title: Demonstration of a hepatitis C virus-specific antigen predicted from the putative core gene in the circulation of infected hosts.
abstract: An ELISA was used to detect a protein derived from the core gene of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in human plasma. The solid phase antibody in the assay was a murine monoclonal antibody against a synthetic peptide deduced from the putative core gene of HCV (residues 39 to 74). An enzyme-labelled affinity-purified human antibody directed at another region within the HCV core (residues 5 to 23) was the second antibody tracer. The ELISA had a sensitivity capable of detecting a few ng/ml of the HCV core polypeptide expressed in Escherichia coli. Core antigen activity in plasma of infected hosts was detected after treatment of HCV RNA-rich fractions from buoyant density centrifugation with the detergent Tween 80. There was a direct correlation between core antigen ELISA values of a plasma fraction and intensities of polymerase chain reaction signals for HCV RNA. These observations are consistent with the proposal that the N-terminal sequence of the predicted polyprotein of HCV is a nucleocapsid protein, and that improved core antigen assays may correlate with viraemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Munekata
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Akahane
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshizawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishiro
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005814:Genes, Viral; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014758:Viral Core Proteins