Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Based on the Nucleocapsid Protein of SARS-like Coronavlruses

• Published in: Virologica Sinica Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 146 - 151
• Main Author: Jun-fa YUAN Yan LI Hua-jun ZHANG Peng ZHOU Zhen-hua KE Yun-zhi ZHANG Zheng-li SHI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: SARS病毒; 冠状病毒感染; 核衣壳蛋白; 结构蛋白; 血清样品; 间接ELISA; 间接酶联免疫吸附试验
• ISSN: 1674-0769; 1995-820X

The nucleocapsid protein （N） is a major structural protein of coronaviruses. The N protein of bat SARS-like coronavirus （SL-CoV） has a high similarity with that of SARS-CoV. In this study, the SL-CoV N protein was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and used as antigen. An Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay （indirect ELISA） was developed for detection of SARS- or SL-CoV infections in bat populations. The detection of 573 bat sera with this indirect ELISA demonstrated that SL-CoVs consistently circulate in Rhinilophus species, further supporting the proposal that bats are natural reservoirs of SL-CoVs. This method uses 1-2 μl of serum sample and can be used for preliminary screening of infections by SARS- or SL-CoV with a small amount of serum sample.