Antigenic determinants encoded by genes of the HLA-D region have been related to at least three separate molecular complexes, DR, MB (also known as DC and LBE), and SB. At the cell surface each complex has a dimeric structure composed of a structurally conserved a-chain noncovalently associated with a polymorphic fl-chain. The DR and MB series of determinants have been extensively characterized...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of sequence variability between different genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) on the antigenic properties of the NS3 proteins, and to evaluate the significance of the proteins in the serological diagnosis. METHODS The recombinant expression plasmids of pET/NS3-1 and pET/NS3-6 were constructed with the NS3 region fragments from HCV genotypes 1 and 6, respec...

Invariable region (IR)(6), an immunodominant conserved region of VlsE, the antigenic variation protein of Borrelia burgdorferi, is currently used for the serologic diagnosis of Lyme disease in humans and canines. A longitudinal assessment of anti-IR(6) antibody levels in B. burgdorferi-infected rhesus monkeys revealed that this level diminished sharply after antibiotic treatment (within 25 week...

The number, location, and other characteristics of the antigenic determinants for self-association of IgG-rheumatoid factors (IgG-RF) were examined using the IgG-RF isolated from the plasma of one patient as a model system. Affinity chromatography was employed for isolation of the IgG-RF. Sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation was used to study the various interactions. The antigenic val...

A gene encoding the major antigenic protein of phytoplasma associated with sweet potato witches' broom (SPWB) was cloned and analysed by screening the genomic library of SPWB phytoplasma with monoclonal antibodies for SPWB phytoplasma. The entire predicted structural gene encoded an antigenic protein composed of 172 amino acids with a computed molecular mass of 19.15 kDa and a pl value of 9.78....

Human plasma fibronectin has been purified by a non-denaturing affinity chromatography procedure [Vuento & Vaheri, (1979) Biochem.J. 183, 331--337], and antisera have been raised by immunizing rabbits with the native protein. The antisera reacted strongly with native fibronectin, but only weakly with reduced and alkylated fibronectin or with heat-denaturated fibronectin. Denaturation also affec...

Antigens associated with the surface of merozoites of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum are directly accessible to immune attack and therefore are prime vaccine candidates. We have previously shown that one of the two known merozoite surface antigens (merozoite surface antigen 2; MSA-2) exhibits considerable sequence and antigenic diversity in different isolates. The sequences of MSA-2...