[Immunogenic properties of synthetic fragments of influenza virus hemagglutinin, conjugated with a carrier protein].

Immunogenic properties of synthetic peptides corresponding to areas 122-133, 136-147, and 154-164 of the heavy chain of A/Aichi/2/68 virus HA were studied in two biological models: rabbits and guinea pigs. Peptides 122-123 and 136-147 together comprise the nearly compete antigenic determinant A, and peptide 154-164 is a part of determinant B. Both animal species immunized with peptide conjugates with bovine serum albumin produced a high immune response to all hapten-peptides. Comparative studies of rabbit and guinea pig sera by hemagglutination-inhibition tests revealed differences in antibody titres (1:10-1:40 for rabbits and 1:512-1:1024 for guinea pigs), the highest titres in both models being observed with peptide 136-147. Examinations of the virus-neutralizing capacity of the sera showed this property to be possessed by anti-(136-147) and anti-(154-164)E, the anti-(136-147) being slightly more active both for rabbits and for guinea pigs.