cryptotope

A cryptotope is an antigenic site or epitope hidden in a protein or virion by surface subunits. Cryptotopes are antigenically active only after the dissociation of protein aggregates and virions.{{cite web|url=http://www.elsevierdirect.com/brochures/Virology/PDFs/00583.pdf|last=Regenmortel|first=Marc|title=Antigenicity and Immunogenicity of Viral Proteins|publisher=Elsevier|date=2008}} Some infectious pathogens are known to escape immunological targeting by B-cells by masking antigen-binding sites as cryptotopes.{{cite journal|last1=Reider|first1=Franz|last2=Biebl|first2=Julia|display-authors=etal|title=Microbial Cryptotopes are Prominent Targets of B-cell Immunity|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=6|pages=31657|date=22 July 2016|doi=10.1038/srep31657|pmid=27539094|pmc=4990913}}

A cryptotope can also be referred to as a cryptic epitope.

Cryptotopes are becoming important for HIV vaccine research as a number of studies have shown that cryptic epitopes can be revealed or exposed when HIV gp120 binds to CD4.{{cite journal|title=Characterization of Conserved Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gpl20 Neutralization Epitopes Exposed upon gpl20-CD4 Binding|last1=Thali|first1=Marcus|url=http://jvi.asm.org/cgi/reprint/67/7/3978?view=long&pmid=7685405|publisher=American Society for Microbiology|journal=Journal of Virology|volume=67|issue=7|date=July 1993|pages=3978–3988|doi=10.1128/jvi.67.7.3978-3988.1993 |pmid=7685405 |pmc=237765 }}