Toleration of amino acid substitutions within hepatitis B virus envelope protein epitopes established by peptide replacement set analysis. I. Region S(139-147).
B and T cell epitopes expressed on the surface of S-protein, a major constituent of the envelope of hepatitis B virus (HBV), are essential for eliciting protective immunity against HBV infection. A segment of the S-protein sequence encompassing residues S(139-147) is a portion of overlapping B and T cell epitopes. This sequence is conserved among distinct serological subtypes of HBV and has a 77.8% homology with an analogous sequence in S-proteins of nonhuman mammalian hepadnaviruses. Rare subtypes and variants of HBV having amino acid replacements within the S(139-147) sequence were discerned recently. The impact of amino acid replacements within this sequence on its immunological recognition at both the B and T cell levels was explored by peptide replacement set analysis. Results of the analysis permit discrimination between tolerated and forbidden amino acid replacements and provide a background for the development of reagents and immunogens specific for emerging HBV variants.
Neurath
A R
AR
Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, NY 10021.
Pride
M W
MW
Strick
N
N
Thanavala
Y M
YM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009000:Monocytes / Q000382:microbiology; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000276:immunology
D000939:Epitopes; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D010455:Peptides