Structural basis for antibody-mediated neutralization of Lassa virus

 

A step on the path to a Lassa vaccine

Lassa fever is a severe, sometimes fatal, hemorrhagic disease. It is caused by the Lassa virus, a single-stranded RNA virus in the arenavirus family. There is no available vaccine. The only antigen on the viral surface is the glycoprotein GPC that engages host cell receptors. Hastie et al. report the high-resolution structure of the trimeric ectodomain of GPC bound to a neutralizing antibody from a human survivor of the disease. The structure gives insight into viral entry mechanisms and antibody neutralization and provides a template for vaccine design.