Medical Microbiology & Diagnosis

Identification of Invariant Peptide Domains within Ebola Virus Glycoprotein GP1, 2

Abstract

Joel Kenneth Weltman

Six invariant oligopeptide sequences of length 12 amino acids, or greater, were identified in GP1,2 of ZEBOV Zaire and SEBOV Sudan Ebola viruses. Five of these invariant peptides had positive scores for predicted B-cell epitope scores. In contrast, the amino acid positions of the remaining invariant peptide all displayed negative predicted epitope scores. Invariant regions of Ebola GP1,2 oligopeptides may reflect structural, functional and immunological constraints on the virus, and thus, may be useful as immunological and pharmacological targets.