Identification of antigenic epitopes in the haemagglutinin protein of H7 avian influenza virus.

The H7 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) has been reported to infect not only poultry but also humans. The haemagglutinin (HA) protein is the major surface antigen of AIV and plays an important role in viral infection. In this study, five monoclonal antibodies (mAbs, 2F8, 3F6, 5C11, 5E2 and 5C12) against the HA protein of H7 virus were produced and characterized. Epitope mapping indicated that ¹⁰³ RESGSS ¹⁰⁷ was the minimal linear epitope recognized by the mAbs 2F8/3F6/5C11, and mAbs 5E2/5C12 recognized the epitope 103-145aa. The protein sequence alignment of HA indicated that the two epitopes were not found in other subtypes of AIV, and none of the five mAbs cross-reacted with other subtypes, suggesting these mAbs are specific to H7 virus. The epitope ¹⁰³ RESGSS ¹⁰⁷ was highly conserved among Eurasian lineage strains of H7 AIV, whereas three amino acid substitutions (E104R, E104K and E104G) in the epitope occurred in 98.44% of North-American lineage strains. Any of these single mutations prevented the mutated epitope from being recognized by mAbs 2F8/3F6/5C11; thus, these mAbs can distinguish between Eurasian and North-American lineages of H7 strains. Furthermore, the mAbs 2F8, 3F6 and 5C11 could be highly blocked with H7-positive serum in blocking assays, revealing that ¹⁰³ RESGSS ¹⁰⁷ may be a dominant epitope stimulating the production of antibodies during viral infection. These results may facilitate future investigations into the structure and function of HA protein, as well as surveillance and detection of H7 virus. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Five mAbs against HA protein of H7 AIV were generated and characterized.Two novel epitopes ¹⁰³ RESGSS ¹⁰⁷ and 103-145aa were identified.The epitope ¹⁰³ RESGSS ¹⁰⁷ differs between Eurasian and North-American lineages.The mAbs 2F8, 3F6 and 5C11 could distinguish two lineages of H7 strains.