Epitomics: IgG-epitome decoding of E6, E7 and L1 proteins from oncogenic human papillomavirus type 58

Development of a multiplexed lateral flow assay for the serologic detection of HPV-associated head and neck cancer

BackgroundAmong head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs), the incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) has been increasing in recent decades. Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 is associated with the majority of OPC. Circulating antibodies (Abs) to multiple HPV16 early antigens, including E2, E6, and E7, have been detected in patient sera, and are strongly associated with risk for OPC. However, HPV serology currently requires laboratory-based tests that are difficult to implement for large-scale cancer screening.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to develop and validate a point-of-care assay for rapid detection of circulating IgG to HPV16 early antigens.MethodsWe measured Abs to HPV16 E2, E6, and E7 proteins using a lateral flow assay (LFA) in sera from 119 newly diagnosed OPC cases, 41 partners, and 81 healthy volunteers. The 119 patients with HPV-OPC were classified as HPV-positive based on in situ hybridization (ISH) or institutional p16 immunohistochemistry. The sensitivity and specificity of the LFA were determined by comparing to clinical diagnosis.ResultsThe specificity for each individual HPV16 E2, E6, and E7 antibodies was 95.1% (77/81), 96.3% (78/81), and 98.7% (80/81), respectively. The sensitivities of the individual HPV16 antibodies were as follows: E2, 47.9% (57/119), E6, 31.9% (38/119), and E7, 57.1% (68/119). The 3-biomarker panel (at least one positive for E2, E6, and E7 Abs) demonstrated a sensitivity of 76.5% (91/119) and a specificity of 92.6% (75/81).ConclusionsWe developed a multiplexed lateral flow assay for the rapid detection of serologic responses to HPV16. Further research is required to determine the utility of these tests for HPV + HNSCC cancer screening, as higher specificity, and an assessment of the benefits of positive test results have yet to be evaluated in this context.

Epitope delimitation: A new method for defining epitopes of human IgG-reactive antigenic peptides based on rabbit-recognized epitope motifs

The use of precise epitope peptides as antigens is essential for accurate serological diagnosis of viral-infected individuals, but now it remains an unsolvable problem for mapping precise B cell epitopes (BCEs) recognized by human serum. To address this challenge, we propose a novel epitope delimitation (ED) method to uncover BCEs in the delineated human IgG-reactive (HR) antigenic peptides (APs). Specifically, the method based on the rationale of similarities in humoral immune responses between mammalian species consists of a pair of elements: experimentally delineated HR-AP and rabbit-recognized (RR) BCE motif and corresponding pair of sequence alignment analysis. As a result of using the ED approach, after decoding four RR-epitomes of human papillomavirus types 16/18-E6 and E7 proteins utilizing rabbit serum against each recombinant protein and sequence alignment analysis of HR-APs and RR-BCEs, 19 fine BCEs in 17 of 22 known HR-APs were defined based on each corresponding RR-BCE motifs, including the type-specificity of each delimited BCE in homologous proteins. The test with 22 known 16/20mer HR-APs demonstrated that the ED method is effective and efficient, indicating that it can be used as an alternative method to the conventional identification of fine BCEs using overlapping 8mer peptides.

Identification of Potential Novel B-Cell Epitopes of Capsid Protein VP2 in Senecavirus A

Senecavirus A (SVA) is a type of nonenveloped single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus. The VP2 protein is a structural protein that plays an important role in inducing early and late immune responses of the host. However, its antigenic epitopes have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, defining the B epitopes of the VP2 protein is of great importance to revealing its antigenic characterization. In this study, we analyzed B-cell immunodominant epitopes (IDEs) of the VP2 protein from the SVA strain CH/FJ/2017 using the Pepscan approach and a bioinformatics-based computational prediction method. The following four novel IDEs of VP2 were identified: IDE1, 41TKSDPPSSSTDQPTTT56; IDE2, 145PDGKAKSLQELNEEQW160; IDE3, 161VEMSDDYRTGKNMPF175; and IDE4, 267PYFNGLRNRFTTGT280. Most of the IDEs were highly conserved among the different strains. To our knowledge, the VP2 protein is a major protective antigen of SVA that can induce neutralizing antibodies in animals. Here, we analyzed the immunogenicity and neutralization activity of four IDEs of VP2. Consequently, all four IDEs showed good immunogenicity that could elicit specific antibodies in guinea pigs. A neutralization test in vitro showed that the peptide-specific guinea pig antisera of IDE2 could neutralize SVA strain CH/FJ/2017, and IDE2 was identified as a novel potential neutralizing linear epitope. This is the first time VP2 IDEs have been identified by using the Pepscan method and a bioinformatics-based computational prediction method. These results will help elucidate the antigenic epitopes of VP2 and clarify the basis for immune responses against SVA. IMPORTANCE The clinical symptoms and lesions caused by SVA are indistinguishable from those of other vesicular diseases in pigs. SVA has been associated with recent outbreaks of vesicular disease and epidemic transient neonatal losses in several swine-producing countries. Due to the continuing spread of SVA and the lack of commercial vaccines, the development of improved control strategies is urgently needed. The VP2 protein is a crucial antigen on the capsids of SVA particles. Furthermore, the latest research showed that VP2 could be a promising candidate for the development of novel vaccines and diagnostic tools. Hence, a detailed exploration of epitopes in the VP2 protein is necessary. In this study, four novel B-cell IDEs were identified using two different antisera with two different methods. IDE2 was identified as a new neutralizing linear epitope. Our findings will help in the rational design of epitope vaccines and further understanding of the antigenic structure of VP2.

Fine mapping of the antigenic epitopes of the Gc protein of Guertu virus

Guertu virus (GTV), a newly discovered member of the genus Banyangvirus in the family Phenuiviridae, poses a potential health threat to humans and animals. The viral glycoprotein (GP) binds to host cell receptors to induce a neutralizing immune response in the host. Therefore, identification of the B-cell epitopes (BCEs) in the immunodominant region of the GTV Gc protein is important for the elucidation of the virus–host cell interactions and the development of GTV epitope assays and vaccines. In this study, an improved overlapping biosynthetic peptide method and rabbit anti-GTV Gc polyclonal antibodies were used for fine mapping of the minimal motifs of linear BCEs of the GTV Gc protein. Thirteen BCE motifs were identified from eleven positive 16mer-peptides, namely EGc1 (¹⁹KVCATTGRA²⁷), EGc2 (⁵⁸KKINLKCKK⁶⁶), EGc3 (⁶⁸SSYYVPDA⁷⁵), EGc4 (⁷⁵ARSRCTSVRR⁸⁴), EGc5 (⁷⁹CTSVRRCRWA⁸⁸), EGc6 (⁹⁰DCQSGCPS⁹⁷), EGc7 (⁹⁶PSHFTSNS¹⁰³), EGc8 (¹¹⁵AGLGFSG¹²¹), EGc9 (¹⁴⁸ENPHGVI¹⁵⁴), EGc10 (¹⁷⁹KVFHPMS¹⁸⁵), EGc11 (²³⁰QAGMGVVG²³⁷), EGc12 (³⁰³RSHDSQGKIS³¹²), and EGc13 (⁴³⁰DIPRFV⁴³⁵). Of these, 7 could be recognized by GTV IgG-positive sheep sera. Three-dimensional structural analysis revealed that all 13 BCEs were present on the surface of the Gc protein. Sequence alignment of the 13 BCEs against homologous proteins from 10 closely related strains of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus from different geographical regions revealed that the amino acid sequences of EGc4, EGc5, EGc8, EGc11, and EGc12 were highly conserved, with 100% similarity. The remaining 8 epitopes (EGc1, EGc2, EGc3, EGc6, EGc7, EGc9, EGc10, and EGc13) showed high sequence similarity in the range of 71.43%–87.50%. These 13 BCEs of the GTV Gc protein provide a molecular foundation for future studies of the immunological properties of GTV glycoproteins and the development of GTV multi-epitope assays and vaccines.

A novel recombinant protein vaccine containing the different E7 proteins of the HPV16, 18, 6, 11 E7 linked to the HIV-1 Tat (47-57) improve cytotoxic immune responses

OBJECTIVES

Human papillomavirus infection (HPV) is the most common viral infection which is causes of cervical, penal, vulvar, anal and, oropharyngeal cancer. E7 protein of HPV is a suitable target for induction of T cell responses and controlling HPV-related cancer. The aim of the current study was to designed and evaluated a novel fusion protein containing the different E7 proteins of the HPV 16, 18, 6 and 11, linked to the cell-penetrating peptide HIV-1 Tat 49-57, in order to improve cytotoxic immune responses in in-vitro and in-vivo.

RESULTS

In this study whole sequence of HPV16,18,6,11 E7-Tat (47-57) and HPV16,18,6,11 E7 cloned into the vector and expressed in E. coli (BL21). The purified protein was confirmed by SDS page and western blotting and then injected into the C57BL/6 mice. The efficiency of the fusion protein vaccine was assessed by antibody response assay, cytokine assay (IL-4 and IFN-γ), CD + 8 cytotoxicity assay and tumor challenge experiment. Result showed that fusion proteins containing Adjuvant (IFA,CFA) could express higher titer of antibody. Also, we showed that vaccination with E7-Tat and, E7-Tat-ADJ induced high frequencies of E7-specific CD8 + T cells and CD107a expression as well as IFN-γ level and enhanced long-term survival in the therapeutic animal models.

CONCLUSION

Our finding suggested that this novel fusion protein vaccine was able to induce therapeutic efficacy and immunogenicity by improving CD8 + T cell in TC-1 tumor bearing mice; so this vaccine may be appreciated for research against HPV and tumor immunotherapies.

The possible regions to design Human Papilloma Viruses vaccine in Iranian L1 protein

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) genome encodes several proteins, as L1is major capsid protein and L2 is minor capsid protein. Among all HPV types HPV-16 and HPV-18 are the most common high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types globally and the majority of cases are infected with these types. HPV entry and the initial interaction with the host cell are mainly related to the L1 protein which is the main component of HPV vaccines. The aim of this research was comparison analysis among all Iranian L1 protein sequences submitted in NCBI GenBank to find the major substitutions as well as structural and immune properties of this protein. All sequences HPV L1 protein from Iranian isolates from 2014 to 2016 were selected and obtained from NCBI data bank. "CLC Genomics Workbench" was used to translate alignment. To predict B cell epitopes, we employed several programs. Modification sites such as phosphorylation, glycosylation, and disulfide bonds were determined. Secondary and tertiary structures of all sequences were analyzed. Several mutations were found and major mutations were in amino acid residues 102, 202, 207, 292, 379, and 502. The mentioned mutations showed the minor effect on B cell and physicochemical properties of the L1 protein. Six disulfide bonds were determined in L1 protein and also in several N-link glycosylation and phosphorylation sites. Five L1 loops were determined, which had great potential to be B cell epitopes with high antigenic properties. All in all, this research as the first report from Iran described the tremendous potential of two L1 loops (BC and FG) to induce immune system which can be used as the descent candidate to design a new vaccine against HPV in the Iranian population. In addition, some differences between the reference sequence and Iranian patients' sequences were determined. It is essential to consider these differences to monitor the effectiveness and efficacy of the vaccine for the Iranian population. Our results provide a vast understanding of L1 protein that can be useful for further studies on HPV infections and new vaccine generations.

Different types of adjuvants in prophylactic and therapeutic human papillomavirus vaccines in laboratory animals: a systematic review

Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical carcinoma, which and is the third most common cancer, accounting for 275,000 deaths annually worldwide. Adjuvants have a key role in promotion of vaccine efficacy; therefore, using prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines combined with adjuvant could be of great benefit in prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. There are different types of adjuvants, including MF59^TM adjuvants, RNA-based, JY (interleukin2/chitosan), cholera toxin (CT), heat-labile enterotoxin (LT), Freund's adjuvant, alum, SA-4-1BBL, λ-carrageenan (λ-CGN), heat shock proteins (HSPs), juzen-taiho-to (JTT) and hochu-ekki-to (HET), ISCOM and ISCOMATRIX™, very small size proteoliposomes (VSSPs), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Adjuvants have various functions, especially in therapeutic vaccines, and they lead to an increase in cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), so they are important in the design of vaccines. Here, we review the currently used adjuvants and their combinations with HPV protein vaccines in order to introduce an appropriate adjuvant for HPV vaccines.

Fine epitope mapping of glycoprotein Gn in Guertu virus

Guertu virus (GTV) is a tick-borne phleboviruses (TBPVs) which belongs to the genus Banyangvirus in the family of Phenuiviridae. In vitro and in vivo studies of GTV demonstrated that it was able to infect animal and human cell lines and could cause pathological lesions in mice. Glycoproteins (GP, including Gn and Gc) on the surface of Guertu virus (GTV) could bind to receptors on host cells and induce protective immunity in the host, but knowledge is now lacking on the information of B cell epitopes (BCEs) present on GTV-GP protein. The aim of this study was to identify all BCEs on Gn of the GTV DXM strain using rabbit pAbs against GTV-Gn. Seven fine BCEs and two antigenic peptides (APs) from nine reactive 16mer-peptides were identified, which are E_Gn1 (²PIICEGLTHS¹¹), E_Gn2 (¹³⁵CSQDSGT¹⁴¹), E_Gn3 (¹⁶⁵IP EDVF¹⁷⁰), E_Gn4 (¹⁶⁹VFQEL K¹⁷⁴), E_Gn5 (¹⁸⁷IDGILFN¹⁹³), E_Gn6 (²²³QTKWIQ²²⁸), E_Gn7 (²³⁷CHKDGIGPC²⁴⁵), AP-8 (²⁹⁹GVRVRPKCYGFSRMMA³¹⁴) and AP-9 (³⁵⁵CASH FCSSAESGKKNT³⁷⁰), of which six of mapped BCEs were recognized by the IgG-positive sheep serum obtained from sheep GTV-infected naturally. Multiple sequence alignments (MSA) based on each mapped BCE motif identified that the most of identified BCEs and APs are highly conserved among 10 SFTSV strains from different countries and lineages that share relatively close evolutionary relationships with GTV. The fine epitope mapping of the GTV-Gn would provide basic data with which to explore the GTV-Gn antigen structure and pathogenic mechanisms, and it could lay the foundation for the design and development of a GTV multi-epitope peptide vaccine and detection antigen.

Fine mapping epitope on glycoprotein Gc from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne zoonosis, caused by CCHF virus (CCHFV) and which there are no diagnostic or therapeutic strategies. The C-terminus of glycoprotein (Gc) encoded by the CCHFV M gene is responsible for CCHFV binding to cellular receptors and acts as a neutralizing-antibody target. In this study, a modified biosynthetic peptide technique (BSP) was used to identify fine epitopes of Gc from the CCHFV YL04057 strain using rabbit antiserum against CCHFV-Gc. Six B cell epitopes (BCEs) and one antigenic peptide (AP) were identified: E1 (⁸⁸VEDASES⁹⁴), E2 (¹¹⁷GDRQVEE¹²³), E3 (²⁴¹EIVTLH²⁴⁶), AP-4 (²⁸¹DFQVYHVGNLLRGDKV²⁹⁶), E5a (³⁷⁰GDTP QLDL³⁷⁷), E5b (³⁷³PQLDLKAR³⁸⁰), and E6 (⁴⁴³HVRSSD⁴⁴⁸). Western blotting analysis showed that each epitope interacted with the positive serum of sheep that had been naturally infected with CCHFV, and the results were consistent with that of Dot-ELISA. The multiple sequence alignment (MSA) revealed high conservation of the identified epitopes among ten CCHFV strains from different areas, except for epitopes AP-4 and E6. Furthermore, three-dimensional structural modeling showed that all identified epitopes were located on the surface of the Gc "head" domain. These mapped epitopes of the CCHFV Gc would provide a basis for further increase our understanding CCHFV glycoprotein function and the development of a CCHFV epitope-based diagnostics vaccine and detection antigen.

Mapping of B-cell epitopes on the N- terminal and C-terminal segment of nucleocapsid protein from Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is a tick-borne pathogen that causes severe disease in humans. CCHFV is widely distributed in more than 30 countries and distinct regions, which means that it poses a serious threat to human health. The nucleocapsid protein (NP) encoded by the CCHFV S gene is the primary detectable antigen in infected cells, which makes it an important viral antigen and a clinical diagnostic target. In this study, the modified biosynthetic peptide (BSP) method was used to identify the fine epitopes on the N- and C- terminals of NP from the CCHFV YL04057 strain using rabbit antiserum against CCHFV-NP. Nine epitopes were identified: E1a (178NLILNRGG185), E1b (184GGDENP189), E2 (352PLKWGKK358), E3 (363FADDS367), E4 (399NPDDAA404), E5a (447DIVASEHL454), E5b (452EHLLHQSL459), E6 (464SPFQNAY470) and E7 (475NATSANII482). Western blotting analysis showed that each epitope interacted with the positive serum of sheep that had been naturally infected with CCHFV. Amino acid sequence alignment between each epitope and their homologous proteins showed that they were almost 100% conserved among 12 CCHFV sequences from different lineages, except for epitopes E1a, E1b and E2. Three-dimensional structural modeling analysis showed that all identified epitopes were located on the surface of the NP "head" domain. This study identified fine epitopes on the N- and C- terminals of NP, which will increase the understanding of the structure and function of NP, and it could lay the foundation for the design and development of a CCHFV multi-epitope peptide vaccine and detection antigen.

A simpler and more cost-effective peptide biosynthetic method using the truncated GST as carrier for epitope mapping

There is a need to develop better methods for epitope mapping and/or identification of antibody-recognizing motifs. Here, we describe improved biosynthetic peptide (BSP) method using a newly developed plasmid pXXGST-3 as vector, which has a viral E7 gene in the cloning sites of pXXGST-1. It is crucial to employ pXXGST-3 instead of pXXGST-1, since it makes use of the BSP method simpler and easier to perform, and more cost-effective for epitope mapping. These merits are embodied in two aspects: i) convenient recovery of double enzyme-digested product due to the existence of 315 bp inserted between BamH I and Sal I sites, and thus greatly reducing the production of self-ligation clones, and ii) no longer requiring control protein when screening recombinant (r-) clones expressing 8/18mer peptides by running polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The protocol involves the following core steps: (i) design of plus and minus strands of DNA fragments encoding overlapping 8/18mer peptides; (ii) chemical synthesis of the designed DNA fragments; (iii) development of r-clones using pXXGST-3 vector expressing each 8/18mer peptide fused with truncated GST188 protein; (iv) screening r-clones by running the cell pellets from each induced clone on SDS-PAGE gel followed by sequencing of inserted DNA fragments for each verified r-clone; and (v) Western blotting with either monoclonal antibodies or polyclonal antibodies. This improved GST188-BSP method provides a powerful alternative tool for epitope mapping.

Fine mapping and conservation analysis of linear B-cell epitopes of peste des petits ruminants virus hemagglutinin protein

Hemagglutinin protein (H), one of the two glycoproteins of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV), binds to its receptor on the host cell and acts as a major antigen that induces and confers highly protective immunity in the host. In order to delineate the epitopes on H protein, fine epitope mapping and conservation analysis of linear B-cell epitopes (BCEs) on PPRV H has been undertaken using biosynthetic peptides and rabbit anti-PPRV H sera. Thirteen linear BCEs were identified and their corresponding minimal motifs were located on the H protein of PPRV China/Tibet/Geg/07-30. Conservation analysis indicated that two of the 13 minimal motifs were conserved among 52 PPRV strains. Nine of the 13 peptides containing the minimal motifs were recognized using anti-PPRV serum from a goat immunized with PPRV vaccine strain Nigeria 75/1. Identified epitopes and their motifs improve our understanding of the antigenic characteristics of PPRV H and provide a basis for the development of epitope-based diagnostic assays and multiple epitopes vaccine.

Epitope design of L1 protein for vaccine production against Human Papilloma Virus types 16 and 18

Cervical cancer accounts for about two-thirds of all cancer cases linked etiologically to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). 15 oncogenic HPV types can cause cervical cancer, of which HPV16 and HPV18 combinedly account for about 70% of it. So, effective epitope design for the clinically relevant HPV types 16 and 18 would be of major medical benefit. Here, a comprehensive analysis is carried out to predict the epitopes against HPV types 16 and 18 through "reverse vaccinology" approach. We attempted to identify the evolutionarily conserved regions of major capsid protein (L1) as well as minor capsid protein (L2) of HPV and designed epitopes within these regions. In this study, we analyzed about 49 and 27 sequences of HPV L2 and L1 proteins respectively. Since we found that the intertype variability of L2 is higher than for L1 proteins, our analysis was emphasized on epitopes of L1 of HPV types 16 and 18. We had selected HLA-A*0201, DRB1*1501, DQB1*0602, DRB1*0401 and DQB1*0301 alleles for the prediction of T cell epitopes of L1 of HPV 16 and 18. Finally, we reported that predicted epitope sequences EEYDLQFIFQLCKITLTA, and RHGEEYDLQFIFQLCKITLTA of L1 protein of HPV 16, and LPDPNKF, PETQRLVWAC, PVPGQYDA, YNPETQRLVWAC, DTGYGAMD, PVPGQYDATK, KQDIPKVSAYQYRVFRV, RDNVSVDYKQTQLCI and YSRHVEEYDLQFIF of L1 protein of HPV 18 could be therapeutic tools for vaccine design against HPV.