title: Identification of immunodominant epitopes in envelope glycoprotein of human T lymphotropic virus type II.
abstract: A series of synthetic peptides derived from the envelope glycoprotein of human T lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) was used in an enzyme immunoassay to determine the immunodominant epitopes of envelope glycoprotein. Of the 11 synthetic peptides spanning the external glycoprotein of HTLV-II (gp52) and the 3 from the transmembrane protein (gp21), 3 peptides from gp52 (termed Env-20(85-102), Env-202(173-209), and Env-203(219-256] reacted with most of the polymerase chain reaction-confirmed HTLV-II specimens (83, 95, and 76%, respectively); all other peptides reacted minimally with these specimens. Env-202(173-209) reacted with a greater percentage (91 to 100%) of specimens from different risk groups, including intravenous drug users (n = 30), North American Indians (n = 13), Guaymi Indians from Panama (n = 22), and routine U.S. blood donors (n = 34), when compared with Env-20(85-102) (73 to 100%) or Env-203(219-256) (68 to 83%). Furthermore, Env-20(85-102) and Env-202(173-209) had some reactivity (8-25%) with sera from HTLV-I-infected individuals, whereas Env-203(219-256) reacted with 58% of HTLV-I specimens. We conclude that peptides Env-20(85-102) and Env-202(173-209) represent the type-specific immunodominant epitopes of HTLV-II external glycoprotein.
authors.affiliation: Retrovirus Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Rudolph
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hjelle
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Coligan
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Viscidi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015686:Gene Products, env / Q000276:immunology*; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D015487:HTLV-II Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D015367:Human T-lymphotropic virus 2 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D015686:Gene Products, env; D015482:HTLV-II Antibodies; D015487:HTLV-II Antigens; D010455:Peptides; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins