RESUMO
@#Objective To develop and verify a plaque method for detection of infectious titer of tick-borne encephalitis virus(TBEV)strain(PHKT strain for short)adapted to primary hamster kidney(PHK)cells.Methods PHK cells were infected with TBEV,a primary mouse brain adaption strain,and passed consecutively for 12 passages.The titer of PHKT was detected by plaque method(Monolayer BHK-21 cells were infected with PHKT of various passages at different dilution ratios,and the plaque number was calculated by neutral red staining)and challenge titration in mouse brain(Mice were challenged with PHKT of various passages at different dilution ratios through brain cavity,0.03 mL for each,observed continuously for 14 days,and calculated for the median lethal dose(LD50)by Reed-Muench method)respectively,and the correlation between the results of two methods was analyzed.The developed plaque method for the detection of TBEV titer was verified for specificity,repeatability and intermediate precision.Results The plaque titer of PHKT virus was up to8.9 lgPFU/mL;The correlation between the results of plaque method and mouse brain challenge titration method was good(r = 0.92);The specificity of plaque method for detecting infectious titer of PHKT virus was good,and the coefficients of variation(CVs)of repeatability and intermediate precision were both less than 5%.Conclusion A plaque method for detecting infectious titer of PHKT virus was developed,which may be used as an alternative method for challenge titration in mouse brain.
RESUMO
@#Objective To express and purify the E protein Domain Ⅲ(ED Ⅲ) of tick-borne encephalitis virus(TBEV) in tandem and prepare the corresponding polyclonal antibody.Methods The TBEV RNA was extracted by Trizol method,and then reversely transcribed into cDNA,which was used as template to amplify ED Ⅲ gene fragment by PCR.Two ED Ⅲ gene fragments were ligated into fusion gene by the hydrophobic flexible polypeptide(G_4S)_3 using overlapping PCR,which was then linked to prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a(+) to construct the recombinant expression plasmid pET-28a-2ED Ⅲ.After sequencing,pET-28a-2ED Ⅲ was transformed into E.coli BL21(DE3) competent cells,induced by IPTG and purified by Ni~(2+) affinity chromatography.Female New Zealand white rabbits were immunized with the renatured recombinant protein to prepare polyclonal antibody.The antibody titer was detected by indirect ELISA and the specificity was identified by Western blot.The homology of ED Ⅲ amino acid sequence between TBEV and other flaviviruses was analyzed by DNAMAN software.Results The recombinant plasmid pET-28a-2ED Ⅲ was identified by sequencing,and the amplified sequence contained two genes consistent with the E sequence of TBEV "Senzhang" strain(JQ650523.1) included on GenBank,indicating that the recombinant plasmid was constructed correctly.The recombinant 2ED Ⅲ protein was expressed mainly in the form of inclusion bodies,with a relative molecular mass of about 21 000 and a purity of 97.5%.The titer of rabbit anti-2ED Ⅲ serum polyclonal antibody was 1:10~7,which reacted specifically with TBEV whole virus.DNAMAN software alignment showed that the homology of ED Ⅲ amino acid sequences between TBEV and Japanese encephalitis virus(JEV),yellow fever virus(YFV) and Dengue virus(DENY) was 36.56%,9.28% and 30.77%,respectively.Conclusion The TBEV envelope ED Ⅲ tandem recombinant expression plasmid pET-28a-2ED Ⅲ was successfully constructed.The expressed recombinant 2ED Ⅲ protein had good reactivity and immunogenicity,and the prepared polyclonal antibody had high titer.