Seung-Won Park
Catholic University of Daegu, South Korea
Title: PnTx2-6 recombinant protein expression using the baculovirus expression vector system
Biography
Biography: Seung-Won Park
Abstract
Nitric oxide is the principal mediator of smooth muscle relaxation and erectile function of corpus cavernosum. A baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is used routinely to produce recombinant proteins in the milligram scale. PnTx2-6, a toxin from Phoneutria nigriventer spider venom, modulates voltage gated Na+ channels and activation of NO production. PnTx2-6 consists of a signal peptide, Glu-rich region and a mature toxin of 48 amino acids. To purify the recombinant PnTx2-6 protein from cells over-expressing the Phoneutria nigriventer spider venom full-length PnTx2-6 gene, recombinant baculovirus is infected and recovered in the Sf9 cells. As a result, recombinant PnTx2-6 protein was efficiently expressed and extracted from the insect cells using the BEVS. Further studies are required to whether PnTx2-6 was able to increase production rate of NO by NOS and can be released from the endothelium in certain vascular disease.