ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To express and purify the HIV p24 gene in E. coli cells, and identify p24 antigen activity.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The full length gene fragment of HIV p24 was amplified by PCR and inserted into the pRSET vector in order to construct the pRSET-p24 recombined vector. After transforming into E. coil, the purified p24 protein was prepared by metal-ligand affinity chromatography (IMAC). The accuracy of inserted gene and activity, specificity of HIV p24 proteins were detected by two enzymes digestion technology, SDS-PAGE, Western Blot (WB) and ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The length of the HIV p24 gene fragment was 690 bp after digesting the recombinant plasmid T-p24 and pRSET-p24 with BamH I and Hind III. The expressed proteins had a single expected band of about 24 x 10(3) in SDS-PAGE. The specificity and activity of p24 protein were tested by WB and ELISA.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The HIV p24 sequence from HIV-1 gene plasmid hasbeen expressed in E. coil. This protein possessed good specificity and activity.</p>