Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA

Recent studies on the primate protection from HCV infection stressed the importance of immune response against structural viral proteins. Strong immune response against nucleocapsid (core) protein was difficult to achieve, requesting further experimentation in large animals. Here, we analyzed the im...

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Main Authors: Irina Sominskaya, Juris Jansons, Anastasija Dovbenko, Natalia Petrakova, Ilva Lieknina, Marija Mihailova, Oleg Latyshev, Olesja Eliseeva, Irina Stahovska, Inara Akopjana, Ivars Petrovskis, Maria Isaguliants
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Journal of Immunology Research
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/762426
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author Irina Sominskaya
Juris Jansons
Anastasija Dovbenko
Natalia Petrakova
Ilva Lieknina
Marija Mihailova
Oleg Latyshev
Olesja Eliseeva
Irina Stahovska
Inara Akopjana
Ivars Petrovskis
Maria Isaguliants
author_facet Irina Sominskaya
Juris Jansons
Anastasija Dovbenko
Natalia Petrakova
Ilva Lieknina
Marija Mihailova
Oleg Latyshev
Olesja Eliseeva
Irina Stahovska
Inara Akopjana
Ivars Petrovskis
Maria Isaguliants
author_sort Irina Sominskaya
collection DOAJ
description Recent studies on the primate protection from HCV infection stressed the importance of immune response against structural viral proteins. Strong immune response against nucleocapsid (core) protein was difficult to achieve, requesting further experimentation in large animals. Here, we analyzed the immunogenicity of core aa 1–173, 1–152, and 147–191 and of its main alternative reading frame product F-protein in rabbits. Core aa 147–191 was synthesized; other polypeptides were obtained by expression in E. coli. Rabbits were immunized by polypeptide primes followed by multiple boosts and screened for specific anti-protein and anti-peptide antibodies. Antibody titers to core aa 147–191 reached 105; core aa 1–152, 5 × 105; core aa 1–173 and F-protein, 106. Strong immunogenicity of the last two proteins indicated that they may compete for the induction of immune response. The C-terminally truncated core was also weakly immunogenic on the T-cell level. To enhance core-specific cellular response, we immunized rabbits with the core aa 1–152 gene forbidding F-protein formation. Repeated DNA immunization induced a weak antibody and sustained proliferative response of broad specificity confirming a gain of cellular immunogenicity. Epitopes recognized in rabbits overlapped those in HCV infection. Our data promotes the use of rabbits for the immunogenicity tests of prototype HCV vaccines.
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spelling doaj-art-a00746b2b7004a29ab635da9bd4e4aea2025-08-20T02:23:04ZengWileyJournal of Immunology Research2314-88612314-71562015-01-01201510.1155/2015/762426762426Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNAIrina Sominskaya0Juris Jansons1Anastasija Dovbenko2Natalia Petrakova3Ilva Lieknina4Marija Mihailova5Oleg Latyshev6Olesja Eliseeva7Irina Stahovska8Inara Akopjana9Ivars Petrovskis10Maria Isaguliants11Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaN. F. Gamaleja Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Gamaleja Street 18, Moscow 123098, RussiaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaN. F. Gamaleja Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Gamaleja Street 18, Moscow 123098, RussiaN. F. Gamaleja Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Gamaleja Street 18, Moscow 123098, RussiaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaLatvian Biomedical Research and Study Center, Ratsupites Street 1, Riga LV-1067, LatviaN. F. Gamaleja Research Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Gamaleja Street 18, Moscow 123098, RussiaRecent studies on the primate protection from HCV infection stressed the importance of immune response against structural viral proteins. Strong immune response against nucleocapsid (core) protein was difficult to achieve, requesting further experimentation in large animals. Here, we analyzed the immunogenicity of core aa 1–173, 1–152, and 147–191 and of its main alternative reading frame product F-protein in rabbits. Core aa 147–191 was synthesized; other polypeptides were obtained by expression in E. coli. Rabbits were immunized by polypeptide primes followed by multiple boosts and screened for specific anti-protein and anti-peptide antibodies. Antibody titers to core aa 147–191 reached 105; core aa 1–152, 5 × 105; core aa 1–173 and F-protein, 106. Strong immunogenicity of the last two proteins indicated that they may compete for the induction of immune response. The C-terminally truncated core was also weakly immunogenic on the T-cell level. To enhance core-specific cellular response, we immunized rabbits with the core aa 1–152 gene forbidding F-protein formation. Repeated DNA immunization induced a weak antibody and sustained proliferative response of broad specificity confirming a gain of cellular immunogenicity. Epitopes recognized in rabbits overlapped those in HCV infection. Our data promotes the use of rabbits for the immunogenicity tests of prototype HCV vaccines.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/762426
spellingShingle Irina Sominskaya
Juris Jansons
Anastasija Dovbenko
Natalia Petrakova
Ilva Lieknina
Marija Mihailova
Oleg Latyshev
Olesja Eliseeva
Irina Stahovska
Inara Akopjana
Ivars Petrovskis
Maria Isaguliants
Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
Journal of Immunology Research
title Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
title_full Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
title_fullStr Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
title_short Comparative Immunogenicity in Rabbits of the Polypeptides Encoded by the 5′ Terminus of Hepatitis C Virus RNA
title_sort comparative immunogenicity in rabbits of the polypeptides encoded by the 5 terminus of hepatitis c virus rna
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/762426
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