Characterization of monoclonal antibodies to junin virus nucleocapsid protein and application to the diagnosis of hemorrhagic fever caused by South American arenaviruses

Junin virus (JUNV), Machupo virus, Guanarito virus, Sabia virus, and Chapare virus are members of New World arenavirus clade B and are the etiological agents of viral hemorrhagic fevers that occur in South America. In this study, we produced three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the recombinant nucleocapsid protein of JUNV, designated C6-9, C11-12, and E4-2. The specificity of these MAbs was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect immunofluorescence assay, and an epitope-mapping method. Using these MAbs, we developed antigen (Ag) capture ELISA systems. We showed that by using MAb C6-9, JUNV Ag was specifically detected. On the other hand, by using MAb C11-12 or E-4-2, the Ags of all human pathogenic South American arenaviruses were detected. The combined use of these Ag capture ELISA systems in the present study may be useful for the diagnosis of acute-phase viral hemorrhagic fever due to infection by a South American arenavirus.Instituto de Biotecnologia y Biologia Molecula

Production of specific antibodies against SARS-coronavirus nucleocapsid protein without cross reactivity with human coronaviruses 229E and OC43

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening disease for which accurate diagnosis is essential. Although many tools have been developed for the diagnosis of SARS, false-positive reactions in negative sera may occur because of cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses. We have raised polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (Abs) using a recombinant form of the SARS virus nucleocapsid protein. Cross-reactivity of these anti-SARS Abs against human coronavirus (HCoV) 229E and HCoV OC43 were determined by Western blotting. The Abs produced reacted with recombinant SARS virus nucleocapsid protein, but not with HCoV 229E or HCoV OC43

Enterotoxin/guanylin receptor type guanylyl cyclases in non-mammalian vertebrates

Cyclic GMP is a ubiquitous intracellular second messenger produced by guanylyl cyclases (GCs). The enterotoxin/guanylin receptor type membrane GC (designated as GC-C in mammals) is activated by exogenous ligands such as heat-stable enterotoxins (STa), small peptides secreted by some pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli which cause severe secretory diarrhea and also activated by endogenous ligands such as guanylin and uroguanylin. The STa/guanylin receptor type membrane GC, as well as other type membrane GCs, is composed of an extracellular domain, a single transmembrane domain, and an intracellular region comprising a kinase-like domain and a catalytic domain. The STa/guanylin receptor type membrane GC is identified in various vertebrates including fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, implying that it serves some important and undefined physiological roles in the intestine of non-mammalian vertebrates, e.g. the regulation of water and salt absorption. In mammals, only a single membrane GC (GC-C) is known to be the STa/guanylin receptor. On the contrary, two membrane GC cDNAs are cloned from the intestine of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (GC-C1 and GC-C2) and the medaka fish Oryzias latipes (OlGC6 and OlGC9). OlGC6 and OlGC9 are structurally distinct and show different ligand responsibility. Accumulated evidences indicate that the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of the human GC-C gene is different from that of the corresponding medaka fish GC gene; the human GC-C gene is regulated by Cdx2 and/or HNF-4, and the medaka fish OlGC6 gene is regulated by OlPC4, which is a medaka fish homologue of the mammalian transcriptional positive co-factor 4 (PC4). Furthermore, the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of the OlGC9 gene is different from those of both the OlGC6 and human GC-C genes, indicating that the study on these two medaka fish GCs will be useful for further understanding of the STa/guanylin receptor type membrane GC in the vertebrates

Involvement of general transcriptional coactivator PC4 in the transcription of medaka fish intestine-specific membrane guanylyl cyclase gene (OlGC6).

A recent study showed that the AGACCTTTGC nucleotides sequence (between –90 and –81) contained in the cis-regulatory element in an intestine-specific membrane guanylyl cyclase gene, OlGC6, of the medaka fish, Oryzias latipes, are important for the transcription of the gene in mammalian cultured cell line and in medaka fish. Using sequence-specific DNA affinity chromatography, we purified a cis-regulatory element–binding protein from a medaka fish intestinal nuclear extract and used mass spectrometry to identify it as a medaka fish homologue of general transcriptional coactivator PC4, which we designated as OlPC4. The expression of the OlPC4 gene was detected in embryos, as well as in a large variety of tissues of adult medaka fish. Using a 17-kDa recombinant OlPC4, we carried out an ultraviolet (UV) cross-linking experiment and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), and demonstrated that the recombinant OlPC4 can be substituted for native OlPC4 in medaka fish intestinal nuclear extracts. In CACO-2 cells, cotransfection of the OlGC6-luciferase fusion genes with an OlPC4 expression vector resulted in 1.5-fold stimulation of the OlGC6 promoter

A novel membrane guanylyl cyclase expressed in medaka (Oryzias latipes) intestine.

A novel membrane guanylyl cyclase (GC), OlGC9, was identified in the intestine of the medaka fish Oryzias latipes by the isolation of a full-length cDNA clone (3783 bp). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that OlGC9 belongs in the enterotoxin/guanylin receptor membrane GC subfamily. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of OlGC9 were highly homologous to those of OlGC6, another enterotoxin/guanylin receptor membrane GC in medaka fish. Linkage analysis of the medaka fish chromosome demonstrated that the OlGC9 gene was mapped to LG8, which distinguishes it from the OlGC6 gene. Determination of the cGMP concentrations in COS-7 cells expressed with OlGC9 indicated that Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin (STa) stimulated the activity of OlGC9 in a concentration-dependent manner, although it did not activate the OlGC6 expressed in the COS-7 cells. The 5â²-flanking region of the OlGC9 gene important for its transcription was partially determined using both CACO-2 cells and COS-1 cells, and was not found to be conserved with respect to either the mammalian GC-C gene or the OlGC6 gene

A comparative epidemiological study of hantavirus infection in Japan and Far East Russia

Hantaviruses are causative agents of some severe human illnesses, including hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS)and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome(HPS).The viruses are maintained by rodent hosts, and humans acquire infection by inhaling virus-contaminated excreta from infected animals. To examine the epidemiology of hantavirus infections in Japan and Far East Russia, we conducted epidemiological surveys in these regions. In Japan, anti-hantavirus antibodies were found in four rodent species, Clethrionomys rufocanus, Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus, and Apodemus speciosus. Although no new HFRS cases have been officially reported over the past 20years in Japan, one member of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force did test positive for hantavirus antibody. Repeated surveys in Far East Russia have revealed that two distinct hantavirus types cause severe HFRS in this region. Hantavirus sequences identified from A. peninsulae, fetal HFRS cases in Vladivostok, and Amur virus are highly similar to each other(>92% identity), but they are less similar(～84% identity)to the prototypical Hantaan virus, which is carried by A. agrarius. Phylogenetic analysis also indicates that Amur and A. peninsulae-associated viruses are distinct from Hantaan virus, suggesting that A. peninsulae is the reservoir animal for Amur virus, which causes severe HFRS. From HFRS patients in the Khabarovsk region, we identified viruses with nucleotide sequences that are more similar to Far East virus(>96%identity)than to the Hantaan(88‐89%identity)or Amur (81‐83%identity)viruses. Phylogenetic analysis also indicates that the viruses from Khabarovsk HFRS patients are closely related to the Far East virus, and distinct from Amur virus

Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies to Junin Virus Nucleocapsid Protein and Application to the Diagnosis of Hemorrhagic Fever Caused by South American Arenaviruses▿

Junin virus (JUNV), Machupo virus, Guanarito virus, Sabia virus, and Chapare virus are members of New World arenavirus clade B and are the etiological agents of viral hemorrhagic fevers that occur in South America. In this study, we produced three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to the recombinant nucleocapsid protein of JUNV, designated C6-9, C11-12, and E4-2. The specificity of these MAbs was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect immunofluorescence assay, and an epitope-mapping method. Using these MAbs, we developed antigen (Ag) capture ELISA systems. We showed that by using MAb C6-9, JUNV Ag was specifically detected. On the other hand, by using MAb C11-12 or E-4-2, the Ags of all human pathogenic South American arenaviruses were detected. The combined use of these Ag capture ELISA systems in the present study may be useful for the diagnosis of acute-phase viral hemorrhagic fever due to infection by a South American arenavirus