title: Hepatitis C virus-specific cellular and humoral immune responses following             immunization with a multi-epitope fusion protein.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important causative agent of acute and chronic hepatitis worldwide. We prepared a fusion protein in the vector of pET-11d that included three conserved broadly neutralizing B-cell epitopes and a series of T-cell epitopes located in the HCV NS3 region. In vivo administration of this fusion construct resulted in specific CD8+ cytotoxic lymphocytes in both PBMCs and splenocytes that could recognize specific antigen sites that could be detected by FACS. An HCVcc system was established and applied to detect HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies. These results suggest that the multi-epitope fusion protein is immunogenic and can elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses. In particular, this fusion protein is able to elicit HCV-specific neutralizing antibodies, which are critical for viral clearance. This construct may be significant for vaccine development and could be a potential candidate to be included in the design of a prophylactic and therapeutic vaccine against HCV.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, PR China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Shengli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Minzhuo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Siyong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; D002460:Cell Line; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; D018984:Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; D018937:Hepatitis C Antibodies; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines