Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Identification and characterization of the early antigen complex of HHV-6.
Diss Abstr Int [B]; 53(7):3312 1993. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/93690163 Iyengar S; Georgetown Univ. Medical Center
Abstract:
HHV-6, a new herpes virus described in 1986, is a causative agent of exanthem subitum. Sero-epidemiological and biological studies have implicated this virus in various lymphoproliferative diseases, AIDS and cancer. The etiological significance of these disease associations is unclear. In order to investigate the role of HHV-6 in these diseases, the major aim was to identify and characterize the early antigens in HHV-6 infected cells working on the hypothesis that these antigens are of importance in some of the biological events that mediate pathogenesis, and the fact that these antigens are useful indicators of an active or reactivated infection as has been demonstrated in the EBV-associated diseases. Two monoclonal antibodies 2E2 and C5 were isolated which reacted with immunodominant HHV-6 late (gp110) and early (p41/38) proteins. The p41/38 was conserved in both A and B groups of virus isolates whereas gp110 was present only in the group B virus isolates indicating strain specificity of this protein. Characterization of p41 and p38 revealed that neither were glycosylated and p38 was a phosphoprotein. This suggested that p41 was not a biochemically modified form of p38 and that these were apparently closely related proteins that probably shared an epitope for the C5 monoclonal antibody. Evidence that these were indeed two different viral proteins was provided by sequence analysis that showed no homology between p41 and p38 and by the fact that they were encoded by different DNA sequences as shown in Southern hybridization experiments. Both p41 and p38 had single stranded DNA binding activity and sequence homology between p41 and HCMV ICP36 protein suggests that p41 might function as a DNA polymerase associated processivity factor. Immunoaffinity purified p41/38 and gp110 antigens were used in ELISAs for measuring human antibodies from various diseased and healthy donors. Sera from patients with AFB (96%), Hodgkin's disease (63%) and bone marrow transplant patients (72%) were positive at a high frequency for p41/38 in comparison to the other donor groups (10-30%). These antibody patterns against the early antigen complex denote the presence of active or reactivated infections in these patients suggesting a direct or indirect role for this virus in the progression of the disease state. (Full text available from University Microfilms International, Ann Arbor, MI, as Order No. AAD92-36642.)
Keywords: Antibodies, Monoclonal/IMMUNOLOGY Antigens, Viral/ANALYSIS/*IMMUNOLOGY Blotting, Southern Bone Marrow Transplantation Chromatography, Affinity DNA, Single-Stranded/METABOLISM Herpesvirus 6, Human/*IMMUNOLOGY Hodgkin's Disease/IMMUNOLOGY Human Immunodominant Epitopes THESIS 930530
M9350988
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1993. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
