ISSN:
1432-0584
Keywords:
Hepatitis C virus
;
Human monoclonal antibody
;
Epitope
;
Immune response
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary In this study we tested the seroreactivity of 223 selected anti-HCV-reactive blood donors to the human B-cell epitope N-VYLLPR-C (C34–39) of the hepatitis C virus core antigen. The epitope was recently identified and characterized by the human monoclonal IgG antibody Ul/F10 [23] and is located within the amino acid residues 34–39 of the aminoterminal core region. The blood donor sera were selected from anti-HCV ELISA (Ortho, 2nd generation)-reactive samples. Sixty-seven of these sera were further reactive in RIBA (Ortho, 2nd generation). According to their RIBA pattern, these samples were divided into four groups. Samples in the first group (n=18) reacted to all four recombinant HCV antigens. The samples of the second (n=9) and third group (n=8) reacted to c223/c33c and c22-3/cl00-3, respectively. Sera from group 4 (n=32) showed a RIBA indeterminate pattern with reactivity only to c22-3. All 223 samples were analyzed for anti-C34–39 antibodies by ELISA, and the 67 RIBA-reactive samples were additionally tested for the presence of HCV RNA by RT/PCR. In groups 1 and 2, over 80% of the samples showed anti-C34–39 reactivity which was restricted to the IgG1 isotype. In contrast, in groups 3 and 4, antibodies to the epitope C34–39 were detected in less than 10% of the samples. Interestingly, the anti-C34–39 response correlates with the presence of HCV RNA; 95.5% of the samples had coincident results in all subgroups. None of the RIBA-negative sera showed a specific seroreaction to the C34–39 peptide.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01695693
