Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes a potentially life-threatening liver
infection that frequently results in life-long
chronic infection. HBV is responsible for 887,000 deaths each year, most resulting from chronic
liver diseases and
hepatocellular carcinoma. Presently, there are 250 million chronic HBV carriers worldwide who are at a high risk for developing
cirrhosis and
hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is the most common type of
liver cancer with a strong association with HBV
infection. HBV transmission through
blood transfusions and perinatal transfer from infected mother to child have been common routes of
infection. In the present study, we describe the development of a synthetic
DNA plasmid encoding an anti-HBV human
monoclonal antibody specific for the common "a determinant region" of
HBsAg of hepatitis B virus and demonstrate the ability of this platform at directing in vivo antibody expression. In vivo delivery of this
DNA encoded
monoclonal antibody (DMAb) plasmid in mice resulted in expression of human
IgG over a period of one month following a single injection. Serum antibody was found to recognize the relevant conformational
epitope from plasma purified native
HBsAg as well as bound HBV in HepG2.2.15 cells. The serum DMAb efficiently neutralized HBV and prevented
infection of HepaRG cells in vitro. Additional study of these HBV-DMAb as a possible
therapy or immunoprophylaxis for HBV
infection is warranted.