Towards Understanding the Basis of Brucella Antigen-Antibody Specificity

Brucellosis continues to be a significant global zoonotic infection, with diagnosis largely relying on the detection of antibodies against the Brucella O-polysaccharide (O-PS) A and M antigens. In this study, computational methods, including homology modeling, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations, were applied to investigate the interaction of the four murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) YsT9.1, YsT9.2, Bm10, and Bm28 with hexasaccharide fragments of the A and M epitopes. Through stringent stability criteria, based on interaction energies and mobility of the antigens, high-affinity binding of A antigen with YsT9.1 antibody and M antigen with Bm10 antibody was predicted. In both the complexes hydrophobic interactions dominate the antigen-antibody binding. These findings align well with experimental epitope mapping, indicating YsT9.1's preference for internal sequences of the A epitope and Bm10's preference for internal elements of the M epitope. Interestingly, no stable complexes were identified for YsT9.2 or Bm28 interacting with A or M antigen. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanism of molecular recognition of Brucella O-antigens that can be applied for the development of improved diagnostics, synthetic glycomimetics, and improved vaccine strategies.