Abstract
We cloned and expressed hepatitis B viral core antigen (HBcAg) gene in E. coli using $P_{L}$ promoter system. For optimal expression of the gene, we undertook the studies on the effects of the distance between Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and start codon, copy number of repressor gene, induction temperature, and the stability of the core antigen. The results demonstrated that the induction at 37.deg.C was more efficient than at 42.deg.C, and the 11 base pairs (bp) distance between SD sequence and start codon of HBcAg gene was more efficient than the 15 bp distance in E. coli. The copy number of cI857 repressor gene did not influence on the expression of HBcAg, and the expression level of HBcAg in mutant type (low protease activity) and wild type strains was almost the same. The produced core antigen appeared to be HBcAg not HBeAg judged by two different radioimmunoassat (RIA) kits. This result suggested that the antigen was stable in E. coli.i.