Antigens containing TAVSPTTLR tandem repeats could be used in assaying antibodies to Classical swine fever virus.

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) causes a highly contagious and often fatal viral disease in pigs. The highly conserved epitope TAVSPTTLR on the glycoprotein E2 was shown to be suitable for differentiation of CSFV from other pestiviruses. In this study, we found that swine CSFV antisera contained TAVSPTTLR-related rather than TAVSPTTLR-specific CSFV antibodies. The CSFV antisera reacted only to some extent with a synthetic TAVSPTTLR-containing peptide, but inhibited the binding of TAVSPTTLR-specific antibodies to the viral antigen. Since chimeric antigens containing TAVSPTTLR tetramers or hexamers were recognized by the swine CSFV antisera, such antigens could be potentially applied to the detection of CSFV antibodies. These results might be helpful in designing a TAVSPTTLR epitope-based CSFV vaccine and a corresponding serological test.