RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 Linear epitope mapping in the E and NS1 proteins of dengue and Zika viruses : prospection of peptides for vaccines and diagnostics A1 Aquino Quintana, Víctor Hugo A1 FumagalliI, Marcilio J. A1 Silva, Angélica A1 de Moura Negrini, Bento Vidal A1 Rojas Segovia, Alejandra María A1 Arévalo de Guillén, Ivalena A1 Bernal, Cynthia A1 Moraes Figueiredo, Luiz Tadeu A2 Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud AB The arrival of the Zika virus (ZIKV) in dengue virus (DENV)-endemic areas has posed challenges for both differential diagnosis and vaccine development. Peptides have shown promise in addressing these issues. The aim of this study was to identify the linear epitope profile recognized by serum samples from dengue and Zika patients in the E and NS1 proteins of DENV and ZIKV. This cross-sectional study included individuals of all ages with laboratory-confirmed DENV and ZIKV infections, who were selected through convenience sampling. The serum samples from dengue and Zika patients detected epitopes evenly distributed across the viral proteins in a peptide microarray platform. However, several epitopes were located within “epitope hotspots”, characterized by clusters of peptides recognized in more than 30% of the sub-arrays analyzed using individual or pooled serum samples. The serum samples from dengue and Zika patients showed a high level of cross-reactivity with peptides in the DENV and ZIKV proteins. Analysis using an additional peptide microarray platform, which contained peptides selected based on the results of the initial screening, revealed that two DENV and one ZIKV peptide, highly specific to their related viruses, were located within the epitope hotspots; however, they presented low detection rates (32.5, 35.0, and 28.6%, respectively). In addition, two DENV peptides detected at similarly high rates by both dengue and Zika patients were also found within the epitope hotspots. These hotspots contain several immunodominant epitopes that are recognized by a larger number of individuals when compared to 15-amino acid (aa) sequence peptides. Thus, epitope hotspots may have greater potential to serve as antigens in diagnostic tests and vaccine development than peptides composed of only 15 amino acids. PB Public Library of Science YR 2023 FD 2023-10-03 LK http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4404 UL http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14066/4404 LA eng NO Aquino, V. H., Fumagalli, M.J., Silva, A., de Moura Negrini, B. V., Rojas, A., Guillen, Y., Bernal, C., & Moraes Figueiredo, L. T. (2023). Linear epitope mapping in the E and NS1 proteins of dengue and Zika viruses: prospection of peptides for vaccines and diagnostics. PLOS ONE, 18(10), Artículo e0292451. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292451 NO Autor de correspondencia: vhaquino@iics.una.py (VHA); ltmfigue@fmrp.usp.br (LTMF) NO Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología DS MINDS@UW RD 22-dic-2024