1. Mapping of B-cell epitopes in a Trypanosoma cruzi immunodominant antigen expressed in natural infections.
- Author
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Lesénéchal M, Becquart L, Lacoux X, Ladavière L, Baida RC, Paranhos-Baccalà G, and da Silveira JF
- Subjects
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, B-Lymphocytes immunology, Cross Reactions, Epitope Mapping, Humans, Immunodominant Epitopes immunology, Immunodominant Epitopes isolation & purification, Molecular Sequence Data, Recombinant Fusion Proteins immunology, Ribonucleoproteins chemistry, Sequence Alignment, Chagas Disease immunology, Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte chemistry, Immunodominant Epitopes chemistry, Ribonucleoproteins immunology, Trypanosoma cruzi immunology
- Abstract
Tc40 is an immunodominant antigen present in natural Trypanosoma cruzi infections. This immunogen was thoroughly mapped by using overlapping amino acid sequences identified by gene cloning and chemical peptide synthesis. To map continuous epitopes of the Tc40 antigen, an epitope expression library was constructed and screened with sera from human chagasic patients. A major, linear B-cell epitope spanning residues 403 to 426 (PAKAAAPPAA) was identified in the central domain of Tc40. A synthetic peptide spanning this region reacted strongly with 89.8% of the serum samples from T. cruzi-infected individuals. This indicates that the main antigenic site is defined by the linear sequence of the peptide rather than a conformation-dependent structure. The major B-cell epitope of Tc40 shares a high degree of sequence identity with T. cruzi ribosomal and RNA binding proteins, suggesting the existence of cross-reactivity among these molecules.
- Published
- 2005
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