CHARACTERIZATION OF IMMUNOREACTIVE OCTAPEPTIDES OF HUMAN-CYTOMEGALOVIRUS-GP58

We have mapped continuous epitopes, for positions 591-673 of the human cytomegalovirus 58-kDa glycoprotein using overlapping synthetic pepti des and human sera. This region contains a fragment previously describ ed as including the dominant site for induction of human-cytomegalovir us antibodies. Since the selected sequence is highly conserved among h erpes viruses, we have considered the possible presence of antigenic c ross-reactivity, particularly with the Epstein-Barr virus. Several pep tides in the studied region were antigenic and two main continuous epi topes have been identified. Serological cross-reactions observed with Epstein-Barr virus are discussed, focussing on the possible implicatio ns of structural features and sequence similarity between human-cytome galovirus and Epstein-Barr-virus glycoproteins.