Induction of hepatitis C virus-specific humoral and cellular immune responses in mice and rhesus by artificial multiple epitopes sequence.
The investigation of antigenic epitopes in hepatitis C virus (HCV) protein suggests that a central sequence combined with multiple antigenic epitopes of HCV might be significant as a potential vaccine candidate. This artificial sequence of combined and modified multiple antigenic epitopic peptides (Hc-B2), containing three B and four T cell epitopes, was constructed and expressed in E. coli. Antigen analysis indicated that this peptide antigen was capable of interacting with anti-sera collected from hepatitis C patients infected by three genotypes of HCV from three different geographic areas of China, respectively. The immunological analysis of this peptide antigen in mice and rhesus suggested that its immunogenicity was effective. However, a complete evaluation of this peptide could not be made as an effective animal model for HCV infection (such as in the chimpanzee) was not available for this study.
Institute of Medical Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Kunming, China. qihanli@public.km.yn.cn
Qihan
Q
Li
Chenghong
C
Dong
Jiong
J
Wang
Yanchun
Y
Che
Li
L
Jiang
Jinjing
J
Wang
Ming
M
Sun
Lichun
L
Wang
Jiansheng
J
Huang
Daming
D
Ren
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002681:China; D000939:Epitopes / Q000235:genetics; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000302:isolation & purification
D000956:Antigens, Viral; D000939:Epitopes; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines