Effect of Galactose and Dextrose on Human Lipocortin I Expression in Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae Carrying Galactose-Regulated Expression System

The expression kinetics of human lipocortin I (LCI), a potential anti-inflammatory agent, was studied in the shake-flask and fermenter cultures of Saccharomyces cerevisiae carrying a galactose-inducible expression system. The cell growth, expression level of LCI, and the plasmid stability were investigted under various galactose induction conditions. The expression of LCI was repressed by the presence of a very small amount of dextrose in the culture medium, but it was induced by galactose after dextrose became completely depleted. The optimal ratio of dextrose to galactose for lipocortin I production was found to be 1.0 (10 g/l dextrose and 10 g/l galactose). With optimal D/G ratio of 1.0 and the addition of galactose prior to dextrose depletion, LCI of about 100~130 mg/l was produced. LCI at a concentration of 174 mg/l was porduced in the fed-batch culture, which was nearly a twice as much of that produced in the batch culture. The plasmid stability was very high in all culture cases, and thus was considered to be not an important parameter in the expression of LCI.