• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.361-368
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• 1998

The E2 protein of HCV (hepatitis C virus) is thought to have a potential role in the development of subunit vaccines and diagnostics. To express it by the insect cell/baculovirus expression (Bacu) system, we constructed a recombinant Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcIL3E2), determined the most appropriate expression conditions in terms of host cell line and culture medium, and characterized the expressed HCV E2 protein. A culture system using Trichoplusia ni BTI-TN5Bl-4 cells and SF 900IISFM medium expressed a relatively high level of HCV E2 protein. It was revealed that its glycosylation properties and subcellular localization were almost the same as the ones in the mammalian cell expression system previously reported, suggesting the recombinant HCV E2 protein derived from our Bacu system can be utilized for development of a subunit vaccine and diagnostics. Interestingly, HCV E2 protein was not degraded at all even at 43 h post-heat shock in the heat shock-induced necrotic cells, probably due to its integration into the microsomal membrane, indicating that heat shock can be employed to purify HCV E2 protein.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.160-164
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• 2012

The baculovirus/insect cell expression system is of great value for the large-scale production of normal and mutant mammalian passive glucose-transport proteins heterologously for structural and functional studies. In most mammalian cells that express HepG2, this transporter isoform is predominantly located at the cell surface. However, it had been reported that heterologous expression of other membrane proteins using the baculovirus system induced highly vacuolated cytoplasmic membranes. Therefore, how a cell responds to the synthesis of large amounts of a glycoprotein could be an interesting area for investigation. In order to examine the subcellular location of the human HepG2 transport proteins when expressed in insect cells, immunofluorescence studies were carried out. Insect cells were infected with the recombinant baculovirus AcNPVHIS-GT or with wild-type virus at a MOI of 5, or were not exposed to viral infection. A high level of fluorescence displayed in cells infected with the recombinant virus indicated that transporters are expressed abundantly and present on the surface of infected Sf21 cells. The evidence for the specificity of the immunostaining was strengthened by the negative results shown in the negative controls. Distribution of the transporter protein expressed in insect cells was further revealed by making a series of optical sections through an AcNPVHIS-GT-infected cell using a confocal microscope, which permits optical sectioning of cell sample. These sections displayed intense cytoplasmic immunofluorecence surrounding the region occupied by the enlarged nucleus, indicating that the expressed protein was present not only at the cell surface but also throughout the cytoplasmic membranous structures.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.161-166
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• 2001

Most mammalian cells take up glucose by passive transport proteins in the plasma membranes. The best known of these proteins is the human erythrocyte glucose transporter, GLUT1. High levels of heterologous expression far the transporter are necessary for the investigation of its three-dimensional structure by crystallization. To achieve this, the baculovirus expression system has become popular choice. However, Spodoptera frugiperda Clone 9 (Sf9) cells, which are commonly employed as the host permissive cell line to support baculovirus replication and protein synthesis, grow well on TC-100 medium that contains 0.1% D-glucose as the major carbon source, suggesting the presence of endogenous glucose transporters. Furthermore, very little is known of the endogenous transporters properties of Sf9 cells. Therefore, human GLUT1 antibodies would play an important role for characterization of the GLUT1 expressed in insect cell. However, the successful use of such antibodies for characterization of GLUT1 expression m insect cells relies upon their specificity for the human protein and lack of cross-reaction with endogenous transporters. It is therefore important to determine the potential cross-reactivity of the antibodies with the endogenous insect cell glucose transporters. In the present study, the potential cross-reactivity of the human GLUT1 antibodies with the endogenous insect cell glucose transporters was examined by Western blotting. Neither the antibodies against intact GLUT1 nor those against the C-terminus labelled any band migrating in the region expected fur a protein of M$_r$ comparable to GLUT1, whereas these antibodies specifically recognized the human GLUT1. Specificity of the human GLUT1 antibodies tested was also shown by cross-reaction with the GLUT1 expressed in insect cells. In addition, the insect cell glucose transporter was found to have very low affinity for cytochalasin B, a potent inhibitor of human erythrocyte glucose transporter.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1719-1727
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• 2014

In the present study, whispovirus immediate early 1 promoter (ie-1) was used to initiate surface expression of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein of Egyptian H5N1 avian influenza virus (AIV) by using the baculovirus expression vector system. The HA gene and whispovirus ie-1 promoter sequence were synthesized as a fused expression cassette (ie1-HA) and successfully cloned into the pFastBac-1 transfer vector. The recombinant vector was transformed into DH10Bac competent cells, and the recombinant bacmid was generated via site-specific transposition. The recombinant bacmid was used for transfection of Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf-9) insect cells to construct the recombinant baculovirus and to induce expression of the HA protein of H5N1 AIV. The recombinant glycoprotein expressed in Sf-9 cells showed hemadsorption activity. Hemagglutination activity was also detected in both extra- and intracellular recombinant HAs. Both the HA and hemadsorption activities were inhibited by reference polyclonal anti-H5 sera. Significant expression of the recombinant protein was observed on the surface of infected insect cells by using immunofluorescence. SDS-PAGE analysis of the expressed protein revealed the presence of a visually distinguishable band of ~63 kDa in size, which was absent in the non-infected cell control. Western blot analysis confirmed that the distinct 63 kDa band corresponded to the recombinant HA glycoprotein of H5N1 AIV. This study reports the successful expression of the HA protein of H5N1 AIV. The expressed protein was displayed on the plasma membrane of infected insect cells under the control of whispovirus ie-1 promoter by using the baculovirus expression vector system.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.71-76
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• 2009

Salivary lipocalin (SAL1) is a member of the lipocalin protein family that has a property to associate with many lipophilic molecules. The importance of SAL1 during pregnancy in pigs has been suggested by our previous study which has shown that SAL1 is expressed in the uterine endometrium in a cell type- and implantation stage-specific manner and secreted into the uterine lumen. However, function of SAL1 in the uterus during pregnancy in pigs is not known. To understand SAL1 function in the uterus during pregnancy, we generated recombinant porcine SAL1 protein in an insect cell line. Porcine SAL1 cDNA was cloned into a baculovirus expression vector using RT-PCR and total RNA from uterine endometrium on day 12 of pregnancy, and the expression vector was used to generate recombinant Bacmid containing the SAL1 gene. The recombinant Bacmid was then transfected Sf9 cell to produce recombinant baculovirus. By infecting Sf9 cell with recombinant baculovirus, we established a SAL1-expressing insect cell expression system. Immunoblot analysis confirmed SAL1 expression in the infected cells. Recombinant SAL1 produced by the Sf9 cell line will be useful for understanding physiological function of SAL1 during pregnancy in pigs.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 2017

Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) plays an important role in the development of bone and cartilage. It is involved in the hedgehog pathway, TGF beta signaling pathway, and in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. It is involved also in cardiac cell differentiation and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. In this study, We expressed human BMP2 (hBMP2) recombinant protein using Baculovirus Expression Vector System (BEVS) in Sf9 insect cells. The hBMP2 cDNA was cloned into baculovirus transfer vector, pBacgus-4x-1 and recombinant baculovirus was screened out through X-gal and GUS-fusions assay. Western blot analysis shown that molecular weight of hBMP2 recombinant protein was about 44.71 kDa.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.453-458
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• 1998

Human thrombopoietin (hTPO) was expressed to high levels in insect cells using the baculovirus expression system. Full-length hTPO cDNA containing a native signal peptide sequence was amplified by PCR from a human fetal liver cDNA library and cloned into the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcNPV) expression vector. Immunoblot analysis with antiserum against hTPO indicated that an approximately 55 kDa protein was produced in recombinant AcNPV infected insect cells. Recombinant hTPO was produced 4-fold higher in Trichoplusia ni (Tn5) cells than in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells. with most of the hTPO produced in Tn5 cells secreted into the culture medium. Addition of tunicamycin in the culture medium resulted in the reduction of the size of hTPO to 35-38 kDa, and most of the protein remained within the cell. These results suggest that N-glycosylation of hTPO is required for the secretion of the protein into the culture medium in insect cells. hTPO produced in insect cells induced proliferation and maturation of megakaryocyte progenitors, indicating that it is in a biologically active form.

• 한국생물공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.594-594
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• 2005

• KSBB Journal
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.317-322
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• 1995

Insect cells were grown and infected with baculovirus for the production of recombinant protein. Later infection gave the lower expression of recombinant protein. This indicates that the expression rate is lower at higher cell concentration. This phenomena provides a well-posed optimization problem with respect to the infection time. The optimal infection time was experimentally shown to exist for the maximum productivity of recombinant protein. Also, the expression increased with the addition of 5% silkworm hemolymph. This is considered to be due to the increase of intracellular viruses and the longevity of viable cells after the infection. The production of ${\beta}$-galaclosidase increased about ten-fold with the addition of yeastolate and silkworm hemolymph for high cell density and high expression, respectively.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.119-122
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• 2008

The baculovirus/insect cell expression system is of great value in the study of structure-function relationships in mammalian glucose-transport proteins by site-directed mutagenesis and for the large-scale production of these proteins for mechanistic and biochemical studies. In order to exploit this, the effects of substitution at the highly conserved residue glutamine 282 of the human erythrocyte-type glucose transporter have been examined by in vitro site-directed mutagenesis. The modified human transport protein has been expressed in Spodoptera frugiperda 21 cells by using the recombinant baculovirus AcNPV-GTL. To assess the functional integrity of the expressed transporter, measurements of the transport inhibitor cytochalasin B binding were performed, involving the membranes prepared from 4 days post infection with no virus, with wild-type virus or AcNPV-GTL virus. Data obtained showed that there was little or no D-glucose-inhibitable binding in cells infected with the wild type or no virus. Only the recombinant virus infected cells exhibited specific binding, which is inhibitable by D- but not by L-glucose. However, there was a notable reduction in the affinity for the potent inhibitor cytochalasin B when binding measurements of AcNPV-GTL were compared with those of AcNPV-GT, which has no substitution. It is thus suggested that although the modified and unmodified human transporters differed slightly in their affinity for cytochalasin B, the glutamine substitution did not interfere the heterologous expression of the human transporter in the insect cells.