B细胞表位作图研究进展

抗原-抗体的特异性结合是由抗体表面的抗原决定簇与抗原表面的表位基序间的特异性互补识别决定的。B细胞表位作图既包括B细胞抗原表位基序的鉴定(即确定抗原分子上被B细胞表面受体或抗体特异性识别并结合的氨基酸基序),也包括绘制抗原蛋白的全部或接近全部的B细胞表位基序在其一级或高级结构上的分布图谱的过程。B细胞表位作图是研发表位疫苗、治疗性表位抗体药物和建立疾病免疫诊断方法的重要前提。目前,已经建立了多种B细胞表位鉴定或绘制抗原蛋白B细胞表位图谱的实验方法。基于抗原-单抗复合物晶体结构的X-射线晶体学分析的B细胞表位作图和基于抗原蛋白或抗原片段的突变体库筛选技术的B细胞表位作图可以在氨基酸水平,甚至原子水平上揭示抗原分子上与单抗特异性结合的关键基序;其它B细胞表位作图方法(如基于ELISA的肽库筛选技术)常常只能获得包含B细胞表位的抗原性肽段,因而,很少用于最小表位基序的鉴定;而改良的生物合成肽法多用于B细胞表位的最小基序鉴定和精细作图。鉴于每种B细胞作图方法都存在各自的优势与不足,B细胞表位作图往往需要多种作图方法的有机结合。本文对目前常用的B细胞表位作图的实验方法及其在动物疫病防控中的应用进行综述,以期为研究者设计最佳的表位作图方案提供参考。     

B型肉毒毒素重链抗原表位的预测及表位合成肽抗原性的检测

目的:预测B型肉毒毒素蛋白抗原表位,研究表位合成肽的生物学活性。方法:利用生物信息学,结合Anthwine分析软件及网络平台,预测B型肉毒毒素蛋白重链的B细胞抗原表位。人工合成4条(P1,P2,P3,P4)表位多肽,与抗B型肉毒毒素类毒素的马血清反应;采用腹腔注射的方式用合成肽免疫BALB/c小鼠,检测免疫血清与合成肽的结合;对免疫小鼠腹腔注射B型肉毒毒素。结果:合成的多肽能与抗B型肉毒毒素的类毒素的马血清结合;多肽免疫小鼠后能产生针对多肽的抗体,其中P1、P3、P4产生的抗体对受毒素攻击的小鼠具有保护作用。结论:成功预测了抗原表位,合成的表位多肽具有较好的抗原性。     

人乳头瘤病毒11型L1主要衣壳蛋白的B细胞表位多肽作为疫苗的研究

分析了人乳头瘤病毒11型(HPV11)L1主要衣壳蛋白的B细胞优势表位,并以此为基础研制表位多肽疫苗。研究中采用Goldkey和．PC／Gene软件系统,分析HPV11的L1主要衣壳蛋白的二级结构、抗原性、B细胞表位,并引人氨基酸抗原性指数,综合评估其B细胞优势表位。Fmoc固相合成表位多肽,高效液相层析方法纯化,毛细管电泳分析其纯度。与0．2ml佐剂完全乳化后,按50μg／只的剂量免疫小鼠,进行动物水平的免疫效果评价。取免疫小鼠血清,与HPV11 DNA阳性的尖锐湿疣患者的疣体上清液结合,鉴定免疫后小鼠所产生抗体的特异性。发现HPV11的L1主要衣壳蛋白的第426～439位和第487～501位具有较高的免疫原性,可明显诱导小鼠血清抗体滴度升高,且该抗体与人尖锐湿疣的疣体组织上清液呈阳性反应。说明所选这两个肽段为HPV11的L1主要衣壳蛋白的B细胞优势表位,但是否具有功能特异性,尚需进一步研究。     

狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白B细胞线性抗原表位研究

为阐明狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白B细胞线性抗原表位,本研究通过合成肽模拟B细胞线性抗原表位,采用免疫学方法对生物信息学分析获得的狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白潜在B细胞线性抗原表位进行验证。结果显示,狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白355~369、385~400位氨基酸序列合成肽免疫小鼠血清经间接酶联免疫吸附试验(Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,ELISA)检测抗多肽抗体效价达到1∶12 800以上;抗多肽抗体在免疫印迹试验(Western blot,WB)中识别变性狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白抗原,在间接荧光抗体试验(Indirect fluorescent antibody,IFA)中识别感染BHK-21细胞的狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白抗原。因此,狂犬病病毒CVS-11核蛋白355~369、385~400位氨基酸序列经证实为B细胞线性抗原表位。     

兼职蛋白热休克蛋白70与α-烯醇酶的人B细胞表位肽预测及其瓜氨酸化的血清学检定

目的筛选与自身免疫病相关兼职蛋白的B细胞优势表位肽并进行血清学检定。方法利用DNAMAN软件分析不同物种热休克蛋白70(heat shock protein 70, HSP70)和α-烯醇酶氨基酸序列同源性,IEDB数据库和瓜氨酸化在线平台预测线性B细胞表位和瓜氨酸化修饰位点;间接ELISA检测抗HSP70和α-烯醇酶蛋白瓜氨酸化前后表位肽抗体。结果同源性分析和IEDB数据库预测得到兼职蛋白HSP70和α-烯醇酶各10个B细胞优势表位肽;瓜氨酸化位点预测显示,其分别有9个和4个位点可能会发生瓜氨酸化修饰,其中5个瓜氨酸化修饰位点与预测表位肽重合。与正常人相比,抗环瓜氨酸肽抗体阳性患者血清抗瓜氨酸化修饰表位肽的抗体滴度明显增高(P0.05)。结论采用生物信息学分析和ELISA初步验证的方法有助于筛选自身抗原相关的B细胞优势表位肽。     

HIV蛋白质优势B细胞抗原表位的筛选、重组表达与抗原性鉴定

设计了一种新的病原体蛋白质B细胞抗原表位的筛选和重 组表达方法。不须使用抗原,而通过交替用病人血清IgG抗体“淘洗”(biopanning)随机肽库和用正常人血清IgG反向吸附,来获得特异抗原表位资料。用HIV病人血清的IgG抗体淘洗噬菌体递呈随机十二肽库,再以正常人IgG抗体吸附,筛选到了能和HIV病人血清发生特异反应的噬菌体克隆,经ELISA、DNA测序等,成功地筛选出了位于HIV gp41外膜蛋白、高亲和力、构型特异的优势B细胞抗原表位(602GCSGKLICTTNV613)。用大肠杆菌硫氧还蛋白作为骨架,在其活性部位以“内融合”形式重组表达了该抗原表位,纯化的重组蛋白具有良好的抗原性,能与HIV(+)IgG抗体及艾滋病人血清呈特异反应,表明本技术路线可以有 效地进行HIV蛋白质的B细胞抗原表位筛选和重组表达。此方法也可移植于其它病原微生物抗原或自身抗原的表位研究,继而为基于抗原表位水平的特异诊断试剂的研制、疫苗的设计提供依据。     

多聚抗原肽微阵列分析平台的建立与初步应用

基于多肽设计合成技术建立了一个快速、高通量、自动化的多聚抗原肽微阵列分析平台.选取人巨细胞病毒(HCMV)的包膜糖蛋白B和被膜碱性磷酸蛋白PP150,幽门螺杆菌(Helicobacterpylori,Hp)尿素酶(Ure)β亚基为靶蛋白,分析筛选出优势线性表位序列,Fmoc法固相合成上述线形表位的多聚抗原肽(MAPs),高效液相色谱仪(HPLC)纯化后,用机器人点样仪按一定的矩阵排列形式点印至硝酸纤维素膜上,2%的小牛血清封闭,塑料壳体封装制备成MAPs微阵列成品.随机抽样经质控血清鉴定后用于随机人群血清试验并与ELISA检测结果进行比较.筛选、合成并鉴定出4条MAPs.用该MAPs微阵列检测的Hp和HCMV阳性及阴性质控血清结果均与质控血清情况相符,120份随机血清检测结果与用重组抗原和病原微生物裂解物抗原包被的ELISA法检测结果相比具有较好的一致性,Ure-1、Ure-2和PP150三种MAPs的灵敏度和特异性均大于90%.MAPs微阵列片间质控试验结果变异系数小于7%,示重复性良好.MAPs微阵列是一种快速、高通量、自动化的分析平台,该平台在预防性疫苗的开发和蛋白质组学的研究中具有较大的前景.     

大鼠阴离子交换蛋白合成肽抗体制备及鉴定

根据带3蛋白（阴离子交换蛋白）拓扑学模式、氨基酸保守片段、功能片段、天然抗原表位,设计大鼠带3膜外侧片段合成肽,制备抗合成肽（12肽）抗体,同时制备抗大片段带3抗体加以印证.多项免疫学实验鉴定结果表明,该12肽是带3抗原决定簇之一,也是带3发挥阴离子转运功能的关键肽段;12肽的氨基酸组成与序列在各种属间高度保守.免疫金银显色——扫描电镜结果给出该12肽为带3蛋白膜外侧区片段的最直接证据.制备的抗带3抗体可作为研究带3结构与功能、探讨与带3病变有关的疾病发病机理和病理过程的有用工具.     

重组牛乳源金黄色葡萄球菌GapC蛋白优势B细胞抗原表位的预测和筛选

旨在表达牛乳源金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)GapC蛋白并对其B细胞抗原表位进行预测与鉴定，本研究利用实验室分离鉴定的S. aureus分离株15119扩增GapC基因并构建重组表达质粒pET-28a-GapC，诱导纯化得到分子量为44 kD重组蛋白GapC，以此免疫新西兰大白兔，获得特异多克隆抗体。利用生物信息学方法，对GapC蛋白的二级及三级结构进行分析，预测其B细胞抗原表位，并利用特异性抗体对筛选的表位进行鉴定。结果表明，GapC蛋白具有良好的免疫原性，筛选出7个线性B细胞抗原表位，利用兔抗重组GapC蛋白多克隆抗体鉴定得到了PL 5(²²¹ IPEIDGKLDGGAQRVP²³⁶)多肽和PL 7(²⁶⁴KNASNESFGYTEDEIVSSDVVGM²⁸⁶)2个优势B细胞表位。本研究成功制备了GapC蛋白，预测并鉴定了2个优势抗原表位，为其嵌合表位疫苗的开发提供了技术支持。     

高效表达幽门螺杆菌UreB重组蛋白工程菌的构建

克隆表达幽门螺杆菌(Hp)的尿素酶B亚单位(UreB)重组蛋白,可为Hp疫苗开发和快速诊断试剂盒的研究奠定基础。用PCR方法由幽门螺杆菌染色体DNA扩增UreB基因片段,将其融合插入原核表达载体pQE30中,并在M15大肠杆菌表达。经酶切、测序分析,包括部分融合载体基因在内的重组UreB基因片段由1773bp组成。为编码591个氨基酸残基的多肽。SDS-PAGE分析显示重组表达的目的蛋白相对分子量约为66kD,表达量点菌体总蛋白的23．5％,并经免疫印迹分析证实被幽门螺杆菌感染的阳性血清可与纯化UreB重组蛋白发生特异性的结合反应。UreB重组蛋白具有良好的抗原性,将有可能成为一种有效蛋白质疫苗以及快速诊断试剂盒用于Hp感染的防治和检测。     

A major part of the polypeptide chain of tobacco mosaic virus protein is antigenic

Eighteen synthetic peptides representing virtually the entire length of the polypeptide chain of tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMVP) have been analyzed for their ability to bind in an enzyme immunoassay to 30 monoclonal antibodies raised against the dissociated viral subunits. Only five of the monoclonal antibodies were able to bind a number of peptides while the other 25 antibodies recognized only the complete molecule and seemed to be specific for conformational features that are absent in the peptide fragments. The 18 peptides were also tested for their ability to bind to several antisera to TMVP. Virtually the entire sequence of TMVP possessed antigenic activity. Four new epitopes were identified in the vicinity of residues 19–32, 90–95, 115–134 and 134–146. These results bring to 11 the number of continuous epitopes that have been identified in the TMVP molecule and show that the entire surface of the molecule is antigenic. When peptides of TMVP of a length of 6–8 residues were tested for antigenic activity previously a correlation was found between the location of short continuous epitopes and mobile segments of the protein. In the present study, in which longer peptides as well as monoclonal antibodies were used to probe the antigenicity of TMVP, additional conformation-dependent epitopes were shown to be present. Our results illustrate the operational nature of any definition of antigenicity and caution against the use of any single criterion for distinguishing between antigenic and non-antigenic regions of a protein.     

The concept and operational definition of protein epitopes

The antigenic determinants or epitopes of a protein correspond to those parts of the molecule that are specifically recognized by the binding sites or paratopes of certain immunoglobulin molecules. Epitopes are thus relational entities that require complementary paratopes for their operational recognition. Some authors consider that the concept of epitope necessarily involves the two properties of antigenic reactivity (ability to bind to a paratope) and immunogenicity (ability to induce an immune response). Such a view creates difficulties because it makes the existence of epitopes in a protein depend on immunogenetic and regulatory mechanisms of the immunized host. The delineation of epitopes can be achieved by antigenic cross-reactivity studies or by X-ray crystallography. Both approaches require specific criteria for deciding which residues of the antigen are in contact with the paratope and are functionally part of the epitope. The relative contribution of static accessibility, segmental mobility and induced fit to immune recognition remains controversial. Each of the methods used for analysing antigenic specificity is subject to various operational constraints originating from the type of experimental probe and from the format sensitivity and specificity of the immunoassay used. If a protein is assumed to contain as many epitopes as the number of different monoclonal antibodies that can be raised against it, the delineation of epitopes corresponds to the summation in various hosts of the immune repertoire specific for the antigen. Neutralization epitopes are a special subclass of the epitopes of infectious agents and toxins that are specifically recognized by antibody molecules able to neutralize the biological activity of the antigen. The identification of neutralization epitopes is important for the development of synthetic vaccines because it is this type of epitope that should be mimicked by synthesis and used as a vaccine for eliciting protective immunity. The first demonstration that synthetic peptides could elicit antibodies that neutralized viral infectivity was made by Anderer and his colleagues in the 1960s in their work with tobacco mosaic virus. Nearly 20 years passed before it was shown that antibodies to synthetic peptides were also able to neutralize the infectivity of other viruses such as foot-and-mouth disease, polio and hepatitis B viruses.     

Artificial mosaic protein containing antigenic epitopes of hepatitis E virus.

A synthetic gene encoding an artificial polypeptide composed of antigenic epitopes of the hepatitis E virus (HEV) proteins was constructed from short oligodeoxyribonucleotides by using PCR. The polypeptide comprises a mosaic of three antigenically active dominant regions from the protein encoded by open reading frame 2 (ORF2), one antigenically active region from the protein encoded by ORF3 of the Burmese HEV strain, and one antigenically active region from the protein encoded by ORF3 of the Mexican HEV strain. The mosaic protein was expressed in Escherichia coli as a chimera with glutathione S-transferase or beta-galactosidase. Guinea pig sera containing antibodies to the corresponding HEV synthetic peptides were used to demonstrate by Western immunoblot analysis and enzyme immunoassay the presence and accessibility of all HEV-specific antigenic epitopes introduced into the mosaic protein. Both the glutathione S-transferase and beta-galactosidase hybrid proteins were analyzed by using a panel of human anti-HEV-positive and -negative sera. The data obtained strongly indicate a diagnostic potential for the mosaic protein.     

Assessment of synthetic chimeric multiple antigenic peptides for diagnosis of GB virus C infection

The use of synthetic peptides of both structural and nonstructural proteins of GB virus C (GBV-C) has been studied for the development of new systems to diagnose infection caused by this virus. In an attempt to increase the antigenicity of linear peptide sequences, chimeric multiple antigenic peptides (MAPs) containing epitopes from E2, NS4, and NS5 GBV-C proteins have been synthesized. The synthetic constructs were evaluated by ELISA to establish whether the epitopes in chimeric branched peptides are more efficiently recognized by the specific antibodies compared to the monomeric linear sequences. Moreover, we have investigated the application of a commercial biosensor instrument for the detection of antibodies against the GBV-C in human serum samples. The results of the immunoassays reported in this work highlight the usefulness of synthetic tetrameric branched peptides containing sequences from envelope and nonstructural GBV-C proteins for the diagnosis of GBV-C infection. The potential clinical value of the MAP₄(E2-NS5a) for the serodiagnosis of GBV-C infection was demonstrated, thus providing the basis for performing prevalence studies of the infection among the hemodialyzed and hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected population.     

Expression of heterologous peptides at two permissive sites of the MalE protein: antigenicity and immunogenicity of foreign B-cell and T-cell epitopes.

We previously determined a number of 'permissive' sites in the periplasmic maltose-binding protein (MalE) from Escherichia coli. These sites accept the insertion of heterologous peptides without major deleterious consequences for the activities, structure and cellular location of the protein. This study explores the versatility of two such permissive sites for the synthesis of foreign peptides, and examines the antigenicity and the immunogenicity of the inserts. One site is located after amino acid 133 (aa133) of MalE, and the other after aa303. Both sites tolerate inserts of up to at least 70 aa and accept sequences of different natures. Hydrophobic aa sequences are accepted, although strongly hydrophobic sequences, such as the Sendai virus F protein membrane anchor, affected export. We compared the antigenic and the immunogenic properties of peptides derived from the coat proteins of HBV and poliovirus which contain well defined B-cell epitopes. Specific monoclonal antibodies show that the antigenic properties of the inserted B-cell epitopes were different at the two sites. Despite these differences, the inserted peptides elicited strong and comparable antibody responses in mice against the corresponding synthetic peptides. In this case, and with these criteria, the molecular context of the peptides did not affect the immunogenicity of B-cell epitopes. We show for the first time that when a foreign peptide carrying a T-cell epitope was inserted in MalE, the hybrid proteins can elicit a T-cell response against the foreign peptide both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, the MalE hybrid was as efficient as free peptide in stimulating T-cell hybridomas in vitro. The MalE vectors provide a powerful genetic system to study how the position and the conformation of a peptide within a protein affect the B-cell and T-cell responses.     

Diagnostic epitope variability within Taenia solium 8 kDa antigen family: implications for cysticercosis immunodetection

To study diagnostic epitopes within the Taenia solium 8 kDa antigen family, six overlapping synthetic peptides from an 8 kDa family member (Ts8B2) were synthesized and evaluated by ELISA and MABA with sera from patients with neurocysticercosis (NCC), from infected pigs and from rabbits immunized with recombinant Ts8B2 protein. The pre-immune rabbit sera and the Ts8B2 recombinant protein served as negative and positive controls, respectively. A similar analysis was done with the already described antigenic peptides from another member of the 8 kDa family, highly similar to Ts8B2, the CyDA antigen. Surprisingly, neither the Ts8B2 peptides nor the CyDA peptides were recognized by infected human and porcine sera. However, the entire Ts8B2 recombinant, as well as amino and carboxy-terminal halves were recognized by the positive serum samples. The observed lack of recognition of linear Ts8B2 peptides suggests that the principal serological response to the Ts8B2 family is focused on conformational epitopes in contrast to the previously observed antigenicity of the CyDA peptides. This differential antigenicity of 8 kDa family peptides could be related with parasite antigenic variability. The fact that rabbits experimentally immunized with Ts8B2 did make anti-peptide antibodies to peptides Ts8B2-6 and CyDA-6, located in the carboxy-terminal region demonstrated that the Ts8B2 peptides are not intrinsically non-immunogenic.     

Mapping antibody binding sites on cytochrome c with synthetic peptides: Are results representative of the antigenic structure of proteins?

Crystallographic work on antigen-antibody complexes has revealed that extensive surface areas of proteins may interact with antibodies. On the other hand, most experimental approaches to locate and define antigenic determinants of protein antigens rely on the linear sequence of the polypeptide chain. Hence the question arises whether mapping of antibody binding sites by analysis of the reactivity of anti-protein antibodies with synthetic peptides can provide a representative picture of the antigenic structure of a protein antigen. We have addressed this question using yeast iso-1 cytochrome c as a protein antigen against which antisera were raised in rabbits. The reaction of the antisera with 103 synthetic hexapeptides covering the entire sequence of cytochrome c was tested by the pepscan procedure in which peptides are coupled to polyethylene rods and tested by ELISA. For the assay, anti-cytochrome c antibodies were fractionated by affinity chromatography on native yeast iso-1 cytochrome c and on apo-cytochrome c; the latter is a random coil. It was found that only antibodies retained by the apo-cytochrome c affinity column react with synthetic peptides. These antibodies comprise a small fraction, probably less than 2%, of all cytochrome c-specific antibodies. The majority of antigenic determinants, which seem to consist of strongly conformation-dependent topographic epitopes, could not be uncovered by the peptide approach. Epitope mapping with short peptides seems of limited usefulness in the case of small, globular, and conformationally stable proteins like cytochrome c.     

Analysis of antibody response to synthetic peptides derived from the fusion protein of measles virus

A computer program combining of hydrophilicity, flexibility, surface probability, secondary structure and antigenic index parameters of the amino acid sequence of measles virus (MV) fusion protein was used to select four possible epitopes. Rabbits were immunized with the synthesized peptides conjugated to purified protein derivative using the homobifunctional cross-linker bis-sulfosuccinimidyl suberate. Immune stimulating complexes were prepared with the peptides conjugated to the purified protein derivative carrier using a dialysis method. All antisera raised in rabbits against the peptide conjugates had a high titer to the homologous peptides and reacted well with denatured MV as tested by plate ELISA. None of the sera had neutralizing antibody. Human sera positive for MV antibody reacted strongly with the synthesized peptides indicating that the selected locations function as partial antigenic sites. Antisera against peptide conjugates reacted weakly in immunofluorescence and none of these antisera reacted with purified MV proteins in Western blot. The results obtained in this study indicated that although the computer program could not predict epitopes important for the neutralization of the MV, the predicted epitopes are useful for detecting antibodies against MV.     

Use of long synthetic peptides to study the antigenicity and immunogenicity of the Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite protein

Three long synthetic peptides corresponding to amino (N), repeat (R) and carboxyl (C) regions of the Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite (CS) protein were synthesised and used to assess their potential as vaccine candidates. Antigenicity studies were carried out using human blood samples from residents of a malaria-endemic area of Colombia, and immunogenicity was tested in Aotus monkeys. The N and C peptides spanned the total native amino and carboxyl flanking regions, whereas the R peptide corresponded to a construct based on the first central nona-peptide repeated in tandem three times and colinearly linked to a universal T-cell epitope (ptt-30) derived from tetanus toxin. All three peptides had been shown previously to contain several B-, T-helper (Th) and Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTL) epitopes. Sixty-one percent of the human sera reacted with the R region, whereas 35 and 39% of the samples had antibodies against the N and C peptides, respectively. Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMC) showed higher levels of IFN-gamma than IL-4 when stimulated with peptides containing Th epitopes. Aotus monkeys immunised with the peptides formulated in either Montanide ISA720 or Freund's adjuvants produced strong antibody responses that recognised the peptide immunogens and the native circumsporozoite protein on sporozoites. Additionally, high IFN-gamma production was induced when Aotus lymphocytes were stimulated in vitro with each of the three peptides. We observed boosting of antibody responses and IFN-gamma production by exposure to live sporozoites. These results confirm the high antigenicity and immunogenicity of such synthetic polypeptides and underline their vaccine potential.     

Delineation and conformational analysis of two synthetic peptide models of antigenic sites on rodent cytochrome c

Two regions of rodent cytochrome c, one within the first four residues of the molecule, which is N-acetylated, and one at a beta bend around residue 44, are known to be immunogenic and antigenic in rabbits. Using sequential peptide synthesis, we have determined the residues required for linear synthetic peptides within these sequences to bind to antibody raised in rabbits to intact rat cytochrome c. The residues that were important in binding the N-terminal peptides were N-acetylglycine at position 1 and valine at position 3. The smallest peptide sequence around residue 44 that would bind to antibodies was Gln-Ala-Ala-Gly-Phe. A theoretical conformational analysis of these peptides showed that the amino-terminal tetrapeptide adopts a wide statistical ensemble of conformational states and that the addition of residues beyond 41 and 45 in the other sequence does not appear to stabilize longer peptides in the native beta-bend conformation. Thus, the antigenicity conferred by Phe-46 and Gln-42 in this peptide is most likely due to the direct interaction of the side chains of these residues with the antibody binding site. The demonstration here that native conformation is not essential for antigenic peptides to bind to antibodies raised against the whole protein indicates that the association energy between antigen and antibody can be sufficient to induce conformation in conformationally flexible peptides. This supports the concept that anti-protein and anti-peptide antibodies may invoke conformational changes in cross-reactive protein antigens and may explain why longer peptides, which may adopt stable nonnative secondary structure, often do not bind to antibodies raised to the whole molecule.