title: Expression of the Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein (LMP) in insect cells and detection of antibodies in human sera against this protein.
abstract: Recombinant baculoviruses containing the complete LMP and truncated LMP genes were generated and high levels of the LMP proteins were expressed in Spadoptera Frugiperda insect cells. A specific rabbit antiserum directed against the N-terminal part of LMP was obtained by immunizing the rabbits with Escherichia coli-expressed trpE-N-terminal part of LMP fusion protein. A total of 127 human sera were studied for their immune response to the recombinant full-length LMP. In immunofluorescence analysis, all sera tested showed no detectable reaction with the recombinant full-length LMP. In immunoprecipitation-immunoblotting analysis, however, sera from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (5/22), patients with Hodgkin's disease (16/27), patients with other diseases exhibiting high EA-IgG titers (3/52), and VCA-IgG-positive healthy individuals (2/26) were shown to contain antibodies against this recombinant LMP. The expressed LMP proteins provided a sufficient and economic source of the proteins for further serological and biological studies.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Virologie, Universitätskliniken, Homburg/Saar, Germany.
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kevan-Jah
authors.forename: K O
authors.initials: KO
authors.lastname: Suentzenich
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Grässer
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mueller-Lantzsch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002460:Cell Line; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007106:Immune Sera; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000276:immunology; D009036:Moths; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; C037662:EBV-associated membrane antigen, Epstein-Barr virus; D007106:Immune Sera; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins