A Recombinant Multiepitope Protein for Hepatitis B Diagnosis. (5th November 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: de Souza, Marilen Queiroz; Galdino, Alexsandro Sobreira; dos Santos, José Carlos; Soares, Marcus Vinicius; Nóbrega, Yanna C. de; Álvares, Alice da Cunha Morales; de Freitas, Sonia Maria; Torres, Fernando Araripe Gonçalves; Felipe, Maria Sueli Soares
• Other Names: Martinez Esteban Academic Editor.
• Is Part Of: BioMed research international. Volume 2013(2013)
• Publication Date: 2013-11-05
• Subjects: Medicine -- Periodicals; Biology -- Periodicals; Biotechnology -- Periodicals; Life sciences -- Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1155/2013/148317
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2314-6133

Abstract

Abstract : Hepatitis B is a liver inflammation caused by hepatitis B virus (HBV) and can be diagnosed in clinical stage by hepatitis B core antibody from IgM class (anti-HBcIgM). Hepatitis B core antibody from IgG class (Anti-HBcIgG) appears quickly after IgM, reaching high titers in chronic hepatitis, and remains even after cure. Since hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) is the first antibody identified and sometimes the only marker detected during the course of infection, it can be used both to indicate HBV acute infection (anti-HBc-IgM) and to identify individuals who have come into contact with the virus (anti-HBc-IgG). In this work we propose a recombinant hepatitis B core multiepitope antigen (rMEHB) to be used for diagnosis of hepatitis B. For this purpose, a synthetic gene coding for rMEHB was designed and cloned into vector pET21a with a 6xHis tag at the C-terminal. Time course induction in E. coli showed an induced protein with an apparent molecular mass of ~21 kDa. Protein purification was performed by a single step with affinity chromatography Ni-NTA. Circular dichroism spectroscopy indicated rMEHB as a thermal stable protein at pH 7.0 and 8.0. In these conditions rMEHB was successfully used to perform an enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) with positive and negative sera.