ABSTRACT
Objective To construct and expr es s a recombinant plasmid of nonstructural protein NS3-NS4 of hepatitis C virus ( HCV), and to identify the antigenicity of the expressed protein. Methods A gene region encompassing the nonstructural protei n NS3-NS4 of HCV was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the pUC1 9/HCV template. The recombinant expression plasmid containing the pBV220/NS3-NS 4 sequence was constructed, and the nonfused NS3-NS4 recombinant protein was ex pressed in E.coli DH5? efficiently. The recombinant protein was det ected by SDS-PAGE and ELISA. Results We successfully constructed and expressed the recom binant plasmid in prokaryote. Its antigenicity was detected with 50 standard ser a. Compared with the second-generation diagnostic Kit, the total detection rate was 96%. Conclusion The whole NS3-NS4 protein, a region of dominant immunogenicity, should be the effective component of the HCV diagnostic Kit and provide the clue for developing HCV DNA vaccine.