Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (Jan 2013)

Production and diagnostic application of recombinant domain III of West Nile envelope protein in Brazil

  • Juliana Helena Chávez,
  • Vinicius Pinho dos Reis,
  • Jaqueline Raymondi Silva,
  • Helen Julie Laure,
  • José Cesar Rosa,
  • Benedito Antônio Lopes da Fonseca,
  • Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-868214142013
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 46, no. 1
pp. 97 – 99

Abstract

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INTRODUCTION: West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus with a natural cycle involving mosquitoes and birds. Over the last 11 years, WNV has spread throughout the Americas with the imminent risk of its introduction in Brazil. METHODS: Envelope protein domain III of WNV (rDIII) was bacterially expressed and purified. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with WNV rDIII antigen was standardized against mouse immune fluids (MIAFs) of different flavivirus. RESULTS: WNV rDIII reacted strongly with St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) MIAF but not with other flaviviruses. CONCLUSIONS: This antigen may be a potentially useful tool for serologic diagnosis and may contribute in future epidemiological surveillance of WNV infections in Brazil.

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