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Hojatizadeh M, Amiri MM, Mobini M, Hassanzadeh Makoui M, Ghaedi M, Ghotloo S, Peyghami K, Jeddi-Tehrani M, Golsaz-Shirazi F, Shokri F. Cross-Reactivity of HBe Antigen-Specific Polyclonal Antibody with HBc Antigen. Viral Immunol 2023; 36:378-388. [PMID: 37294935 DOI: 10.1089/vim.2022.0196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major health problem worldwide and causes almost one million deaths annually. The HBV core gene codes for two related antigens, known as core antigen (HBcAg) and e-antigen (HBeAg), sharing 149 residues but having different amino- and carboxy-terminals. HBeAg is a soluble variant of HBcAg and a clinical marker for determining the disease severity and patients' screening. Currently available HBeAg assays have a shortcoming of showing cross-reactivity with HBcAg. In this study, for the first time, we evaluated whether HBcAg-adsorbed anti-HBe polyclonal antibodies could specifically recognize HBeAg or still show cross-reactivity with HBcAg. Recombinant HBeAg was cloned in pCold1 vector and successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and after purification by Ni-NTA resin was used to generate polyclonal anti-HBe antibodies in rabbit. Purified HBeAg was further characterized by assessing its reactivity with anti-HBe in the sera of chronically infected patients and HBeAg-immunized rabbit. Sera from patients with chronic HBV infection, containing anti-HBe, specifically reacted with recombinant HBeAg, implying antigenic similarity between the prokaryotic and native HBeAg in the serum of HBV-infected patients. In addition, the designed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with rabbit anti-HBe polyclonal antibodies could detect recombinant HBeAg with high sensitivity, while high cross-reactivity with HBcAg was observed. It is noteworthy that HBcAg-adsorbed anti-HBe polyclonal antibodies still showed high cross-reactivity with HBcAg, implying that due to the presence of highly similar epitopes in both antigens, HBcAg-adsorbed polyclonal antibodies cannot differentiate between the two antigens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Hojatizadeh
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Mehdi Amiri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Mobini
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Masoud Hassanzadeh Makoui
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mojgan Ghaedi
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Somayeh Ghotloo
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Kiana Peyghami
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahmood Jeddi-Tehrani
- Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACER, Tehran, Iran
| | - Forough Golsaz-Shirazi
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fazel Shokri
- Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Monoclonal Antibody Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACER, Tehran, Iran
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Spice AJ, Aw R, Bracewell DG, Polizzi KM. Synthesis and Assembly of Hepatitis B Virus-Like Particles in a Pichia pastoris Cell-Free System. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:72. [PMID: 32117947 PMCID: PMC7033515 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Virus-like particles (VLPs) are supramolecular protein assemblies with the potential for unique and exciting applications in synthetic biology and medicine. Despite the attention VLPs have gained thus far, considerable limitations still persist in their production. Poorly scalable manufacturing technologies and inconsistent product architectures continue to restrict the full potential of VLPs. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) offers an alternative approach to VLP production and has already proven to be successful, albeit using extracts from a limited number of organisms. Using a recently developed Pichia pastoris-based CFPS system, we have demonstrated the production of the model Hepatitis B core antigen VLP as a proof-of-concept. The VLPs produced in the CFPS system were found to have comparable characteristics to those previously produced in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, we have developed a facile and rapid synthesis, assembly and purification methodology that could be applied as a rapid prototyping platform for vaccine development or synthetic biology applications. Overall the CFPS methodology allows far greater throughput, which will expedite the screening of optimal assembly conditions for more robust and stable VLPs. This approach could therefore support the characterization of larger sample sets to improve vaccine development efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex J. Spice
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- The Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Rochelle Aw
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- The Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel G. Bracewell
- Department of Biochemical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karen M. Polizzi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
- The Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
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Corti D, Benigni F, Shouval D. Viral envelope-specific antibodies in chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Curr Opin Virol 2018; 30:48-57. [PMID: 29738926 DOI: 10.1016/j.coviro.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
While the cellular immune response associated with acute and chronic HBV infection has been thoroughly studied, the B cell response in chronic hepatitis B and the role of antibodies raised against the HBV envelope antigens in controlling and prevention of infection requires further investigation. The detection of anti-HBs antibodies is considered as one of the biomarkers for functional cure of chronic hepatitis B virus infection, as well as for protective immunity. Indeed, vaccine-induced neutralizing anti-HBs antibodies have been shown to protect against HBV challenge. Yet, the therapeutic potential of viral envelope-specific antibodies and the mechanism involved in protection and prevention of cell-to-cell transmission warrants additional investigative efforts. In this review, we will provide a critical overview of the available preclinical and clinical literature supporting the putative role of active and passive vaccination and neutralizing envelope-specific antibodies for therapeutic intervention in combination regimens intended to cure persistent HBV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Corti
- Humabs BioMed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland.
| | - Fabio Benigni
- Humabs BioMed SA, A Subsidiary of Vir Biotechnology, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Shouval
- Liver Unit, Institute for Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hadassah-Hebrew University Hospital, P.O. Box 12000, 91120 Jerusalem, Israel.
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