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Volume 13
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10.3390/microorganisms13122666
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Article

Identification and Characterization of Three Novel B-Cell Epitopes in African Swine Fever Virus p22 Protein

by
Zehui Li
1,2,3,
Jingming Zhou
1,2,3,
Yumei Chen
1,2,3,
Hongliang Liu
2,3,
Yanhua Qi
2,3,
Chao Liang
1,2,3,
Xifang Zhu
2,3,
Enping Liu
2,3,
Sixuan Wu
2,3,
Peiyang Ding
2,3 and
Aiping Wang
1,2,3,*
1
Longhu Laboratory of Advanced Immunology, Zhengzhou 450046, China
2
Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Immunological Biology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
3
School of Life Science, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Microorganisms 2025, 13(12), 2666; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122666
Submission received: 20 August 2025 / Revised: 19 September 2025 / Accepted: 22 September 2025 / Published: 24 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Virology)
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Abstract

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a highly contagious pathogen causing African swine fever in wild boars, warthogs and domestic pigs. The disease leads tosubstantial economic losses to the global pork industry and poses a grave threat to biodiversity. The early-encoded structural protein p22, owing to its immunodominant characteristics and high conservation across most genotypes, represents a promising diagnostic target and subunit vaccine candidate. In this study, the soluble extracellular domain of p22 protein (aa 30–177) was successfully expressed and purified, yielding 1.220 g/L. Eleven strains of monoclonal antibodies against p22 were generated, with four selected for B-cell epitope screening. Bioinformatic prediction-guided design was employed to generate overlapping truncations and peptides for epitope mapping. Based on those strategies, three novel linear B-cell epitopes were identified to be 30KKQQPPKK37, 130WGTDDCTG137 and 150YVYNNPHH157 by monoclonal antibodies. Sequence alignment across ASFV isolates revealed 100% evolutionary conservation in genotypes I/II, with minor variation in genotypes IV/VIII/XX/XXII. This study provided valuable data for broadening the ASFV antigen spectrum and identifying immunological targets for subunit vaccine formulation strategies.
Keywords: African swine fever virus p22; recombinant expression; monoclonal antibodies; novel B-cell epitopes; conservation analysis African swine fever virus p22; recombinant expression; monoclonal antibodies; novel B-cell epitopes; conservation analysis

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MDPI and ACS Style

Li, Z.; Zhou, J.; Chen, Y.; Liu, H.; Qi, Y.; Liang, C.; Zhu, X.; Liu, E.; Wu, S.; Ding, P.; et al. Identification and Characterization of Three Novel B-Cell Epitopes in African Swine Fever Virus p22 Protein. Microorganisms 2025, 13, 2666. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122666

AMA Style

Li Z, Zhou J, Chen Y, Liu H, Qi Y, Liang C, Zhu X, Liu E, Wu S, Ding P, et al. Identification and Characterization of Three Novel B-Cell Epitopes in African Swine Fever Virus p22 Protein. Microorganisms. 2025; 13(12):2666. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122666

Chicago/Turabian Style

Li, Zehui, Jingming Zhou, Yumei Chen, Hongliang Liu, Yanhua Qi, Chao Liang, Xifang Zhu, Enping Liu, Sixuan Wu, Peiyang Ding, and et al. 2025. "Identification and Characterization of Three Novel B-Cell Epitopes in African Swine Fever Virus p22 Protein" Microorganisms 13, no. 12: 2666. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122666

APA Style

Li, Z., Zhou, J., Chen, Y., Liu, H., Qi, Y., Liang, C., Zhu, X., Liu, E., Wu, S., Ding, P., & Wang, A. (2025). Identification and Characterization of Three Novel B-Cell Epitopes in African Swine Fever Virus p22 Protein. Microorganisms, 13(12), 2666. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13122666

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