Hepatitis B virus surface antigen and production thereof.

摘要

The invention relates to a method for producing hepatitis B virus surface antigen P31 containing 55 amino acid residues of the pre-S region, which comprises (a) cultivating a transformant which carries a recombinant DNA in which a DNA coding for hepatitis B virus surface antigen P31 containing 55 amino acid residues of the pre-S region is inserted into the 3 min end of a promoter region, (b) accumulating the hepatitis B virus surface antigen P31 in the culture, (c) collecting the P31-containing solution from the culture, (d) subjecting the P31-containing solution to a column containing polymerised human serum albumin as a ligand, (e) eluting the hepatitis B virus surface antigen P31 from the column with a buffer containing a surfactant or a protein denaturing agent, and (f) subjecting the eluate to chromatographic treatment using a hydrophobic column or hydrophobic chromatography.