Diagnostic properties of a synthetic antigen based on the immunogenic epitope gp51 of the bovine leukemia virus

Abstract

Diagnosis of leukemia remains one of the key problems in carrying out recreational activities on farms that are disadvantaged by this disease. This work refers to development and study of the diagnostic properties of a synthetic peptide which is an amino acid sequence of epitopes of the gp51 protein of the leukemia virus as an antigen for ELISA in the indication of this pathogen. Based on the results of a comparative analysis of the immunogenicity of epitopes of the viral proteins gp51, gp30 and p24, the most immunogenic variant was selected - the amino acid sequence of the gp51 protein in positions from 131 to 163 aa. Based on the selected amino acid sequence, a synthetic peptide BLVpep was constructed which was characterized by optimal physicochemical parameters (solubility, calculated pH values and isoelectric point of the molecule). When determining the diagnostic characteristics of the peptide presented above, it was found that when using appropriate conjugates, BLVpep differentiates positive sera from BLV-negative as well as blood sera of healthy and sick animals (rabbit, sheep, goat, mouse, goats with arthritis encephalitis (CAEV) and cats infected with leukemia (FeLV)). When determining the sensitivity of the ELISA method based on BLVpep, specific antibodies in positive samples were detected at a dilution of 1:1600. In the study of 90 samples of bovine blood sera, a complete coincidence of the results of ELISA based on a synthetic peptide and a commercial kit was demonstrated. According to the results of the study, the possibility of using the synthetic peptide BLVpep in diagnostic serological tests is shown.