Analyzing Swine Sera for Functional Antibody Titers Against Influenza A Neuraminidase Proteins Using an Enzyme-Linked Lectin Assay (ELLA)

Neuraminidase (NA) is an envelope glycoprotein of influenza viruses, including swine-lineage influenza A viruses. NA possesses sialidase activity, which is functionally important at multiple points in viral replication, counter-balancing the sialic acid receptor binding activity of the hemagglutinin (HA), the other major envelope glycoprotein. The NA proteins of influenza A viruses have been classified into nine serological subtypes, and they undergo antigenic drift variation similar to that of HA. Antibodies to NA are analyzed much less often than antibodies to HA. The conventional assay for NA inhibition (NI) antibody titration, established decades ago, is widely considered unwieldy and inefficient for routine use. In recent years, a few new formats have been developed which still measure inhibition of NA enzymatic function, but more efficiently and with less chemical waste produced. Described here is the enzyme-linked lectin assay (ELLA), which is performed in 96-well plates and analyzed on a spectrophotometric plate reader. An important factor in adoption of the ELLA technique for animal studies, such as swine, is the choice of NA antigen, which may be purified protein or whole virus containing an antigenically irrelevant HA protein. This NI assay, in conjunction with the hemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibody assay, offers a practical way to characterize viral isolates more fully and to quantify antibodies induced by infection or vaccination.