Poliovirus type 2 antigenic epitopes (PV2 epitopes)

Poliovirus type 2 antigenic epitopes are specific structural regions on the surface of the poliovirus type 2 capsid that serve as the primary targets for the host's neutralizing antibody response. These epitopes are predominantly located on the external loops of the viral capsid proteins VP1, VP2, and VP3, and are organized into four major antigenic sites (AgS1–AgS4) [1.1.1, 1.3.1]. In the production of the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), the virus is treated with formaldehyde to eliminate infectivity while preserving the native D-antigen conformation of these epitopes, which is essential for inducing protective immunity [1.2.1, 1.2.5]. The biological function of these epitopes is to serve as the target for humoral immunity, where antibodies bind to the virus and prevent its attachment to the host poliovirus receptor (CD155), thereby blocking infection [1.4.2]. While wild poliovirus type 2 was declared eradicated in 2015, these epitopes remain critical therapeutic targets in global health to prevent the re-emergence of the disease from vaccine-derived strains [1.4.3]. Interacting agents include the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) and oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), which utilize these epitopes as antigens to prime the immune system against paralytic poliomyelitis [1.5.1, 1.5.4].

Other names

Poliovirus type 2 D-antigenPV2 neutralizing antigenic sitesInactivated poliovirus type 2 antigensPV2 AgS1-4

Induction of humoral immunity through the production of neutralizing antibodies that bind to viral capsid epitopes, preventing viral attachment to the host poliovirus receptor (CD155) and subsequent cell entry [1.4.1, 1.4.2].