A synthetic peptide encompassing the G5 antigenic region of the rabies virus induces high avidity but poorly neutralizing antibody in immunized animals

Simone Niederhäuser; Dorothy Bruegger; Marie-Luise Zahno; Hans-Rudolf Vogt; Ernst Peterhans; Reto Zanoni; Giuseppe Bertoni

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.10.020

A synthetic peptide encompassing the G5 antigenic region of the rabies virus induces high avidity but poorly neutralizing antibody in immunized animals

Vaccine. 2008 Dec 9;26(52):6749-53. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.10.020. Epub 2008 Oct 26.

Authors

Simone Niederhäuser¹, Dorothy Bruegger, Marie-Luise Zahno, Hans-Rudolf Vogt, Ernst Peterhans, Reto Zanoni, Giuseppe Bertoni

Affiliation

¹ Institute of Veterinary Virology, University of Bern, Laenggass-Str. 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.

PMID: 18955098
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2008.10.020

Abstract

The immunization of goats with a synthetic peptide encompassing the G5 antigenic site of the rabies virus surface glycoprotein induces a strong humoral immune response in the absence of a carrier protein. The immunized animals mounted high antibody titers and showed a strong avidity maturation of the B cell immune response to both the G5-peptide and purified surface glycoprotein G. This antibody weakly neutralized rabies virus carrying the G5 epitope but failed to neutralize escape mutants carrying a single point mutation in this epitope. A putative T helper cell epitope, functional in the context of different caprine MHC haplotypes, was identified by structure analysis of the G5-peptide. This striking dichotomy between high titers and antibody of high avidity to the glycoprotein G and poor neutralizing activity strongly suggests that antibody binding assays such as ELISA cannot always reliably predict the neutralizing activity of sera as measured in functional assays.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Antibodies, Viral / immunology*
Antibody Affinity / immunology*
Antibody Formation / immunology
Antigens, Viral / genetics*
Antigens, Viral / immunology*
Cloning, Molecular
Cricetinae
Genes, MHC Class II / immunology
Goats
Immunization / veterinary*
Immunization Schedule
Kinetics
Neutralization Tests
RNA, Viral / isolation & purification
Rabies / immunology*
Rabies / veterinary*
Rabies Vaccines / chemistry
Rabies Vaccines / genetics*
Rabies Vaccines / immunology*
Rabies virus / genetics
Rabies virus / immunology*
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
T-Lymphocytes / immunology
T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / immunology
Vaccines, Subunit / chemistry
Vaccines, Subunit / genetics
Vaccines, Subunit / immunology
Vaccines, Synthetic / chemistry
Vaccines, Synthetic / genetics
Vaccines, Synthetic / immunology

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Antigens, Viral
RNA, Viral
Rabies Vaccines
Vaccines, Subunit
Vaccines, Synthetic