Abstract

Structural-energetic analysis of peptide and protein antigens in the context of binding to antibody reveals fundamental differences between the cross-reactions of antipeptide antibody with protein and antiprotein antibody with peptide, providing a physicochemical basis for B-cell epitope prediction as applied to the development of peptide-based vaccines and immunodiagnostics.

Keywords: B-cell epitope prediction, antipeptide antibody, antiprotein antibody, peptide-protein cross-reactivity, structural energetics, solvent-accessible surface area