Fig. 3.

ZIKV rE^D stimulates antibodies that target complex epitopes on the virion. a Method for depleting EDIII-binding antibodies from mouse immune sera. Recombinant ZIKV E-domain III (EDIII, His-tagged) was coupled to nickel beadsⁱ then incubated with immune seraⁱⁱ. Magnetic pull down removes nickel beads and EDIII-binding antibodiesⁱⁱⁱ, leaving behind sera depleted from EDIII-binding antibodies^iv. b The level of EDIII-binding antibodies in the serum of mice immunized with the indicated antigens is shown as a percentage of the total level of ZIKV-specific IgG, as measured by ELISA of EDIII-depleted and control-depleted serum. c The neutralizing activity of EDIII-depleted (green) and undepleted sera (black) was determined and expressed as the dilution at which 50% of the virus was neutralized (Neut₅₀). d A blockade of binding (BOB) assay was used to evaluate if mice immunized with rE^M (black) or rE^D (gray) developed antibodies that blocked the binding of A9E, G9E, and EDE C10 human mAbs. Data points represent individual mice. Statistical differences were determined by one-way ANOVA followed by a Tukey’s test (*p < 0.05). Source data are provided as a Source Data file