title: Designing, Construction and Expression of a Recombinant Fusion Protein Comprising the Hepatitis E Virus ORF2 and Rotavirus NSP4 in the Baculovirus Expression System.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The hepatitis E virus (HEV) accounts for hepatitis E infection with relatively high mortality rate in pregnant women that can lead to fulminant hepatitis. The baculovirus expression system (BES) has the capability to produce high-level recombinant proteins and could be useful for vaccine designing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was designing a recombinant hepatitis E virus ORF2 and Rotavirus NSP4 (ORF2-NSP4) and to evaluating construction these recombinant proteins in the BES.
  
  
  METHODS
  The truncated ORF2 gene (112-607) and truncated ORF2-NSP4 were subcloned in pFastBac1 plasmid, separately, followed by digestion and confirmed by digestion and sequencing. Then the products were transformed intoEscherichia coliDH5α and retransformed in DH10Bac competent cells. Finally the white colonies containing Bacmid DNA subjected to PCR for confirming transformation. Bacmid DNA containing HEV truncated ORF2 and HEV truncated ORF2-NSP4 genes were transfected into SF9 cells using BES. The expressed proteins in the cell lysate were evaluated by SDS-PAGE and determined by the western blot assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The lengths of subcloned genes, truncated ORF2 and truncated ORF2-NSP4 were 1500 and 2000bp, respectively. After retransforming in DH10Bac, the size of PCR products were 300 bp in Bacmid DNA without recombination while it was 4300 and 3800 bp in Bacmid truncated ORF2-NSP4 and Bacmid truncated ORF2 PCR products. The analysis of protein expression by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting revealed the presence of 56 KDa for truncated ORF2 and 74.5 KDa for truncated ORF2-NSP4 proteins.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study showed that the baculovirus expression system (SF9 cells) was able to express truncated ORF2 and truncated ORF2-NSP4 proteins as a potential candidate vaccine.
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Health Research Institute, Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Manoochehr
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Makvandi
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Health Research Institute, Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, IR Iran; Research center for Infectious Diseases of Digestive System; Imam Khomeini hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Teimoori
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Health Research Institute, Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Niloofar
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Neisi
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Disease Research Center, Health Research Institute, Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Samarbafzadeh
keywords: HEV ORF2; NSP4 Protein; Rotavirus; pFastBac1; sf9 Cell