Cloning, expression and purification gp120 and gp41 proteins of HIV-1 using prokaryotic heterologus system

• Grant number: 17/19344-2
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Elisa Maria de Sousa Russo
• Grantee: Patrícia Regina Moromisato de Oliveira
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The HIV, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, is the retrovirus that Acquired Immunodeficiency (AIDS). It is a preferred lymphotropic virus mainly for CD4 + T lymphocytes. By infecting such cells, HIV causes immunocompromising in the individual, which favors the emergence ofopportunistic infections at a later stage of infection. According to UNAIDS, it is estimated that in 2016 there were about 36.7 million people living with HIV / AIDS in the world, being in Brazil, in the same year, approximately 830,000.Thus, HIV infection is today seen as one of the public health, mainly because its incidence has been increasing in recent years. Early diagnosis for HIV infection is critical to treatment of individuals and control of the epidemic, thus reducing the chances of dissemination of the virus. Although there are several on the market, diagnostic kits used in private or public clinical laboratories and Brazilian hospitals are mostly from foreign companies. In addition, it is important that there be evolution in the kits and improvement in the production processes, as this would lead to a significant reduction of import expenses, as well as a less dependence on the external market. In view of this, the present study aims to produce, through the use of recombinant DNA technology, the glycoproteins gp120 and gp41, encoded by the env gene, of HIV-1 in a heterologous prokaryote system, in order to use them as proteins of capture in test.