Development and validation of a multiplex immunoassay for the simultaneous quantification of type-specific IgG antibodies to E6/E7 oncoproteins of HPV16 and HPV18

PLoS One. 2020 Mar 26;15(3):e0229672. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229672. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

More than 170 types of human papilloma viruses (HPV) exist with many causing proliferative diseases linked to malignancy in indications such as cervical cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Characterization of antibody levels toward HPV serology is challenging due to complex biology of oncoproteins, pre-existing titers to multiple HPV types, cross-reactivity, and low affinity, polyclonal responses. Using multiplex technology from MSD, we have developed an assay that simultaneously characterizes antibodies against E6 and E7 oncoproteins of HPV16 and 18, the primary drivers of HPV-associated oncogenesis. We fusion tagged our E6 and E7 proteins with MBP via two-step purification, spot-printed an optimized concentration of protein into wells of MSD 96-well plates, and assayed various cynomolgus monkey, human and HPV+ cervical cancer patient serum to validate the assay. The dynamic range of the assay covered 4-orders of magnitude and antibodies were detected in serum at a dilution up to 100,000-fold. The assay was very precise (n = 5 assay runs) with median CV of human serum samples ~ 5.3% and inter-run variability of 11.4%. The multiplex serology method has strong cross-reactivity between E6 oncoproteins from human serum samples as HPV18 E6 antigens neutralized 5 of 6 serum samples as strongly as HPV16 E6. Moderate concordance (Spearman's Rank = 0.775) was found between antibody responses against HPV16 E7 in the multiplex assay compared to standard ELISA serology methods. These results demonstrate the development of a high-throughput, multi-plex assay that requires lower sample quantity input with greater dynamic range to detect type-specific anti-HPV concentrations to E6 and E7 oncoproteins of HPV16 and 18.

Publication types

  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Cross Reactions
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / immunology
  • Electrochemical Techniques
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / methods
  • High-Throughput Screening Assays / statistics & numerical data
  • Human papillomavirus 16 / immunology*
  • Human papillomavirus 18 / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunoassay / methods*
  • Immunoassay / statistics & numerical data
  • Immunoglobulin G / blood*
  • Limit of Detection
  • Luminescent Measurements / methods
  • Luminescent Measurements / statistics & numerical data
  • Macaca fascicularis
  • Oncogene Proteins, Viral / immunology
  • Papillomavirus E7 Proteins / immunology
  • Repressor Proteins / immunology
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / immunology
  • Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / virology

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • E6 protein, Human papillomavirus type 16
  • E6 protein, Human papillomavirus type 18
  • E7 protein, Human papillomavirus type 18
  • Immunoglobulin G
  • Oncogene Proteins, Viral
  • Papillomavirus E7 Proteins
  • Repressor Proteins
  • oncogene protein E7, Human papillomavirus type 16

Grants and funding

HL, KAR, SW, NS, CJD are current or former employees of AstraZeneca. They received compensation in the form of salary and stock as employees. AAA, JMD, and DN are current or former employees of Meso Scale Diagnostics LLC and receive compensation in the form of salary and stock. AstraZeneca nor Meso Scale Diagnostics LLC did not play a role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript and only provided financial support in the form of salaries and research materials.