(c) The Wilson lab, The Scripps Research Institute
抗体C05とインフルエンザタンパク質との結合
インフルエンザウイルスのうち最も危険とされるA型の，様々な株を中和できる抗体C05が見つかった。このような抗体を求めて研究班はまず，様々なインフルエンザに感染経験のある人を探し，骨髄を採取して膨大な抗体ライブラリーを作成した。協力者募集には人気の情報サイト，クレイグスリストも使われた。同定されたC05はインフルエンザウイルスの受容体結合部位（RBS）に独特の方法で強固に結合し，ウイルスの宿主細胞への付着を阻害する。異なる株でもRBSはほぼ共通なので，多種のA型ウイルスを中和でき，治療にも有効であることが動物実験で示された。万能ワクチンや治療法に応用が期待される。（吉田素子）
Flu Antibody’s ‘One-Handed Grab’ May Boost Effort toward Universal Vaccine, New Therapies
Ads in Craigslist Lead to Potential Medical Advance
Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Sea Lane Biotechnologies have solved the co-crystal structure of a human antibody that can neutralize influenza viruses in a unique way. The antibody recognizes the crucial structure that flu viruses use to attach to host cells, even though previously this structure had been thought too small for an antibody to grab effectively. The immune protein manages to hit this precise spot by using just a small part of its target-grabbing apparatus. In so doing, it can neutralize a broad range of dangerous flu viruses.
“This highly focused binding to the receptor binding site using only a single loop on the antibody has never been seen before, and it’s really fascinating; it gives us some good ideas about designs for vaccines and therapies,” said Ian A. Wilson, the Hansen Professor of Structural Biology at Scripps Research. Wilson was senior investigator of the study along with Ramesh R. Bhatt of Sea Lane Biotechnologies. The report appears online ahead of print on September 16, 2012, in the journal Nature.
The Power of Large Numbers
Sea Lane Biotechnologies, advised by Richard Lerner, the Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Immunochemistry at Scripps Research, began by collecting bone marrow from patients who had been exposed to certain key strains of flu. Because the bone marrow is a “fossil record” of all the antibodies a person has ever made, those at Sea Lane felt confident that the antibodies they were looking for would be there.
［単語和訳］
Flu：インフルエンザ Antibody：抗体 One-Handed：片手での Grab：ひとつかみ Boost：～を促進する Universal Vaccine：万能ワクチン Therapies：治療 Ads：広告 Craigslist：クレイグスリスト（コミュニティーサイト名）
co-crystal structure：共結晶構造 neutralize：～を中和する viruses：ウイルス crucial：極めて重要な host cells：宿主細胞 grab：～をつかむ effectively：効果的に immune protein：免疫タンパク質 target-grabbing：目的物をつかむ apparatus：装置 broad range：広範囲
receptor binding site：受容体結合部位 fascinating：興味をそそる Structural Biology：構造生物学 senior investigator：研究責任者 online：オンラインに ahead of：～よりずっと前に
Immunochemistry：免疫化学 bone marrow：骨髄 strains：株 fossil record：化石記録
