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          HBcAg         | 
        
      | Vaxjo ID | 313 | 
        
      | Vaccine Adjuvant Name | HBcAg | 
        
      | Adjuvant VO ID | VO_0005270 | 
        
      | Description | A non-human hepadnaviral adjuvant derived from stork hepatitis B virus core gene-sequences, used in hepatitis C virus-based genetic vaccines. It is designed to enhance HCV-specific IFN-纬 and IL-2 responses and induce long-term functional memory T cell responses, avoiding potential interference from pre-existing immunity to human HBV. | 
        
      | Stage of Development | Research | 
        
      | Host Species for Testing | Mouse | 
        
      | Components | Human hepatitis B virus (HBV) core antigen (HBcAg) can act as an adjuvant in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-based DNA vaccines. | 
        
      | Structure | Full-length and fragmented gene-sequences. | 
        
      | Preparation | Full-length and fragmented stork HBcAg gene-sequences were added to an HCV non-structural (NS) 3/4A gene to create NS3/4A-stork-HBcAg. | 
        
      | Function | The NS3/4A-stork-HBcAg vaccine enhanced HCV-specific IFN-γ and IL-2 responses in both normal and NS3/4A-transgenic mice with dysfunctional T cells. Repeated doses boosted these T cell responses and induced long-term memory dependent on CD4(+) T cells. Thus, stork-derived avian HBcAg sequences serve effectively as a DNA vaccine adjuvant. | 
        
      | Safety | The adjuvant "completely avoids the use of sequences from a human virus where a pre-existing immunity may interfere with its adjuvant effect", implying a safety advantage by circumventing potential immune interference. | 
    	
    
      | Related Vaccine(s) |  | 
    	
	  | References | Levander et al., 2016: Levander S, Sällberg M, Ahlén G, Frelin L. A non-human hepadnaviral adjuvant for hepatitis C virus-based genetic vaccines. Vaccine. 2016; 34(25); 2821-2833. [PubMed: 27109565]. |