Antibody responses to synthetic peptides from cytomegalovirus phosphoprotein 150.

We have identified antigenic regions within phosphoprotein 150 of human cytomegalovirus (CMV pp150) to which seroreactivity appears in patients with active CMV infection or persists in seropositive persons. A range of 8.3 to 61.6% of healthy CMV-seropositive blood donors were immunoglobulin G positive for single peptides, while 91.6% reacted to a mixture of four peptides. All convalescent-phase serum samples from 26 patients with active CMV infection reacted with either of two peptides encompassing amino acids (aa) 594 to 623 and aa 614 to 643. Patients with a primary CMV infection had patterns of reactivity to single peptides different from those of patients with reactivated CMV infection. The immunoglobulin M antibodies reacted preferentially with the peptides encompassing aa 594 to 663 of CMV pp150.