In silico designing, cloning, and heterologous expression of novel chimeric human B lymphocyte CD20 extra loop

Design and production of monoclonal antibody for the diagnosis and immunotherapy of non-Hodgkin lymphoma require a suitable CD20 antigen as an effective immunogen. In this study, a new chimeric human CD20 extra loop (hCD20EXL) protein was designed by bioinformatics tools and was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 DE3. Amino acid sequences, protein structure, immunogenicity, and other physicochemical property of potential antigens were in silico analyzed. Antigenicity, codon optimization, and other predictions of designed protein were determined by bioinformatics tools. The designed protein was heterologously expressed in E. coli and verified by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. Immunogenicity of this antigen was tested in mice, and reactivity of the antibodies was evaluated using flow cytometry. Experimental analysis confirmed the in silico prediction of the designed chimeric hCD20 in this study. Therefore, based on these results, it is suggested that the new chimeric hCD20 antigen could be an appropriate immunogen for production of monoclonal antibody in immunotherapy purposes.