Find in Library

Outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have occurred frequently in the Asian-Pacific region over the last two decades, caused mainly by the serotypes in <i>Enterovirus A</i> species. High-quality monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are needed to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the diagnosis of enteroviruses associated HFMD. In this study, a mAb 1A11 was generated using full particles of CV-A5 as an immunogen. In indirect immunofluorescence and Western blotting assays, 1A11 bound to the viral proteins of CV-A2, CV-A4, CV-A5, CV-A6, CV-A10, CV-A16, and EV-A71 of the <i>Enterovirus A</i> and targeted VP3. It has no cross-reactivity to strains of <i>Enterovirus B</i> and <i>C</i>. By mapping with over-lapped and truncated peptides, a minimal and linear epitope ₂₃PILPGF₂₈ was identified, located at the N-terminus of the VP3. A BLAST sequence search of the epitope in the NCBI genus <i>Enterovirus</i> (taxid: 12059) protein database indicates that the epitope sequence is highly conserved among the <i>Enterovirus A</i> species, but not among the other enterovirus species, first reported by us. By mutagenesis analysis, critical residues for 1A11 binding were identified for most serotypes of <i>Enterovirus A</i>. It may be useful for the development of a cost-effective and pan-<i>Enterovirus A</i> antigen detection for surveillance, early diagnosis and differentiation of infections caused by the <i>Enterovirus A</i> species.