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Journal of Virology, January 1999, p. 11-18, Vol. 73, No. 1
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Identification of a Domain Containing B-Cell Epitopes in Hepatitis C Virus E2 Glycoprotein by Using Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies

Jae Woo Lee,¹ Kwang-mi Kim,¹ Seung-Hye Jung,¹ Ki Jeong Lee,² Eung-Chil Choi,¹ Young-Chul Sung,² and Chang-Yuil Kang^1,*

Laboratory of Immunology, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742,¹ and Laboratory of Virol-immunology, Department of Life Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784,² Korea

Received 8 July 1998/Accepted 30 September 1998

Evidence from clinical and experimental studies of human and chimpanzees suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein E2 is a key antigen for developing a vaccine against HCV infection. To identify B-cell epitopes in HCV E2, six murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), CET-1 to -6, specific for HCV E2 protein were generated by using recombinant proteins containing E2t (a C-terminally truncated domain of HCV E2 [amino acids 386 to 693] fused to human growth hormone and glycoprotein D). We tested whether HCV-infected sera were able to inhibit the binding of CET MAbs to the former fusion protein. Inhibitory activity was observed in most sera tested, which indicated that CET-1 to -6 were similar to anti-E2 antibodies in human sera with respect to the epitope specificity. The spacial relationship of epitopes on E2 recognized by CET MAbs was determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data indicated that three overlapping epitopes were recognized by CET-1 to -6. For mapping the epitopes recognized by CET MAbs, we analyzed the reactivities of CET MAbs to six truncated forms and two chimeric forms of recombinant E2 proteins. The data suggest that the epitopes recognized by CET-1 to -6 are located in a small domain of E2 spanning amino acid residues 528 to 546.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Immunology, College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Shillim-Dong, Kwanak-Gu, Seoul 151-742, Korea. Phone: 82-2-880-7860. Fax: 82-2-885-1373. E-mail: cykang{at}plaza.snu.ac.kr.

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Journal of Virology, January 1999, p. 11-18, Vol. 73, No. 1
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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