Cloning, Sequencing and Baculovirus-based Expression of Fusion-Glycoprotein D Gene of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 (F)

The Glycoprotein D (gD) gene of the HSV-1 strain F was cloned, sequenced, recombinated into the HcNPV (Hyphantria cunea nuclear polyhedrosis virus) expression vector and expressed in insect cells. The gD gene was located in the 6.43 kb BamHI fragment of the strainF. The open reading frame (ORF) of the gD gene was 1,185 by and codes 394 amino acid residues. Recombinant baculoviruses, GD-HcNPVs, expressing the gD protein were constructed. Spodoptera frugiperda cells, infected with the recombinant virus, synthesized a matured gX-gD fusion protein with an approximate molecular weight of 54 kDa and secreted the gD proteins into the culture media by an immunoprecipitation assay The fusion gD protein was localized on the membrane of the insect cells, seen by using an immunofluorescence assay The deduced amino acid sequence presents additional characteristics compatible with the structure of a viral glycoprotein: signal peptide, putative glycosylation sites and a long C-terminal transmembrane sequence. These results indicate the utility of the HcNPV-insect cell system for producing and characterizing eukaryotic proteins.