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Human Antibodies Targeting a Transporter Mediate Protection Against Tuberculosis

Evidence has emerged that some healthy individuals with a history of exposure to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) can develop protective antibody responses. However, it is not known whether patients with active tuberculosis elicit protective antibodies, and if they do, which bacterial antigens are targeted. To investigate the B cell responses during active infection, we generated a panel of monoclonal antibodies isolated from memory B cells of one patient. The antibodies, members of four distinct B cell clones, were directed against the Mtb phosphate transporter subunit PstS1. Antibodies p4-36 and p4-163 from two different B cell clones showed protective efficacy against Mtb and Mycobacterium bovis-BCG in an ex vivo human whole blood growth inhibition assay. Germline versions of p4-36 and p4-163 could no longer bind Mtb, implying that affinity maturation was vital for their activity. Crystal structures of p4-36 and a closely related clonal variant of p4-163, p4-170, complexed to PstS1 were determined at a resolution of 2.1A and 2.4A and revealed that the two antibodies recognize two distinctive epitopes on PstS1. As a proof of principle, p4-36 and p4-163 were used in a passive vaccination setting in aerosol Mtb-infected Balb/c mice, where both antibodies reduced bacterial lung burden by 50% after a single injection prior to Mtb infection. Our study shows that inhibitory B cell responses arise during active tuberculosis and identifies PstS1 as a target for elicitation of anti-Mtb antibodies.