Feed Science Institute, College of Animal Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, PR China.
Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2013 Jan;34(1):332-8. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2012.11.007. Epub 2012 Nov 23.
Previous studies identify VP28 envelope protein of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) as its main antigenic protein. Although implicated in viral infectivity, its functional role remains unclear. In the current study, we described the production of polyclonal antibodies to recombinant truncated VP28 proteins including deleted N-terminal (rVP28ΔN), C-terminal (rVP28ΔC) and middle (rVP28ΔM). In antigenicity assays, antibodies developed from VP28 truncations lacking the N-terminal or middle regions showed significantly lowered neutralization of WSSV in crayfish, Procambarus clarkii. Further immunogenicity analysis showed reduced relative percent survival (RPS) in crayfish vaccinating with these truncations before challenge with WSSV. These results indicated that N-terminal (residues 1-27) and middle region (residues 35-95) were essential to maintain the neutralizing linear epitopes of VP28 and responsible in eliciting immune response. Thus, it is most likely that these regions are exposed on VP28, and will be useful for rational design of effective vaccines targeting VP28 of WSSV.
先前的研究确定了白斑综合征病毒（WSSV）的 VP28 包膜蛋白为其主要抗原蛋白。尽管该蛋白与病毒的感染力有关，但它的功能作用仍不清楚。在本研究中，我们描述了针对包括缺失 N 端（rVP28ΔN）、C 端（rVP28ΔC）和中间（rVP28ΔM）的重组截短 VP28 蛋白的多克隆抗体的产生。在抗原性检测中，针对缺乏 N 端或中间区域的 VP28 截短蛋白产生的抗体在螯虾（Procambarus clarkii）中对 WSSV 的中和作用显著降低。进一步的免疫原性分析显示，在受到 WSSV 攻击之前用这些截短蛋白对螯虾进行免疫接种后，相对存活率（RPS）降低。这些结果表明，N 端（残基 1-27）和中间区域（残基 35-95）对于维持 VP28 的中和线性表位是必需的，并且负责引发免疫反应。因此，这些区域很可能暴露在 VP28 上，这对于针对 WSSV 的 VP28 进行合理设计有效的疫苗将是有用的。
