Baryshnikova et al.
Recombinant TBEV protein E of the Siberian subtype is a candidate antigen in the ELISA test system for differential diagnosis.
Diagnostics. 2023;13(20):3277. doi:10.3390/diagnostics13203277
When commercial ELISAs are used to test for TBE specific antibodies, one has to consider cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses. Domains I and II of the ectodomain of glycoprotein E contain most of the cross-reactive antibodies, while domain III contains most of the virus-specific epitopes.
An ELISA system has been created based on the recombinant domain III or domain sE of glycoprotein E of the Siberian subtype strain Sukhar for differential identification of TBE antibodies.
The specificity of TBE antibody detection by this new ELISA system was shown by using a pool of human sera of Japanese encephalitis, Zika, West Nile and Dengue patients. All tested sera were negative for the dIII or sE recombinant based ELISA. The ELISA was also not affected by sera of individuals vaccinated against yellow fever. Rabbit and mouse sera with antibodies to Langat, Powassan, Omsk Haemorrhagic fever and West Nile fever virus tested negative in this ELISA.
The ELISA was effective in testing a wide range of patient sera from different regions of Russia and which had been infected by strains belonging to the European, Siberian, Far Eastern and Baikalian subtypes.
In summary, the ELISA test system showed 100% specificity.
The authors concluded that the recombinant protein E domains of TBE virus strain Sukhar can be used as a platform for future efficient ELISA test systems.