title: Fine epitope mapping of the central immunodominant region of nucleoprotein from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV).
abstract: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), a severe viral disease known to have occurred in over 30 countries and distinct regions, is caused by the tick-borne CCHF virus (CCHFV). Nucleocapsid protein (NP), which is encoded by the S gene, is the primary antigen detectable in infected cells. The goal of the present study was to map the minimal motifs of B-cell epitopes (BCEs) on NP. Five precise BCEs (E1, 247FDEAKK252; E2a, 254VEAL257; E2b, 258NGYLNKH264; E3, 267EVDKA271; and E4, 274DSMITN279) identified through the use of rabbit antiserum, and one BCE (E5, 258NGYL261) recognized using a mouse monoclonal antibody, were confirmed to be within the central region of NP and were partially represented among the predicted epitopes. Notably, the five BCEs identified using the rabbit sera were able to react with positive serum mixtures from five sheep which had been infected naturally with CCHFV. The multiple sequence alignment (MSA) revealed high conservation of the identified BCEs among ten CCHFV strains from different areas. Interestingly, the identified BCEs with only one residue variation can apparently be recognized by the positive sera of sheep naturally infected with CCHFV. Computer-generated three-dimensional structural models indicated that all the antigenic motifs are located on the surface of the NP stalk domain. This report represents the first identification and mapping of the minimal BCEs of CCHFV-NP along with an analysis of their primary and structural properties. Our identification of the minimal linear BCEs of CCHFV-NP may provide fundamental data for developing rapid diagnostic reagents and illuminating the pathogenic mechanism of CCHFV.
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Dongliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiaomei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kou
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Yijie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Yongxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Texas Children's Cancer Center, Department of Pediatrics, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Fuchun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Yujiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
authors.forename: Surong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D015870:Gene Expression; D003225:Hemorrhagic Fever Virus, Crimean-Congo / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006479:Hemorrhagic Fever, Crimean / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009698:Nucleoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012756:Sheep
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D016056:Immunodominant Epitopes; D009698:Nucleoproteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins