Variola virus cDNA and Antigen

Variola virus is the virus that causes smallpox. It is a member of the family Poxviridae, a large family of viruses that cause a wide variety of diseases in humans and animals. It is an enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus and is one of the most infectious viruses known. Smallpox was one of the most devastating diseases in human history, killing millions of people before it was eradicated in 1980.

Variola virus is the etiologic agent of smallpox, a highly contagious and sometimes fatal infectious disease. Its antigenic components are highly immunogenic and can be used to induce protective immunity against the virus. These antigenic components include structural proteins, nucleocapsid proteins, and nonstructural proteins. Among these, the virus core antigen (VCA) and the early antigen (EA) are the most widely used in diagnostic assays. VCA is a structural protein composed of two major polypeptides, A-type and B-type, and several minor polypeptides. EA is a nonstructural protein composed of two polypeptides, p10 and p17. Both VCA and EA can be used to detect antibodies to the virus in the serum of infected individuals.

The early transcription factor 70 kDa subunit is a viral protein that is involved in regulating the expression of other viral genes. This protein interacts with other viral and cellular proteins to initiate the virus replication cycle and promote virus gene expression during the early phase of infection.

Surface antigen S is a viral protein that is present on the surface of the virus and is involved in virus attachment and entry. This protein interacts with host cell receptors to facilitate virus entry into host cells.

Major envelope protein-p37K is a structural protein that is present on the surface of the virus and is involved in virus assembly and release. This protein interacts with other viral and cellular proteins to form the virus envelope and facilitate virus release from host cells.

Variola virus is a highly infectious and deadly virus and understanding the functions and roles of these key proteins is critical for developing effective vaccines and antiviral therapies against the virus. Insights into the molecular mechanisms of Variola virus infection may lead to the development of new treatments for smallpox and other poxvirus infections.

The use of recombinant proteins/cDNA in academic research and therapeutic applications has skyrocketed. However, in heterologous expression systems, successful recombinant protein expression is dependent on a variety of factors, including codon preference, RNA secondary structure, and GC content. When compared to pre-optimization, more and more experimental results demonstrated that the expression level was dramatically increased, ranging from two to hundred times depending on the gene. Bioclone has created a proprietary technology platform that has resulted in the creation of over 6,000 artificially synthesized codon-optimized cDNA clones (cloned in E. coli expression Vector), which are ready for production of the recombinant proteins.