title: Epitope Mapping of the Antibody Response Against the Envelope Proteins of the Feline Foamy Virus.
abstract: Foamy viruses (FV) are retroviruses that infect several species without pathological signs, but induce substantial antibody responses in the infected host. In the case of feline FV (FFV), antibodies against Gag, Bet, and Env have been used to indicate infection; however, it is unclear whether the response to specific epitopes correlates with immunity. Here, we investigated the epitope specificity of antibodies targeting the Env protein using peptide microarrays. Sera from naturally and experimentally FFV-infected cats and pumas and from rats immunized with FFV Env expression plasmids were analyzed. An immunodominant epitope was identified in the Env leader protein (Elp), and a strong reactivity to two epitope clusters in the transmembrane (TM) subunit of Env was observed. Moreover, a short stretch of residues in the C-terminal part of the surface (SU) protein was found to be significantly associated with FFV serotype FUV-mediated neutralization. Taken together, our results add a new level of detail on the B cell epitope repertoire induced during FFV infection. Furthermore, our results provide a basis for current attempts to modify FV vectors to express and present vaccine epitopes for the directed induction of humoral immunity.
authors.affiliation: 1 Robert Koch Institute , Berlin, Germany .
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mühle
authors.affiliation: 2 German Cancer Research Center , Research Program Infection, Inflammation and Cancer, Heidelberg, Germany .
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bleiholder
authors.affiliation: 2 German Cancer Research Center , Research Program Infection, Inflammation and Cancer, Heidelberg, Germany .
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Löchelt
authors.affiliation: 1 Robert Koch Institute , Berlin, Germany .
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Denner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002415:Cats; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D046011:Puma; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016092:Spumavirus / Q000276:immunology*; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins
keywords: antibody response; epitope mapping; feline foamy virus