RECOMBINANT PLASMID PROVIDED WITH HEPATITIS B VIRUS GENE, YEAST TRANSFORMED WITH SAID RECOMBINANT PLASMID, AND PRODUCTION OF HEPATITIS B VIRUS SURFACE ANTIGEN

摘要

: The invention concerns a recombinant plasmid provided with Hepatitis B virus gene, which comprises a plasmid vector containing a yeast gene and an E. coli gene and carrying the expression control region of the repressible acid phosphatase gene of yeast and a Hepatitis B virus gene recombined therewith under control of the phosphatase promoter. The invention also provides a transformed yeast which is prepared by transforming a yeast with the recombinant plasmid, and a method of producing Hepatitis B virus surface antigen on a large scale by culturing the transformed yeast in a medium. The Hepatitis B virus surface antigen prepared by the present invention has the same immunological properties as those of the natural antigen from human blood plasma and is useful for the preparation of Hepatitis B virus vaccine and diagnostic reagents.