Claims
- 1. A method of identifying a recombinant antigen which is immunoreactive with an antibody that is induced by HEV and that is present in individuals infected with HEV, said method comprising:
- (a) recombinantly producing a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid derived from an HEV genome, wherein said genome contains a region which hybridizes with the sequence SEQ ID NO:1 and remains hybridized under the following wash conditions: 2.times.SSC, 0.1% SDS, room temperature, twice for 30 minutes each, then 2.times.SSC, room temperature, twice for 10 minutes each;
- (b) immunoreacting said polypeptide with an HEV-positive antiserum, and
- (c) selecting said polypeptide as a recombinant antigen if said polypeptide immunoreacts with the HEV-positive antiserum.
- 2. A method of detecting infection by hepatitis E virus (HEV) viral agent in a test individual, comprising providing a recombinant antigen identified according to the method of claim 1,
- reacting serum from the test individual with the recombinant antigen, and
- examining the recombinant antigen for the presence of bound antibody.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the serum comprises IgM or IgG antibodies, or both, the recombinant antigen provided is attached to a solid support, said reacting includes contacting the serum with the support and said examining includes reacting the support and bound antibody with a reporter-labeled anti-human antibody.
- 4. A kit for ascertaining the presence of serum antibodies which are diagnostic of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection, comprising
- a support with surface-bound recombinant antigen identified according to the method of claim 1, and
- a reporter-labeled anti-human antibody.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said HEV genome contains a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:6, SEQ ID NO:10, SEQ ID NO:11, SEQ ID NO:12, SEQ ID NO:13, and SEQ ID NO:15.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said recombinant antigen has a sequence selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO:2, SEQ ID NO:7, SEQ ID NO:8, SEQ ID NO:9, SEQ ID NO:14, SEQ ID NO:16, SEQ ID NO:17, SEQ ID NO:18, SEQ ID NO:19, and SEQ ID NO:20.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/279,823, filed Jul. 25, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,789,559, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/681,078, filed Apr. 5, 1991, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/505,888, filed Apr. 5, 1990, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/420,921, filed Oct. 13, 1989, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/367,486, filed Jun. 16, 1989, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/336,672, filed Apr. 11, 1989, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/208,997, filed Jun. 17, 1988, now abandoned, all of which are herein incorporated by reference.
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Divisions (1)
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279823 |
Jul 1994 |
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Continuations (1)
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681078 |
Apr 1991 |
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Continuation in Parts (5)
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505888 |
Apr 1990 |
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420921 |
Oct 1989 |
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367486 |
Jun 1989 |
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336672 |
Apr 1989 |
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208997 |
Jun 1988 |
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