Establishment of an indirect ELISA-based method involving the use of a multiepitope recombinant S protein to detect antibodies against canine coronavirus

Here, we report the development of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method that involves using multiepitope recombinant S protein (rSP) as the coating antigen to detect antibodies against canine coronavirus (CCoV). rSP was designed by arranging its four S fragments (91–135 aa, S1 gene; 377–434 aa, S2 gene; 647–671 aa, S3 gene; 951–971 aa, S4 gene; 207–227 aa) and two T-cell epitopes in tandem: T–E1–E2–E3–E4–T. This multiepitope antigen, which has a molecular weight of approximately 25 kDa and contains a His-tag, was recognized by a CCoV-positive serum in a Western blot assay. The optimal concentration of rSP as a coating antigen in the ELISA was 2 μg/mL, and the optimal dilution of enzyme-labeled secondary antibody was 1:10,000. The cutoff OD(450) value was established at 0.2395. No reactivity was observed with antisera against canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, or feline calicivirus, indicating that this assay is highly specific. We also tested 64 clinical serum samples using our newly established method, and the positive rate was found to be 82.8%. In conclusion, our assay was found to be highly sensitive and specific for the detection of antibodies against CCoV, and it can therefore serve as a new, efficient diagnostic method.