Synthetic picornavirus antigen

A synthetic, antigenic peptide of about twenty amino acid residues having a sequence corresponding to an amino acid residue sequence of the polio virus VP1 capsid protein from about position 61 to about 80 from the amino-terminus thereof;

• said peptide, when linked to a keyhole limpet hemocyanin carrier as a conjugate and introduced in an effective amount as a vaccine into a host animal, being capable of inducing production of antibodies in the host that immunoreact with said polio virus and protect the host from infection caused by said virus.

A synthetic, antigenic peptide containing a sequence of about twenty amino acid residues corresponding to an amino acid residue sequence of the polio virus VP.sub.1 capsid protein, from about position 182 to about position 201 from the amino-terminus thereof;

• said peptide, when linked to a keyhole limpet hemocyanin carrier as a conjugate and introduced in an effective amount as a vaccine into a host animal, being capable of inducing production of antibodies in the host that immunoreact with said polio virus and protect the host from infection caused by said virus.

An antigenic polymer having repeating units comprising a plurality of antigenic peptides each having about twenty amino acid residues corresponding in sequence to an amino acid residue sequence of a region on the antigenic VP1 Picornavirus capsid protein that is located away from the amino-terminus of said antigenic capsid protein at a distance equal to about 60 and about 75 percent of the total amino acid sequence length thereof;

• said peptide, when linked to a keyhole limpet hemocyanin carrier as a conjugate and introduced in an effective amount as a vaccine into a host animal being capable of inducing production of antibodies in the host that immunoreact with said Picornavirus and protect the host from infection caused by said Picornavirus, said peptide repeating units being bonded together by oxidized cysteine residues to form said polymer.

A cyclic ring antigenic peptide of about twenty amino acid residues having a sequence corresponding to an amino acid residue sequence of a region on the antigenic VP1 Picornavirus capsid protein that is located away from the amino-terminus of said antigenic capsid protein at a distance equal to about 60 and about 75 percent of the total amino acid sequence length thereof;

• said peptide, when linked to a keyhole limpet hemocyanin carrier as a conjugate and introduced in an effective amount as a vaccine into a host animal, being capable of inducing production of antibodies in the host that immunoreact with said Picornavirus and protect the host from infection caused by said Picornavirus, the ends of said peptide bonded by oxidized cystein residues to form said cyclic ring.

A vaccine against infection by Picornaviruses comprising an effective amount of a synthetic, antigenic peptide of about twenty amino acid residues having a sequence corresponding to an amino acid residue sequence of a region on the antigenic VP1 Picornavirus capsid protein that is located away from the amino-terminus of said antigenic capsid protein, at a distance equal to about 60 and about 75 percent of the total amino acid sequence length thereof, and a physiologically tolerable diluent;

• said vaccine, when introduced into a host animal, being capable of inducing production of antibodies in the host that immunoreact with said Picornavirus and protect the host from infection caused by said Picornavirus.