title: Hepatitis C virus core protein fused to hepatitis B virus core antigen for serological diagnosis of both hepatitis C and hepatitis B infections by ELISA.
abstract: The sequence encoding the truncated core protein (amino acids 1-98) of hepatitis C virus (HCc) was expressed in E. coli for production of HCc(1-98), or fused with the truncated core antigen (HBcAg) and segments from the preS1 and preS2 regions from hepatitis B virus (HBV) for production of HBcPreS1PreS2HCc(1-98). The HCc(1-98) and HBcPreS1PreS2HCc(1-98) proteins reacted with sera from HCV-infected individuals by immunoblot analyses, while the latter protein also exhibited HBV core antigenicity. They induced antibodies against HBcAg and/or HCV core protein in rabbits and in mice. Moreover, HBcPreS1PreS2HCc(1-98) is more immunogenic than HCc(1-98) in terms of anti-HCc induction. An ELISA that employed recombinant HCV core antigens of either HCc(1-98) or HBcPreS1PreS2HCc(1-98) to detect anti-HCc and/or anti-HBc antibodies was developed. Evaluation of serum samples with different status of HBV and HCV infections suggested that HCc(1-98) might be suitable for the determination of antibodies against HCV core protein, while HBcPreS1PreS2HCc(1-98) might be of value to detect HCV and/or HBV infection in donated blood in HBV low-prevalence countries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Leu
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Shiau
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012698:Serologic Tests; D013997:Time Factors; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006510:Hepatitis B Antibodies; D006512:Hepatitis B Core Antigens; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014758:Viral Core Proteins; C069130:nucleocapsid protein, Hepatitis C virus