title: Mapping of antigenic sites on the nucleocapsid protein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus.
abstract: Antigenic sites on the nucleocapsid (N) protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus (SARS-CoV) were mapped by Pepscan analysis with overlapping peptides that span the N protein sequence. Two major immunodominant epitopes located in the C-terminal region (amino acids [aa] 362 to 412) and middle region (aa 153 to 178) reacted with more than 75% of sera from SARS patients. Several minor immunodominant epitopes were reactive with about 50% of the SARS sera. Antisera from mice immunized with inactivated SARS-CoV recognized the two major immunodominant epitopes and one antigenic site located adjacent to the N-terminal region (aa 76 to 101), which did not react with the sera from SARS patients. Several monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV bound to the N- or C-terminal antigenic sites. These results suggest that the above antigenic sites on the N protein are important in eliciting humoral immune response against SARS-CoV in humans and animals and can be used as antigens for developing diagnostic tests.
authors.affiliation: Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute, New York Blood Center, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Yuxian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yusen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.forename: Shuwen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shibo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D000086462:Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas; D007114:Immunization; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D045169:Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000086462:Coronavirus Nucleocapsid Proteins; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D019590:Nucleocapsid Proteins