[Characteristics of a low-molecular nonvirion ("soluble") antigen from the tick-borne encephalitis virus]

Pig embryo kidney and BHK-21 cells infected with tick-borne encephalitis virus synthesize a nonvirion antigen differing in its immunological properties from the virion antigens. The antigen has a high thermostability. According to the results of ultrafiltration and gel filtration, its molecular weight is approximately 70-100 kilodaltons. Electrophoretic analysis in polyacrylamide gel showed the molecular weight of a polypeptide isolated from the precipitation band formed by this low molecular antigen to differ from molecular weights of virion and high molecular virus-specific nonvirion proteins and to be about 20 kilodaltons. This polypeptide is assumed to be a subunit of the analyzed nonvirion low molecular antigen.