Nature 292, 851 - 852 (27 August 1981); doi:10.1038/292851a0

Cloned copy of the haemagglutinin gene codes for human influenza antigenic determinants in E. coli

Ingeborg Heiland & Mary-Jane Gething

Imperial Cancer Research Fund, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, UK

The haemagglutinin (HA) of influenza virus is the major antigen towards which neutralizing antibodies are directed¹. Epidemics and pandemics of influenza are associated with variation in the structure of HA^2,3. We have recently cloned and sequenced a DNA copy of the RNA gene coding for the HA from human strain A/Japan/305/57 (H2 subtype)^4,5. Recent advances in recombinant DNA technology have made it feasible to express in bacteria proteins coded by eukaryotic genes. Viral antigens synthesized in bacteria may ultimately be useful as vaccines. We now report the expression in Escherichia coli of HA antigenic determinants which might be the first approach towards production of a human vaccine. Expression was obtained from the cloned HA gene inserted into a plasmid under the control of the E. coli lac promotor.

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