BIOLOGICAL-ACTIVITIES OF THE STRUCTURAL PROTEINS OF JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS-VIRUS

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 26  (5) , 312-+
Abstract
Structural proteins V1, V2 and V3 of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) were isolated and purified by means of sodium-dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and extracted from the sliced gel. The purified and renatured V3 envelope protein was found to bind to receptors for JEV on red blood cells. V3 also bound to hemagglutination inhibition (HI) antibodies from anti-JEV sera. V3 protein induced neutralizing antibodies against JEV when injected into mice. Evidently, V3 protein carries the antigenic epitope(s) that elicit neutralizing antibodies and react with HI antibodies. V3 apparently plays an important role in virus infection. V2 protein did not exhibit these biological activities, but antibody against V1 protein, not contaminated with V3 protein, showed slight virus neutralizing activity. Possible implications of these results are discussed.