Vanderbilt researchers may have discovered means of neutralizing West Nile virus

Researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and associates recently isolated a human antibody that could potentially neutralize the threat of West Nile virus, according to a report published last week in Nature Microbiology.

If so, it could lead to the first effective treatment of the infection — though further studies are needed before human testing could begin. West Nile is a leading cause of brain inflammation in the United States. It is spread by mosquitoes and sickens 2,500 people and kills more than 100 people throughout the country annually.

“West Nile virus is still an important cause of brain infections in the U.S., and there is very little we can do to help these patients,” James Crowe Jr., co-corresponding author of the paper and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, said. “It was exciting for us to use our antibody discovery technologies to find naturally occurring human antibodies that can prevent or treat the infection.”

The current study focused on serum and blood cell samples from 13 West Nile-afflicted adults. White blood cells were then fused to cancer cells to produce certain monoclonal antibodies — one of which, WNV-86, was discovered to completely protect mice from lethal West Nile infections with a single dose.