Journal of Bacteriology and Virology  2009;39(1):53-60

doi:10.4167/jbv.2009.39.1.53

Expression and Antibody Production of Japanese Encephalitis Virus RNA Polymerase (NS5) Protein.

Jeong Min KIM 1 ; Sang Im YUN ; Byung Hak SONG ; Yu Jeong CHOI ; Jun Sun PARK ; Young Min LEE

Affiliations

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Keywords

Japanese encephalitis virus; Flavivirus; RNA-dependent RNA polymerase; NS5

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

MeSH

Abstract

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a member of mosquito-borne flaviviruses, is the leading cause of viral encephalitis in a large geographic area of Southeast Asia and Australia. JEV contains a single-stranded positive-sense RNA genome, which encodes its own RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5) that is required for genomic RNA replication. In this study, we have described a pair of mouse antisera specific to the N- or C-terminal region of the NS5. Initially, two hydrophilic regions corresponding to the N-terminus and C-terminus of the NS5 protein were individually amplified by reverse transcription-PCR from the genomic RNA of JEV K87P39 strain. The amplified DNA fragments were cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector, pGEX-4T-1; the resulting constructs were used for the expression of GST fusion proteins, designated GST/NS5N and GST/NS5C, in E. coli BL-21 strain. Following immunization of three BALB/c mice with each of the purified GST/NS5N and GST/NS5C, we obtained two pools of the antisera, specifically recognizing the ~103-kDa NS5 and several smaller NS5-related proteins in BHK-21 and Vero cells infected with JEV K87P39 strain. Overall, we have successfully expressed the N- and C-terminal regions of JEV NS5 fused to the C-terminus of GST and generated the mouse antisera capable of recognizing the NS5 and its related proteins in JEV-infected cells. This would provide a valuable reagent for the study of JEV NS5 in the viral life cycle.