title: The effect of pepsin digestion in relation to the pre-S region on hepatitis B surface antigen-induced hypersensitivity.
abstract: The role of the pre-S region of the hepatitis B surface Ag (HBsAg) particle in hypersensitivity to HBsAg was evaluated in mice. Plasma-derived or recombinant HBsAg was digested with pepsin to prepare different forms of HBsAg with or without pre-S region. Strains of mice including AKR/J (H-2k), A.SW (H-2s), C3H/He (H-2k), and CBA/J (H-2k) did not respond to the major S protein with regard to hypersensitivity. However, the pre-S-containing HBsAg overcame this nonresponsiveness. In BALB/c (H-2d) and A/J (H-2a) mice, the pre-S-containing HBsAg induced higher hypersensitivity than did the major S protein. The enhancement induced by the pre-S region was demonstrated to occur during the induction phase by crisscross assay using pre-S-containing HBsAg and major S protein as Ag. The patterns of hypersensitivity induced by the major S, middle S (composed of major S and pre-S2), and large S (composed of middle S and pre-S1 proteins) were also compared. The middle S protein induced responses of 1-h and 24-h hypersensitivities in major S non-responder (C3H/He and CBA/J) mice, whereas the large S protein circumvented only the 1-h one. The effectiveness to stimulate hypersensitivities in vivo by HBsAg is in the following order: middle S greater than large S greater than major S. These data suggest that the pre-S region of HBsAg particle can enhance both the 1-h and 24-h hypersensitivities in the afferent phase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Y L
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000939:Epitopes; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010434:Pepsin A / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000276:immunology*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000939:Epitopes; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011498:Protein Precursors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C050807:presurface protein 2, hepatitis B surface antigen; D010434:Pepsin A