Design and Construction of a Cloning Vector Containing the hspX Gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of death worldwide. Finding an effective vaccine against TB is the best way to control it. Several vaccines against this disease have been developed but none are completely protective. The aim of this study was to design and construct a cloning vector containing the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) heat shock protein X (hspX). Methods: First, an hspX fragment was amplified by PCR and cloned into plasmid pcDNA۳.۱(+) and recombinant vector was confirmed. Results: A ۴۳۵ bp hspX fragment was isolated. The fragment was ۱۰۰% homologous with hspX of M. tuberculosis strain H۳۷Rv in GenBank. Conclusions: In this study, the cloning vector pcDNA۳.۱(+), containing a ۴۳۵-bp hspX fragment of M. tuberculosis, was constructed. This could be used as a DNA vaccine to induce immune responses in animal models in future studies.