Production of specific antibodies against SARS-coronavirus nucleocapsid protein without cross reactivity with human coronaviruses 229E and OC43.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a life-threatening disease for which accurate diagnosis is essential. Although many tools have been developed for the diagnosis of SARS, false-positive reactions in negative sera may occur because of cross-reactivity with other coronaviruses. We have raised polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies (Abs) using a recombinant form of the SARS virus nucleocapsid protein.

Detection of antibodies against SARS-Coronavirus using recombinant truncated nucleocapsid proteins by ELISA.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a lifethreatening emerging respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus, SARS-CoV. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV is highly antigenic and may be a suitable candidate for diagnostic applications. We constructed truncated recombinant N proteins (N1 [1-422 aa], N2 [1- 109 aa], and N3 [110-422 aa]) and determined their antigenicity by Western blotting using convalescent SARS serum.