Several members of enteroviruses (EVs) that belong to the EVs A and B species cause hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in infants and young children. The virus-specific protease 2Apro is conserved in all the EV species, thus developing a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against 2Apro may facilitate the identification from the HFMD-associated pathogens. In this study, we achieved a murine mAb, named 5A3, specifically toward EVA71 2Apro by using the traditional hybridoma technique. The mAb 5A3 recognizes 2Apro of both EVs A and B species, which was demonstrated by indirect fluorescent assay and Western blotting. Furthermore, a conserved N-terminal epitope on 2Apro recognized by mAb 5A3 was defined by using an overlapping peptide-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Therefore, the unique mAb targeting conserved EVs 2Apro can be used as an important tool during both identifying the causative agent of HFMD and elucidating the pathological mechanism of HFMD.
Keywords: 2Apro; enterovirus; monoclonal antibody.