Expression of antigenic determinants of the hemagglutinin gene of a human influenza virus in Escherichia coli.

Antigenic determinants of influenza virus hemagglutinin were expressed in Escherichia coli. DNA coding for presequences of hemagglutinin were removed and an ATG codon was placed before DNA coding for mature hemagglutinin. A number of expression plasmids were constructed in which various segments of this reconstructed hemagglutinin DNA were fused to DNA coding for bacterial beta-galactosidase. The fusion proteins exhibited specific binding to antiviral antibodies. This binding could be competitively inhibited by excess viral hemagglutinin, demonstrating that these fusion proteins contained antigenic determinants of hemagglutinin.