PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Tomohiro Kotaki AU - Atsushi Yamanaka AU - Eiji Konishi AU - Masanori Kameoka TI - A potent neutralizing mouse monoclonal antibody specific to dengue virus type 1 Mochizuki strain recognized a novel epitope around the N-67 glycan on the E protein: a possible explanation of dengue virus evolution regarding the acquisition of N-67 glycan AID - 10.1101/2020.10.03.324780 DP - 2020 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2020.10.03.324780 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/10/03/2020.10.03.324780.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/10/03/2020.10.03.324780.full AB - Analysis of the neutralizing epitope of dengue virus (DENV) is important for the development of an effective dengue vaccine. A potent neutralizing mouse monoclonal antibody named 7F4 was previously reported and, here, we further analyze the detailed epitope of this antibody. 7F4 recognized a novel conformational epitope close to the N-67 glycan on the E protein. This antibody was specific to the DENV that lacks N-67 glycan, including the Mochizuki strain. Interestingly, the Mochizuki strain acquired N-67 glycan by 7F4 selective pressure. DENVs might have evolved to escape from this antibody considering that most of currently circulating DENVs possess N-67 glycan. However, this suggests that 7F4 epitope might be useless as a vaccine target. Nevertheless, this study demonstrated the existence of epitopes competing for 7F4 epitope, which are involved in neutralization. This study describes the importance of antibodies recognizing epitopes near the N-67 glycan for future dengue vaccine development.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.