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Veterinary research communications2026; 50(4); 307; doi: 10.1007/s11259-026-11222-3

Evaluation of synthetic peptides derived from glycoproteins gp45 and gp90 as candidates for the immunodiagnosis of equine infectious anemia.

Abstract: The international scientific community continues to promote the development of diagnostic techniques with improved performance and novel capture antigens. On this basis, two synthetic peptides derived from gp45 and gp90 were evaluated to identify the best candidate for the indirect immunodetection of infection. In both assays, 68 serum samples from naturally infected horses in Granma Province (59 seropositive and 9 seronegative), previously classified using the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test, were analyzed. The diagnostic performance of each candidate peptide was assessed by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and the Kappa coefficient. Compared with ELISA and the AGID test, the ELISA variant showed better performance, accurately identifying the highest number of infected animals (91.2%, 56/59). Consequently, it achieved high values for positive predictive value (98.2%), overall accuracy (94.1%), and Kappa coefficient (0.96; very good). The ability of synthetic peptide P05 to discriminate between infected and uninfected animals exceeded that of P15. Based on these results, synthetic peptide P05 may serve as an alternative capture antigen for evaluating the immune response in equine infectious anemia.
© 2026. The Author(s).
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Publication Date: 2026-05-07 PubMed ID: 42095974PubMed Central: PMC13152941DOI: 10.1007/s11259-026-11222-3Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

Overview

  • This research evaluates two synthetic peptides derived from viral glycoproteins gp45 and gp90 to determine which is better suited as a diagnostic antigen for detecting equine infectious anemia (EIA) in horses.
  • The study compares these peptides using indirect ELISA against the standard agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test to assess their diagnostic accuracy.

Background

  • Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a viral disease affecting horses, caused by the equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV).
  • Diagnosis traditionally relies on the agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test, but there is interest in developing improved diagnostic techniques with higher sensitivity and specificity.
  • Synthetic peptides derived from viral glycoproteins—specifically gp45 and gp90—are explored as potential capture antigens to enhance test performance in detecting antibodies against EIAV.

Objective

  • To evaluate two synthetic peptides (named P05 from gp45 and P15 from gp90) for their effectiveness as capture antigens in an indirect ELISA assay detecting EIA antibodies in horse serum.
  • To compare the diagnostic performance of these peptides against the current AGID standard test.

Methods

  • Sample Collection:
    • 68 serum samples from naturally infected horses in Granma Province: 59 were previously confirmed seropositive, and 9 seronegative by AGID.
  • Assay Setup:
    • Indirect ELISA tests were developed using each synthetic peptide (P05 and P15) as the antigen to capture antibodies specific to EIAV.
  • Performance Metrics:
    • Sensitivity: ability of the test to correctly identify infected animals.
    • Specificity: ability to correctly identify uninfected animals.
    • Positive Predictive Value (PPV): probability that a positive test result correctly indicates infection.
    • Negative Predictive Value (NPV): probability that a negative test result correctly indicates no infection.
    • Kappa Coefficient: statistics measuring agreement between tests, with values closer to 1 indicating very good agreement.

Results

  • The ELISA test using peptide P05 showed:
    • Sensitivity of 91.2% (detecting 56 out of 59 infected horses correctly).
    • High positive predictive value (98.2%), meaning most positive results were true infections.
    • Overall accuracy of 94.1%, demonstrating strong performance in both positive and negative cases.
    • Kappa coefficient of 0.96, indicating very good agreement with the AGID test results.
  • Peptide P05’s ability to differentiate between infected and uninfected animals was superior compared to peptide P15 derived from gp90.

Conclusions

  • The synthetic peptide P05 (gp45-derived) shows strong potential as a capture antigen in ELISA tests for immunodiagnosis of equine infectious anemia.
  • Its high sensitivity and agreement with standard tests suggest it could be used as an alternative or complementary antigen to traditional diagnostic methods.
  • Incorporating such synthetic peptides could lead to faster, reliable, and possibly more scalable diagnostic assays for detecting EIA in horse populations.

Implications for Future Research and Diagnostics

  • The success of peptide P05 encourages further refinement and validation in larger, diverse populations to ensure robustness across different horse populations and stages of infection.
  • Implementation of peptide-based ELISAs could improve routine surveillance and control programs by providing more sensitive and specific tools for EIA detection.
  • Potential development of point-of-care or rapid tests incorporating these peptides could facilitate field diagnosis, enabling timely management of infected horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Domínguez-Odio A, González LIC, Alfonso DM, Martínez ER, Ríos MÁB, Cala-Delgado DL. (2026). Evaluation of synthetic peptides derived from glycoproteins gp45 and gp90 as candidates for the immunodiagnosis of equine infectious anemia. Vet Res Commun, 50(4), 307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-026-11222-3

Publication

Veterinary research communications
ISSN: 1573-7446
NlmUniqueID: 8100520
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 50
Issue: 4
PII: 307

Researcher Affiliations

Domínguez-Odio, Aníbal
  • Dirección de Ciencia e Innovación. Grupo Empresarial LABIOFAM, Avenida Independencia km 16 ½, La Habana, Cuba.
González, Laura Iliana Coroás
  • Dirección de Ciencia e Innovación. Grupo Empresarial LABIOFAM, Avenida Independencia km 16 ½, La Habana, Cuba.
Alfonso, Dayamí Martín
  • Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de la Defensa Civil, Carretera de Tapaste y Autopista Nacional Km 23 ½, San José de las Lajas, Cuba.
Martínez, Ernesto Rodríguez
  • Instituto de Cibernética, Matemática y Física. Calle 15 # 551 e/ C y D, La Habana, Cuba.
Ríos, Miguel Ángel Bedoya
  • Grupo de Investigación en Ciencia Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, sede Bucaramanga. Carrera 33 N°. 30ª-05 (4.162,49 km), Bucaramanga, 68000, Colombia.
Cala-Delgado, Daniel Leonardo
  • Grupo de Investigación en Ciencia Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, sede Bucaramanga. Carrera 33 N°. 30ª-05 (4.162,49 km), Bucaramanga, 68000, Colombia. daniel.cala@campusucc.edu.co.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Equine Infectious Anemia / diagnosis
  • Equine Infectious Anemia / immunology
  • Infectious Anemia Virus, Equine / immunology
  • Infectious Anemia Virus, Equine / isolation & purification
  • Peptides
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Immunologic Tests / veterinary
  • Immunologic Tests / methods
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
  • Glycoproteins

Conflict of Interest Statement

Declarations. Ethics approval: The use of animals to induce experimental infections was not necessary in any case; therefore, the study protocol did not require approval by the Ethics Committee. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

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