title: Characterization of rubella virus-specific antibody responses by using a new synthetic peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
abstract: Rubella virus (RV)-specific immunoglobulin G antibodies were studied by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) techniques in sera from RV (RA 27/3)-vaccinated individuals, patients experiencing natural RV infection, congenital rubella syndrome patients, and individuals failing to respond to repeated RV immunization. Results obtained by using whole-RV ELISAs (detergent-solubilized M33 strain or intact Gilchrist strain) and hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and neutralization (NT) assays were compared with results obtained with the same sera by using ELISAs employing a synthetic peptide, BCH-178, representing a putative neutralization domain on the RV E1 protein. Murine RV E1-specific monoclonal antibodies with HAI and NT activities exhibited strong reactivity in ELISAs with BCH-178 peptide. In sera from RA 27/3-vaccinated individuals collected at 0 (prevaccine), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, and 24 to 52 weeks postvaccine, the development of E1-peptide-reactive antibodies closely paralleled increases in RV-specific antibodies measured by whole-RV ELISAs and HAI and NT assays. Similarly, sequential serum samples obtained from patients during acute and convalescent phases of natural RV infection showed a coordinate increase in RV-specific antibodies as measured by whole-RV and peptide ELISAs. Conversely, congenital rubella syndrome patient sera, although exhibiting high levels of antibody in whole-RV ELISAs, had little or no antibody directed to the neutralization domain peptide. Sera from patients failing to respond to repeated RV immunization contained very low levels of RV-specific antibody in all ELISAs. Our results that the sequence represented by BCH-178 peptide may be a previously unidentified neutralization epitope for human antibodies on the RV E1 protein and may prove useful in determining effective RV immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Décarie
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Tingle
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zrein
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lacroix
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D002648:Child; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006385:Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology; D012409:Rubella / Q000276:immunology; D012410:Rubella Syndrome, Congenital / Q000276:immunology; D012411:Rubella Vaccine / Q000276:immunology; D012412:Rubella virus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D012411:Rubella Vaccine