Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology

The Korean Society for Microbiology and Biotechnology (한국미생물·생명공학회)
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Detection of Antibodies Against SARS-Coronavirus Using Recombinant Truncated Nucleocapsid Proteins by ELISA

  • Lee, Hyun-Kyoung (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Lee, Byoung-Hee (Division of Vertebrates Research, National Institute of Biological Resources) ;
  • Dutta, Noton Kumar (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Seok, Seung-Hyeok (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Baek, Min-Won (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Lee, Hui-Young (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Kim, Dong-Jae (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Na, Yi-Rang (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Noh, Kyoung-Jin (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Park, Sung-Hoon (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University) ;
  • Kariwa, Hiroaki (Laboratory of Public Health, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University) ;
  • Nakauche, Mina (Laboratory of Public Health, Department of Environmental Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University) ;
  • Mai, Le Quynh (Virology Department, National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology) ;
  • Heo, Suk-Jin (Biological Diagnostic Products Team, Bioogics Headquarters, Korea Food and Drug Administration) ;
  • Park, Jae-Hak (Department of Laboratory Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul Nationla University)
  • Published : 2008.10.31
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Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening emerging respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV is highly antigenic and may be a suitable candidate for diagnostic applications. We constructed truncated recombinant N proteins (N1 [1-422 aa], N2 [1-109 aa], and N3 [110-422 aa]) and determined their antigenicity by Western blotting using convalescent SARS serum. The recombinants containing N1 and N3 reacted with convalescent SARS serum in Western blotting. However, the recombinant with N2 did not. In ELISA using N1 or N3 as the antigens, positive results were observed in 10 of to (100%) SARS-CoV-positive human sera. None of 50 healthy sera gave positive results in either assay. These data indicate that the ELISA using N1 or N3 has high sensitivity and specificity. These results suggest that the middle or C-terminal region of the SARS N protein is important for eliciting antibodies against SARS-CoV during the immune response, and ELISA reactions using N1 or N3 may be a valuable tool for SARS diagnosis.

Keywords

References

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