Objective An epitope in E1 region of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was constructed and highly expressed in a foreign epitope presenting vector based on an insect virus, flock house virus capsule protein encoding gene as a vector. Methods Using genetic engineering techniques, an epitope in E1 region of HCV was constructed in a foreign epitope presenting vector based on an insect virus, flock house virus capsule protein encoding gene as a vector and lastly constructed a chimeric gene. The chimeric gene can be put into an expressing plasmid, and expressed in either eukaryotic or prokaryotic system. The foreign epitope can be expressed in this system on the surface of the vector stereotic structure with its native conformation, and which can improve its immunogenecity. Results An epitope in E1 region of HCV was successfully cloned in three positions (aa106、aa153、aa305) of a foreign epitope presenting system based on an insect virus, flock house virus capsule protein encoding gene as a vector.The recombinant epitope in this system could be highly expressed more than 40% of total cell protein in E.coli.BL21 cell in somewhat strict conditions without IPTG inducing. Conclusions We have made this chimeric gene highly expressed in E.coli.BL21, by the way different from routine method. The results suggest that the expression method and this epitope presenting system can be used in studying immunological and biological properties of HCV and developing diagnostic reagents as well as epitope-based subunit vaccines for controlling HCV infection.

Objective To investigate the prevalence of toxoplasma gondii (Tox),rubella virus (RV),cytomegalovirus (CMV) and herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections (TORCH infections) among childbearing-age population in Henan province.Methods Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to detect plasma TORCH IgM and IgG among 3084 childbearing-age men and women from theFirst Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University during July and September,2011.The positive rates of anti-TORCH antibodies were compared among the various age and gender groups by x2 test.Results The total positive rate of anti-TORCH IgM was 5.5％ (170/3084),in which the positive rate of anti-RV IgM was the highest (2.9％),followed by anti-HSV IgM (1.0％).Within positive rate of anti-TORCH IgG,anti-HSV IgG was the highest (90.4％),followed by anti-CMV IgG (89.7％),RV IgG (48.1％) and Tox IgG (0.7％).The positive rate of anti-TORCH IgM was the lowest in individuals aged ＞ 30-40 year old.With the age increasing,the positive rates of anti-Tox IgG,anti-CMV IgG and anti-HSV IgG increased,but the positive rate of anti-RV IgG decreased.Women had higher positive rates of anti-CMV IgG and antiHSV IgG than men (x2 =83.470 and 7.026,P ＜ 0.O1).Conclusions Current infection of TORCH exists in childbearing-age population of Henan province,and the positive rate of anti-RV IgG is low.It is recommended to screen for TORCH infection in childbearing-age men and women.