Broad-spectrum monoclonal antibodies against chikungunya virus structural proteins: Promising candidates for antibody-based rapid diagnostic test development.
Authors: Tuekprakhon Aekkachai, Puiprom Orapim, Sasaki Tadahiro, Michiels Johan, Bartholomeeusen Koen, Nakayama Emi E, Meno Michael K, Phadungsombat Juthamas, Huits Ralph, Ariën Kevin K, Luplertlop Natthanej, Shioda Tatsuo, Leaungwutiwong Pornsawan
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Broad-spectrum Monoclonal Antibodies for Chikungunya Virus Detection Chikungunya virus presents a significant diagnostic challenge due to genetic variation across its three main genotypes, with existing rapid immunochromatographic tests showing reduced sensitivity to the Asian genotype now circulating in the Americas—a limitation stemming from poor antibody binding to variant amino acid sequences in the E1 protein. Researchers used hybridoma technology to generate a new panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting both the E1 envelope and capsid proteins of CHIKV, selecting candidates that would recognise all three genotypes whilst minimising cross-reactivity with related pathogens. The resulting mAbs demonstrated broad-spectrum reactivity across all CHIKV genotypes, with most showing negligible cross-reactivity to dengue, Zika, and Sindbis viruses; two candidates additionally lacked reactivity to other alphaviruses of concern (Ross River, Mayaro, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis and others), whilst another pair showed only weak cross-reactivity with the closely-related O'nyong-nyong virus. For equine and allied professionals, particularly those in regions where alphaviruses cause significant disease, improved diagnostic accuracy through these mAbs could support faster case identification and outbreak management, whilst the specificity profile suggests reliable differentiation from other arboviral infections—currently lacking in commercially available rapid tests. Translation of these findings into clinical immunochromatographic platforms would represent a meaningful advance in arthropod-borne virus surveillance and differential diagnosis.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Not applicable to equine practice—this research concerns human diagnostic development for mosquito-borne viral disease detection
Key Findings
- •Successfully generated mouse monoclonal antibodies targeting CHIKV E1 and capsid proteins with broad reactivity across all three CHIKV genotypes (ECSA, West African, and Asian)
- •Developed mAbs showed minimal cross-reactivity with dengue, Zika, Sindbis, and most alphaviruses, with only weak cross-reactivity to O'nyong-nyong virus
- •New mAbs overcome previous diagnostic limitations of existing rapid immunochromatographic tests that performed poorly with Asian genotype CHIKV due to amino acid sequence variants