CHIMERA ANTIBODY AGAINST PRE-S2 ANTIGEN OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS AND CELL STRAIN FOR PRODUCING THE SAME

摘要

The present invention primarily pertains to a murine/human chimeric antibody specific for HBV pre-S2 antigen useful for the development of an agent for the prevention and/or treatment of hepatitis B. The present invention further relates to a first gene encoding the heavy chain of the chimeric antibody which comprises a polynucleotide encoding the V region of the heavy chain of a murine antibody with specificity for HBV pre-S2 antigen and the C region of the heavy chain of human immunoglobulin, and a second gene encoding the kappa chain of the chimeric antibody which comprises a polynucleotide encoding the V region of the kappa chain of the murine antibody and the C region of the kappa chain of human immunoglobulin; to expression vectors which are capable of expressing the chimeric gene encoding the chimeric antibody in a compatible host cell; and to cell lines transfected with the vectors and producing the chimeric antibody. Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method producing the chimeric antibody by employing the cell line.