title: Determination of the protective effects of neutralizing anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) immunoglobulins by epitope mapping with recombinant HBV surface-antigen proteins.
abstract: Anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface-antigen immunoglobulins prepared from human sera are clinical reagents which have been approved for prophylactic treatment in HBV-exposed persons. The passive immunoprophylaxis with immunoglobulins is meant to cross-link viral particles, which are then further cleared by the host's own immune system. While antibodies specific for both anti-S- and anti-preS proteins have been proved to serve as effective anti-viral agents, so far the fine antigen specificity of clinical immunoglobulin preparations has not been determined. Using recombinant proteins covering the hepatitis B surface antigen, in the present study, the specificity of a commercially available immunoglobulin preparation was determined and immunodominant epitopes were mapped. Here, it is shown that the major reactivity of anti-HBV immunoglobulins is directed against the S-protein, and that no reactivity to the preS2 but a weak binding activity to the preS1 region was detectable. The antigen reactivity within the preS1 region was biased to the C-terminal region, which indicates the presence of a putative B-cell epitope. The evaluation of the antigen specificity and determination of novel protective epitopes will provide valuable information for the further development and improvement of prophylactic HBV immunoglobulins.
authors.affiliation: Protein Engineering Laboratory, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Taejon.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000276:immunology*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D011994:Recombinant Proteins