title: ADAM-HCV, a new-concept diagnostic assay for antibodies to hepatitis C virus in serum.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Kenton Laboratories, c/o Sigma Tau, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Minenkova
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gargano
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Tomassi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellintani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pucci
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fortugno
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fuscaldi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pessi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rapicetta
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Iudicone
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Felici
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Monaci
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D008024:Ligands; D019151:Peptide Library