Background: There are two subclasses of human IgA (IgA1 and IgA2) that differ in antigenic properties and in chemical composition. The constant domains of α1 and α2 heavy chains have >95% sequence homology though major structural differences exist in the hinge region. Quantitation of IgA subclass levels depends on the availability of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for conserved conformat...

The concept that HLA antibodies are specific for epitopes rather than HLA antigens is important not only for the determination of mismatch acceptability for sensitized patients but also for a better understanding of the antibody response to an HLA mismatch. Numerous publications describe epitope-specific antibodies, but there is no standardized information about the repertoire of clinically rel...

introduction : designing an effective vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)-1 is a global health priority . multi-epitope vaccines offer several potential advantages that may be promising in case of mutable divergent pathogens such as hiv-1. herein, a multiepitopic recombinant protein containing various hiv-1 antigens was expressed in e. coli cells and its immunogenicity in combina...

background : the aim of this study was to generate in silico 3d-structure of the envelope protein of ahfv using homology modeling method to further predict its conformational epitopes and help other studies to investigate its structural features using the model. methods : a 3d-structure prediction was developed for the envelope protein of alkhumra haemorrhagic fever virus (ahfv), an emerging ti...

Eliciting antibodies to surface-exposed viral glycoproteins can generate protective responses that control and prevent future infections. Targeting conserved sites may reduce the likelihood of escape limit spread related viruses with pandemic potential. Here, we leveraged rational immunogen design focus humoral on epitopes. Using glycan engineering epitope scaffolding, directed murine serum ant...

BACKGROUND Hypervariability of HCV proteins is an important obstacle to design an efficient vaccine for HCV infection. Multi-epitope vaccines containing conserved epitopes of the virus could be a promising approach for protection against HCV. OBJECTIVES Cellular and humoral immune responses against multi-epitope DNA and peptide vaccines were evaluated in BALB/c mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS I...

The concept that HLA antibodies are specific for epitopes rather than HLA antigens is important not only for the determination of mismatch acceptability for sensitized patients but also for a better understanding of the antibody response to an HLA mismatch. Numerous publications describe epitope-specific antibodies, but there is no standardized information about the repertoire of clinically rel...

After the implementation of an active surveillance programme for scrapie in sheep in the EU, the number of diagnosed classical scrapie cases rose sharply and a novel kind of so-called atypical scrapie case was discovered. These atypical scrapie cases display unusual features concerning the distribution of the abnormal prion protein (PrP(Sc)) in the brain, a distinct electrophoretic profile of P...

We evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of a candidate vaccine comprising the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) multi-epitope of Chlamydia trachomatis. A short gene of multi-epitope derived from MOMP containing multiple T- and B-cell epitopes was artificially synthesized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a(+) containing codon optimized MOMP multi-epitope gene was constructed. Expression of t...

The cytotoxic T cell response to pathogens is usually directed against a few immunodominant epitopes, while other potential epitopes are either subdominant or not used at all. In C57BL/6 mice, the acute cytotoxic T cell response against lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus is directed against immunodominant epitopes derived from the glycoprotein (gp33-41) and the nucleoprotein (NP396-404), while ...