Inferring epitopes of a polymorphic antigen amidst broadly cross-reactive antibodies using protein microarrays: a study of OspC proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi.

ABSTRACT: Epitope mapping studies aim to identify the binding sites of antibody-antigen interactions to enhance the development of vaccines, diagnostics and immunotherapeutic compounds. However, mapping is a laborious process employing time- and resource-consuming 'wet bench' techniques or epitope prediction software that are still in their infancy. For polymorphic antigens, another challenge is characterizing cross-reactivity between epitopes, teasing out distinctions between broadly cross-reactive responses, limited cross-reactions among variants and the truly type-specific responses. A refined understanding of cross-reactive antibody binding could guide the selection of the most informative subsets of variants for diagnostics and multivalent subunit vaccines. We explored the antibody binding reac

SUBMITTER: Baum E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3691210 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature