A cryptotope is an antigenic site or epitope hidden in a protein or virion by surface subunits. Cryptotopes are antigenically active only after the dissociation of protein aggregates and virions. Some infectious pathogens are known to escape immunological targeting by B-cells by masking antigen-binding sites as cryptotopes. A cryptotope can also be referred to as a cryptic epitope. Cryptotopes are becoming important for HIV vaccine research as a number of studies have shown that cryptic epitopes can be revealed or exposed when HIV gp120 binds to CD4.
References
- Regenmortel, Marc (2008). "Antigenicity and Immunogenicity of Viral Proteins" (PDF). Elsevier.
- Reider, Franz; Biebl, Julia; et al. (22 July 2016). "Microbial Cryptotopes are Prominent Targets of B-cell Immunity". Scientific Reports. 6: 31657. doi:10.1038/srep31657. PMC 4990913. PMID 27539094.
- Thali, Marcus (July 1993). "Characterization of Conserved Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gpl20 Neutralization Epitopes Exposed upon gpl20-CD4 Binding". Journal of Virology. 67 (7). American Society for Microbiology: 3978–3988. doi:10.1128/jvi.67.7.3978-3988.1993. PMC 237765. PMID 7685405.
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