Identification of Two Distinct Linear B Cell Epitopes of the Matrix Protein of the Newcastle Disease Virus Vaccine Strain LaSota

Matrix (M) protein of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an abundant protein that can induce a robust humoral immune response. However, its antigenic epitopes remain unknown. In this study, we used a pepscan approach to map linear B cell immunodominant epitopes (IDEs) of M protein with NDV-specific chicken antisera. The six epitopes with the highest reactivity by peptide scanning were obtained as IDE candidates. Among them, aa71–85 and aa349–363 were identified by immunological assays with NDV-specific or IDE-specific antisera. The minimal antigenic epitopes of the two IDEs were further characterized as 77 MIDDKP 82 and 354 HTLAKYNPFK 363 . Moreover, an amino acid sequence alignment and immunoblot analysis revealed the conservation of the two IDEs in the M protein of strains of different genotypes. These two IDEs of M protein could be genetically eliminated as negative markers in recombinant NDV for serologically differential diagnosis in the development of marker vaccines.