[Preparation of human single chain Fv antibody specifically against hepatitis C virus E2 antigen].

OBJECTIVE: To identify human single chain Fv antibody (ScFv) against hepatitis C viral E2 antigen and its value clinically. METHODS: The recombinant phages were panned by E2 antigen which was coated in a microtiter plate. After five rounds of biopanning, 56 phage clones were identified specific to E2 antigen. The affinity and specificity of ScFv were evaluated by ELISA and immunohistochemistry, respectively. RESULTS: The data of E2-ScFv DNA digestion and DNA sequencing showed that the ScFv gene was composed of 750bp. ELISA and immunohistochemistry demonstrated that the human single chain Fv antibody against HCV E2 antigen had a specific combination character with hepatitis C virus E2 antigen. CONCLUSIONS: ScFv, having a sutestantial affinity and specificity and being easy to prepare, is valuable in the detection of HCV E2 antigen.