Antibody derived peptides for detection of Ebola virus glycoprotein Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2015 Rodríguez-Martínez et al.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: Current Ebola virus (EBOV) detection methods are costly and impractical for epidemic scenarios. Different immune-based assays have been reported for the detection and quantification of Ebola virus (EBOV) proteins. In particular, several monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been described that bind the capsid glycoprotein (GP) of EBOV GP. However, the currently available platforms for the design and production of full-length mAbs are cumbersome and costly. The use of antibody fragments, rather than full-length antibodies, might represent a cost-effective alternative for the development of diagnostic and possibly even therapeutic alternatives for EBOV. Methods/principal findings: We report the design and expression of three recombinant anti-GP mAb fragments in Escherichia coli cultures. These fragments contained the heavy and light variable portions of the three well-studied anti-GP full-length mAbs 13C6, 13F6, and KZ52, and are consequently named scFv-13C6, scFv-13F6, and Fab-KZ52, respectively. All three fragments exhibited specific anti-GP binding activity in ELISA experiments comparable to that of fulllength anti-GP antibodies (i.e., the same order of magnitude) and they are easily and economically produced in bacterial cultures. Conclusion/significance: Antibody fragments might represent a useful, effective, and low cost alternative to full-length antibodies in Ebola related capture and diagnostics applications.

publication date

  • October 21, 2015