Generation of monoclonal antibodies reactive against subtype specific conserved B-cell epitopes on haemagglutinin protein of influenza virus H5N1.

H5-specific monoclonal antibodies may serve as valuable tools for rapid diagnosis of H5N1 avian influenza virus. Therefore, conserved H5-specific sequences of the haemagglutinin (HA) protein were expressed in Pichia pastoris and used for generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The two mAbs, FD6 and HE4, were strongly reactive against native HA protein and exhibited specificity for subtype H5. By epitope mapping linear epitopes of mAbs were identified that are highly conserved among influenza A virus of subtype H5. Additionally no sequence similarities to homologous regions on HA proteins of other influenza A virus subtypes (i.e. H1, H3, H7, H9) were detected by sequence alignment analysis. Both mAbs did not cross react with native or denatured HA proteins of other influenza A virus subtypes. Furthermore, using ELISA and immunofluorescence test mAb FD6 reacted only to the native H5 protein of recently circulating highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza viruses but not to low pathogenic H5N1 isolates. In conclusion, the use of the two mAbs in non-molecular tests like antigen-capture-ELISA appears promising for detecting influenza A H5N1 virus.

Antibody responses in humans infected with newly emerging strains of West Nile Virus in Europe.

Infection with West Nile Virus (WNV) affects an increasing number of countries worldwide. Although most human infections result in no or mild flu-like symptoms, the elderly and those with a weakened immune system are at higher risk for developing severe neurological disease. Since its introduction into North America in 1999, WNV has spread across the continental United States and caused annual outbreaks with a total of 36,000 documented clinical cases and ∼1,500 deaths. In recent years, outbreaks of neuroinvasive disease also have been reported in Europe. The WNV strains isolated during these outbreaks differ from those in North America, as sequencing has revealed that distinct phylogenetic lineages of WNV concurrently circulate in Europe, which has potential implications for the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostic tests. Here, we studied the human antibody response to European WNV strains responsible for outbreaks in Italy and Greece in 2010, caused by lineage 1 and 2 strains, respectively. The WNV structural proteins were expressed as a series of overlapping fragments fused to a carrier-protein, and binding of IgG in sera from infected persons was analyzed. The results demonstrate that, although the humoral immune response to WNV in humans is heterogeneous, several dominant peptides are recognized.

The evolution of the histone methyltransferase gene Su(var)3-9 in metazoans includes a fusion with and a re-fission from a functionally unrelated gene.

BACKGROUND: In eukaryotes, histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is a common mechanism involved in gene silencing and the establishment of heterochromatin. The loci of the major heterochromatic H3K9 methyltransferase Su(var)3-9 and the functionally unrelated gamma subunit of the translation initiation factor eIF2 are fused in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we examined the phylogenetic distribution of this unusual gene fusion and the molecular evolution of the H3K9 HMTase Su(var)3-9. RESULTS: We show that the gene fusion had taken place in the ancestral line of winged insects and silverfishs (Dicondylia) about 400 million years ago. We cloned Su(var)3-9 genes from a collembolan and a spider where both genes ancestrally exist as independent transcription units. In contrast, we found a Su(var)3-9-specific exon inside the conserved intron position 81-1 of the eIF2gamma gene structure in species of eight different insect orders. Intriguinly, in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, we detected only sequence remains of this Su(var)3-9 exon in the eIF2gamma intron, along with an eIF2gamma-independent Su(var)3-9 gene. This reveals an evolutionary re-fission of both genes in aphids. Su(var)3-9 chromo domains are similar to HP1 chromo domains, which points to a potential binding activity to methylated K9 of histone H3. SET domain comparisons suggest a weaker methyltransferase activity of Su(var)3-9 in comparison to other H3K9 HMTases. Astonishingly, 11 of 19 previously described, deleterious amino acid substitutions found in Drosophila Su(var)3-9 are seemingly compensable through accompanying substitutions during evolution. CONCLUSION: Examination of the Su(var)3-9 evolution revealed strong evidence for the establishment of the Su(var)3-9/eIF2gamma gene fusion in an ancestor of dicondylic insects and a re-fission of this fusion during the evolution of aphids. Our comparison of 65 selected chromo domains and 93 selected SET domains from Su(var)3-9 and related proteins offers functional predictions concerning both domains in Su(var)3-9 proteins.