[Impact of the heterogenicity of amino acid sequence on the immunoreactivity of an antigenic epitopic complex localized within amino acids 1192-1456 of protein NS3 protein of hepatitis C virus].

Abstract

Recombinant proteins were used to study the effect of heterogenicity of the primary structure of NS3 protein of hepatitis C (HCV) on the immunoreactivity of a complex of antigenic epitopes located within the amino acid sequences 1192-1456. Six genes encoding for the above fragment NS3 from different genotypes were collected from synthetic oligonucleotides and expressed in E. coli cells, by using the polymerase chain reaction. The homology of amino acid sequences of antigens ranged from 78.4 to 92.2%. All the antigens showed a higher coefficient of their reactivity with antibodies in the sera samples from patients infected by HCV of a respective genotype; however, there was no strong genotype-specific immunoreactivity. The findings lead to the conclusion that the primary structure of antigens has an impact on their immunoreactivity. Selection of variants of the primary structures of antigens is essential in developing a diagnostic test.