IDENTIFICATION OF AN IMMUNODOMINANT SEQUENTIAL EPITOPE IN GLYCOPROTEIN-G OF HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-2 THAT IS USEFUL FOR SEROTYPE-SPECIFIC DIAGNOSIS

A series of 67 oligopeptides that spanned the open reading frame of he rpes si mp lex virus type 2 (HSV-2) glycoprotein G (gG2) were synthesi zed and tested for reactivity with 173 serum specimens collected from 117 individuals. The oligopeptides were made as multiple antigenic pep tides consisting of four copies of a unique sequence attached to a bra nched lysine core and separated from the core by four glycine residues . The sera included HSV antibody-negative samples as well as sera from individuals from whom HSV had been isolated. isolated viruses were ty ped by indirect fluorescence using a panel of type-specific monoclonal antibodies. One peptide, corresponding to residues 561 to 578 of gG2, did not react with any sera lacking HSV-specific antibodies or with s era from HSV-1-infected individuals, but did react with sera from HSV- 2-infected individuals. For sera taken seven or more days after initia lclinical lesions, the detection rate of the peptide was 92% (47/51), comparable with the 98% (50/51) of truncated glycoprotein D, a sensiti ve type-common reagent. We conclude that this peptide, of structure (P EEFEGAGDGEPPEDDDSG(4))K(3)A, is an immunodominant type-specific epitop e for human antibodies and should be useful for type-specific serodiag nosis of HSV-2. Surprisingly, the epitope lies within one of the most conserved regions of gG1 and gG2. The test can distinguish an initial HSV-2 infection in the presence of a preexisting HSV-1 infection. J. M ed. Virol. 56:79-84, 1998. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.