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 pcDNA3.1(+) and recombinant vector was confirmed. Results: A 435 bp hspX fragment was isolated. The fragment was 100% homologous with hspX of M. tuberculosis strain H37Rv in GenBank. Conclusions: In this study, the cloning vector pcDNA3.1(+), containing a 435-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.