Title:  Peptides and nucleic acid sequences related to the Epstein Barr virus

United States Patent:  6,365,717

Assignee:  Akzo Nobel, N.V. (Arnhem, NL)

Filed: December 4, 1998

Foreign Application Priority Data:  Mar 13, 1992[EP] (9220072)

The present invention relates to peptides immunochemically reactive with antibodies to the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), nucleic acid sequences encoding these peptides, monoclonal antibodies against these peptides, cell lines capable of producing monoclonal antibodies and anti-idiotype antibodies. The invention also relates to recombinant vector molecules comprising a nucleic acid sequence according to the invention and host cells transformed or transfected with these vector molecules. The invention is further concerned with immunological reagents and methods for the detection of EBV or anti-EBV antibodies and a method for the amplification and detection of Epstein Barr viral nucleic acid.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

For the development of a specific and sensitive method to enable a reliable diagnosis to be made in various phases of the infection with EBV it is of great importance to identify immuno-dominant viral proteins and epitopes thereof.

The present invention provides peptides comprising at least part of the VCA-p18 or VCA-p40 protein, encoded within the EBV open reading frames BFRF3 and BdRF1 respectively, and fragments thereof, immunochemically reactive with antibodies to the Epstein Barr Virus. Part of the invention are therefore peptides with 176 and 345 amino acids respectively and an amino acid sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 and 4 which are immunochemically reactive with EBV antibodies.

The peptides according to the invention are found to be particularly suitable for use in a diagnostic method for the determination of the presence of EBV or EBV-antibodies in a sample. Moreover, a peptide according to the invention may be used in suitable pharmaceutical dosage forms in the treatment of an EBV-related disease. The preparation of vaccines thus obtained which contain a peptide or fragment thereof as active ingredients, is known to one skilled in the art.

In contrast to the natural EBV, the peptides according to the invention have the great advantage that these are of a safe non-infectious origin. The invention also comprises fragments of said peptides which are still immunochemically reactive with antibodies to the Epstein-Barr Virus.

Claim 1 of 6 Claims

I claim:

1. An isolated antibody which is a monoclonal antibody having the same binding specificity as monoclonal antibody EBV.OT15E or EBV.OT15I, said monoclonal antibodies EBV.OT15E and EBV.OT15I produced by the rat-mouse hybridoma cell lines deposited with the European Collection of Animal Cell Cultures (ECACC), Porton Down (UK), under deposit No. 93020413 and 93020412, respectively, wherein said isolated antibody is not either of monoclonal antibodies EBV.OT15E and EBV.OT15I.

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