Toleration of amino acid substitutions within hepatitis B virus envelope protein epitopes established by peptide replacement set analysis. I. Region S(139-147).

B and T cell epitopes expressed on the surface of S-protein, a major constituent of the envelope of hepatitis B virus (HBV), are essential for eliciting protective immunity against HBV infection. A segment of the S-protein sequence encompassing residues S(139-147) is a portion of overlapping B and T cell epitopes. This sequence is conserved among distinct serological subtypes of HBV and has a 77.8% homology with an analogous sequence in S-proteins of nonhuman mammalian hepadnaviruses. Rare subtypes and variants of HBV having amino acid replacements within the S(139-147) sequence were discerned recently. The impact of amino acid replacements within this sequence on its immunological recognition at both the B and T cell levels was explored by peptide replacement set analysis. Results of the analysis permit discrimination between tolerated and forbidden amino acid replacements and provide a background for the development of reagents and immunogens specific for emerging HBV variants.