Neutralizing anti-influenza virus monoclonal antibodies: therapeutics and tools for discovery

Abstract

The human antibody response to influenza virus infection plays a protective role against re-infection, yet little molecular detail is available regarding how human antibodies, when characterized at the monoclonal level, neutralize this important human pathogen. Recent studies, using a diverse array of strategies, have isolated and characterized human anti-virus neutralizing antibodies and shed light not only on the specificity and origin of these antibodies but on their potential for therapeutic use against influenza virus infection.