6533b852fe1ef96bd12ab7e2
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Mosaic hepatitis B virus core particles presenting the complete preS sequence of the viral envelope on their surface
Dace SkrastinaLarisa KovalevskaSvetlana CvetkovaIrina SominskayaAndris KazaksGalina BorisovaVelta OseAndris DishlersPaul Pumpenssubject
Hepatitis B virusAntigenicityvirusesAntibodies ViralProtein Engineeringmedicine.disease_causeVirusMiceViral Envelope ProteinsOrthohepadnavirusViral envelopeVirologyEscherichia colimedicineAnimalsProtein PrecursorsHepatitis B virusHepatitis B Surface AntigensbiologyViral Core Proteinsvirus diseasesProtein engineeringHepatitis Bbiology.organism_classificationVirologyFusion proteindigestive system diseasesHepadnaviridaeFemaleImmunizationReassortant VirusesPlasmidsdescription
The sequence of the preS domain of the hepatitis B virus (HBV, genotype D) envelope was inserted into the major immunodominant region (MIR) of the C-terminally truncated HBV core (HBc) protein. In Escherichia coli, the HBc–preS fusion protein was partially soluble and did not produce particles. Co-expression of the wild-type HBc as a helper protein along with the fusion protein led to the formation of mosaic HBc particles that exhibited HBc, preS1 and preS2 antigenicity. Two alternative combinations of medium- and high-copy plasmids were used for co-expression of fusion and helper proteins, in an attempt to improve mosaic particle production. However, the preS fusion content of the particles remained the same in both expression combinations. In a third co-expression in which the modified HBc helper lacked aa 76–85 in the MIR, the incorporation level of HBc–preS fusion into the particles was noticeably lower. Purified chimeric particles were immunogenic in mice.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-09-01 | Journal of General Virology |