trimeric recombinant HA of the A(H1N1)pdm09 strain. Results indicated that the mAbs recognized two novel neutralizing and protective epitopes-“STAS” and “FRSK” which located near Cb and Ca1 antigenic regions respectively and were conserved in almost 2009-2016 influenza H1N1 stains. The mAb 12E11 demonstrated higher protective efficacy than mAb 8B10 in mice challenge assay. Both mAb pretreatments significantly reduced virus titers and pro-inflammatory cytokines in mice lung postinfection (p < 0.01), and showed prophylactic and therapeutic efficacies even 48 h postinfection (p < 0.05). Combination therapy using the mAbs with oseltamivir pre- and post-treatment showed synergistic therapeutic effect in mice model (p < 0.01). Further investigation for clinical application in humans is warranted.