Prokaryotic Expression of Hepatitis C Virus-NS3 Protein and Preparation of a Monoclonal Antibody.

Prokaryotic Expression of Hepatitis C Virus-NS3 Protein and Preparation of a Monoclonal Antibody. Monoclon Antib Immunodiagn Immunother. 2017 Dec;36(6):251-258 Authors: Xi Y, Zhang Y, Fang J, Whittaker K, Luo S, Huang RP Abstract Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a significant health threat that has been extensively investigated worldwide. Improving the sensitivity and specificity of laboratory tests for screening and early diagnosis of HCV in a relevant population is an effective measure to control the spread of HCV. To build a more reliable diagnostic method for HCV, we expressed gene fragments of HCV-NS3 linked to a carrier, pET28a, and then transformed this vector into Escherichia. coli. The produced recombinant NS3 protein with a molecular weight of 38 kDa, which was purified through Ni-chelating affinity chromatography, was used to immunize BALB/C mice, which generated a serum antibody titer of 1:160,000 against the immunogen. Three positive monoclonal isolates (2A5, 2A6, and 5B12) were screened and established. Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results of these monoclonal cells show that each could specifically recognize the recombinant protein. Antibodies 2A5 and 2A6 were developed into an ELISA sandwich antibody pair for the recombinant protein. The detection sensitivity of our developed ELISA was 1.6 ng/mL, with a linear range of 2.5-80 ng/mL (R2 = 0.998). Serum NS3 ELISA results show that the av...
Source: Monoclonal Antibodies in Immunodiagnosis and Immunotherapy - Category: Microbiology Tags: Monoclon Antib Immunodiagn Immunother Source Type: research