title: Identification of an epitope of SARS-coronavirus nucleocapsid protein.
abstract: The nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is a major virion structural protein. In this study, two epitopes (N1 and N2) of the N protein of SARS-CoV were predicted by bioinformatics analysis. After immunization with two peptides, the peptides-specific antibodies were isolated from the immunized rabbits. The further experiments demonstrated that N1 peptide-induced polyclonal antibodies had a high affinity to bind to E. coli expressed N protein of SARS-CoV. Furthermore, it was confirmed that N1 peptide-specific IgG antibodies were detectable in the sera of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) patients. The results indicated that an epitope of the N protein has been identified and N protein specific Abs were produced by peptide immunization, which will be usefull for the study of SARS-CoV.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Rui Fu
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yi Xue
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yong Yong
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: You Yu
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Mu De
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Tie Liu
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hong Xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hua Liang
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Jian Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: You Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: Bei Fen
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jia Rui
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments