title: Enhancement of the immunogenicity of a synthetic peptide bearing a VP3 epitope of hepatitis A virus.
abstract: The immune responses elicited in mice by different forms of the VP3(110-121) B-epitope of the hepatitis A virus (HAV) were studied. Different forms of incorporation in liposomes were tested, encapsulation, rather than surface exposure, being the best antigenic preparation. Three larger peptides of the VP3 epitope, two of them containing a hepatitis B virus T-epitope, and a third containing a putative T-epitope of HAV (VP3(102-121)) were assayed. While this latter T-epitope induced an enhancement of the response against the VP3 B-epitope, the artificially coupled T-epitopes failed to induce a significant increase. The administration of two multiple antigenic peptide (MAP) constructs, the first containing the VP3(110-121) and VP1(11-25) HAV sequences and the second only the VP1(11-25) sequence, also suggested the presence of a T-epitope, since the response against the VP1 peptide was increased in the first construct.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pintó
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: González-Dankaart
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guix
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gómara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Haro
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bosch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002213:Capsid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D004337:Drug Carriers; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006507:Hepatovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D008081:Liposomes; D051379:Mice; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004337:Drug Carriers; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D008081:Liposomes; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C109000:VP3 peptide (110-121), hepatitis A virus