Deletion of a major neutralizing epitope of human papillomavirus type 16 virus-like particles.
Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) is a major cause of human cancer. Effective prophylactic vaccines are based on type-specific neutralizing antibodies. A major neutralizing epitope has been defined by the monoclonal antibody H16.V5. To investigate the importance of this epitope for overall immunogenicity of HPV-16, HPV-16 virus-like particles devoid of the H16.V5 epitope were engineered by sit