Ethanol and isopropanol inactivation of human coronavirus on hard surfaces.

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has greatly increased the frequency of disinfecting surfaces in public places, causing a strain on the ability to obtain disinfectant solutions. An alternative is to use plain alcohols (EtOH and IPA) or sodium hypochlorite (SH). AIM: To determine the efficacy of various concentrations of EtOH, IPA and SH on a human coronavirus (HCoV) dried on to surfaces using short contact times. METHODS: High concentrations of infectious HCoV were dried on to porcelain and ceramic tiles, then treated with various concentrations of the alcohols for contact times of 15 s, 30 s and 1 min. Three concentrations of SH were also tested. Reductions in titres were measured using the tissue culture infectious dose 50 assay. FINDINGS: Concentrations of EtOH and IPA from 62% to 80% were very efficient at inactivating high concentrations of HCoV dried on to tile surfaces, even with a 15-s contact time. Concentrations of 95% dehydrated the virus, allowing infectious virus to survive. The dilutions of SH recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1/10 and 1/50) were efficient at inactivating high concentrations of HCoV dried on to tile surfaces, whereas a 1/100 dilution had substantially lower activity. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple concentrations of EtOH, IPA and SH efficiently inactivated infectious HCoV on hard surfaces, typical of those found in public places. Often no remaining infectious HCoV could be detected.

Production and characterization of a novel HPV anti-L2 monoclonal antibody panel.

The major capsid protein of HPV, L1, assembles into pentamers that form a T = 7 icosahedral particle, but the location of the co-assembled minor capsid protein, L2, remains controversial. Several researchers have developed useful monoclonal antibodies targeting L2, but most react with linear epitopes toward the N-terminus. As a means to better define the virus capsid and better assess the localization and exposure of L2 epitopes in the context of assembled HPV, we have developed a panel of 30 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) which target the N-terminus of L2 amino acids 11-200, previously defined as a broadly protective immunogen. Select mAbs were processed with enzymes and anti-L2 Fabs were generated. These new mAb/Fab probes will be beneficial in future studies to unravel the placement of L2 and to help better define the role of L2 in the HPV lifecycle and the nature of the broadly protective epitopes.

Dissection of H-2Db-restricted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte epitopes on simian virus 40 T antigen by the use of synthetic peptides and H-2Dbm mutants.

Five distinct cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) recognition sites were identified in the simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen by using H-2b cells that express the truncated T antigen or antigens carrying internal deletions of various sizes. Four of the CTL recognition determinants, designated sites I, II, III, and V, are H-2Db restricted, while site IV is H-2Kb restricted. The boundaries of CTL recognition sites I, II, and III, clustered in the amino-terminal half of the T antigen, were further defined by use of overlapping synthetic peptides containing amino acid sequences previously determined to be required for recognition by T-antigen site-specific CTL clones by using SV40 deletion mutants. CTL clone Y-1, which recognizes epitope I and whose reactivity is affected by deletion of residues 193 to 211 of the T antigen, responded positively to B6/PY cells preincubated with a synthetic peptide corresponding to T-antigen amino acids 205 to 219. CTL clones Y-2 and Y-3 lysed B6/PY cells preincubated with large-T peptide LT220-233. To distinguish further between epitopes II and III, Y-2 and Y-3 CTL clones were reacted with SV40-transformed cells bearing mutations in the major histocompatibility complex class I antigen. Y-2 CTL clones lysed SV40-transformed H-2Dbm13 cells (bm13SV) which carry several amino acid substitutions in the putative antigen-binding site in the alpha 2 domain of the H-2Db antigen but not bm14SV cells, which contain a single amino acid substitution in the alpha 1 domain. Y-3 CTL clones lysed both mutant transformants. Y-1 and Y-5 CTL clones failed to lyse bm13SV and bm14SV cells; however, these cells could present synthetic peptide LT205-219 to CTL clone Y-1 and peptide SV26(489-503) to CTL clone Y-5, suggesting that the endogenously processed T antigen yields fragments of sizes or sequences different from those of synthetic peptides LT205-219 and SV26(489-503).

Frequency analysis of simian virus 40-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors in the high responder C57BL/6 mouse strain.

Studies in this laboratory have shown that long term simian virus 40 (SV40)-specific cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) cultures established from the spleens of high responder C57BL/6 (B6; H-2b) mice exhibit a preference for the selection of H-2Db-restricted CTL clones. In this study, we have investigated the basis for this selection. Limiting dilution cultures were established using responder cells from the popliteal lymph nodes and the spleens of B6 mice immunized subcutaneously in the hind footpads or via the intraperitoneal route, respectively, with syngeneic SV40-transformed cells expressing a full length (1 to 708 amino acid residues) SV40 large T antigen. The relative frequency of CTL precursors (CTLp) able to expand in vitro in the presence of SV40-transformed stimulator cells and interleukin 2 and exhibit lytic activity against H-2b cells expressing full length T antigen ranged from 1/1900 to 1/15,000 in the popliteal lymph node and from 1/8000 to 1/55,000 in the spleen. In these two experimental systems, CTLp restricted to H-2Kb were apparently present at higher frequency than H-2Db-restricted CTLp. Furthermore, CTLp recognizing determinants within the amino-terminal or carboxy-terminal halves of T antigen were generated in approximately equal numbers. The relative affinity of SV40-specific CTL, assessed by inhibition with anti-Lyt 2 monoclonal antibody, indicated that CTL restricted to H-2Db interacted with their target with greater affinity than CTL restricted to H-2Kb. These data suggest that the predominance of isolation of H-2Db-restricted CTL clones from long term in vitro cultures may be a function of the relative affinity of this population as a whole, rather than due to the immunodominance of this subpopulation during the in vivo response to SV40 T antigen.