Serologic Diagnosis of Hantaan Virus Infection Based on a Peptide Antigen

Hantavirus (HV) is the causative agent of a severe type of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), with an annual incidence in China of 50 000–100 000 cases. Hantaan virus (HTNV) 76–118 is the prototype strain of the HV genus and the hantaan serotype (1). HV has a single-stranded, negative-sense tripartite RNA genome, the segments of which are designated large, medium, and small. The RNA genome encodes the viral RNA polymerase, envelope glycoproteins (G1, G2), and nucleocapsid protein (NP) (2). A serologic investigation (3) showed that HTNV NP has strong antigenicity and immunogenicity, and the antibodies against NP in patients with HFRS not only appear early, but also have high titer. Moreover, NP contains the major antigen that can cross-react with the immunized sera of many serologically and genetically distinct groups of HV (4). To screen the epitopes of NP with monoclonal antibodies against HTNV, a library of HTNV small gene-peptide fragments on phages was constructed. Results showed that a linear epitope consisting of amino acids 1–86 (aa 1–86) within the NP reading frame was determined and its core …