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

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map 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 de Carvalho Nicacio, C. Articles by Lundkvist, A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by de Carvalho Nicacio, C. Articles by Lundkvist, A. Agricola Articles by de Carvalho Nicacio, C. Articles by Lundkvist, A.

T-helper and humoral responses to Puumala hantavirus nucleocapsid protein: identification of T-helper epitopes in a mouse model

Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center, Karolinska Institutet, S-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden¹
Division of Clinical Virology, F68, Oral Microbiology, F88, and Basic Oral Sciences, F59, Huddinge University Hospital, S-141 86 Huddinge, Sweden²
Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control, S-171 82 Stockholm, Sweden³

Author for correspondence: Cristina de Carvalho Nicacio. Fax +46 8 33 07 44. e-mail cristina.de.carvalho{at}mtc.ki.se

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is a rodent-borne agent causing nephropathia epidemica in humans, a milder form of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome occurring in Fennoscandia, central Europe and western Russia. In this study we characterized the immunogenicity of an E. coli-expressed nucleocapsid (N) protein of PUUV (strain Kazan-E6) in inbred mice (BALB/c, CBA and C57/BL6). The recombinant N (rN) protein raised PUUV-specific antibodies in all three tested murine haplotypes, and all IgG subclasses were detected. Epitope mapping using peptides spanning the N protein revealed that the B-cell recognition sites were mainly located at the amino-terminal part of the protein. Proliferative T-helper (Th) lymphocyte responses were detected in all haplotypes after a single immunization with rN. Several Th-recognition sites, spanning amino acids 6–27, 96–117, 211–232 and 256–277, were identified using overlapping peptides. Peptides representing the identified sites could also prime Th-lymphocytes to proliferate in response to recall with rN protein, thereby confirming the authenticity of the identified sites. The rN-primed Th-lymphocytes produced predominantly interleukin (IL)-2 and gamma interferon, together with lower levels of IL-4 and IL-6, indicating a mixed Th1/Th2 response.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				T. Schountz, J. Prescott, A. C. Cogswell, L. Oko, K. Mirowsky-Garcia, A. P. Galvez, and B. Hjelle Regulatory T cell-like responses in deer mice persistently infected with Sin Nombre virus PNAS, September 25, 2007; 104(39): 15496 - 15501. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. Muranyi, U. Bahr, M. Zeier, and F. J. van der Woude Hantavirus Infection J. Am. Soc. Nephrol., December 1, 2005; 16(12): 3669 - 3679. [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. de Carvalho Nicacio, M. Gonzalez Della Valle, P. Padula, E. Bjorling, A. Plyusnin, and A. Lundkvist Cross-Protection against Challenge with Puumala Virus after Immunization with Nucleocapsid Proteins from Different Hantaviruses J. Virol., June 5, 2002; 76(13): 6669 - 6677. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X.-D. Li, T. P. Makela, D. Guo, R. Soliymani, V. Koistinen, O. Vapalahti, A. Vaheri, and H. Lankinen Hantavirus nucleocapsid protein interacts with the Fas-mediated apoptosis enhancer Daxx J. Gen. Virol., April 1, 2002; 83(4): 759 - 766. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Klingstrom, A. Plyusnin, A. Vaheri, and A. Lundkvist Wild-Type Puumala Hantavirus Infection Induces Cytokines, C-Reactive Protein, Creatinine, and Nitric Oxide in Cynomolgus Macaques J. Virol., January 1, 2002; 76(1): 444 - 449. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]