Cloning and Heterologous Expression of Hepatitis B Virus Pre-Surface Antigen 1

Hepatitis B causes major deathly infections in developing countries. The surface antigen preS1, hepatocytes attachment site, plays a crucial role in development and progression of disease. The present study was, therefore, an effort to develop an efficient expression system for PreS1 gene inEsherishia coli.PreS1gene was amplified and cloned in pTZ57R/T vector. Following confirmation through restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing, it was subcloned in pET22b(+).E. coliBL21 (DE3) CodonPlus cells were transformed with the recombinant plasmid.PreS1gene was induced using IPTG, the protein was expressed and quantified with Bradford assay and analyzed on SDS-PAGE. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay and Western Blot analysis were performed for protein integrity and conformation.