Use of synthetic peptides to map sequential epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies on the bovine leukemia virus external glycoprotein.

Six sequential epitopes (A, B, B', D, D', E) were previously defined on the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) envelope glycoprotein gp51 by their reactivity with monoclonal antibodies. A panel of synthetic peptides covering almost the entire sequence of gp51 was tested in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays in order to localize these epitopes. E was shown to be included in peptide 142-161 (MCF4), B and B' in peptide 195-205, D and D' in peptide 218-237 (MCF6), and A in peptide 249-268 (MCF7). These results extend and confirm previous observations suggesting that the sequential epitopes recognized by our battery of monoclonal antibodies are located in the carboxylic half of BLV gp51.