Hepatitis B e antigen polypeptides isolated from sera of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus: comparison with HBeAg polypeptide derived from Dane particles.
Hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) occurs in the serum of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus both free and in association with IgG. Utilizing a succession of steps involving salt precipitation, affinity chromatography, ion-exchange chromatography and isoelectrofocusing, we isolated free and IgG-bound forms of HBeAg from the sera of infected individuals with an overall gain in specific activity of 3000-fold and 540-fold, respectively. Polypeptide profiles of purified HBeAg preparations were studied by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of 2-mercaptoethanol. Both free and IgG-bound preparations revealed polypeptides with mol. wt. of 15500 (P15.5) and 16 500 (P16.5), and HBeAg activity was detected corresponding to their positions. The HBeAg polypeptides (P15.5/16.5) derived from sera were physicochemically different from the two polypeptides with HBeAg activity ( P19 and P45) liberated from Dane particle cores by the conventional method involving incubation with Nonidet P40 and 2-mercaptoethanol. However, when core particles were prepared in the presence of a proteolytic enzyme, in addition to Nonidet P40 and 2-mercaptoethanol, they gave rise to HBeAg polypeptides with mol. wt. of 31000 (P31) and 15 500. Furthermore, P31 split into P15.5 when heated at 100 degrees C for 2 min. On the basis of these results, P15.5 may be assumed to be the essential polypeptide bearing HBeAg activity in the serum and also in Dane particles.[1]References
- Hepatitis B e antigen polypeptides isolated from sera of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus: comparison with HBeAg polypeptide derived from Dane particles. Takahashi, K., Imai, M., Gotanda, T., Sano, T., Oinuma, A., Mishiro, S., Miyakawa, Y., Mayumi, M. J. Gen. Virol. (1980) [Pubmed]
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