title: Molecular cloning of the immunodominant regions of hepatitis C virus type III and IV by immunoscreening.
abstract: We have identified the immunodominant regions of hepatitis C virus (HCV) type III and IV by immunoscreening of a lambda gt11 cDNA library, which was constructed with RNA extracted from pooled sera of patients. In addition to the nucleocapsid protein, nonstructural region 3 (NS3), and NS4 regions, we found that the region at the N terminus of NS5 in type III and IV were also immunoreactive as well as in the prototype and type II, although amino acid homologies were approximately 60% between the prototype (or HCV type II) and HCV isolates of type III or IV. This result indicated that the region at the N terminus of NS5 may be a candidate for serotyping studies of HCV. This report presents the primary structure of immunodominant portions at the N terminus of NS5 in two HCV subtypes and a preliminary study of the immune responses to these antigens.
authors.affiliation: Medical Devices and Diagnostic Res. Labs., Toray Industries, Inc, Shiga, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kazami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arima
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kunitomo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D018936:Hepatitis C Antigens; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D018936:Hepatitis C Antigens; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus