Products for Research on Zika Virus and Other Flaviviruses

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The recent Zika virus outbreak has highlighted the need for more research into the mechanisms of virus entry, replication, and the antiviral immune response. Bio-Techne has the tools needed to advance our understanding of the Zika virus and other related viruses belonging to the Flaviviridae family, including yellow fever virus, dengue virus, West Nile virus, and Japanese encephalitis virus. Explore our wide selection of products listed below.

R&D Systems® Human Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA Kit

Currently there is no accurate serological diagnostic test for the Zika virus due to cross-reactivity with other flaviviruses. To address this need, scientists at R&D Systems have developed an Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA Kit that is designed for use with human serum. In-house testing shows that this assay is more specific and sensitive than three other commercially available anti-Zika virus IgG ELISA kits currently on market.

Testing Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA
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Testing of R&D Systems® Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA. Fifty-five Zika virus patient samples (shown in blue), thirty-five dengue virus patient samples (shown in red), and fifty presumed healthy donor samples (shown in green) were tested alongside three control samples using R&D Systems® Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA Kit (Catalog # ZIK00). The thirty-five dengue virus patient samples tested had the same net O.D.s at the presumed healthy donor samples. Of the fifty-five Zika virus patient samples tested, fifty-one were positive and four (Z18, Z20, Z35, and Z39) were negative. Further testing demonstrated that these four samples were dengue virus positive.





 

Anti-Zika Scientific Poster
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To see the complete data set obtained from testing of the Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA alongside the other commercially available anti-Zika virus IgG ELISAs, review our recent scientific poster, A New Immunoassay for Detecting Anti-Zika Virus IgG with Very Low Dengue Virus Cross-Reactivity.








 

Anti-Zika Webinar
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On September 19, 2017, R&D Systems hosted an educational webinar describing why serological diagnosis of the Zika virus is complicated, how our Anti-Zika Virus IgG ELISA Kit was developed, and how it compares to the other commercially available kits.

 

 

 

 

Blocking/Neutralization and Flow Cytometry Antibodies for Flavivirus Entry/Adhesion Factors

R&D Systems® Blocking/Neutralizing Antibodies

Flaviviruses enter host cells through interactions between the viral E glycoprotein and specific cell surface receptors that act either together or sequentially. Multiple phosphatidylserine receptors, including Gas6/AXL, Dtk, Mer, TIM-1, TIM-3, and TIM-4, and the C-type lectin receptor, DC-SIGN have been shown to mediate flavivirus entry. R&D Systems offers antibodies to these targets that are qualified for blocking/neutralization, ICC/IHC, flow cytometry, and/or Western blot.

 
Flow Cytometry-Detection of Axl in HeLa Human Cell Line by Flow Cytometry
View Larger		   Detection of Axl in HeLa Cells by Flow Cytometry. The HeLa human cervical epithelial carcinoma cell line was stained with a PE-conjugated Mouse Anti-Human Axl Monoclonal Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # FAB154P; filled histogram) or a PE-conjugated Isotype Control (R&D Systems, Catalog # IC002P, open histogram).
Flow Cytometry-Detection of Axl in HeLa Human Cell Line by Flow Cytometry
View Larger		   Detection of Dtk in K562 Human Cell Line by Flow Cytometry. The K562 human chronic myelogenous leukemia cell line was stained with a PE-conjugated Mouse Anti-Human Dtk Monoclonal Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # FAB859P; filled histogram) or a PE-conjugated Isotype Control (R&D Systems, Catalog # IC002P; open histogram).

Reagents to Monitor Autophagy

Autophagy Pathway

Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation process by which endogenous proteins and damaged organelles are sequestered, broken down, and recycled for reuse. This pathway is induced in several cell types following flavivirus infection and has been shown to either positively or negatively regulate viral replication depending on the virus and the infected cell type. Bio-Techne offers several reagents to monitor autophagy including an antibody to LC3, a marker of autophagosomes, antibodies against ATG family members, and several autophagy modulators.

Western Blot LC3/MAP1LC3A Antibody (877005) [Unconjugated]
View Larger		   Detection of LC3 by Western Blot. Lysates from human brain tissue, the NIH-3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblast cell line, or the PC-12 rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cell line, untreated (-) or treated (+) with chloroquine were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to a PVDF membrane. The membrane was probed using a Rat Anti-Human LC3/MAP1LC3A Monoclonal Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # MAB8558) followed by an HRP-conjugated Anti-Rat IgG Secondary Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # HAF005). Specific bands for LC3 were detected at approximately 14 and 16 kDa (as indicated).
Immunohistochemistry- LC3/MAP1LC3A in Human Brain Cortex Tissue.
View Larger		   Detection of LC3 in Human Brain Cortex Tissue. LC3/MAP1LC3A was detected in immersion fixed paraffin-embedded sections of human brain cortex tissue using a Rat Anti-Human LC3/MAP1LC3A Monoclonal Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # MAB8558) at 4 °C overnight. The tissue was stained using the Anti-Rat HRP-DAB Cell & Tissue Staining Kit (R&D Systems, Catalog # CTS017; brown) and counterstained with hematoxylin (blue). Specific staining was localized to neurons.
 

Antibodies, Kinase Inhibitors, and ELISA Kits to Investigate the Immune Response

RIG-I-like Receptor (RLR) Signaling Pathways

RIG-I and MDA5 are cytosolic pattern recognition receptors that are essential for detecting viral RNA and initiating the immune response. Upon activation, they promote IRF3- and IRF7-dependent expression of type I and type III interferons and NF-kappa B-dependent expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. RIG-I and MDA5 are involved in the detection of several flaviviruses and are now being investigated, along with TLR3, for their involvement in the antiviral immune response following Zika virus infection. R&D Systems, Novus Biologicals, and Tocris offer a wide selection of reagents that can be used to monitor RIG-I, MDA5, and/or TLR3 activation.

Recombinant Viral Proteins

All flaviviruses have single-stranded, positive sense RNA genomes that are translated directly in the cytoplasm of infected cells into a single polyprotein. The polyprotein precursor is cleaved by host or viral proteases into three structural proteins and seven nonstructural proteins. R&D Systems offers several recombinant viral dengue virus, Zika virus, and West Nile virus nonstructural proteins.

 

 

Antibodies Against Flavivirus Nonstructural, Envelope, and Capsid Proteins

Autophagy Pathway

R&D Systems and Novus Biologicals together offer a wide selection of antibodies that recognize Flavivirus nonstructural proteins in addition to antibodies that recognize West Nile virus, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus envelope or capsid proteins.

 

Antiviral Reagents

antiviral reagents

Recombinant Human IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, and IFN-gamma inhibit Zika virus replication in primary skin fibroblasts.1 All three of the recombinant IFN proteins that were used in this study were obtained from R&D Systems. In addition, Tocris offers a series of small molecule antiviral compounds that target a wide range of different viruses.

Neutralization IFN-beta Antibody
View Larger		   IFN-beta Inhibits EMCV-induced Cytopathy and Is Neutralized Following the Addition of a Human IFN-beta Antibody. The HeLa human cervical epithelial carcinoma cell line infected with encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) was treated with increasing concentrations of Recombinant Human IFN-beta (R&D Systems, Catalog # 8499-IF) and EMCV-induced cytopathy was measured by crystal violet staining (orange line). Inhibition of EMCV activity elicited by 10 ng/mL Recombinant Human IFN-beta was neutralized with increasing concentrations of a Goat Anti-Human IFN-beta Antigen Affinity-purified Polyclonal Antibody (R&D Systems, Catalog # AF814; green line). The ND50 is typically 0.05-0.2 ug/mL.

Reference

  1. Hamel, R. et al. (2015) J. Virol. 89:8880.

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Infectious Diseases