Location and architecture of an antibody-binding site of influenza A virus nucleoprotein.

Amino acid positions recognized by monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) in the influenza A virus nucleoprotein (NP) have been reported. As these residues were scattered in the three-dimensional (3D) structure of NP, no patterns of the architecture of antibody-binding sites could be inferred. Here, we used site-specific mutagenesis and ELISA to screen the amino acids surrounding position 470 recognized by the MAb 3/1 as a linear epitope. Ten amino acid residues involved in the reaction of NP with the MAb 3/1 and the MAb 469/6 were identified. Our data are the first to outline a compact site recognized by MAbs in the 3D structure of the influenza virus NP.