Identification of B cell epitopes of hepatitis C virus RNA dependent RNA polymerase

The aim of this study was to identify the B cell epitopes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The truncated HCV NS5B protein NS5B-dc21 was expressed in Escherichia coli and its antigenicity was confirmed by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) using 130 HCV-positive human sera and 15 negative sera. Antibodies specific to NS5B-dc21 protein were purified by affinity chromatography using sepharose-4B coupled with the recombinant protein. A 12-mer phage displayed random peptide library was screened four rounds with the purified antibodies. Three epitopes were identified from the phage library, which correspond to amino acids 2444-2452, 2521-2528, and 2915-2925 of HCV RdRp. These epitopes were then expressed in E. coli as fusion proteins with phage M13 pIII protein. ELISA demonstrated that two of these epitopes (P4 and P34, corresponding to amino acids 2443-2452 and amino acids 2512-2528, respectively) have good reactivity and sensitivity. Mutagenesis study of P4 peptide showed that this epitope, which is derived from a phage displayed library, exhibited higher affinity with HCV serum than the corresponding original HCV sequences.     

用噬菌体展示随机12肽库筛选HCV B细胞抗原表位

目的用患者血清中抗丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)抗体从噬菌体展示随机12肽库筛选HCV抗原表位。方法用硫酸铵粗提HCV患者血清中Ig后用DEAE—Sephadex A50层析纯化并作为筛选的配基;对噬菌体展示随机12肽库采用配基亲和富集、阴性血清吸收的方法进行生物淘洗;ELISA鉴定筛选克隆的结合特性;测定阳性克隆所携带DNA序列并进行计算机辅助分析。结果三轮生物淘洗后特异性克隆得到了富集。用第3轮淘洗出的26个克隆进行结合实验,其中有3个克隆与HCV患者血清结合力较高而与正常人血清结合能力较弱;序列分析发现2个序列与HCV蛋白第1082～1093和1954～1965位(1082YHGAGTRTIASP 1093和1954TQLLRRLHQWIS 1965)氨基酸有较高的同源性;计算机辅助分析提示这两个位点具有形成表位的性质。结论获得了两个HCV抗原表位,在HCV感染的检测中具有潜在的应用价值。     

Selection of an affinity-matured antibody against a defined epitope by phage display of an immune antibody library

In a previous study, we generated a murine hepatitis B virus (HBV)-neutralizing monoclonal antibody (mAb), KR127, that binds to an epitope (amino acids 37-45, NSNNPDWDF) of the preS1 antigen. Furthermore, an epitope tag, S1 (NANNPDWDF), was developed for protein tagging. The aim of the present study was to develop a high-affinity antibody to the same preS1 epitope. Mice were immunized with the N-terminal domain of human thrombopoietin fused to the S1 tag (nTPO-S1), and a phage-displayed chimeric Fab library was constructed and screened by panning against nTPO-S1. A high-affinity antibody (3-34) was selected that binds to the preS1 antigen. The IgG molecules of 3-34 showed approximately nine-fold higher affinity (K(D) 1.2 nM) for preS1 compared with KR127 (K(D) 10.4 nM), competed with KR127 for binding to the epitope, and bound to HBV particles. This study provides a simple and efficient way to develop a high-affinity antibody to a defined epitope by phage display of an immune antibody library.     

A族链球菌(GAS)Fba蛋白单克隆抗体对应表位核心氨基酸的确定

目的:对A族链球菌Fba蛋白McAb2所对应的表位进行定位.方法:以初步定位的表位区段为线索合成三段重叠多肽,dot-ELISA检测McAb2与合成肽的亲合力,并以McAb2为靶分子,利用噬菌体随机七肽库进行亲和筛选,用竞争ELISA鉴定阳性克隆.结果:dot-ELISA检测结果表明Fba_(100-112)肽段与McAb2的结合能力最强.经过3轮亲和筛选后,随机挑选20个噬菌体克隆,竞争ELISA对其与McAb2的亲和力做检测,其中12个克隆显示较强的阳性结果.阳性克隆DNA测序,与Fba基因第100位氨基酸至110位氨基酸中ITPDL同源性较高.结论:通过dot-ELISA将A族链球菌Fba蛋白McAb2对应的表位定位于100～112位氨基酸,结果同噬菌体随机肽库筛选的核心氨基酸位置吻合.为进一步研制表位肽疫苗、研究Fba蛋白及其单克隆抗体的生物学功能奠定了基础.     

Natural antibodies against alliinase in human serum and polyclonal antibodies elicited in rabbit share the same immunogenic determinants

Human serum contains natural antibodies against alliinase, a protein abundantly found in garlic (Allium sativum) cloves. In order to study the epitope(s) of this protein recognized by anti-alliinase antibodies, we used a random hexapeptide library displayed on filamentous M13 phage. Analysis of the phagotopes selected on rabbit anti-alliinase antibodies revealed that the motif-GKXVXX- was common for all peptides. The most frequent phage displaying -GKHVAV- sequence has a 50% identity with the original alliinase sequence (amino acid residues 156-161). The position of this epitope is only nine amino acids apart from the oligosaccharide chain attached to the N146. The rabbit anti-alliinase immunoglobulin G (IgG), which bound the phages displaying this phagotope, also bound the corresponding peptide derived from the alliinase sequence. Affinity-purified natural antibodies against alliinase, present in normal human serum (which can specifically recognize the native and denaturated protein) also bound the selected phagotope. Thus, our results indicate that specific natural anti-dietary protein antibodies presented in human serum can have the same. or overlapping. epitopes with the IgG evoked during the active (experimental) immunization in animals.     

Hepatitis C epitopes from phage-displayed cDNA libraries and improved diagnosis with a chimeric antigen

A novel method for cloning DNase I fragments into bacteriophage display vector fUSE2 was used to create libraries expressing hepatitis C virus (HCV) protein fragments on the phage surface. Selection by panning with a mixture of sera from five HCV-seropositive individuals enabled identification of antigenic determinants in NS3 (amino acids 1,383-1,415), NS4 (amino acids 1, 930-1,938), and NS5 (amino acids 2,088-2,104). The NS3 result is the most accurate location to date of a major conformational determinant that cannot be mimicked by short peptides. Any expressed sequence from the phage library can be excised with Bgl II and cloned directly into the Bgl II site of an appropriate plasmid for bacterial expression. This enables production of chimeric proteins containing multiple antigenic determinants, illustrated by co-expression of the NS4P (amino acids 1,930-1,938) epitope with an NS4N fragment (amino acids 1,644-1,812) containing at least three linear HCV epitopes. When used to screen 35 individual HCV-positive sera by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the chimeric antigen detected eight more positives than NS4N alone and gave increased immunoreactivity with others. This approach of identifying antigenic regions by phage display and then co-expressing them as chimeric proteins may be generally applicable to the production of improved diagnostic antigens and recombinant vaccines.     

T7噬菌体展示文库在鉴定单克隆抗体所识别的抗原及表位中的应用

目的：用17噬菌体展示文库鉴定1株单克隆抗体（mAb）DBD02的特异性。方法：用Protein G Sepbarose结合mAb后对17噬菌体展示文库进行2轮生物淘洗，用洗脱的通过特异mAb富集的噬菌体铺板后，以DBD02为一抗进行Dot blot筛选，阳性克隆进一步通过Western blot检测，PCR扩增阳性噬菌体插入的肝脏cDNA片段，测序后，通过BLAST比对确定mAb DBD02所识别的抗原。结果：在2轮淘洗后得到了〉50个阳性克隆，取其中2个点扩增后进行了Western blot检测，并对这2个阳性克隆进行了PCR，序列测定后鉴定了此mAb所识别的抗原为乙醇脱氢酶，并将此mAb识别的表位限定于22个多肽内。结论：T7噬菌体展示文库可应用于mAb特异性的鉴定，与cDNA表达文库的免疫筛选相比，具有省时、省力和经济的特点，是mAb特异性鉴定的有力工具。     

Epitope mapping of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody and induction of growth-inhibitory polyclonal antibodies by vaccination with EGFR mimotope

One of the proposed approaches in cancer therapy is to induce and direct the patient’s own immune system against cancer cells. In this study, we determined the epitope mapping of the rat anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibody ICR-62 using a phage display of random peptide library and identified a 12 amino acids peptide, which was recognized as a mimotope. The peptide was synthesized and conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) as carrier protein (P-BSA). We have shown that ICR-62 can react specifically with P-BSA as well as native EGFR. Two rabbits were immunized either by BSA or P-BSA and the rabbits IgGs were purified and examined for binding to the antigens, mimotope and the EGFR protein purified from the EGFR overexpressing A431 cell line. We showed that the rabbit IgG generated against the mimotope is capable of inhibiting the growth of A431 cells by 15%, but does not have any effect on the growth of EGFR-negative MDA-MB-453 cell line in vitro. Our results support the need for further investigations on the potential of vaccination with either mimotope of the EGFR or epitope displayed on the surface of phage particles for use in active immunotherapy of cancer.     

利用噬菌体随机肽库筛选IL-5结合的相关多肽

目的：采用噬菌体随机肽库筛选人IL-5，以获得能高亲和力结合IL-5的相关多肽。方法：以重组人IL-5作为筛选分子，应用M13噬菌体PⅢ呈现随机7肽库进行筛选。经过三轮淘筛后，经夹心ELISA、竞争ELISA法进一步鉴定噬菌体克隆与IL-5的亲和力，对阳性克隆进行了扩增和DNA测序，据此推导结合随机多肽的氨基酸序列。结果：经鉴定得到9个阳性噬菌体克隆能与IL-5呈高亲和力结合。通过测序和序列比较分析，发现CX1-2AS为相对保守的结合表位。结论：研究表明通过噬菌体肽库能够筛选到IL-5结合的相关多肽，为进一步研究IL-5结合表位及抑制剂奠定了基础。     

系统性红斑狼疮患者血清特异性的噬菌体7肽的筛选、鉴定及其意义

目的 筛选和鉴定与系统性红斑狼疮(systemic lupus erythematosus,SLE)患者血清特异性结合的噬菌体7肽,并分析其实际意义.方法 分别选取正常人及SLE患者血清各30例,先后用正常人混合血清及SLE患者混合血清作为筛选配基,对噬菌体随机7肽库进行亲和筛选、扩增,获得SLE血清特异性结合的噬菌体克隆,并用患者混合血清进行Dot-ELISA实验鉴定获得的噬菌体克隆,进而分别用SLE患者及正常人血清各12例进一步鉴定阳性噬菌体的混合克隆,确定阳性噬菌体克隆与个体血清之间的结合情况;并对最终鉴定的噬菌体克隆进行测序与比对分析.结果 筛选到与SLE患者混合血清特异性结合的阳性克隆12个;阳性噬菌体混合克隆与SLE患者个体血清反应阳性率明显高于其与正常人血清的反应率;序列分析显示阳性噬菌体克隆的抗原表位与大肠杆菌、沙门菌、人类免疫缺陷病毒(HIV)有一定的同源性,但与人类抗原表位无关.结论 噬菌体随机7肽库筛选出的SLE特异性多肽可能用于制备SLE诊断试剂,同时SLE患者血清中存在与病原体抗原表位结合的抗体成分,提示SLE可能与病原体感染有关.     

交叉保护性抗LPS多克隆抗体的制备与LPS多表位模拟肽的筛选

目的 获得具交叉保护性的抗细菌脂多糖(LPS)多克隆抗体与模拟LPS多表位的噬菌体展示环肽克隆。方法制备具交叉反应性的兔抗鼠伤寒沙门菌抗血清，鉴定抗血清对大肠杆菌和铜绿假单胞菌攻击小鼠的交叉保护性。以亲和纯化的多克隆抗体为靶，亲和筛选噬菌体随机环七肽库。双夹心ELISA和竞争抑制ELISA鉴定阳性噬菌体克隆。结果兔抗血清能与多种来源的LPS反应，对用大肠杆菌和铜绿假单胞菌攻击的小鼠有显著的保护性。用亲和层析纯化的多克隆抗体为靶分子进行3轮筛选，随机挑选46个克隆，其中20个克隆显示与多抗结合。鼠伤寒沙门菌LPS可抑制阳性噬菌体克隆与多抗结合，所有克隆的IC50(达到50％抑制率的LPS浓度)为125ng/ml。挑选其中10个克隆测序并推导氨基酸序列，其中5个克隆具X-QFYP-X-A保守序列；3个克隆具LFTFAHY序列；2个克隆具YQYYPAA序列，所有序列非极性氨基酸含量平均值为80．0％。结论获得能与多种LPS反应且具交叉保护作用的兔多克隆抗体，筛选得到可模拟鼠伤寒沙门菌LPS多表位噬菌体展示环七肽。     

Peptide mapping of neutralizing and nonneutralizing epitopes of duck hepatitis B virus pre-S polypeptide.

Antibodies to the envelope proteins of duck hepatitis B virus neutralize viral infection in vitro. Using a library of murine monoclonal antibodies (Mabs) against the envelope proteins, we previously identified four neutralizing and two non-neutralizing epitopes on the pre-S region of the large envelope proteins. In this study we report the localization of all but one of these epitopes at the amino acid level. All but 28 nucleotides of the pre-S and S genes were cloned in pUC vectors and expressed in Escherichia coli. All Mabs in this study reacted with the expressed gene products in Western blots. Deletion mutants of the pre-S region were generated and their expressed products tested on Western blots for reactivity with the Mabs. Of the three epitopes involved in neutralization, the epitope found to be immunodominant in convalescent ducks was localized to nine amino acids of the middle portion of the pre-S gene product, while a second epitope was mapped to nine amino acids upstream of the immunodominant epitope and the third epitope to seven amino acids adjacent to the S gene. One of the two non-neutralizing epitopes was located between the two groups of neutralizing epitopes while the other mapped to the same region as one of the neutralizing epitopes. Our data indicate that several regions of the pre-S polypeptide may play a role in neutralization of hepadnaviruses.     

登革2型病毒E蛋白免疫优势表位的筛选鉴定

目的 用噬菌体展示肽库筛选登革2型病毒(DEN2)E蛋白的抗原表位，并确定该抗原表位性质。方法 以DEN2型特异的E单克隆抗体作为筛选分子，生物淘洗噬菌体随机12肽库，将筛选的噬菌体阳性克隆进行ELISA检测、DNA序列测定及展示肽的氨基酸序列推导，通过噬菌体展示肽序列与DEN2E蛋白的氨基酸一级结构的对比，初步确定E蛋白的抗原表位；用模拟该表位线性序列的合成十肽进行抗体结合试验、噬菌体竞争抑制试验及与DEN感染患者的血清学试验，确定其为免疫优势线性表位。结果 肽库淘洗获得的11个ELISA阳性的噬菌体克隆有相似的结构基序WFKKGSS，其展示肽与DEN2E蛋白390～398 AA序列有3～5个氨基酸相同。对应于DEN2E蛋白390～399AA的合成十肽能与淘洗单抗特异反应，并可抑制噬菌体阳性克隆与该单抗结合。该合成肽与DEN2感染患者血清有较高的免疫反应性。结论 本实验通过噬菌体随机肽库的生物淘洗确定的DEN2E蛋白(E390～398AA)线性序列为免疫优势表位，其对应的合成肽E10可望用于DEN2感染的快速诊断。     

In vivo neutralization of duck hepatitis B virus by antibodies specific to the N-terminal portion of pre-S protein.

The neutralization of duck hepatitis B virus (DHBV) infection using antibodies directed against the N-terminal portion of the large surface protein was examined in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate here that a monoclonal antibody, directed against an epitope mapped between aa 77 and aa 100 on the DHBV pre-S, exerts a similar neutralizing activity (77%) both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, we have found that a polyclonal antiserum raised against the bacterially expressed 131 first amino acids of the DHBV pre-S region abolished the infectivity of DHBV in ducklings. Therefore, antibodies against a peptide representing most of the DHBV pre-S region (1-131) or a monoclonal antibody specific to an epitope within this region neutralizes in vivo DHBV infectivity.     

应用噬菌体肽文库筛选mAb F3特异性结合肽

目的 应用噬菌体展示肽文库筛选可与汉坦病毒囊膜蛋白中和性单抗（mAb） F3特异性结合的配体肽。方法 以F3mAb为筛选配基，对噬菌体展示和随机12肽文加进行3轮生物亲和淘选；用夹心ELISA和竞争ELISA鉴定筛选克隆的结合特性，并进一步对阳性克隆进行序列测定和分析。结果 通过3轮生物淘选，能被抗体捕获的噬菌体克隆为21／22，ELISA测定显示，筛选到的噬菌体短肽能与F3mAb特异性结合。序列分析表明，7个阳性克隆氨基酸序列相同，均为－MHGPTKNQMWHT；同源性分析显示，该序列与HTNV／SEOV M蛋白G2区第750－759位氨基酸有较高的同源性。结论 本研究为基于表位水平的HFRSV特异性分子多肽疫苗的设计提供了重要的依据。     

应用噬菌体肽文库筛选McAb F3特异性结合肽

目的：应用噬菌体展示肽文库筛选可与抗汉坦病毒囊膜蛋白单抗F3特异性结合的配体肽。方法：采用protein-A亲和层析纯化的F3单抗为筛选配基，对噬菌体展示的随机12肽文库进行生物亲和淘洗，夹心ELISA、竞争ELISA鉴定筛选克隆的结合特性，并进一步对阳性克隆进行序列测定和分析。结果：通过3轮生物淘洗，能被抗体捕获的噬菌体克隆为91．7％（11／12）；ELISA测定显示筛选到的噬菌体短肽能与F3单抗特异性结合；序列分析表明7个阳性克隆氨基酸序列相同，均为－MHGPTKNQMWHT，同源性分析显示该序列与HTNV／SEOV M蛋白G2区第750－759位氨基酸有较高的同源性，结论：获得了具有良好结合活性的模拟表位肽，为基于表位水平的HFRSV（肾病综合征出血热病毒）特异性分子多肽疫苗的设计提供了重要依据。     

Identification of a target antigen recognized by a mouse monoclonal antibody to the bile canalicular surface of rat hepatocytes with a random phage display library

We developed a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) (clone 5E8) against an antigen on the bile canalicular membrane of rat hepatocyte. By immunoblotting, MoAb 5E8 detected a band of 110 kD. In this study, we used the phage display technique to identify the target antigen recognized by MoAb 5E8. We screened a random phage display library expressing 12-mer peptide sequences and identified a peptide sequence, FHFNPYTGHPLT, as an epitope. We compared this peptide sequence with those of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV, E.C.3.4.14.5) and Cell-CAM105, which proteins were located by a database search based on the information of tissue localization and approximate molecular weight of the MoAb 5E8 antigen, and sequence similarity with a region in DPP IV (amino acids 225-233) but not with Cell-CAM105 was found. In addition, we immunohistochemically stained various tissues (liver, small intestine, and kidney) of Japanese Fischer 344 rats, known to be deficient for DPP IV, with MoAb 5E8 and showed that the expression of MoAb 5E8 antigen was negligible or weak. In contrast, tissues sampled from the same organs of Sprague-Dawley rats, known to express DPP IV, were positively stained. These findings suggest that the antigen recognized by MoAb 5E8 is DDPIV and its major epitope is located in amino acids at positions 225-233.     

Characterization of mimotopes mimicking an immunodominant conformational epitope on the hepatitis C virus NS3 helicase

The hepatitis C virus (HCV) nonstructural 3 (NS3) protein is composed of an amino terminal protease and a carboxyl terminal RNA helicase. NS3 contains major antigenic epitopes. The antibody response to NS3 appears early in the course of infection and is focused on the helicase region. However, this response cannot be defined by short synthetic peptides indicating the recognition of conformation-dependent epitopes. In this study, we have screened a dodecapeptide library displayed on phage with anti-NS3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that compete with each other and human anti-HCV NS3 positive sera. Two peptides (mimotopes) were selected that appeared to mimic an immunodominant epitope since they were recognized specifically by the different anti-NS3 mAbs of the study and by human sera from HCV infected patients. Homology search between the two mimotopes and the NS3 sequence showed that one of the two peptides shared amino acid similarities with NS3 at residues 1396-1398 on a very accessible loop as visualized on the three-dimensional structure of the helicase domain whereas the other one had two amino acids similar to nearby residues 1376 and 1378. Reproduced as synthetic dodecapeptides, the two mimotopes were recognized specifically by 19 and 22, respectively, out of 49 sera from HCV infected patients. These mimotopes allowed also the detection of anti-NS3 antibodies in sera of HCV patients at the seroconversion stage. These results suggest that the two NS3 mimotopes are potential tools for the diagnosis of HCV infection.     

从噬菌体短肽库中筛选单克隆抗体识别的抗原表位

将随机合成的寡聚核苷酸重组到噬菌体表面单价表达载体，构建了噬菌体随机八肽库。以抗原识别性明确的单克隆抗体９Ｅ１０固相化，对噬菌体短肽库进行了４～５轮“吸附－洗脱－扩增”的筛选，任选多个所获克隆进行ＥＬＩＳＡ检测。发现第４轮后６／２２个克隆可与９Ｅ１０结合，第５轮后１０／１０可与９Ｅ１０结合，此结合反应可被９Ｅ１０所针对的十肽抗原以及游离的９Ｅ１０特异性抑制。对所获阳性克隆进行ＤＮＡ序列测定发现，它们的序列可分为两种，其中一种序列与ｃ－ｍｙｃ十肽具有同源序列ＩＳＥｘｘＬ，而另一种的序列则完全不同。证实噬菌体表面单价表达体系用于构建噬菌体短肽库的有效性，为进一步筛选其它的具有高亲和力的特异性短肽打下了基础。     

抗戊型肝炎病毒噬菌体抗体库的构建与筛选

目的 :构建人抗戊型肝炎病毒 (HEV)噬菌体抗体库 ,筛选人源中和性抗HEV的单克隆抗体 (mAb)。方法 :取抗HEV抗体阳性的 6例HE患者静脉血 ,分离淋巴细胞 ,提取细胞总RNA后逆转录。用一组人IgGFab基因特异性引物 ,分别扩增IgGκ0轻链与重链Fd段基因。将κ轻链与Fd段基因先后克隆入噬菌体载体pComb3的相应位点 ,经电穿孔法转化大肠杆菌XL1 Blue ,再以辅助噬菌体VCSM13超感染 ,构建人抗HEV噬菌体抗体库。采用独特的 5轮筛选法 (逐渐降低抗原包被量 ,严格洗脱条件 ) ,以固相化的 4种含中和抗原表位的HEV代表株ORF2重组混合抗原 ,筛选人噬菌体抗体库 ,并以ELISA鉴定噬菌体抗体。结果 :经数次电转化构建了容量为1.9× 10 7重组率为 80 %的κ轻链基因库 ;容量为 1.8× 10 7重组率为 2 0 %的Fab基因库。以含中和抗原表位的HEV代表株ORF2重组混合抗原特异淘筛 5次 ,出现特异富集。ELISA鉴定第 5轮筛选产物 ,得到 4株与HEVORF2重组混合抗原具有较高亲和力的Fab噬菌体抗体 ,可能为中和抗体。结论 :成功地构建了人抗HEV噬菌体抗体库 ,并获得人源抗HEV特异性噬菌体抗体。