Efficient Capture and Detection of Zika Virion by Polyclonal Antibody Against Prokaryotic Recombinant Envelope Protein

The outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) in many countries caused alarming numbers of babies born with microcephalus and severe neurologic disorders, however, the methods for the detection of the ZIKV are limited at present.

The aim of this study was to produce polyclonal antibody against full length envelop protein of ZIKV (ZIKV-E protein) in prokaryotic system and to evaluate its efficacy to capture ZIKV virion.

The recombinant full length ZIKV-E protein was purified and then used as an immunogen to vaccinate BALB/c mice to produce polyclonal antibody. Protein A/G coated magnetic beads were coated with the polyclonal antibody to capture the ZIKV virion in the culture medium of Vero cells infected with ZIKV. The products of immunoprecipitation were further used for Western Blot, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and PCR assay.

Western Blot and indirect immunofluorescence analysis showed that the mouse polyclonal antibody could react specifically with the native E protein in Vero cells infected with ZIKV. The results of Western Blot, Immunocaptured-LAMP (IC-LAMP), and Immunocaptured-PCR (IC-PCR) showed that polyclonal antibody of ZIKV-E recombinant protein can capture ZIKV virion specifically, however, the polyclonal antibody against the ZIKV-NS1, Shigella, and Salmonella without such a function.

These findings may provide the basis for the development of the rapid diagnostic kits such as, IC-PCR, IC-LAMP, and sandwich ELISA. The serum virion capture activity elicited by prokaryotic expressed recombinant ZIKV-E protein may also provide a basis for further preparation of neutralizing antibody and protein subunit vaccine candidate against ZIKV