The Chikungunya virus capsid protein contains linear B cell epitopes in the nand and c-terminal regions that are dependent on an intact c-terminus for antibody recognition

Autor(es): Goh Lucas Y H, Hobson-Peters Jody, Prow Natalie A, Baker Kelly, Piyasena Thisun B H, Taylor Carmel T, Rana Ashok, Hastie Marcus L, Gorman Jeff J, Hall Roy A


Resumo: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod-borne agent that causes severe arthritic disease in humans - is considered a serious health threat in areas where competent mosquito vectors are prevalent. CHIKV has recently been responsible for several millions of cases of disease, involving over 40 countries. The recent re-emergence of CHIKV - its potential threat to human health has stimulated interest in better underst-ing of the biology - pathogenesis of the virus, - requirement for improved treatment, prevention - control measures. In this study, we mapped the binding sites of a panel of eleven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) previously generated towards the capsid protein (CP) of CHIKV. Using N- - C-terminally truncated recombinant forms of the CHIKV CP, two putative binding regions, between residues 1-35 - 140-210, were identified. Competitive binding also revealed that five of the CP-specific mAbs recognized a series of overlapping epitopes in the latter domain. We also identified a smaller, N-terminally truncated product of native CP that may represent an alternative translation product of the CHIKV 26S RNA - have potential functional significance during CHIKV replication. Our data also provides evidence that the C-terminus of CP is required for authentic antigenic structure of CP. This study shows that these anti-CP mAbs will be valuable research tools for further investigating the structure - function of the CHIKV CP.


Palavras-Chave: C-terminus; N-terminus; Capsid protein; Chikungunya virus; Epitope mapping; Linear B cell epitope; Monoclonal antibodies


Imprenta: Viruses, v. 7, n. 6, p. 2943-2964, 2015


Identificador do objeto digital: 10.3390/v7062754


Descritores: Chikungunya virus - Cell ; Chikungunya virus - Molecular structure ; Chikungunya virus - Pathogenesis ; Chikungunya virus - RNA ; Chikungunya virus - Antibodies ; Chikungunya virus - Infectious diseases ; Chikungunya virus - Viral infections ; Chikungunya Virus - Virus ; Chikungunya virus - Public health


Data de publicação: 2015