title: VP4-specific intestinal antibody response to rotavirus in a murine model of heterotypic infection.
abstract: We have adapted a murine model of heterotypic rotavirus infection for the purpose of evaluating the intestinal antibody response to an infection that mimics human vaccination. Neonatal mice were infected with the rhesus rotavirus (RRV). The enzyme-linked immunospot assay was used in order to avoid common artifacts in the quantitation of intestinal immune responses inherent in measurements of luminal or serum immunoglobulins and to obtain easily quantifiable data in a flexible and convenient format. Functionally active lymphocytes were harvested from the spleen, small intestinal lamina propria, Peyer's patches, and mesenteric lymph nodes and processed into single-cell suspensions. Antibody-secreting cells (ASC) were quantitated from 5 to 50 days after infection for total, RRV-specific, baculovirus-expressed VP4-specific, and single-shell RRV-specific ASC secreting either immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, or IgA. The response to VP4 constituted less than 1.5% of the total virus-specific response, which was located almost exclusively in the gut and was 90% IgA. Intestinal ASC were directed overwhelmingly toward proteins incorporated in the single-shell particle, predominantly VP2 and VP6. We conclude that the antibody response to VP4, thought to be the site of the important neutralization sites conserved among several rotavirus serotypes, is an extremely small portion of the overall antibody response in the intestinal tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Northport Veterans Administration Medical Center, New York 11768.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Shaw
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Groene
authors.forename: E R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Mackow
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Merchant
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D016367:Baculoviridae / Q000276:immunology; D002213:Capsid / Q000276:immunology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000276:immunology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010581:Peyer's Patches; D011247:Pregnancy; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D014765:Viral Vaccines
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D000939:Epitopes; D007136:Immunoglobulins; C060339:VP4 protein, Rotavirus; D014765:Viral Vaccines