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Tesfagaber W, Lan D, Wang W, Zhao R, Yin L, Yang M, Zhu Y, Sun E, Liu R, Lin W, Bu Z, Li F, Zhao D. Identification of two novel B cell epitopes on E184L protein of African swine fever virus using monoclonal antibodies. Virus Res 2024; 346:199412. [PMID: 38838820 PMCID: PMC11222816 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large double-stranded DNA virus with a complex structural architecture and encodes more than 150 proteins, where many are with unknown functions. E184L has been reported as one of the immunogenic ASFV proteins that may contribute to ASFV pathogenesis and immune evasion. However, the antigenic epitopes of E184L are not yet characterized. In this study, recombinant E184L protein was expressed in prokaryotic expression system and four monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), designated as 1A10, 2D2, 3H6, and 4C10 were generated. All four mAbs reacted specifically with ASFV infected cells. To identify the epitopes of the mAbs, a series of overlapped peptides of E184L were designed and expressed as maltose binding fusion proteins. Accordingly, the expressed fusion proteins were probed with each E184L mAb separately by using Western blot. Following a fine mapping, the minimal linear epitope recognized by mAb 1A10 was identified as 119IQRQGFL125, and mAbs 2D2, 3H6, and 4C10 recognized a region located between 153DPTEFF158. Alignment of amino acids of E184L revealed that the two linear epitopes are highly conserved among different ASFV isolates. Furthermore, the potential application of the two epitopes in ASFV diagnosis was assessed through epitope-based ELISA using 24 ASFV positive and 18 negative pig serum and the method were able to distinguish positive and negative samples, indicating the two epitopes are dominant antigenic sites. To our knowledge, this is the first study to characterize the B cell epitopes of the antigenic E184L protein of ASFV, offering valuable tools for future research, as well as laying a foundation for serological diagnosis and epitope-based marker vaccine development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weldu Tesfagaber
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Desong Lan
- Liaoning Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Shenyang 110136, PR China
| | - Wan Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Rui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, PR China
| | - Li Yin
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Mingyang Yang
- Liaoning Center for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Shenyang 110136, PR China
| | - Yuanmao Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Encheng Sun
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Renqiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Wenjun Lin
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Zhigao Bu
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China
| | - Fang Li
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China.
| | - Dongming Zhao
- State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin 150069, PR China; College of Veterinary Medicine, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, PR China.
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Tian P, Sun Z, Wang M, Song J, Sun J, Zhou L, Jiang D, Zhang A, Wu Y, Zhang G. Identification of a novel linear B-cell epitope on the p30 protein of African swine fever virus using monoclonal antibodies. Virus Res 2024; 341:199328. [PMID: 38262569 PMCID: PMC10839582 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2024.199328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) has caused huge economic losses to the pig industry. There are no safe and effective vaccines or diagnostics available. The p30 protein serves as a key target for the detection of ASFV antibodies and is an essential antigenic protein for early serological diagnosis. Here, the p30 protein was purified after being expressed in E. coli and its immunogenicity was verified in sera from pigs naturally infected with ASFV. Furthermore, a monoclonal antibody (McAb) designated as McAb 1B4G2-4 (subtype IgG1/kappa-type) was produced and it was verified to specifically recognize the ASFV Pig/HLJ/2018/strain and eukaryotic recombinant ASFV p30 protein. The epitope identified by McAb 1B4G2-4, defining the unique B-cell epitope 164HNFIQTI170, was located using peptide scanning. Comparing amino acid (aa) sequence revealed that this epitope is conserved in all reference ASFV strains from different regions of China, including the highly pathogenic strain Georgia 2007/1 (NC_044959.2) that is widely distributed. It is also exposed to the surface of the p30 protein, suggesting that it could be an important B-cell epitope. Our study may serve as a basis for the development of serological diagnostic methods and subunit vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Panpan Tian
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Zhuoya Sun
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Mengxiang Wang
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Jinxing Song
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Junru Sun
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Lei Zhou
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Dawei Jiang
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Longhu Laboratory, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Angke Zhang
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
| | - Yanan Wu
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
| | - Gaiping Zhang
- International Joint Research Center of National Animal Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Animal Pathogens and Biosafety, College of Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China; Longhu Laboratory, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
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Palma M. Epitopes and Mimotopes Identification Using Phage Display for Vaccine Development against Infectious Pathogens. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:1176. [PMID: 37514992 PMCID: PMC10384025 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11071176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditional vaccines use inactivated or weakened forms of pathogens which could have side effects and inadequate immune responses. To overcome these challenges, phage display has emerged as a valuable tool for identifying specific epitopes that could be used in vaccines. This review emphasizes the direct connection between epitope identification and vaccine development, filling a crucial gap in the field. This technique allows vaccines to be engineered to effectively stimulate the immune system by presenting carefully selected epitopes. Phage display involves screening libraries of random peptides or gene/genome fragments using serum samples from infected, convalescent, or vaccinated individuals. This method has been used to identify epitopes from various pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hepatitis viruses, H5N1, HIV-1, Human T-lymphotropic virus 1, Plasmodium falciparum, Trypanosoma cruzi, and Dirofilaria repens. Bacteriophages offer advantages such as being immunogenic carriers, low production costs, and customization options, making them a promising alternative to traditional vaccines. The purpose of this study has been to highlight an approach that encompasses the entire process from epitope identification to vaccine production using a single technique, without requiring additional manipulation. Unlike conventional methods, phage display demonstrates exceptional efficiency and speed, which could provide significant advantages in critical scenarios such as pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Palma
- Institute for Globally Distributed Open Research and Education (IGDORE), 03181 Torrevieja, Spain
- Protheragen Inc., Ronkonkoma, NY 11779, USA
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