Multiple overlapping epitopes in the repetitive unit of the shed acute-phase antigen from Trypanosoma cruzi enhance its immunogenic properties.
The repetitive shed acute-phase antigen (SAPA) from Trypanosoma cruzi was thoroughly mapped by SPOT peptides and phage display strategies, showing that a single SAPA repeat is composed of multiple overlapping B-cell epitopes. We propose that this intricate antigenic structure constitutes an alternative device to repetitiveness in order to improve its immunogenicity.
Alvarez
P
P
Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad Nacional de General San Martin, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Leguizamón
M S
MS
Buscaglia
C A
CA
Pitcovsky
T A
TA
Campetella
O
O
D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D000939:Epitopes; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000276:immunology*; D009439:Neuraminidase / Q000276:immunology*; D020449:Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid / Q000276:immunology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology*
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000939:Epitopes; D006023:Glycoproteins; C069715:trans-sialidase; D009439:Neuraminidase