Detection of antibodies towards Hepatitis B surface antigen: Setup of a QCM-based method
2024 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (degree of Bachelor), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Hepatitis B is caused by the Hepatitis B virus, and the virus is a serious concern for public health, with the consequence of severe liver infection. Hepatitis B virus is a DNA virus that belongs to the Hepadnaviridae family and is transmitted by direct contact with blood or body fluids from an infected person. Diagnosing Hepatitis B virus infection typically involves detecting antigens and antibodies in serum or plasma from a person infected by the virus. A marker for active infection is Hepatitis B surface antigen, and recombinant Hepatitis B surface antigen can be used for vaccination against Hepatitis B virus to stimulate antibody development against the virus. The purpose of this project was to develop a quartz crystal microbalance method to detect antibodies against Hepatitis B virus and to compare serum samples for Hepatitis B surface antigen from donors before and after vaccination. The vaccination used in this study was a recombinant DNA vaccine containing Hepatitis B surface antigen called Engerix-B. The quartz crystal microbalance platform can be used for diagnostic purposes and has, in contrast to other diagnostic immunoassays, the advantage of giving information about the affinity of antibodies, which can be important to understanding the disease course and gives information about the neutralizing capacity of the virus. The Hepatitis B surface antigen was successfully immobilized onto the chips, and a positive control sample containing human plasma positive for Hepatitis B surface antigen antibodies showed a positive response against the antigen. Serum samples were collected from a person before vaccination and 4 and 8 days after vaccination and compared to a serum from a fully vaccinated person. No difference between the serum sample from the unvaccinated donor and the fully vaccinated donor could be observed, which could be explained by a decline in antibody titer within two years after the last vaccination. No antibodies could be detected in the unvaccinated serum or the serum post vaccination after 4 or 8 days. The results indicate that it is too early to detect the antibodies towards Hepatitis B surface antigen even 8 days after vaccination. Further research is essential for quartz crystal microbalance to become a useful method for detecting antibodies against Hepatitis B surface antigen.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2024. , p. 20
Keywords [en]
Hepatitis B virus, quartz crystal microbalance, hepatitis B surface antigen, Engerix-B vaccine, antigen immobilization, neutralizing antibodies, IgG antibodies
National Category
Immunology Medical Biotechnology (with a focus on Cell Biology (including Stem Cell Biology), Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry or Biopharmacy)
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-131079OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-131079DiVA, id: diva2:1878265
Subject / course
Biology
Educational program
Biology Programme, 180 credits
Supervisors
Examiners
2024-08-062024-06-262024-08-06Bibliographically approved