Identification and validation of B-cell epitopes on ricin toxin

根据该计划授予的合同支持多学科团队鉴定新的B细胞表位，并阐明抗体介导的保护或发病机制，这些机制在人类对新出现和重新出现的传染病和潜在的生物恐怖主义及其毒素的体液免疫中非常重要。每个里程碑驱动的合同包括1）表位鉴定; 2）表位验证，必须包括使用人类样本进行体外评估; 3）向免疫表位数据库和分析资源提交表位数据，计算机软件和结构数据;以及4）研究，以帮助理解与新鉴定的表位相关的抗体引起的保护或发病机制。

The contracts awarded under this program support multi-disciplinary teams to identify novel B cell epitopes and elucidate mechanisms of antibody-mediated protection or pathogenesis that are important in humoral immunity in humans to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and potential agents of bioterrorism and their toxins. Each milestone-driven contract includes 1) epitope identification; 2) epitope validation that must include in vitro evaluation using human samples; 3) submission of epitope data, computer software, and structural data to the Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Resource; and 4) studies to help understand the mechanisms of protection or pathogenesis elicited by antibodies associated with the newly identified epitopes.