A bi-functional hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) chimera activates HBcAg-specific T cells and preS1-specific antibodies.

[Guest guest]

Scand J Infect Dis. 2011 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print]

A bi-functional hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) chimera activates

HBcAg-specific T cells and preS1-specific antibodies.

Malik IR, Chen A, Brass A, Ahlén G, Rahman M, Sällberg M, Qureshi JA, Frelin L.

Source

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska

Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge , Stockholm , Sweden.

Abstract

Abstract A major problem in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is that

treatment with specific antivirals is life-long since they rarely induce a

sustained response. An attractive option is therefore to combine antiviral

therapy with some type of immune stimulator, such as a therapeutic vaccine.

Several lines of evidence suggest that a key target for the cellular immune

response is the HBV core antigen (HBcAg). However, it may also be of advantage

to simultaneously improve the neutralizing antibody response to the surface (S)

region of HBV. We therefore generated chimeric HBcAg particles expressing preS1

residues 1-42 at the tip of the spike region. We could show that this chimeric

HBcAg-preS1 protein primed both HBcAg-specific T cells and antibodies to preS1.

This strongly suggests that this may be a viable approach to develop an

effective bi-functional therapeutic vaccine as an add-on for the treatment of

chronic HBV infections.

PMID: 21933033 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[Guest guest]

Scand J Infect Dis. 2011 Sep 21. [Epub ahead of print]

A bi-functional hepatitis B virus core antigen (HBcAg) chimera activates

HBcAg-specific T cells and preS1-specific antibodies.

Malik IR, Chen A, Brass A, Ahlén G, Rahman M, Sällberg M, Qureshi JA, Frelin L.

Source

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska

Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge , Stockholm , Sweden.

Abstract

Abstract A major problem in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is that

treatment with specific antivirals is life-long since they rarely induce a

sustained response. An attractive option is therefore to combine antiviral

therapy with some type of immune stimulator, such as a therapeutic vaccine.

Several lines of evidence suggest that a key target for the cellular immune

response is the HBV core antigen (HBcAg). However, it may also be of advantage

to simultaneously improve the neutralizing antibody response to the surface (S)

region of HBV. We therefore generated chimeric HBcAg particles expressing preS1

residues 1-42 at the tip of the spike region. We could show that this chimeric

HBcAg-preS1 protein primed both HBcAg-specific T cells and antibodies to preS1.

This strongly suggests that this may be a viable approach to develop an

effective bi-functional therapeutic vaccine as an add-on for the treatment of

chronic HBV infections.

PMID: 21933033 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]