This proposal represents a transition from an emphasis on the epidemiology and diagnosis of B19 infections to the use of molecular techniques to address specific problems in the pathogenesis of human parvovirus infection. In preliminary work, recombinant B19 capsid proteins have been cloned and expressed in a baculovirus system. These can now serve as a renewable source of antigen for assays of B19 antibodies. Umbilical cord mononuclear cells have also been investigated as a convenient source of erythroid progenitor cells for a B19 neutralization assay. These methods will now be used to test sera of women infected with B19 during pregnancy for antibody responses to B19. Such information regarding factors that effect intrauterine transmission of the virus will have an important impact on the design and strategy of a B19 vaccine.
| Ragni, M V; Koch, W C; Jordan, J A (1996) Parvovirus B19 infection in patients with hemophilia. Transfusion 36:238-41 |
