Iscom immunization with synthetic peptides representing measles virus hemagglutinin

Synthetic peptides representing the measles virus (MV) hemagglutinin (MVH) were incorporated into immunostimulating complexes (iscoms) and used for immunization of rabbits. Nine regions of MVH were selected on the basis of hydropathy and antigenicity profiles, by use of the known primary structure of MVH. Six linear and three branched types of peptides were synthesized and conjugated to palmitic acid before incorporation into the iscom structure. Five of the anti-peptide sera reacted by ELISA with the homologous peptide but did not react with MV in the native state, indicating that either the selected sites are not represented on the surface of MV, or they could be a conformational epitope. Human-anti MV and rabbit anti-MV did not react with the peptides.