Characterization of Autoantibodies against the E1 Subunit of Branched-Chain 2-Oxoacid Dehydrogenase in Patients with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Figure 4
Comparative analyses between the epitopes and the conserved structures of BCOADC-E1. (a) Comparison of the epitopes between BCOADC-E1 (BCDC-E1) and PDC-E1. The amino acid sequences of BCOADC-E1 and PDC-E1 were aligned using the BLAST2 Program [27]. Vertical lines represent identical residues, while dots denote similar residues. The epitopes of BCOADC-E1 and PDC-E1 determined by the multipin ELISA are indicated in pink and blue, respectively. The major determinant region is underlined for each antigen. (b) Comparison of the epitopes and the interspecies conservation of BCOADC-E1. (a) Upper: interspecies conservation was calculated by the ConSurf program [29] with the aid of the ClustalW2 program [28]. The epitope regions are also indicated. The conservation indices for the individual amino acid residues are drawn in graded colors (blue to red) as indicated. (b) Lower: sequence alignments of the major determinant region of human BCOADC-E1 and homologous proteins from various infectious microorganisms. Inverted letters represent residues that are identical to the human protein. The two regions (aa 137–142 and 153–156) that exhibited high solvent accessibilities (Supplementary Figure S2) are also indicated.
