Identification of an Immunodominant Epitope within the Capsid Protein of Hepatitis C Virus

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 88; no. 12; pp. 5462 - 5466
• Main Authors: Nasoff, Marc S., Zebedee, Suzanne L., Inchauspé, Genevieve, Prince, Alfred M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 15-06-1991; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Antibodies; Antigens, Viral - analysis; Antigens, Viral - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Western; Capsid; Capsid - genetics; Capsid - immunology; Capsid proteins; Cloning, Molecular; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Epitopes; Epitopes - analysis; Escherichia coli - genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Hepacivirus - immunology; Hepatitis; Immunodominant epitopes; Infections; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Morphology, structure, chemical composition, physicochemical properties; Plasmids; Proteins; Virology; Human; Immune response; Antigenic determinant; Monkey; Immunodominance; Proteins; Virus; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Primates; Immunoblotting assay; Capsid; ELISA assay; Humoral immunity
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.88.12.5462

We have isolated cDNA clones from the 5' end of the Hutchinson strain of hepatitis C virus. Sequences encoding various segments of the HCV structural region were fused to the gene for glutathione S-transferase and analyzed for the expression of hepatitis C virus-capsid fusion proteins. With a set of these fusion proteins, both human and chimpanzee immune responses to capsid were studied. An immunodominant epitope was located within the amino-terminal portion of capsid that is preferentially recognized by antibodies in both human and chimpanzee hepatitis C virus-positive sera. In addition, analyses of sequential serum samples taken from humans and chimpanzees with either chronic or apparently self-limited infections revealed that a strong anti-capsid response develops rapidly after onset of infection.