Evaluation of a Native Preparation of HCV Core Protein (2-122) For Potential Applications in Immunization, Diagnosis and Mab Production

• Main Authors: MR Aghasadeghi (Author), SM Sadat (Author), A Budkowska (Author), AR Khabiri (Author), S Amini (Author), G Bahramali (Author), SR Naddaf (Author), F Roohvand (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences, 2006-03-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a worldwide problem. Among HCV proteins, core antigen (Ag), besides its importance for diagnostic application is a prime candidate for component of a vaccine. Herein, we report results of studies on production of the hydrophilic domain of core Ag (2-122) in native conformation by an arabinose induction system in E.coli and the primary characterization of this recombinant protein for applications in diagnosis, immunization and mAb production. Recombinant core (r-Core) was able to detect anti-core antibodies in HCV positive serum samples in a dilution rate of 1/3200. It was also capable to elicit a potent anti-HCV humoral immune response in BALB/c mice. Finally, we established two stable clones of hybridoma which shown to produce specific and sensitive mAbs against the core protein. HCV core was able to elicit a broad range of antibody specificities depending on the immunogen conformation. Therefore, it may be possible to get new mAbs with higher affinities towards native conformation of core Ag.

Item Description

2251-6085
2251-6093