Due to their intrinsic genetic, structural and phenotypic variability the Lentiviruses, and specifically small ruminant lentiviruses (SRLV), are considered viral quasispecies with a population structure that consists of extremely large numbers of variant genomes, termed mutant spectra or mutant cloud. Immunoenzymatic tests for SRLVs are available but the dynamic heterogeneity of the virus makes the development of a diagnostic “golden standard" extremely difficult. The ELISA reported in the literature have been obtained using proteins derived from a single strain or they are multi-strain based assay that may increase the sensitivity of the serological diagnosis. Hundreds of SRLV protein sequences derived from different viral strains are deposited in GenBank. The aim of this study is to verify if the database can be exploited with the help of bioinformatics in order to have a more systematic approach in the design of a set of representative protein antigens useful in the SRLV serodiagnosis. Clustering, molecular modelling, molecular dynamics, epitope predictions and aggregative/solubility predictions were the main bioinformatic tools used. This approach led to the design of SRLV antigenic proteins that were expressed by recombinant DNA technology using synthetic genes, analyzed by CD spectroscopy, tested by ELISA and preliminarily compared to currently commercially available detection kits.

由于其固有的遗传、结构和表型变异性，慢病毒，特别是小型反刍动物慢病毒 (SRLV)，被认为是具有由大量变异基因组组成的种群结构的病毒准种，称为突变谱或突变云。SRLVs 的免疫酶测试是可用的，但病毒的动态异质性使得诊断“黄金标准”的开发极其困难。文献中报道的 ELISA 是使用源自单一菌株的蛋白质获得的，或者它们是基于多菌株的测定这可能会增加血清学诊断的敏感性。来自不同病毒株的数百个 SRLV 蛋白序列保存在 GenBank 中。本研究的目的是验证是否可以在生物信息学的帮助下利用该数据库，以便在设计一组可用于 SRLV 血清诊断的代表性蛋白质抗原时采用更系统的方法。聚类、分子建模、分子动力学、表位预测和聚集/溶解度预测是使用的主要生物信息学工具。这种方法导致了 SRLV 抗原蛋白的设计，这些抗原蛋白通过重组 DNA 技术使用合成基因表达，通过 CD 光谱分析，通过 ELISA 测试，并初步与目前市售的检测试剂盒进行比较。表位预测和聚集/溶解度预测是使用的主要生物信息学工具。这种方法导致了 SRLV 抗原蛋白的设计，这些抗原蛋白通过重组 DNA 技术使用合成基因表达，通过 CD 光谱分析，通过 ELISA 测试，并初步与目前市售的检测试剂盒进行比较。表位预测和聚集/溶解度预测是使用的主要生物信息学工具。这种方法导致了 SRLV 抗原蛋白的设计，这些抗原蛋白通过重组 DNA 技术使用合成基因表达，通过 CD 光谱分析，通过 ELISA 测试，并初步与目前市售的检测试剂盒进行比较。