Molecular cloning, sequencing and expression of core and NS3 fragments of HCV from patients with HCV infection
Tan, D.M.; Hu, G.L.; Arima, T.; Zhang, Z.; Nanba, T.; Hatanaka, T.
Chinese Medical Journal 106(7): 522-526
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0366-6999 PMID: 8243124 Document Number: 418719
Fragments of core and NS3 of hepatitis C virus-Hunan (HCV-Hun) were cloned by RT-PCR and gene recombinant techniques from blood samples collected in Hunan Province, China. In comparison with sequences of our samples with those of HCV-US and HCV-J, the homologies of nucleotides and amino acids were about 90%, indicating that fragments of core and NS3 of HCV-Hun were in a relative conserved region of HCV. Two fusion proteins containing the peptides coded by HCV core (MBP-HCV core) and HCV. NS3 (MBP-HCV. NS3-Gal) were expressed by Escherichia Coli with recombinant plasmids. The specific HCV antigenicity of the two fusion proteins were identified by western blotting. Therefore, MBP-HCV. core and MBP-HCV.NS3-Gal were found useful for anti-HCV assay.