Neutralization of Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) by an Immunoadhesin Containing the Cysteine-Rich Region of HAV Cellular Receptor-1

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infects African green monkey kidney (AGMK) cells via the HAV cellular receptor-1 (havcr-1), a mucin-like type 1 integral-membrane glycoprotein of unknown natural function. The ectodomain of havcr-1 contains an N-terminal immunoglobulin-like cysteine-rich region (D1), which binds protective monoclonal antibody (MAb) 190/4, followed by an O-glycosylated mucin-like threonine-serine-proline-rich region that extends D1 well above the cell surface. To study the interaction of HAV with havcr-1, we constructed immunoadhesins fusing the hinge and Fc portion of human IgG1 to D1 (D1-Fc) or the ectodomain of the poliovirus receptor (PVR-Fc) and expressed them in CHO cells. These immunoadhesins were secreted to the cell culture medium and purified through protein A-agarose columns. In a solid-phase assay, HAV bound to D1-Fc in a concentration-dependent manner whereas background levels of HAV bound to PVR-Fc. Binding of HAV to D1-Fc was blocked by treatment with MAb 190/4 but not with control MAb M2, which binds to a tag epitope introduced between the D1 and Fc portions of the immunoadhesin. D1-Fc neutralized approximately 1 log unit of the HAV infectivity in AGMK cells, whereas PVR-Fc had no effect in the HAV titers. A similarly poor reduction in HAV titers was observed after treating the same stock of HAV with murine neutralizing MAbs K2-4F2, K3-4C8, and VHA 813. Neutralization of poliovirus by PVR-Fc but not by D1-Fc indicated that the virus-receptor interactions were specific. These results show that D1 is sufficient for binding and neutralization of HAV and provide further evidence that havcr-1 is a functional cellular receptor for HAV.