Author/Editor		Vranac, Tanja; Hartman-Pretnar, Katrina; Popović, Mara; Venturini, Anja; Žerovnik, Eva; Čurin-Šerbec, Vladka
Title		A single prion protein peptide can elicit a panel of isoform specific monoclonal antibodies
Type		članek
Source		Peptides
Vol. and No.		Letnik 27, št. 11
Publication year		2006
Volume		str. 2695-705
Language		eng
Abstract		The main step in the pathogenesis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) is the conformational change of the normal cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into the abnormal isoform, named prion (PrP(Sc)). Since PrP is a highly conserved protein, the production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) of high specificity and affinity to PrP is a difficult task. In the present study we show that it is possible to overcome the unresponsiveness of the immune system by immunizing wild-type BALB/c mice with a 13 amino acid PrP peptide from the C-terminal part of PrP, bound to the keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH). Immunization induced predominantly anti-PrP(Sc) humoral immune response. Furthermore, we were able to obtain a panel of mAbs of IgG class specific for different non-self-conformations of PrP, with anti-PrP(Sc)-specific mAbs being the most abundant.
Descriptors		ENCEPHALOPATHY, BOVINE SPONGIFORM PRIONS ANTIBODIES, MONOCLONAL IMMUNIZATION, PASSIVE MICE, INBRED BALB C