Development of a
vaccine against congenital
infection with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major public health priority. A potential
vaccine target receiving considerable recent attention is the pentameric complex (PC) of HCMV
proteins consisting of gL, gH, UL128, UL130, and UL131, since some
antibodies against these target
proteins are capable of potently neutralizing virus at epithelial and endothelial cell surfaces. Recently, homologous
proteins have been described for guinea pig cytomegalovirus (GPCMV), consisting of gH, gL, and the GPCMV
proteins GP129, GP131, and GP133. To investigate these
proteins as potential
vaccine targets, expression of GP129-GP133 transcripts was confirmed by
reverse-transcriptase PCR. Mass spectrometry combined with western blot assays demonstrated the presence of GP129, GP131, and GP133
proteins in virus particles.
Recombinant proteins corresponding to these PC
proteins were generated in baculovirus, and as GST fusion
proteins.
Recombinant proteins were noted to be immunoreactive with convalescent sera from infected animals, suggesting that these
proteins are recognized in the humoral immune response to GPCMV
infection. These analyses support the study of PC-based
recombinant vaccines in the GPCMV congenital
infection model.