EBOLA VIRUS ENVELOPE GLYCOPROTEIN (GP1) (ZAIRE, KIKWIT-95)

Ebola virus envelope glycoprotein is initially produced as a precursor which is then cleaved into two subunits, GP1 and GP2. This is a recombinant version of GP1, produced in HEK293 cells, and incorporating a C-terminal 6x His-tag with greater than 95% purity.

PRODUCT DETAILS – EBOLA VIRUS ENVELOPE GLYCOPROTEIN (GP1) (ZAIRE, KIKWIT-95)

• Recombinant Ebola virus envelope glycoprotein (GP1) is derived from the GP1 sequence (NCBI Accession Number: AAQ55048.1), expressing Ile33 – Arg501.
• The protein is expressed in HEK293 cells. DTT-reduced protein migrates as 120-140 kDa in SDS-PAGE.
• Protein is fused with a polyhistidine tag at the C-terminus and has a calculated MW of 51.6kDa.
• Purity is >95% as determined by SDS-PAGE.

BACKGROUND

Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a severe disease caused by several species of Ebolavirus (EBOV), in the family Filoviridae. Prior to 2007, four species of EBOV had been identified, with two (Zaire ebolavirus andSudan ebolavirus) having caused significant disease outbreaks in humans. The presence of a fifth EBOV virus species,Bundibugyo ebolavirus (BEBOV) was identified after an outbreak of EHF in the Bundibugyo District of western Uganda in 2007. Outbreaks of EHF are associated with person-to-person transmission after the virus is introduced into humans from a zoonotic reservoir. During outbreaks the virus is commonly transmitted through direct contact with infected persons or their bodily fluids. The onset of EHF is associated with nonspecific signs and symptoms, including fever, myalgias, headache, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. In the later stages of disease, overt haemorrhage has been reported in up to 50% of cases.

Ebola virus envelope glycoprotein is initially produced as a precursor known as pre-GP, which is cleaved by furin into two subunits, GP₁ and GP₂, which remain associated through a disulfide linkage between Cys53 of GP₁ and Cys609 of GP₂. This heterodimer assembles into a 450-kDa trimer at the surface of nascent virions. The virion-attached GP is critical in the EBOV life cycle, as it is solely responsible for attachment, fusion and entry of target cells. Moreover, GP is responsible for critical pathogenic differences among viral species. The role of Ebola virus envelope glycoprotein in EBOV pathogenesis is unclear, but is examined in detail by Lee and Saphire (2009).

****SHIPPING AND STORAGE NOTIFICATION: This recombinant protein has been lyophilised to maximise stability. It is shipped at ambient temperature, and may be stored for up to 1 year at 4C prior to reconstitution. Following reconstitution it should be stored at -80C. Extensive stability tests have shown no negative effects on antigen performance for 7 days of shipping at ambient temperature.