Serum Antibodies Against the Oncogenic Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Detected by an Innovative Immunological Assay With Mimotopes in Healthy Subjects
| Title: | Serum Antibodies Against the Oncogenic Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Detected by an Innovative Immunological Assay With Mimotopes in Healthy Subjects |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Chiara Mazziotta, Carmen Lanzillotti, Elena Torreggiani, Lucia Oton-Gonzalez, Maria Rosa Iaquinta, Elisa Mazzoni, Pauline Gaboriaud, Antoine Touzé, Ettore Silvagni, Marcello Govoni, Fernanda Martini, Mauro Tognon, John Charles Rotondo |
| Source: | Frontiers in Immunology, Vol 12 (2021) |
| Publisher Information: | Frontiers Media S.A., 2021. |
| Publication Year: | 2021 |
| Collection: | LCC:Immunologic diseases. Allergy |
| Subject Terms: | indirect ELISA, Merkel cell polyomavirus, antibodies, serology, IgGs, MCPyV, Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607 |
| More Details: | Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), a small DNA tumor virus, has been detected in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and in normal tissues. Since MCPyV infection occurs in both MCC-affected patients and healthy subjects (HS), innovative immunoassays for detecting antibodies (abs) against MCPyV are required. Herein, sera from HS were analyzed with a novel indirect ELISA using two synthetic peptides mimicking MCPyV capsid protein epitopes of VP1 and VP2. Synthetic peptides were designed to recognize IgGs against MCPyV VP mimotopes using a computer-assisted approach. The assay was set up evaluating its performance in detecting IgGs anti-MCPyV on MCPyV-positive (n=65) and -negative (n=67) control sera. Then, the ELISA was extended to sera (n=548) from HS aged 18-65 yrs old. Age-specific MCPyV-seroprevalence was investigated. Performance evaluation indicated that the assay showed 80% sensitivity, 91% specificity and 83.9% accuracy, with positive and negative predictive values of 94.3% and 71%, respectively. The ratio expected/obtained data agreement was 86%, with a Cohen’s kappa of 0.72. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis indicated that the areas under the curves (AUCs) for the two peptides were 0.82 and 0.74, respectively. Intra-/inter-run variations were below 9%. The overall prevalence of serum IgGs anti-MCPyV in HS was 62.9% (345/548). Age-specific MCPyV-seroprevalence was 63.1% (82/130), 56.7% (68/120), 64.5% (91/141), and 66.2% (104/157) in HS aged 18-30, 31-40, 41-50 and 51-65 yrs old, respectively (p>0.05). Performance evaluation suggests that our indirect ELISA is reliable in detecting IgGs anti-MCPyV. Our immunological data indicate that MCPyV infection occurs asymptomatically, at a relatively high prevalence, in humans. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 1664-3224 80561772 |
| Relation: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.676627/full; https://doaj.org/toc/1664-3224 |
| DOI: | 10.3389/fimmu.2021.676627 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/fbe638d1467940b8a80561772cf057c1 |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.fbe638d1467940b8a80561772cf057c1 |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 16643224 80561772 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.3389/fimmu.2021.676627 |
| Published in: | Frontiers in Immunology |
| Language: | English |