Bovine natural antibody IgM inhibits the binding of human norovirus protruding domain to its HBGA receptors.

Human norovirus (HuNoV) is the primary viral pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in humans. The protruding (P) domain of HuNoV interacts with cell surface histo-blood group antigens (HBGAs) to initiate infection. Owing to the lack of an effective in vitro culture method and a robust animal model, our understanding of HuNoVs is limited, and as a result, there are no commercial vaccines or antivirals available at present against the virus. In an attempt to develop a preventative measure, we previously identified that bovine colostrum (bCM) contains functional factors that inhibit the binding of HuNoV P domain to its HBGA receptors. In this study, a candidate functional factor in bCM was identified as immunoglobulin M (IgM) using mass spectrometry, followed by database comparison. The natural antibody IgM was further verified to be a functional protein that inhibited HuNoV P protein binding to HBGA receptors through receptor-binding inhibition experiments using bCM, commercial IgM, and fetal bovine serum. Our findings provide a foundation for future development of natural IgM into an antiviral drug, which may help to prevent and/or treat HuNoV infection.