Glycoproteins in Hepatitis C Virus (HCV)

There are two glycoproteins: E1 and E2 in HCV. Both proteins are immunogenic and induce the generation of neutralizing antibodies. At the same time, they are involved in the viral invasion of cells. There is no vaccine for HCV. The difficulty in developing one is the difficulty in obtaining suitable immunogens that can elicit a good adaptive immune response from the body. Antibodies against viral cytosolic glycoproteins play a crucial role in the rapid clearance of HCV viremia. The envelope glycoprotein of HCV is therefore an ideal target for immunogen design. It is found that a vaccine expressing recombinant E1 and E2 proteins co-immunized with Adjuvant successfully induced the generation of neutralizing antibodies and multifunctional CD4+ T cell responses.

Fig.1 Structure of HCV. (Wikipedia)

HCV Vaccine Development Service at CD BioGlyco

CD BioGlyco aims to promote HCV Vaccine Development. The main types of vaccines currently available are DNA vaccines, vector vaccines, and protein vaccines. The envelope proteins E1 and E2 are potential immunogens for vaccine development. We provide glycoprotein vaccine development services based on the two proteins.

We focus on two proteins and analyze their immunogenicity and other characteristics. We also initially evaluate the effectiveness of two proteins as vaccine candidates. We will construct recombinant plasmids and transfer them into expression systems such as Yeast, etc. Protein purification is also one of the difficulties in vaccine development. We optimize the conditions for efficient and stable protein expression, which greatly improves the purification efficiency.

Most HCV protein subunit vaccines are mainly for the production of secreted E2. However, it only induces low levels of neutralizing antibody production. Recombinant Glycoprotein Vaccines are mainly designed to induce neutralizing antibody responses for the prevention and control of HCV infection. We construct different forms of recombinant E1 and E2 proteins and screen their optimal forms. Multi-epitope vaccines carry multiple antigenic epitopes of the virus due to their simultaneous carriage. In addition to the absence of virulence rebound, it can also be induced to elicit an immune response from the body. We also offer HCV multi-epitope vaccine development services.

Fig.2 Process of HCV vaccine development. (CD BioGlyco)

Applications

• Neutralizing antibodies against viral cytosolic glycoproteins E1 and E2 play an important role in the rapid clearance of HCV viremia. Our HCV vaccine development services include the production of recombinant E1 and E2, which can be used for antibody development.
• Early diagnosis of HCV infection is important in controlling HCV transmission. Our HCV vaccine development services include the production of E1 and E2, which can be utilized for HCV assay research.

Highlights

• The yeast expression system we use can effectively overcome the lack of protein post-translational processing and modification in the Escherichia coli system. Expression of exogenous proteins can be secreted extracellularly, which facilitates the isolation and purification of products.
• E1 and E2 protein purification cause the slow development of the HCV vaccine. We optimize the protein purification method and greatly improve the protein recovery rate.
• We have rich experience in immunoassay and provide perfect quantitative detection of cytokines, cellular immunoassay, and other vaccine evaluation services.

CD BioGlyco provides vaccine development clients with a one-stop shop for vaccine design and production. In addition to HCV vaccines, we also provide the SARS Corona Virus and West Nile Virus Vaccine Development Services. If you have any questions or needs about vaccine development, please feel free to contact us for consultation. We will contact you as soon as possible.

References

1. From Wikipedia: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Hegasy_Hep_C_Virus_EN-01.jpg
2. Beaumont, E.; et al. Chimeric hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus envelope proteins elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies and constitute a potential bivalent prophylactic vaccine. Hepatology. 2013, 57(4): 1303-1313.