Synthetic peptides for the immunodiagnosis of hepatitis A virus infection

• Published in: Journal of immunological methods 2015-12, Vol.427, p.1-5
• Main Authors: Gauna, A., Losada, S., Lorenzo, M., Bermúdez, H., Toledo, M., Pérez, H., Chacón, E., Noya, O.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Antibodies, Viral; Antigens, Viral - immunology; Biomarkers - analysis; Capsid Proteins - immunology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Hepatitis A; Hepatitis A - diagnosis; Hepatitis A - immunology; Hepatitis A virus; Humans; Immunoblotting; Immunodiagnosis; MABA; Peptides; Recombinant Proteins - chemical synthesis; Recombinant Proteins - immunology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spot synthesis; Viral Structural Proteins - immunology; Virus
• ISSN: 0022-1759; 1872-7905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2015.08.013

VP1, VP2 and VP3 molecules of hepatitis A virus are exposed capsid proteins that have shown to be antigenic and are used for diagnosis in recombinant-antigen commercial kits. In this study, we developed a sequence analysis in order to predict diagnostic peptide epitopes, followed by their spot synthesis on functionalized cellulose paper (Pepscan). This paper with synthetic peptides was tested against a sera pool of hepatitis A patients. Two peptide sequences, that have shown an antigenic recognition, were selected for greater scale synthesis on resin. A dimeric form of one of these peptides (IMT-1996), located in the C-Terminus region of protein VP1, was antigenic with a recognition frequency of 87–100% of anti-IgG antibodies and 100% of anti-IgM antibodies employing the immunological assays MABA and ELISA. We propose peptide IMT-1996, with less than twenty residues, as a cheaper alternative for prevalence studies and diagnosis of hepatitis A infection. [Display omitted] •Sequence analysis of proteins VP1, VP2 and VP3 was achieved by ANTHEPROT software.•Twelve peptides were selected for spot synthesis on functionalized cellulose paper.•Two peptides showed anti-IgG antibodies recognition and were synthesized on resin.•A peptide dimer showed 87–100% of recognition by IgG and 100% specificity.•This dimer showed 100% of recognition by IgM and 100% specificity by MABA.