title: Recombinant proteins that trigger production of antibodies recognizing botulinum neurotoxin while not possessing sequences of this toxin.
abstract: Sequences mimicking epitopes of pathogens can be used as effective tools for fast development and characterization of pathogen-specific antibodies. To demonstrate this, we used phage displays and isolated a number of short peptides mimicking epitopes of botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A). Presented data suggest that some of these peptides mimic linear epitopes while others mimic structural epitopes of BoNT/A. All tested peptides retained their ability to be recognized by BoNT/A-specific antibodies even when transferred into new carrier proteins. We demonstrated how such new hybrids can be used for fast conversion of pathogen-specific serums into panels of mono-epitope specific antibodies. We also demonstrated that hybrid proteins carrying multiple isolated peptides can be used as a substitute for BoNT/A in immunization studies and triggers production of BoNT/A-specific antibodies.
authors.affiliation: Alpha Universe LLC., 1202 Ann Street, Madison, WI 53713, USA. alexeyzd@tds.net
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zdanovsky
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zdanovskaia
mesh_terms: D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D018716:Molecular Mimicry / Q000276:immunology*; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D019151:Peptide Library; D010455:Peptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D019274:Botulinum Toxins, Type A