Correspondence of the functional epitopes of poxvirus and human interleukin-18-binding proteins.

ABSTRACT: Molluscum contagiosum virus, a human poxvirus that causes persistent small benign skin tumors, encodes a variety of putative immune defense proteins. Three such proteins, MC51L, MC53L, and MC54L, have 20 to 35% amino acid sequence identities with human interleukin-18 (hIL-18)-binding protein (hIL-18BP), a naturally occurring antagonist of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-18. We previously demonstrated that seven amino acids within the immunoglobulin-like domain of hIL-18BP were important for high-affinity binding to hIL-18. Model building indicated that MC54L, which has been shown to bind hIL-18, contains five of the seven amino acids at corresponding positions in its immunoglobulin-like domain, the exceptions being the conservative substitution of isoleucine for a leucine and the nonconser

SUBMITTER: Xiang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC114566 | biostudies-literature | 2001 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature