DEFINING EPITOPES OF THE OUTER MEMBRANE PROTEIN COPB OF MORAXELLA CATARRHALIS

摘要

The present invention involves an analysis of the CopB outer membrane protein of M. catarrhalis. Four CopB antigens now have been sequenced and their predicted amino acid sequences compared. Regions of conservation and non-conservation have been identified in this antigen, including one non-conserved region that represents an antibody binding region from the strain 035E. A single amino acid change (N to D) in this epitope, at residue 295, abolishes reactivity of the antibody 10F3 with CopB. Peptides which only contain residues of this region that are C-terminal to residue 295 do retain reactivity but their reactivity is less than the maximal reactivity achieved in the presence of an asparagine at position 295. Compositions and both diagnostic and immunoprophylactic methods are disclosed.