OBJECTIVES To characterize the mutation pattern of a hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein (HBcAg) derived from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and adjacent nontumor tissues. METHODS HBV core gene fragments (nt. 1901-2365) were amplified from 98 HBV-related HCC tissues and 33 adjacent nontumor tissues. The deduced amino acids (AAs) of the core gene were aligned with the prototype sequences of H...

Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) is closely associated with hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanism of carcinogenesis and the immune responses to HBV infection and hepatocellular carcinoma are not clearly understood. Recently, we established BALB/c mouse liver (ML) cell lines and demonstrated that transfection of ML cell lines with HBV dimer DNA resulted in the expression of HBV antigens ...

Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the leading cause of sexually transmitted diseases worldwide. There is no safe and effective vaccine to control the spread of Ct. In development of Ct vaccine, selection of appropriate candidate antigens and an effective delivery system may be the main challenges. Multi-epitope of major outer membrane protein (MOMPm) is the most suitable candidate for a Ct vaccine,...

dna coding for the core antigen from hepatitis b virus (hbcag) was amplified, cloned and propagated in e. coli. the core protein was expressed in e. coli and the product was readily detected by western blot. this protein can be used as a diagnostic material in serum screening tests. to increase the level of expression of this antigen in bacteria, two plasmids were constructed in which the gene ...

The long surface antigen (L-HBsAg) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) plays a central role in the production of infectious virions. During HBV morphogenesis, both the PreS and S domains of L-HBsAg form docking sites for the viral nucleocapsids. Thus, a compound that disrupts the interaction between the L-HBsAg and nucleocapsids could serve as a therapeutic agent against the virus based upon inhibition ...

A new antigen-antibody system associated with the hepatitis B virus and immunologically distinct from the HB surface, core, and e systems is reported. The new antigen, termed 3, was detected by direct immunofluorescence only in the liver cell nuclei of patients with HBsAg positive chronic liver disease. At present, the intrahepatic expression of HBcAg and 6 antigen appears to be mutually exclus...

Virus-like particles composed of the core antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBcAg) have been shown to be an effective platform for the display of foreign epitopes in vaccine development. Heterologous sequences have been successfully inserted at both amino and carboxy termini as well as internally at the major immunodominant epitope. We used cryogenic electron microscopy (CryoEM) and three-dimension...

A unique characteristic of the hepatitis B virus is the production of a secreted form (precore or HBeAg) of the structural nucleocapsid (core or HBcAg). By using T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic (Tg) and TCR x HBc/HBeAg double- and triple-Tg pairs, we demonstrate that HBeAg elicits T cell tolerance, whereas HBcAg is nontolerogenic in this system. In fact, TCR x HBc double-Tg mice spontaneously ...

Hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection remains a global problem, despite the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine in preventing infection. The resolution of Hepatitis B virus infection has been believed to be attributable to virus-specific immunity. In vivo direct evaluation of anti-HBV immunity in the liver is currently not possible. We have developed a new assay system that detects HBV clearanc...