Nephropatia epidemica (NE), a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is an endemic
zoonosis in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. Humans
become infected by inhaling an aerosol contaminated with
Puumala virus, a member of genus Hantavirus. NE diagnosis
is based on detection of anti-hantavirus antibodies using
ELISA. Antibodies to hantavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein
are detected early in the course of infection, suggesting that
this viral protein is the most immunogenic. Several epitopes
were previously identified on N protein as well as glycoproteins of Puumala viruses endemic in Europe. However, there
is limited knowledge about Puumala virus N protein antigenic
epitopes in NE patie... More
Nephropatia epidemica (NE), a mild form of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is an endemic
zoonosis in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. Humans
become infected by inhaling an aerosol contaminated with
Puumala virus, a member of genus Hantavirus. NE diagnosis
is based on detection of anti-hantavirus antibodies using
ELISA. Antibodies to hantavirus nucleocapsid (N) protein
are detected early in the course of infection, suggesting that
this viral protein is the most immunogenic. Several epitopes
were previously identified on N protein as well as glycoproteins of Puumala viruses endemic in Europe. However, there
is limited knowledge about Puumala virus N protein antigenic
epitopes in NE patients in the Republic of Tatarstan. The aim
of the present study is to identify N protein and glycoprotein epitopes which induce a humoral immune response in
NE cases. Analysis of NE serum using an array of overlapping
N protein and glycoprotein peptides identified the most immunogenic epitopes, which can then be used for developing
Puumala virus-specific vaccine.