The Journal of Immunology, Vol 156, Issue 11 4504-4513, Copyright © 1996 by American Association of Immunologists

ARTICLES

Selection of antigenic and immunogenic mimics of hepatitis C virus using sera from patients

C Prezzi, M Nuzzo, A Meola, P Delmastro, G Galfre, R Cortese, A Nicosia and P Monaci
P. Angeletti Institute for Research in Molecular Biology, Rome, Italy.

Using sera from hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients and noninfected subjects to screen random peptide libraries displayed on phage, we selected peptides specifically reacting with sera from infected patients. These phage- borne peptides were shown to mimic distinct HCV determinants. They detected in all cases the presence of anti-HCV Abs in a large panel of patients' sera, thus demonstrating the high sensitivity of the selected peptides as diagnostic markers. In addition, this diagnostic approach allowed a detailed characterization of the individual humoral response to viral infection. Phage-displayed HCV mimics were substitutes for the authentic HCV epitopes in inducing a strong specific response against HCV when used as immunogens in mice. These results support the search for HCV mimics with the potential to elicit a protective immune response as leads for the development of a mimotope-based vaccine against viral infection.

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