Expression of recombinant HA1 protein for specific detection of influenza A/H1N1/2009 antibodies in human serum

Development of an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunochromatographic strip based on monoclonal antibodies for detection of H6 avian influenza viruses

Continuous surveillance has shown that H6 subtype avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are prevalent in poultry and occasionally break the species barrier to infect humans. It is therefore necessary to establish a specific, rapid and sensitive method to screen H6 AIVs. In this study, a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the hemagglutinin (HA) of an H6 AIV isolate was produced. The purified mAbs have high affinity and specificity for H6 AIVs. An antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (AC-ELISA) and immunochromatographic strip were developed based on two mAbs (1D7 and 1F12). The AC-ELISA results showed high sensitivity with a limit of detection (LOD) of 3.9 ng/ml for H6 HA protein and 0.5 HAU (HA units)/100 µl for live H6 subtype AIVs. The average recovery of the AC-ELISA with allantoic fluid, respiratory specimens, and cloacal swabs was 91.907 ± 1.559%, 82.977 ± 1.497% and 73.791 ± 2.588%, respectively. The intra- and inter-assay coefficient of variation was less than 10%. The LOD of immunochromatographic strip was 1 HAU when evaluated by the naked eye, and the detection time was less than 10 min without any equipment. Storage at room temperature or 4 °C for 30 days or 60 days had no effect on sensitivity and specificity of the strip. Thus, the AC-ELISA and immunochromatographic strips described here could be a secondary method to diagnose H6 AIV infections with high specificity, sensitivity, and stability.

Expression and Characterization of HA1 Protein of Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus for Use in a Serodiagnostic Assay

The hemagglutinin ectodomain (HA1 subunit) from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) isolate (A/chicken/Vietnam/14/2005) was cloned and expressed using a baculovirus expression vector. Biosynthesis, glycosylation and secretion of the HA1 proteins, with natural or a melittin signal peptide at the N-terminus and a six-histidine (6xHis) tag at the C-terminus, were examined in insect cells. A 40-kDa unglycosylated precursor and a fully processed, mature form of the HA1 protein migrated around 52 kDa were detected by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blot using H5N1-specific antibody. Treatment of tunicamycin and peptide-N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) further revealed that the recombinant HA1 proteins produced in insect cells were indeed glycosylated with N-linked oligosaccharide side chains. Time-course experiments showed that substitution of the HA natural sequence with the signal sequence from honeybee melittin promoted a high level of expression and efficient secretion of the HA1. A high yield, 37 μg/ml, of HA1 protein was obtained from recombinant baculovirus-infected cell culture supernatant. In addition, the cell surface expression of rHA1 was detected by indirect immunofluorescent staining and showed biological activity on hemadsorption assays. Recombinant HA1 protein-based ELISA was evaluated and appeared to be sensitive and specific for the rapid detection of H5 subtype-specific antibodies in serum samples. No cross-reactivity to antibodies from 15 other influenza A subtypes was detected. Taken together, the newly developed recombinant HA1-based ELISA could offer an alternative to other diagnostic approaches for the specific detection of H5 avian influenza virus infection.

HA1-specific indirect ELISA for serological detection of canine influenza virus H3N2 infection in dogs

An indirect ELISA using recombinant HA1 protein of canine influenza virus (CIV) as a coating antigen was developed and characterized for its application to serosurveillance in dogs. The CIV H3N2-specific indirect ELISA was developed using recombinant HA1 protein (baculovirus-expression system) as a coating antigen. A total of 65 CIV H3N2-positive or negative canine sera were tested by the indirect ELISA for receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and results compared to those generated by the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. Canine sera collected 10 days following intranasal inoculation with canine H3N2, seasonal H3N2 (A/Brisbane/10/2007) or pandemic H1N1 influenza virus (A/California/04/2009) were used for the cross-reaction test. An adjusted optical density (OD) of 0.17 was determined to be the optimal cut-off value for seropositivity. The indirect ELISA showed 95.7% sensitivity and 94.7% specificity when compared to the HI test. A cross-reaction test was also performed using canine sera reactive with CIV H3N2, seasonal H3N2 (human) and pandemic H1N1 (human) influenza viruses. Based on the data generated in this study, the canine H3N2-associated ELISA using baculovirus expressed HA1 antigen will be useful for herd-based serological survey of the canine H3N2 virus infection in dogs.