Distinct mechanisms of neutralization by antibodies targeting a conserved pneumovirus F epitope
Pneumoviruses cause seasonal outbreaks leading to hospitalizations of vulnerable populations such as infants and the elderly. Cross-neutralizing antibodies targeting viral fusion have been isolated from infected individuals, but their elicitation and mechanisms of action remain understudied. Here, we describe two vaccine-elicited antibody classes, LOR24 and LOR69, that bind an overlapping epitope, and identify the somatic mutations that endow their breadth and potency, respectively. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of both antibodies bound to the HRSV fusion (F) protein show binding modes distinct from each other and from the previously described cross-neutralizing antibody MPE8, yet they all use similar motifs for binding. Complementary in vitro and electron microscopy experiments show that these antibodies either lock prefusion F as a trimer, arrest F in a monomeric or intermediate state, or promote the transition to the postfusion conformation. This work sheds light on mechanisms of pneumovirus neutralization and the elicitation of cross-neutralizing antibody responses.
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Ols, S., Cerveira, R. A., Borst, A. J., Bermúdez-Méndez, E., Gegenfurtner, F., Eray, E., Weidle, C., Miranda, M. C., Peng, Z., Carr, K. D., Skotheim, R., Kochmann, J., Brunette, N., Lenart, K., Hanke, L., Hedestam, G. B. K., Perez, L., Antanasijevic, A., King, N. P., & Loré, K. (2026). Distinct mechanisms of neutralization by antibodies targeting a conserved pneumovirus F epitope [Preprint]. openRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.21.749132
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