A Dominant Antigenic Region of the Hantaan Virus Nucleocapsid Protein is Located within a Amino-Terminal Short Stretch of Hydrophilic Residues

The nucleocapsid (N) protein of the Hantaan virus (HTNV) is a major viral antigen that induces a strong antibody response during the acute phase of infection. By immunoblot analyses of the recombinant N proteins using human sera of the hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), we have confirmed previous finding by other investigators of the presence of a highly antigenic region near the amino terminus of the HTNV N protein. We have further located the antigenic region within a short stretch of hydrophilic sequences between the 26 and the 46th amino acid residues. The recombinant glutathione S-transferase fusion proteins containing this region was expressed as a soluble form in a large quantity in Escherichia coli, and purified by a single-step affinity chromatography. The recombinant antigen also showed a similar, but a weaker reactivity with human antisera to Seoul virus (SEOV), the virus most closely related to HTNV.