A PEPTIDE MIMOTOPE OF HEPATITIC C VIRUS E2 PROTEIN IS IMMUNOGENIC IN MICE AND BLOCK HUMAN ANTI-HCV SERA

Laila El-Attar (1) , Charalambos D Partidos (1, 2, 3) , Colin R Howard (1)

1 Pathology
2 Inviragen
3 Pathological Sciences

Conformational B-cell epitopes on the HCV E2 protein recognised by human antibodies were characterised by use of a peptide mimotope named K1. K1 was identified by two HCV anti-E2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) following selection and purification of phage clones containing a 15-mer random peptide insert. Murine antisera to the mimotope K1 recognised the E2 protein. Five of eight human sera from patients who had cleared HCV recognised the K1 mimotope. Binding to E2 in four individuals with the capacity to block E2- CD81 interaction was inhibited by the mimotope K1. The results demonstrate that anti-E2 antibodies in sera from patients who have cleared HCV infection are directed against a conformational B-cell epitope on E2 that can be mimicked with linear synthetic peptides. These findings could have implications for vaccine design by employing linear mimotopes to direct B-cell responses against those specific E2 epitopes that may correlate with immunity.

Mots clés: Medicine

Laila El-Attar, Charalambos D Partidos, Colin R Howard. A PEPTIDE MIMOTOPE OF HEPATITIC C VIRUS E2 PROTEIN IS IMMUNOGENIC IN MICE AND BLOCK HUMAN ANTI-HCV SERA. Journal of Medical Virology, 2010, 82 (10), pp.1655. ⟨10.1002/jmv.21857⟩. ⟨hal-00613771⟩