Construction, expression and characterization of a murine/human chimeric antibody with specificity for hepatitis B surface antigen

A murine/human chimeric antibody with specificity for Hepatitis B surface antigen has been produced by genetic engineering. The light and heavy chain variable region exons encoding the murine monoclonal antibody 2H1 were isolated and inserted into mammalian expression vectors containing the human kappa and gamma 1 constant region exons. The chimeric genes were transfected into murine Sp2/0 hybridoma cells by electroporation and transfectomas secreting chimeric antibody were isolated. Secretion levels ranged from 1–7 pg/cell/24 hr. The chimeric antibody bound specifically to Hepatitis B surface antigen and competed effectively with the parental murine monoclonal antibody for binding to these sites. Chimeric 2H1 is the first clinically relevant, genetically engineered anti-viral antibody and may represent an improved agent for the prevention of hepatitis B virus transmission.