IN VIVO INFECTION OF LIVE INSECTS WITH A RECOMBINANT BACULOVIRUS

摘要

This invention is a method for effecting high levels of expression of a foreign gene in a live insect. It involves creation of a novel recombinant baculovirus (AcNPV) which contains a foreign gene substituted for the polyhedrin gene but which still bears a polyhedrin nucleocapsid. The recombinant virus is ingested by the insect and causes an infection which efficiently produces large quantities of authentic foreign protein. The protein can be purified from insect larvae. As one example of the application of this method, hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) protein was produced by live insect larvae and was shown to be both antigenic (as determined by a configuration-dependent radio-immunoassay) as well as immunogenic.