Expression and Identification of Poliovirus (Type 1) Immune Antigen in Escherichia Coli

Abstract

This study aimed to achieve high-level expression of the key immunogenic epitope of poliovirus type 1 (PV1) VP1 in an *Escherichia coli* system and to characterize its antigenicity, thereby laying the groundwork for a safe, low-cost, and non-infectious subunit vaccine. A recombinant plasmid, pET-32a (+)-VP1, encoding the functional domain of PV1 VP1 was constructed and transformed into *E. coli* BL21(DE3). Following IPTG induction, the 43 kDa target protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatofigurey to >90 % homogeneity and shown to retain immunoreactivity. The established prokaryotic expression platform enables scalable production of PV-specific antigen, providing a robust technical resource for functional studies, immunogenicity evaluation, and next-generation vaccine development that will contribute to global polio eradication efforts.