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Diagnostic Reagents for Emerging Infectious Diseases
Phone: () -
Email: ANNIED@EPIVAX.COM
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus
commonly found in Africa, West Asia, and the Middle East. The virus was
introduced into the United States in 1999. Case-fatality rates during the
1999-2000 U.S. epidemics ranged from 3 percent to 15 percent and were highest
in the elderly. The virus is expected to over-winter during 2000-2001 and
re-emerge in the Northeast over a wider area. The goal of this project is to
develop epitope reagents that could be used in a diagnostic test (such as a
tetramer assay) for cell-mediated response to WNV. These reagents may be useful
for screening exposed individuals, for investigating the immunopathogenesis of
WNV disease in humans, as a component of the surveillance effort and/or,
eventually, as a tool for measuring WNV vaccine-related immune responses.
The specific aims of this project are to:
Select WNV "unique" sequences for potential immunogenicity, using EpiVax tools
Confirm MHC binding of selected ligands in T2 MHC binding assays
Confirm T cell response to the WNV epitopes by ELIspot assay
Begin the process of constructing several tetramers containing WNV epitopes
with the NIH tetramer contract service.
PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: NOT AVAILABLE
* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *