Prospecção de epíopos para detecção de anticorpos contra o vírus Zika

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV; Flavivirus genus; Flaviviridae family) is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes, especially of the genus Aedes. Although 80% of the cases are asymptomatic, when clinical manifestations appear, however, they are similar to infections caused by other arboviruses, such as dengue and chikungunya, thus may lead to misdiagnosis. ZIKV serological test may result in false positive due to cross-reaction between antibodies against, dengue and other Flavivirus circulating in Brazil, hence, increasing the chance of error in the diagnosis. Serological tests also have the advantage during epidemiological surveillance and for the determination of risk factors. Thus, this study explored options in order to reduce the cross-reactivity of serological tests in the detection of anti-ZIKV IgG antibodies. Hence, two antigenic epitopes from ZIKV polyprotein were predicted in silico. The epitopes were synthesized, its molecular dynamics was analyzed and then they were tested in an ELISA assay. Both showed to be reactive for anti-ZIKV IgG antibodies and low cross-reactivity for anti-dengue antibodies, indicating their potential use as an antigen in serological assays.