Open AccessStructure-Based High-Throughput Epitope Analysis of Hexon Proteins in B and C Species Human Adenoviruses (HAdVs)
Author(s) -
Xiaohui Yuan,
Ying-Chen Wang,
Wenjing Jin,
Binbin Zhao,
Caifeng Chen,
Jian Yang,
Jingfei Wang,
Yingying Guo,
Jingjun Liu,
Ding Zhang,
Lulu Gong,
Ying He
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0032938
Subject(s) - epitope , biology , serotype , virology , phylogenetic tree , epitope mapping , computational biology , genetics , gene , antibody
Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) are the etiologic agent of many human infectious diseases. The existence of at least 54 different serotypes of HAdVs has resulted in difficulties in clinical diagnosis. Acute respiratory tract disease (ARD) caused by some serotypes from B and C species is particularly serious. Hexon, the main coat protein of HAdV, contains the major serotype-specific B cell epitopes; however, few studies have addressed epitope mapping in most HAdV serotypes. In this study, we utilized a novel and rapid method for the modeling of homologous proteins based on the phylogenetic tree of protein families and built three-dimensional (3D) models of hexon proteins in B and C species HAdVs. Based on refined hexon structures, we used reverse evolutionary trace (RET) bioinformatics analysis combined with a specially designed hexon epitope screening algorithm to achieve high-throughput epitope mapping of all 13 hexon proteins in B and C species HAdVs. This study has demonstrated that all of the epitopes from the 13 hexon proteins are located in the proteins' tower regions; however, the exact number, location, and size of the epitopes differ among the HAdV serotypes.