title: Display of hepatitis B virus PreS1 peptide on bacteriophage T7 and its potential in gene delivery into HepG2 cells.
abstract: Hepatitis B is a major public health problem worldwide which may lead to chronic liver diseases, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. An interaction between hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope protein, particularly the PreS1 region, and a specific cell surface receptor is believed to be the initial step of HBV infection through attachment to hepatocytes. In order to develop a gene delivery system, bacteriophage T7 was modified genetically to display polypeptides of the PreS1 region. A recombinant T7 phage displaying amino acids 60-108 of the PreS1 region (PreS1(60-108)) was demonstrated to be most effective in transfecting HepG2 cells in a dose- and time-dependant manner. The phage genome was recovered from the cell lysate and confirmed by PCR whereas the infectious form of the internalized phage was measured by a plaque-forming assay. The internalized phage exhibited the appearance of green fluorescent dots when examined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Surface modification, particularly by displaying the PreS1(60-108) enhanced phage uptake, resulting in more efficient in vitro gene transfer. The ability of the recombinant phage to transfect HepG2 cells demonstrates the potential of the phage display system as a gene therapy for liver cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kie Hie
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Khatijah
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yusoff
authors.forename: Wen Siang
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D017123:Bacteriophage T7 / Q000235:genetics*; D002460:Cell Line; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006515:Hepatitis B virus / Q000235:genetics*; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011498:Protein Precursors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014161:Transduction, Genetic / Q000379:methods*; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D006514:Hepatitis B Surface Antigens; D011498:Protein Precursors; C050806:presurface protein 1, hepatitis B surface antigen