Abstract:Objective The expression of secreted human herpes simplex virus 2 envelope glycoprotein gD (HSV-2 gD2) mediated by lentivirus, and the preparation of gD2-specific rabbit polyclonal antibody will provide convenience for subsequent ELISA and WB detection in HSV-2 vaccine development. Methods Codon-optimized sequences of the HSV-2 G Strain US6 gene (MH790667.1) were linked into the lentiviral vector pLenti-CMV-gD2-6His. The recombinant lentivirus and packing plasmids were co-transfected into 293T cells to harvest recombinant lentivirus, then the recombinant lentivirus-infected 293T cells were screened with puromycin for establishing stable cell lines. The secreted gD2-6His proteins were harvested from the culture supernatant of the screened stable cell lines. The target protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography technology. The purified gD2-6His protein mixed with an equal proportion of Freund’s adjuvant was subcutaneously injected into New Zealand white rabbits, strengthening the immunization once. The titer of gD2-specific antibody in rabbit serum was detected by ELISA; the specificity and affinity of the rabbit serum antibody were verified by Western blot. Results The sequence of the lentiviral recombinant plasmid was consistent with the original design. The theoretical molecular weight of gD2-6His protein was about 37 000, and the electrophoretic migration band was positioned between 40 000 and 55 000 (glycosylation modification). The gD2-specific antibody titer of rabbit serum was 1∶204 800 by ELISA assay; the 1∶500 dilution was useful for detecting the gD2 antigen protein expression of the vaccine virus. Conclusions High-purity gD2-6His protein has been successfully prepared; the efficient gD2-specified rabbit polyclonal antibody was verified by ELISA and western blot, which will provide great convenience for the subsequent development and testing of the HSV-2 vaccine.