Consensus sequence L/PKSSLL mimics crucial epitope on Loop III of Taiwan cobra cardiotoxin.
Phage display is effective in screening peptides that mimic venom's neutralizing epitopes. A phage display cyclized heptapeptide library (C7C library) was panned with purified divalent antivenin IgG, which neutralizes Naja naja atra venom (NAV) and Bungarus multicinctus venom (BMV). The selected heptapeptide sequences were aligned with known protein sequences of NAV and BMV in GenBank. One of the four consensus sequences, L/PKSSLL, mimicked the crucial epitope on Loop III of Taiwan cobra cardiotoxin that is associated with the venom's lethal potency. In dot blot analysis, several clones showed varying reactivities for NAV monovalent antivenin and lesser cross-reactions with BMV monovalent antivenin. The KSSLLRN-carrying phage occurred four times in selected clones and showed the strongest reactivity to NAV monovalent antivenin. Furthermore, the QDSLLPS-carrying phage also presented significant dot blot signal, indicating that the SLL sequence shared by these two clones may be a crucial antibody-binding site.
Wang
Ping-Chieh
PC
Institute of Biotechnology, National University of Kaohsiung, Kaohsiung 811, Taiwan.
Loh
Kah-Sin
KS
Lin
Shih-Ting
ST
Chien
Tzu-Ling
TL
Chiang
Jen-Ron
JR
Hsieh
Wen-Chin
WC
Miao
Bor-Lin
BL
Su
Cheng-Fu
CF
Yang
Wen-Jen
WJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D004179:Cobra Cardiotoxin Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D000939:Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018716:Molecular Mimicry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009500:Neutralization Tests; D019151:Peptide Library; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
D000906:Antibodies; D004179:Cobra Cardiotoxin Proteins; D000939:Epitopes; D019151:Peptide Library