LINEAR EPITOPE MAPPING OF HUMORAL RESPONSES INDUCED BY VACCINATION WITH RECOMBINANT HIV-1 ENVELOPE PROTEIN GP160

To enhance utility of the linear epitope mapping (Pepscan) technique f or assay of humoral responses linked to vaccination, two modifications were tested, First, peptides were incubated with serum contained in b aths rather than individual wells, Second, a rigorous statistical mode l was developed to determine which peptide/antibody-binding interactio ns were significant, The modifications increased the ability to detect signal in these experiments by 15-to 45-fold, These two modifications were applied to linear epitope mapping of HIV seropositive volunteers under treatment with recombinant HIV gp160 and also to rabbits immuni zed with the same product, Changes in fine specificity of response wer e observed in animal models and human vaccine recipients over the cour se of an immunization series with this antigen.