Product Overview:
HIV-1 Gag p55 is a precursor protein of several proteins that form the core structure of AIDS virus, indispensable to its reproduction. P55 is digested by HIV-1 protease, first into intermediate products p41 and p15. Then p41 is digested into matrix protein p17 and capsid protein p24. Protein p15 is further digested into nucleocapsid protein p7 and to p6 and p1, both of unknown function. The product is prepared by immunizing rabbit with recombinant protein p55 which was overexpressed in E. coli with a plasmid carrying the Gag p55 coding region of HIV-1 virus, and highly purified by several steps of chromatography. Using this antiserum in Western blotting, in addition to the band of 55kD for HIV-1 p55, bands of 15 kD, 17 kD and 24 kD were observed in the extract of the AIDS virus infected cells