Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections remain a major cause of respiratory disease and hospitalizations among infants. Infection recurs frequently and establishes a weak and short-lived immunity. To date, RSV immunoprophylaxis and vaccine research is mainly focused on the RSV fusion (F) protein, but a vaccine remains elusive. The RSV F protein is a highly conserved surface glycoprotein and is the main target of neutralizing antibodies induced by natural infection. Here, we analyzed an internalization process of antigen-antibody complexes after binding of RSV-specific antibodies to RSV antigens expressed on the surface of infected cells. The RSV F protein and attachment (G) protein were found to be internalized in both infected and transfected cells after the addition of either RSV-specific polyclonal antibodies (PAbs) or RSV glycoprotein-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), as determined by indirect immunofluorescence staining and flow-cytometric analysis. Internalization experiments with different cell lines, well-differentiated primary bronchial epithelial cells (WD-PBECs), and RSV isolates suggest that antibody internalization can be considered a general feature of RSV. More specifically for RSV F, the mechanism of internalization was shown to be clathrin dependent. All RSV F-targeted MAbs tested, regardless of their epitopes, induced internalization of RSV F. No differences could be observed between the different MAbs, indicating that RSV F internalization was epitope independent. Since this process can be either antiviral, by affecting virus assembly and production, or beneficial for the virus, by limiting the efficacy of antibodies and effector mechanism, further research is required to determine the extent to which this occurs in vivo and how this might impact RSV replication.IMPORTANCE Current research into the development of new immunoprophylaxis and vaccines is mainly focused on the RSV F protein since, among others, RSV F-specific antibodies are able to protect infants from severe disease, if administered prophylactically. However, antibody responses established after natural RSV infections are poorly protective against reinfection, and high levels of antibodies do not always correlate with protection. Therefore, RSV might be capable of interfering, at least partially, with antibody-induced neutralization. In this study, a process through which surface-expressed RSV F proteins are internalized after interaction with RSVspecific antibodies is described. One the one hand, this antigen-antibody complex internalization could result in an antiviral effect, since it may interfere with virus par-

Sialoadhesin (Sn) is a surface receptor expressed on a subset of macrophages in steady state conditions. During inflammation and diseases, Sn is highly upregulated on macrophages and blood monocytes. Therefore, therapies using monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to target Sn-positive (Sn + ) cells are a potential strategy for targeted treatment. It has been shown that Sn internalizes after binding with a mAb, though it is not clear whether this is species-specific. In this study, new Sn-specific mAbs were developed and analyzed for cross-reactivity between species. In addition, the newly developed mAbs were compared to mAbs used in previous research for their epitope recognition and other Sn-specific characteristics. Both species-specific and cross-reactive antibodies could be identified. Furthermore, sialic acid-binding of red blood cells (RBC) could be inhibited with mAbs recognizing different epitopes and all mAb showed internalization of Sn. The newly developed mAbs can be used as novel tools for Sn research and further analysis of Sn internalization in different species.

Aim: This research aims to identify important formulation parameters for the enhancement of nanoparticle (NP) uptake and decreasing the cytotoxicity in macrophages. Materials & methods: Fluorescent poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers were characterized for size distributions, zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency. Incubation time, size class, PLGA derivative and chitosan derivative were assessed for uptake kinetics and cell viability. Results: The major determining factor for enhancing cellular uptake were chitosan coatings, combined with acid-terminated PLGA and small NP size. Moreover, cytotoxicity was more favorable for small, chitosan glutamate-coated, acid-terminated PLGA NPs compared with its plain chitosan-coated counterparts. Conclusion: Chitosan glutamate has been shown to be a valuable alternative coating material for acid-terminated PLGA NPs to efficiently and safely target macrophages.

BackgroundHost proteases have been shown to play important roles in many viral activities such as entry, uncoating, viral protein production and disease induction. Therefore, these cellular proteases are putative targets for the development of antivirals that inhibit their activity. Host proteases have been described to play essential roles in Ebola, HCV, HIV and influenza, such that specific protease inhibitors are able to reduce infection. RSV utilizes a host protease in its replication cycle but its potential as antiviral target is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of protease inhibitors on RSV infection.MethodsTo measure the sensitivity of RSV infection to protease inhibitors, cells were infected with RSV and incubated for 18 h in the presence or absence of the inhibitors. Cells were fixed, stained and studied using fluorescence microscopy.ResultsSeveral protease inhibitors, representing different classes of proteases (AEBSF, Pepstatin A, E-64, TPCK, PMSF and aprotinin), were tested for inhibitory effects on an RSV A2 infection of HEp-2 cells. Different treatment durations, ranging from 1 h prior to inoculation and continuing for 18 h during the assay, were evaluated. Of all the inhibitors tested, AEBSF and TPCK significantly decreased RSV infection. To ascertain that the observed effect of AEBSF was not a specific feature related to HEp-2 cells, A549 and BEAS-2B cells were also used. Similar to HEp-2, an almost complete block in the number of RSV infected cells after 18 h of incubation was observed and the effect was dose-dependent. To gain insight into the mechanism of this inhibition, AEBSF treatment was applied during different phases of an infection cycle (pre-, peri- and post-inoculation treatment). The results from these experiments indicate that AEBSF is mainly active during the early entry phase of RSV. The inhibitory effect was also observed with other RSV isolates A1998/3–2 and A2000/3–4, suggesting that this is a general feature of RSV.ConclusionRSV infection can be inhibited by broad serine protease inhibitors, AEBSF and TPCK. We confirmed that AEBSF inhibition is independent of the cell line used or RSV strain. The time point at which treatment with the inhibitor was most potent, was found to coincide with the expected moment of entry of the virion with the host cell.

Sialoadhesin (Sn) is a surface receptor expressed on macrophages in steady state conditions, but during inflammation, Sn can be upregulated both on macrophages and on circulating monocytes. It was shown for different species that Sn becomes internalized after binding with monoclonal antibodies. These features suggest that Sn is a potential target for immunotherapies. In this study, human and mouse macrophages were treated with anti-Sn monoclonal antibodies or F(ab') fragments and the effect of their binding to Sn on phagocytosis was analyzed. Binding of antibodies to Sn resulted in delayed and reduced phagocytosis of fluorescent beads. No effect was observed on Fc-mediated phagocytosis or phagocytosis of bacteria by human macrophages. In contrast, an enhanced phagocytosis of bacteria by mouse macrophages was detected. These results showed that stimulation of Sn could have different effects on macrophage phagocytosis, depending both on the type of phagocytosis and cellular background.