ADAM-HCV, a new-concept diagnostic assay for antibodies to hepatitis C virus in serum.
We screened phage libraries using sera from noninfected individuals and patients infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV). By applying different selection and maturation strategies, we identified a wide collection of efficient phage-borne ligands for HCV-specific antibodies. The selected ligands retained their antigenic properties when expressed as multimeric synthetic peptides. Peptides that mimic several immunodominant epitopes of the virus were used to develop a novel type of diagnostic assay which efficiently detects antibodies to HCV in serum. This type of analysis provides a conclusive diagnosis for many patients identified as indeterminate according to presently available serological assays.
Minenkova
O
O
Kenton Laboratories, c/o Sigma Tau, Rome, Italy.
Gargano
N
N
De Tomassi
A
A
Bellintani
F
F
Pucci
A
A
Fortugno
P
P
Fuscaldi
E
E
Pessi
A
A
Rapicetta
M
M
Miceli
M
M
Iudicone
P
P
Cortese
R
R
Felici
F
F
Monaci
P
P
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008024:Ligands; D018716:Molecular Mimicry / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019151:Peptide Library; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D008024:Ligands; D019151:Peptide Library