Fragments of gp120 used for epitope mapping studies.

Fragments of the gp120 gene were selected based on the two-dimensional structure of Leonard et al. [54] and fused to the signal sequence and 27 N terminal amino acids of glycoprotein D from type 1 herpes simplex virus. The fragments were expressed in 293 cells, and cell culture supernatants containing the secreted fragments were screened by ELISA for MAb binding. MAb binding to fragments A–E localized epitopes outside of the V1 and V2 domains; MAb binding to fragments F–I localized epitopes that depended on the V1 and V2 domain.