title: Epitope-based recombinant diagnostic antigen to distinguish natural infection from vaccination with hepatitis A virus vaccines.
abstract: Hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection can stimulate the production of antibodies to structural and non-structural proteins of the virus. However, vaccination with an inactivated or attenuated HAV vaccine produces antibodies mainly against structural proteins, whereas no or very limited antibodies are produced against the non-structural proteins. Current diagnostic assays to determine exposure to HAV, such as the Abbott HAV AB test, detect antibodies only to the structural proteins and so are not able to distinguish a natural infection from vaccination with an inactivated or attenuated virus. Here, we constructed a recombinant tandem multi-epitope diagnostic antigen (designated 'H1') based on the immune-dominant epitopes of the non-structural proteins of HAV to distinguish the two situations. H1 protein expressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity and anion exchange chromatography was applied in a double-antigen sandwich ELISA for the detection of anti-non-structural HAV proteins, which was confirmed to distinguish a natural infection from vaccination with an inactivated or attenuated HAV vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qiudong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Beijing International Travel Healthcare Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Minzhuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xuexin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qingling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ruiguang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, China. Electronic address: yyao112@163.com.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D015870:Gene Expression; D023061:Gene Order; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology*; D035921:Hepatitis A Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D035921:Hepatitis A Antigens; D006508:Hepatitis Antibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines
keywords: Epitope-based diagnostic antigen; Hepatitis a virus; Natural infection; Non-structural protein; Prokaryotic expression; Vaccination