Molecular Studies of Alphavirus Immunogenicity
Abstract
The alphaviruses consist of a group of 26 closely related viruses. Many of these viruses can cause disease in man, characterized by encephalitis, polyarthritis, fever or rash, depending upon the virus. In the 2.5 years of research supported under this contract we have mapped antigenic epitopes in the structural glycoproteins of alphaviruses that lead to neutralization of virus infectivity upon reaction with and antibody, and have determined the sequence relationships of a number of Sindbis-like alphaviruses to one another and to other alphaviruses. We found that a domain of glycoprotein. E2 of alphaviruses, between residues 170 and 220, was an important region for binding of monoclonal antibodies that neutralize virus infectivity, making it critical importance for the immune response required for protection from infection by the virus. In the determination of the relationships of alphaviruses to one another, we have determined complete or partial sequences of 8 different alphavirus RNAs. These include Ockelbo virus, a virus causing epidemic polyarthritis in northern Europe, strains of Sindbis virus from Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand arid Aura virus from South America.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 03, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA261546
Entities
People
- James H. Strauss
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology