Detection of genotype-specific antibody responses to glycoproteins B and H in primary and non-primary human cytomegalovirus infections by peptide-based ELISA

Zavaglio, F., Fiorina, L., Suarez, N. M., Fornara, C., De Cicco, M., Cirasola, D., Davison, A. J. , Gerna, G. and Lilleri, D. (2021) Detection of genotype-specific antibody responses to glycoproteins B and H in primary and non-primary human cytomegalovirus infections by peptide-based ELISA. Viruses, 13(3), 399. (doi: 10.3390/v13030399) (PMID:33802390) (PMCID:PMC7998382)

Abstract

Background: Strain-specific antibodies to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoproteins B and H (gB and gH) have been proposed as a potential diagnostic tool for identifying reinfection. We investigated genotype-specific IgG antibody responses in parallel with defining the gB and gH genotypes of the infecting viral strains. Methods: Subjects with primary (n = 20) or non-primary (n = 25) HCMV infection were studied. The seven gB (gB1-7) and two gH (gH1-2) genotypes were determined by real-time PCR and whole viral genome sequencing, and genotype-specific IgG antibodies were measured by a peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Among subjects with primary infection, 73% (n = 8) infected by gB1-HCMV and 63% (n = 5) infected by gB2/3-HCMV had genotype-specific IgG antibodies to gB (gB2 and gB3 are similar in the region tested). Peptides from the rarer gB4-gB7 genotypes had nonspecific antibody responses. All subjects infected by gH1-HCMV and 86% (n = 6/7) infected by gH2-HCMV developed genotype-specific responses. Among women with non-primary infection, gB and gH genotype-specific IgG antibodies were detected in 40% (n = 10) and 80% (n = 20) of subjects, respectively. Conclusions: Peptide-based ELISA is capable of detecting primary genotype-specific IgG responses to HCMV gB and gH, and could be adopted for identifying reinfections. However, about half of the subjects did not have genotype-specific IgG antibodies to gB.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Davison, Professor Andrew and Suarez, Dr Nicolas
• Authors: Zavaglio, F., Fiorina, L., Suarez, N. M., Fornara, C., De Cicco, M., Cirasola, D., Davison, A. J., Gerna, G., and Lilleri, D.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Infection & Immunity > Centre for Virus Research
• Journal Name: Viruses
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 1999-4915
• ISSN (Online): 1999-4915
• Published Online: 03 March 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Viruses 13(3): 399
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Project Code	Award No	Project Name	Principal Investigator	Funder's Name	Funder Ref	Lead Dept
65632	1	Genomics of human cytomegalovirus	Andrew Davison	Medical Research Council (MRC)	MC_UU_12014/3	MVLS III - CENTRE FOR VIRUS RESEARCH