ABSTRACT
Objective To screen the efficient antigenic epitopes in genus-specific envelope proteins OmpL1 and LipL21 of Leptospira interrogans for further development of multiple antigenic peptide (MAP)vaccine.Methods Based on bioinformatic technique,the combined epitopes of T and B lymphcytes in OmpL1 and LipL21 molecules were screened.Nucleotide fragments of each epitopes were amplified by PCR and then constructed their phage display systems.Using antisera against rOmpL1,rLipL21,L.interrogans serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae strain Lai and leptospirosis patients' sera as the first antibodies.respectively,Western blot assays were performed to determine the immunoreaetivity and reactive ability of the epitopes with different antisera.Resuits Four combined epitopes of OmpL1 and two combined epitopes of LipL21 were selected out by the predicting procedure.All the amplified epitope fragments were accurately inserted into the region at N end of phage PⅢ protein and successfully expressed.All of the antisera could recognize each of the epitopes.Based on the results of Western blot,the two LipL21 epitopes at 97-112 and 176-184 showed similar strong hybridization signals with any of the antisera,and the hybridization signals of four OmpL1 epitopes with the three antisera were 173-191,87-98,297-320 and 59-78,from strong to weak.Conclusion The six combined epitopes in this study are efficiently antigenic.And the epitopes at positions 97-112 and 176-184 in LipL21 as well as the epitopes at position 87-98 and 173-191 in OmpL1 have a potential for developing leptospiral MAP vaccine.
