IDENTIFICATION OF IMMUNODOMINANT EPITOPES IN ENVELOPE GLYCOPROTEIN OF HUMAN LYMPHOTROPIC-T VIRUS TYPE-II

A series of synthetic peptides derived from the envelope glycoprotein of human T lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) was used in an enzyme immunoassay to determine the immunodominant epitopes of envelope glycoprotein. Of the 11 synthetic peptides spanning the external glycoprotein of HTLV-II (gp52) and the 3 from the transmembrane protein (gp21), 3 peptides from gp52 (termed Env-2085-102. Env-20-209, and Env-20173-256) reacted with most of the polymerase chain reaction-confirmed HTLV-II specimens (83, 95, and 76%, respectively); all other peptides reacted minimally with these specimens. Env-20173-209 reacted with a greater percentage (91 to 100%) of specimens from different risk groups, including intravenous drug users (n = 30), North American Indians (n = 13), Guaymi Indians from Panama (n = 22), and routine U.S. blood donors (n = 34), when compared with Env-2085-102 (73 to 100%) or Env-203219-256 (68 to 83%). Furthermore, Env-2085-102 and Env-202172-209 had some reactivity (8-25%) with serafrom HTLV-I-infected individuals, whereas Env-20219-256 reacted with 58% of HTLV-I specimens. We conclude that peptides Env-2085-102 and Env-202173-209 represent the type-specific immunodominant epitopes of HTLV-II external glycoprotein. © 1992.