THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIVERSALLY CONSERVED M2E AND HEMAGGLUTININ PEPTIDE-BASED ELISA METHOD AGAINST INFLUENZA A

Abstract

Aim: It is necessary to develop specific diagnostic and surveillance techniques to support the clinical diagnosis and control of influenza A. In this study, we aimed to develop an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) method based on M2e peptide sequence that is conserved in all influenza A viruses and hemagglutinin that is conserved in the H3 strain of influenza A. The diagnostic value of the two selected peptide sequences was compared by using ELISA with influenza A-patient serum samples. Material and Method: Antibody responses against the M2e and H3N2 (91-108) antigenic peptides were examined and positive antibody responses were determined according to the cutoff value for all patients in the study. In addition, variation in the antibody response was observed between these two antigenic peptides that depended on their functions in the structure of the influenza A virus. The antibody response against the M2e peptide was higher than the antibody response against the 91-108 peptide sequence known to be conserved in all H3. Discussion: In conclusion, the antibody response was high against the hemagglutinin peptide sequence and the selected specific region of the M2e protein in influenza patients. As the influenza A virus regularly mutates, the conserved antigenic region of the M2e protein sequence may show superiority in influenza A diagnosis.