Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) glycoprotein 5 (GP5) is the most abundant envelope glycoprotein and a major inducer of neutralizing antibodies in vivo. Three putative N-linked glycosylation sites (N34, N44, and N51) are located on the GP5 ectodomain, where a major neutralization epitope also exists. To determine which of these putative sites are used for glycosylatio...

Induction of mucosal immunity may be important for preventing SARS-CoV infections. For safe and effective delivery of viral antigens to the mucosal immune system, we have developed a novel surface antigen display system for lactic acid bacteria using the poly-gamma-glutamic acid synthetase A protein (PgsA) of Bacillus subtilis as an anchoring matrix. Recombinant fusion proteins comprised of Pgs...

Human peripheral blood leukocytes were stimulated with killed staphylococci in vitro to release leukocytic pyrogen (LP). Supernates from these stimulated leukocytes were concentrated, emulsified in Freund's complete adjuvant, and injected intradermally into rabbits. After seven monthly booster injections, rabbit antiserum destroyed the pyrogenic activity of human LP, and the titer of this neutr...

Among the 12 glycoproteins of the Herpes simplex virus type 1 envelope (HSV-1), glycoprotein D (gD) plays a critical role in the entry of the virus into target cells and cell-to-cell spread. gD is an attractive target for molecular intervention and monoclonal antibodies to this glycoprotein has decreased the severity of experimental HSV-1 infection in animal studies. Single chain antibodies whi...

Henipaviruses, Hendra virus (HeV) and Nipah virus (NiV), have Pteropid bats as their known natural reservoirs. Antibodies against henipaviruses have been found in Eidolon helvum, an old world fruit bat species, and henipavirus-like nucleic acid has been detected in faecal samples from E. helvum in Ghana. The initial outbreak of NiV in Malaysia led to over 265 human encephalitis cases, including...

Infectious bronchitis (IB) virus genome codes for four structural proteins, among which the S1 subunit of spike glycoprotein comprises the major epitopes to induce neutralizing antibodies. This study involved the comparison of the full S1 sequences of five IB viruses, namely two Massachusetts and three 793/B serotypes, isolated from IB outbreaks during 2001-2002, with all other Iranian an...

To study important epitopes on glycoprotein E2 of Sindbis virus, eight variants selected to be singly or multiply resistant to six neutralizing monoclonal antibodies reactive against E2, as well as four revertants which had regained sensitivity to neutralization, were sequenced throughout the E2 region. To study antigenic determinants in glycoprotein E1, four variants selected for resistance to...

Dengue viruses (DENVs) are emerging, mosquito-borne flaviviruses which cause dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. The DENV complex consists of 4 serotypes designated DENV1-DENV4. Following natural infection with DENV, individuals develop serotype specific, neutralizing antibody responses. Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) have been used to map neutralizing epitopes on dengue and other flavivir...