title: Human and monoclonal antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen recognise a single immunodominant epitope.
abstract: Monoclonal antibodies were raised against hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) synthesized in Escherichia coli. They identified a single immunodominant determinant on both liver-derived and E. coli-derived HBcAg. Cross-inhibition studies demonstrated that HBsAg-containing human sera which contained antibodies to HBcAg (anti-HBc) together with either hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) or its antibody (anti-HBe) essentially only recognised the same single determinant as the murine antibodies. The identification of a single dominant HBcAg determinant may be important if future hepatitis B virus vaccines contain HBcAg.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001667:Binding, Competitive; D000939:Epitopes; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007163:Immunosorbent Techniques; D051379:Mice; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000939:Epitopes; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D006513:Hepatitis B e Antigens; D011994:Recombinant Proteins