Assembly and Immunogenicity of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 Major Capsid Protein(HPV16 L1) in Pichia pastoris*

In this study, a recombinant Pichia pastoris expression system was developed to express HPV16 L1 protein that was driven by a strong AOX1 promoter. HPV16L1 gene was cloned into vector pPICZαB. HPV16 L1 protein expression induced by methanol was screened by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting. The results indicate that the HPV16 L1 protein is secreted by the recombinant P. pastoris, and the purified HPV16 L1 protein can self-assemble into virus-like particles(VLPs), which show a good immunogenicity and induces high-titer antibody in mice.