Varying the Constant: Mechanisms of Fc-Mediated Immunity to Influenza Virus

Antibodies are typically thought to mediate antiviral immunity by blocking host-cell infection. However, immunoglobulin G (IgG) can also stimulate antiviral responses through its constant region. A recent study in Nature (Bournazos et al., 2020) shows that modifying Fc binding affinities to better target FcɣRIIa enhances the influenza CD8 T cell response.