Capturing a virus while it catches its breath

Abstract

The four serotypes of dengue virus present a formidable challenge for the development of efficacious human vaccines. Cockburn and colleagues, in this issue of Structure, describe the structural basis of a cross-reactive neutralizing antibody, providing greater insight into immune protection and pathogenesis.

Figure 1. Dynamic States of the Dengue Virion

The Cα backbone of E proteins from the uncomplexed mature DENV (left), through to the mAb complex structure (right), showing the potential transition (middle three structures). The complex structure (right) is taken from virus bound to Fab 1A1D-2. Binding of 4E11 is expected to capture a similar rearrangement of E proteins. The black triangle represents the asymmetric unit of the virus. E-DI, E-DII, and E-DIII are colored red, yellow, and blue, respectively. Note that E-DIII moves the least, but its surroundings become less crowded with adjacent subunits.