EFFECTS OF HBV preS AS A HUMORAL ENHANCER ON THE ABILITIES OF HCV E2 PROTEIN TO INDUCE IMMUNE RESPONSESIN THE DNA-IMMUNIZED MICE

Objective. To study whether the abilities of hepatitis C virus (HCV) E2 gene immunization to induce humoral and cellular immune responses to E2 protein were affected by hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS gene when they were fused in DNA-immunized mice.Methods. Mice were immunized with E2, preS-E2(preS gene was upstream of E2 gene), and E2 - preS (preS gene was downstream of E2 gene)gene by their eukaryotic expression vectors, respectively. The anti - E2 or anti - preS antibodies were detected using the E2 and preS antigens. The cellular immune response to E2 protein in immunized mice was presented by its survival time after injecting SP2/O myeloma cells expressing HCV E2 protein into the abdominal cavity.Results. Chimeric E2 and preS gene immunization can induce mice to develop anti-preS and anti-E2 antibodies. The number of the mice developing anti-E2 antibody and the antibody titers in preS-E2 gene-injected group were higher than those in E2-preS gene-immunized group. However, the mice injected with E2 gene