HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rowe, D. T. Articles by Clarke, J. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rowe, D. T. Articles by Clarke, J. R. Agricola Articles by Rowe, D. T. Articles by Clarke, J. R.

The Type-specific Epitopes of the Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigen 2 Are Near the Carboxy Terminus of the Protein

Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, St Mary’s Hospital Medical School, Norfolk Place, London W2 1PG, U.K.

The Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen 2 (EBNA 2) shows serotype variation and two serologically distinct groups of viruses have been identified. These correspond to the two hybridization groups of viruses (A and B) that are distinguished by a highly substituted nucleic acid sequence in the middle of the open reading frame of the EBNA 2 gene. An epitope survey of the EBNA 2-coding region was carried out using a new prokaryotic expression vector tailored to express DNA fragments from the M13 sequencing libraries of the B95-8 (type A) and Jijoye (type B) prototype virus strains. Short overlapping stretches of EBNA 2 sequence were expressed as fusion proteins and used in Western blotting with human sera that contained serotype-specific antibodies. The type A-specific epitope was located between residues 378 and 435 of the B95-8 EBNA 2 polypeptide and the type B-specific epitope mapped between residues 390 and 454, at the carboxy terminus of the Jijoye polypeptide chain. All of the type-specific anti-EBNA 2 sera tested reacted with fusion proteins containing one or other of these epitopes. Despite the direct correlation between the hybridization and serological phenotypes, the type-specific epitopes appear to lie in the relatively conserved carboxy-terminal region of EBNA 2. There was no indication that the residues of the non-homologous region contributed to the formation of antibody-combining sites.

Keywords: EBNA 2, nuclear angiten, epitope

Received 29 September 1988; accepted 26 January 1989.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. P. Thompson and R. Kurzrock Epstein-Barr Virus and Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., February 1, 2004; 10(3): 803 - 821. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. J. Aguirre and E. S. Robertson Epstein-Barr Virus Recombinants from BC-1 and BC-2 Can Immortalize Human Primary B Lymphocytes with Different Levels of Efficiency and in the Absence of Coinfection by Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus J. Virol., January 1, 2000; 74(2): 735 - 743. [Abstract] [Full Text]