title: Epitopes at the proteolytic cleavage sites of HIV-1-gp120 and RSV-F protein share a sequence homology: comparative studies with virus-induced and antipeptide antibodies.
abstract: The proteolytic cleavage sites of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein precursor gp160 and the fusion protein of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) show a sequence homology. To study this homology two synthetic peptides corresponding to HIV-1-env-gp160-aa 507-518 (KAKRRVVQREKR) and RSV-F2-aa 130-136 (SKKRKRR) were synthesized. Human serum samples from HIV-positive or RSV-positive collections recognized the appropriate peptide in 90.6 or 37.2% respectively. No cross-reactivity towards the nonhomologous peptide could be monitored in both serum collections. In contrast, antipeptide antibodies raised against both peptides demonstrate a high degree of cross-reactivity. These data indicate that the high specificity of the virus-induced antibodies may be a result of strong conformational restrictions at the proteolytic cleavage site of both proteins. Moreover, these observations are important for diagnostic purposes. Synthetic peptides are a valuable tool for HIV antibody screening. Our data provide information concerning the specificity of antigen-antibody interaction on a highly immunogenic HIV-1 epitope.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology and Virology, Ruhr University, Bochum, FRG.
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Streckert
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Werchau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001665:Binding Sites; D002648:Child; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry*; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D012136:Respiratory Syncytial Viruses / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D014764:Viral Proteins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases