Mapping antigenic sites of an immunodominant surface lipoprotein of Mycoplasma agalactiae, AvgC, with the use of synthetic peptides.

ABSTRACT: As a first step toward the design of an epitope vaccine to prevent contagious agalactia, the strongly immunogenic 55-kDa protein of Mycoplasma agalactiae was studied and found to correspond to the AvgC protein encoded by the avgC gene. The avg genes of M. agalactiae, which encode four variable surface lipoproteins, display a significant homology to the vsp (variable membrane surface lipoproteins) genes of the bovine pathogen Mycoplasma bovis at their promoter region as well as their N-terminus-encoding regions. Some members of the Vsp family are known to be involved in cytoadhesion to host cells. In order to localize immunogenic peptides in the AvgC antigen, the protein sequence was submitted to epitope prediction analysis, and five sets of overlapping peptides, corresponding to five selec

SUBMITTER: Santona A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC127643 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature