Identification and Application of Neutralizing Epitopes of Human Adenovirus Type 55 Hexon Protein
Xingui Tian,
Qiang Ma,
Zaixue Jiang,
Junfeng Huang,
Qian Liu,
Xiaomei Lu,
Qingming Luo,
Rong Zhou
Affiliations
Xingui Tian
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510230, China
Qiang Ma
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510230, China
Zaixue Jiang
Dongguan Institute of Pediatrics, Dongguan Children’s Hospital, Dongguan 523325, China
Junfeng Huang
School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Qian Liu
Dongguan Institute of Pediatrics, Dongguan Children’s Hospital, Dongguan 523325, China
Xiaomei Lu
Dongguan Institute of Pediatrics, Dongguan Children’s Hospital, Dongguan 523325, China
Qingming Luo
Dongguan Institute of Pediatrics, Dongguan Children’s Hospital, Dongguan 523325, China
Rong Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510230, China
Human adenovirus type 55 (HAdV55) is a newly identified re-emergent acute respiratory disease (ARD) pathogen with a proposed recombination of hexon gene between HAdV11 and HAdV14 strains. The identification of the neutralizing epitopes is important for the surveillance and vaccine development against HAdV55 infection. In this study, four type-specific epitope peptides of HAdV55 hexon protein, A55R1 (residues 138 to 152), A55R2 (residues 179 to 187), A55R4 (residues 247 to 259) and A55R7 (residues 429 to 443), were predicted by multiple sequence alignment and homology modeling methods, and then confirmed with synthetic peptides by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralization tests (NT). Finally, the A55R2 was incorporated into human adenoviruses 3 (HAdV3) and a chimeric adenovirus rAd3A55R2 was successfully obtained. The chimeric rAd3A55R2 could induce neutralizing antibodies against both HAdV3 and HAdV55. This current study will contribute to the development of novel adenovirus vaccine candidate and adenovirus structural analysis.
