Hepatitis delta antigen. Antigenic structure and humoral immune response

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a small RNA virus that is dependent on helper functions provided by hepatitis B virus. The hepatitis delta Ag (HDAg) is the only protein known to be made from the viral genome, from an ORF with a coding capacity of 214 amino acids. The immunogenic epitopes of HDAg and the immune response to it were mapped by the use of synthetic peptides, antipeptide antibodies, and human mAb. Antipeptide sera covering approximately 60% of the linear sequence reacted with liver-derived HDAg. Antisera from HDV-infected humans, chimpanzees, and woodchucks reacted with from 2 to 13 of 15 peptides. The epitopes of two human anti-HD mAb were mapped to overlapping but distinct epitopes in the region around residues 106-123. Sera from infected humans, chimpanzees, and woodchucks were also tested by competition with the mAb. Use of the peptides and antipeptide sera defined one region in the sequence (residues 52-93) which is immunodominant in the immune response to HDAg. Reactivity of both peptides and antipeptide antibodies was very broad, covering most or all of the linear sequence. Competition assays also provided information on conformational epitopes, as well as the sequential epitopes defined by direct assays. The peptides and antipeptide antibodies should be useful in new assay development, in dissecting the anti-HD response in terms of chronic vs self-limited infection, and in studying the role of anti-HD in infection and recovery.     

Genetic changes in hepatitis delta virus from acutely and chronically infected woodchucks

A woodchuck-derived hepatitis delta virus (HDV) inoculum was created by transfection of a genotype I HDV cDNA clone directly into the liver of a woodchuck that was chronically infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus. All woodchucks receiving this inoculum became positive for HDV RNA in serum, and 67% became chronically infected, similar to the rate of chronic HDV infection in humans. Analysis of HDV sequences obtained at 73 weeks postinfection indicated that changes had occurred at a rate of 0.5% per year; many of these modifications were consistent with editing by host RNA adenosine deaminase. The appearance of sequence changes, which were not evenly distributed on the genome, was correlated with the course of HDV infection. A limited number of modifications occurred in the consensus sequence of the viral genome that altered the sequence of the hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg). All chronically infected animals examined exhibited these changes 73 weeks following infection, but at earlier times, only one of the HDV carriers exhibited consensus sequence substitutions. On the other hand, sequence modifications in animals that eventually recovered from HDV infection were apparent after 27 weeks. The data are consistent with a model in which HDV sequence changes are selected by host immune responses. Chronic HDV infection in woodchucks may result from a delayed and weak immune response that is limited to a small number of epitopes on HDAg.     

Synthetic peptides define the fine specificity of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) gp160 humoral immune response in HIV type 1-infected chimpanzees

The fine specificities of antibodies produced against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) gp160 were examined in sera from 23 HIV-1-infected chimpanzees. These animals had been infected with one of six isolates of HIV-1. Sera were screened by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for reactivity against seven synthetic peptides corresponding to regions of gp160. Chimpanzees appear to remain healthy after infection with HIV-1, suggesting that these animals may prevent extensive spread of the virus in vivo through immunologic mechanisms. Antibody specificity to gp160 epitopes may play a key role in the defense against HIV-1-related disease. Approximately one-half of all chimpanzee sera contained antibodies reactive with peptide 846-860, which corresponds to the carboxyl terminus of gp41. Less than 10% of sera from HIV-1-infected humans that were examined contained antibodies reactive with peptide 846-860, suggesting that this region is not highly immunogenic in humans. Of the human sera containing antibodies reactive with this peptide, all were from individuals classified as Walter Reed stages 1 to 3. No sera from humans with advanced stages of the disease contained antibodies reactive with peptide 846-860. Peptide 600-611, which reportedly reacts with nearly all sera from HIV-infected humans, was reactive with less than one-half of sera from HIV-1-infected chimpanzees. The observed differences in antibody reactivity to gp160 peptides in sera from HIV-1-infected chimpanzees and humans suggest that each may generate antibodies against differing sets of HIV-1 epitopes. These differences may contribute to the lack of disease progression in chimpanzees after infection with HIV-1.     

Human hepatitis delta antigen is a nuclear phosphoprotein with RNA-binding activity.

The genetic origin, structure, and biochemical properties of the delta antigen (HDAg) of a human hepatitis delta virus (HDV) were investigated. A cDNA fragment containing the open reading frame encoding the HDAg was transcribed into RNA and used for in vitro translation in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. The HDAg open reading frame was also inserted into an expression vector containing a simian virus 40 T-antigen promoter and expressed into COS 7 cells. In both systems, a protein species of 26 kilodaltons was synthesized from this open reading frame and could be specifically immunoprecipitated with antisera obtained from patients with delta hepatitis. A similar protein was also synthesized from antigenomic-sense monomeric HDV RNA in both systems, although the efficiency of translation was lower than that of the isolated open reading frame. This protein was found to be phosphorylated at the serine residues. Immunoperoxidase studies with anti-HDV sera demonstrated that the HDAg was expressed mainly in the nuclei of the transfected COS 7 cells. Moreover, the HDAg was shown to bind the genomic RNA of HDV. These studies indicate that HDAg is encoded by the antigenomic-sense RNA of HDV and is a nuclear phosphoprotein associated with an RNA-binding activity.     

Identification of immunodominant and conformational epitopes in the capsid protein of hepatitis E virus by using monoclonal antibodies

Antibody to the capsid (PORF2) protein of hepatitis E virus (HEV) is sufficient to confer immunity, but knowledge of B-cell epitopes in the intact capsid is limited. A panel of murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) was generated following immunization with recombinant ORF2.1 protein, representing the C-terminal 267 amino acids (aa) of the 660-aa capsid protein. Two MAbs reacted exclusively with the conformational ORF2.1 epitope (F. Li, J. Torresi, S. A. Locarnini, H. Zhuang, W. Zhu, X. Guo, and D. A. Anderson, J. Med. Virol. 52:289-300, 1997), while the remaining five demonstrated reactivity with epitopes in the regions aa 394 to 414, 414 to 434, and 434 to 457. The antigenic structures of both the ORF2.1 protein expressed in Escherichia coli and the virus-like particles (VLPs) expressed using the baculovirus system were examined by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) using five of these MAbs and HEV patient sera. Despite the wide separation of epitopes within the primary sequence, all the MAbs demonstrated some degree of cross-inhibition with each other in ORF2. 1 and/or VLP ELISAs, suggesting a complex antigenic structure. MAbs specific for the conformational ORF2.1 epitope and a linear epitope within aa 434 to 457 blocked convalescent patient antibody reactivity against VLPs by approximately 60 and 35%, respectively, while MAbs against epitopes within aa 394 to 414 and 414 to 434 were unable to block patient serum reactivity. These results suggest that sequences spanning aa 394 to 457 of the capsid protein participate in the formation of strongly immunodominant epitopes on the surface of HEV particles which may be important in immunity to HEV infection.     

Expression of the hepatitis delta virus large and small antigens in transgenic mice.

Simultaneous infection with hepatitis delta virus (HDV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) in humans is often associated with severe viral liver disease including fulminant hepatitis. Since HBV is thought to be noncytopathic to the hepatocyte, the enhanced disease severity observed during dual infection has been attributed to either simultaneous immune responses against the two viruses or direct cytotoxic effects of HDV products on the hepatocyte or both. To examine these alternate possibilities, we produced transgenic mice that express the small and large delta antigens (HDAg) in hepatocyte nuclei at levels equal to those observed during natural HDV infection. No biological or histopathological evidence of liver disease was detectable during 18 months of observation, suggesting that neither the large nor small form of HDAg is directly cytopathic to the hepatocyte in vivo.     

Isoprenylation mediates direct protein-protein interactions between hepatitis large delta antigen and hepatitis B virus surface antigen.

Hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) consists of two protein species of 195 and 214 amino acids, respectively, which are identical in sequence except that the large HDAg has additional 19 amino acids at its C terminus and is prenylated. Previous studies have shown that the large HDAg and the surface antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) together can form empty hepatitis delta virus (HDV) particles. To understand the molecular mechanism of HDV virion morphogenesis, we investigated the possible direct protein-protein interaction between HDAg and HBsAg. We constructed recombinant baculoviruses expressing the major form of HBsAg and various mutant HDAgs and used these proteins for far-Western protein binding assays. We demonstrated that HBsAg interacted specifically with the large HDAg but not with the small HDAg. Using mutant HDAgs which have defective or aberrant prenylation, we showed that this interaction required isoprenylates on the cysteine residue of the C terminus of the large HDAg. Isoprenylation alone, without the remainder of the C-terminal amino acids of the large HDAg, was insufficient to mediate interaction with HBsAg. This study demonstrates a novel role of prenylates in HDV virion assembly.     

Functional domains of delta antigens and viral RNA required for RNA packaging of hepatitis delta virus.

The functions of delta antigens (HDAgs) in the morphogenesis of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) have been studied previously. The C terminus of large HDAg has been shown to complex with the small surface antigen (HBsAg) of helper hepatitis B virus, whereas the assembly of small HDAg requires interaction with the N terminus of large HDAg (M.-F. Chang, C.-J. Chen, and S. C. Chang, J. Virol. 68:646-653, 1994). To further examine the molecular mechanisms by which HDAgs are involved in the assembly of HDV RNA, we have cotransfected Huh-7 cells with plasmids representing a longer than unit-length HDV and the small HBsAg cDNAs. We found that HDAg mRNA could be generated from an endogenous promoter within the HDV cDNA that was translated into large HDAg. Large HDAg is capable of complexing with monomeric HDV genomic RNA to form ribonucleoprotein particles (RNPs) and is capable of forming enveloped HDV-like particles in the presence of small HBsAg without undergoing HDV replication. In addition, the middle region from amino acid residues 89 to 145 of large HDAg is required for assembly of the RNPs but is dispensable for assembly of the enveloped particles. RNA assembly is also demonstrated with small HDAg when it is cotransfected with a packaging-defective large HDAg mutant and small HBsAg. Leu-115 within the putative helix-loop-helix structure of the small HDAg is important for the replication of HDV but is not essential for RNA assembly, suggesting that conformational requirements of small HDAg for replication and assembly of viral RNA may be different. Further studies indicate that a 312-nucleotide linear HDV RNA from one end of the HDV and structure is sufficient to form RNP complexes competent for assembly of virus-like particles with large HDAg and small HBsAg.     

Detection of antibody to hepatitis delta virus in human serum by double antigen sandwich ELISA

A simple rapid detection of antibody to hepatitis delta virus (anti-HDV) in human serum was developed by using double antigen sandwich ELISA. HDV gene fragment encoding HDAg was isolated from a Chinese patient infected with HDV by RT-PCR, and a high-efficient expression HD-PQE31 strain was constructed with the fragment. We obtained high titer and good quality hepatitis delta virus protein purified by Ni-NTA metal-affinity chromatography, which was identified by Western blot and ELISA, then we set up the double antigen sandwich ELISA for detection of anti-HDV in human serum, and the performance of the sandwich ELISA was evaluated in terms of specificity and sensitivity. Results were: 1) The purified HDAg protein's purity was 90%, and its ELISA titer was 1/100 000. 2) 42 anti-HDV positive sera were detected and showed that the sensitivity of sandwich ELISA was higher than that of competitive ELISA (t=2.44, p<0.01). 3) The inhibitory rates for 2 anti-HDV positive sera by the specific HDAg were 74% and 93% respectively. 4) For the assay of specificity, all 60 samples infected by other hepatitis viruses and 30 normal samples were negative for anti-HDV. These results suggested that the double antigen sandwich ELISA with purified recombinant HDAg showed higher specificity and sensitivity, It can be used in routine laboratories to diagnose the HDV infection.     

Functional study of hepatitis delta virus large antigen in packaging and replication inhibition: role of the amino-terminal leucine zipper.

The large hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) has been found to be essential for the assembly of the hepatitis delta virion. Furthermore, in a cotransfection experiment, the large HDAg itself, without the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) genome and small HDAg, could be packaged into hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) particles. By deletion analysis, it was shown that the amino-terminal leucine zipper domain was dispensable for packaging. The large HDAg could also help in copackaging of the small HDAg into HBsAg particles without the need for HDV RNA. This process was probably mediated through direct interaction of the two HDAgs as a mutated large HDAg whose leucine zipper domain was deleted such that it could not help in copackaging of the small HDAg. This mutated large HDAg did not suppress HDV replication, suggesting that this effect is probably also via protein interaction. These results indicated that functional domains of the large HDAg responsible for packaging with HBsAg particles and for the trans-negative effect on HDV replication can be separated.     

Mutations in the carboxyl-terminal domain of the small hepatitis B virus envelope protein impair the assembly of hepatitis delta virus particles

The carboxyl-terminal domain of the small (S) envelope protein of hepatitis B virus was subjected to mutagenesis to identify sequences important for the envelopment of the nucleocapsid during morphogenesis of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) virions. The mutations consisted of carboxyl-terminal truncations of 4 to 64 amino acid residues and small combined deletions and insertions spanning the entire hydrophobic domain between residues 163 and 224. Truncation of as few as 14 residues partially inhibited glycosylation and secretion of S and prevented assembly or stability of HDV virions. Short internal combined deletions and insertions were tolerated for secretion of subviral particles with the exceptions of those affecting residues 164 to 173 and 219 to 223. However, mutants competent for subviral particle secretion had a reduced capacity for HDV assembly compared to that of the wild type. One exception was a mutant carrying a deletion of residues 214 to 218, which exhibited a twofold increase in HDV assembly (or stability), whereas deletions of residues 179 to 183, 194 to 198, and 199 to 203 were the most inhibitory. Substitutions of single amino acids between residues 194 and 198 demonstrated that HDV assembly deficiency could be assigned to the replacement of the tryptophan residue at position 196. We concluded that assembly of stable HDV particles requires a specific function of the carboxyl terminus of S which is mediated at least in part by Trp-196.     

Oligomerization of hepatitis delta antigen is required for both the trans-activating and trans-dominant inhibitory activities of the delta antigen.

Two forms of hepatitis delta antigen (HDAg) have different roles in the replication cycle of hepatitis delta virus (HDV); the small forms trans activates HDV RNA replication, whereas the large form suppresses it but is needed for virion assembly. To understand the mechanism of these regulatory activities, we studied the possible HDAg oligomerization and its role in HDV replication. In this report, we provide direct biochemical evidence for the in vitro and in vivo formation of homodimers and heterodimers between these two HDAg species. By deletion mutagenesis, we showed that this protein interaction is mediated by the leucine zipper-like sequence residing in the N-terminal one-third of HDAg. Furthermore, site-specific mutants with various substitutions on two of the leucine residues in this stretch of sequence had reduced or no ability to form HDAg dimers. Correspondingly, the small HDAg with mutations in the leucine zipper-like sequence had reduced abilities to trans activate HDV RNA replication. Similar mutations on the leucine zipper-like sequence of the large HDAg also resulted in loss of the ability of large HDAg to inhibit HDV RNA replication. The in vivo biological activities of both forms of HDAg (trans activation and trans-dominant inhibition of HDV RNA replication, respectively) correlated with the extent of HDAg oligomerization in vitro. Thus, we conclude that the small HDAg participates in HDV RNA replication as an oligomer form and that the large HDAg inhibits HDV RNA replication as a result of its complex formation with small HDAg. A "black sheep" model for the mechanism of trans-dominant inhibition by the large HDAg is presented.     

Identification of a Domain Containing B-Cell Epitopes in Hepatitis C Virus E2 Glycoprotein by Using Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies

Evidence from clinical and experimental studies of human and chimpanzees suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) envelope glycoprotein E2 is a key antigen for developing a vaccine against HCV infection. To identify B-cell epitopes in HCV E2, six murine monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), CET-1 to -6, specific for HCV E2 protein were generated by using recombinant proteins containing E2t (a C-terminally truncated domain of HCV E2 [amino acids 386 to 693] fused to human growth hormone and glycoprotein D). We tested whether HCV-infected sera were able to inhibit the binding of CET MAbs to the former fusion protein. Inhibitory activity was observed in most sera tested, which indicated that CET-1 to -6 were similar to anti-E2 antibodies in human sera with respect to the epitope specificity. The spacial relationship of epitopes on E2 recognized by CET MAbs was determined by surface plasmon resonance analysis and competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The data indicated that three overlapping epitopes were recognized by CET-1 to -6. For mapping the epitopes recognized by CET MAbs, we analyzed the reactivities of CET MAbs to six truncated forms and two chimeric forms of recombinant E2 proteins. The data suggest that the epitopes recognized by CET-1 to -6 are located in a small domain of E2 spanning amino acid residues 528 to 546.     

Topographical rearrangements of visna virus envelope glycoprotein during antigenic drift.

Visna virus undergoes antigenic drift during persistent infection in sheep and thus eludes neutralizing antibodies directed against its major envelope glycoprotein, gp135. Antigenic variants contain point mutations in the 3' end of the genome, presumably within the envelope glycoprotein gene. To localize the changes in the viral proteins of antigenic mutants, we isolated 35 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the envelope glycoprotein gp135 or the major core protein p27 of visna virus. The MAbs defined five partially overlapping epitopes on gp135. We used the MAbs and polyclonal immune sera directed against visna virus, gp135, or p27 in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to compare visna virus (strain 1514) with antigenic mutants (LV1-1 to LV1-6) previously isolated from a single sheep persistently infected with plaque-purified strain 1514. Polyclonal immune sera and anti-core p27 MAbs failed to distinguish antigenic differences among the viruses. By contrast, the anti-gp135 MAbs detected changes in all five epitopes of the envelope glycoprotein. Three gp135 epitopes, prominently exposed on strain 1514, were lost or obscured on the mutants; two covert gp135 epitopes, poorly exposed on strain 1514, were reciprocally revealed on the mutants. Even virus LV1-2, which is indistinguishable from parental strain 1514 by serum neutralization tests and which differs from it by only two unique oligonucleotides on RNase-T1 fingerprinting, displayed global changes in gp135. Our data suggest that visna virus variants may emerge more frequently during persistent infection than can be detected by serological tests involving the use of polyclonal immune sera, and the extent of phenotypic changes in their envelope glycoproteins may be greater than predicted by the small number of genetic changes previously observed. We suggest that topographical rearrangements in the three-dimensional structure of gp135 may magnify the primary amino acid sequence changes caused by point mutations in the env gene. This may complicate strategies to construct lentiviral vaccines by using the envelope glycoprotein.     

Functional motifs of delta antigen essential for RNA binding and replication of hepatitis delta virus.

The functions of delta antigens (HDAgs) in the replication of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) have been identified previously. The small HDAg acts as a transactivator, whereas the large HDAg has a negative effect on replication. To understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the control of HDV replication, we have established a replication system in Huh-7 cells by cotransfecting a monomeric cDNA genome of HDV and a plasmid encoding the small HDAg. We demonstrate that a leucine repeat in the middle domain of the small HDAg is involved in binding to the HDV genome and transactivation of HDV replication. When the leucine repeat was disrupted by a substitution of valine for leucine at position 115, both RNA-binding and transactivation activity of the small HDAg were abolished. In contrast, the binding and transactivation activities were not affected when Leu-37 and Leu-44 of the small HDAg were replaced by valines. In addition, small and large HDAgs can interact with each other to form protein complexes in vitro. The complex formation that may lead to the trans-dominant negative regulation of large HDAg in HDV replication is mediated by a cryptic signal located between amino acid residues 35 and 65 other than the putative N-terminal leucine zipper motif. Furthermore, an extra 21-amino-acid extension near the N terminus converts the small HDAg into a pseudo-large HDAg with negative regulation activity of HDV replication even though the extreme C-terminal residue is unchanged.     

Synthesis and antigenic activity of peptides of the nucleocapsid protein of the hepatitis delta virus]

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV), a recently discovered infectious agent, participates in severe, often lethal forms of acute and chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. Based on theoretical analysis of secondary structure, hydrophilicity and acrophilicity data, several regions of HDV antigen, presumably containing B-epitopes, have been revealed and the corresponding peptides have been synthesized by the solid phase method. All the peptides obtained reacted with the respective antipeptide rabbit sera. The peptides and their conjugates with BSA or KLH were used for ELISA with individual and pooled anti-HD-positive sera from patients with chronic delta hepatitis. The high antigenicity of the peptide 65-80 shows that one of the antigenically active regions of HDAg is situated between these amino acid residues and that the peptide may be used for detection of anti-HD antibodies in patients blood sera.     

我国25省市自治区丁型肝炎病毒感染的流行病学调查研究

应用本室先后建立的酶联免疫吸附法和核酸打点杂交法,检测我国25省布自治区、16个不同民族共9 758例乙型肝炎病毒感染者中的丁型肝炎病毒抗原、抗体和核酸。其中乙型肝炎病人4 714例,HBsAg慢性携带者5 044例。病人和携带者中丁型肝炎抗原阳性率分别为4.25％和3.0％,丁型肝炎抗体阳性率分别为1.46％和1.18％,丁型肝炎病毒核酸阳住率分别为3.70％和2.2％。在不同地区不同民族丁型肝炎的这些指标有一定差异。在16个民族中,维吾尔族、蒙族和藏族丁型肝炎抗体阳性率明显高于其他民族,黎族丁型肝炎核酸阳性率高于其他民族。但在1136例不同临床型乙型肝炎病人中,丁型肝炎感染率无明显区别。丁型肝炎感染与暴发性肝炎的关系有待进一步研究。     

Characterization of monoclonal antibodies generated against Norwalk virus GII capsid protein expressed in Escherichia coli

The Norwalk virus (NV) causes outbreaks of acute non-bacterial gastroenteritis in humans. The virus capsid is composed of a single 60 kDa protein. The capsid protein of NV36 (genogroup II, Mexico virus type) was expressed in an Escherichia coli system and ten monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) were generated against it. The reactivity of these MAbs was characterized using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot (WB) analysis towards 20 overlapping fragments of the NV36 capsid protein expressed in E. coli. All of the MAbs recognized sequential (continuous) epitopes on the three antigenic regions. Six of the 10 MAbs recognized fragment 2 (equivalent residues 31-70), three MAbs recognized fragment 13 (residues 361-403) and one MAb recognized fragment 7 (residues 181-220), suggesting that the N-terminal domain (residues 1-220) may contain more antigenic epitopes than the C-terminal domain (residues 210-548). Furthermore, two MAbs (1B4 and 1F6) reacted in WB with three purified NV strains (genogroup II) derived from patients' stool samples. It was also found that genogroup I recombinant NV96-908 (genogroup I, KY89 type) could be detected as sensitively as recombinant NV36 (genogroup II) by ELISA with a set of the MAbs produced here.