Molecular engineering of insulin for recombinant expression in yeast

Trends Biotechnol. 2023 Oct 24:S0167-7799(23)00286-X. doi: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.09.012. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTSince the first administration of insulin to a person with diabetes in 1922, scientific contributions from academia and industry have improved insulin therapy and access. The pharmaceutical need for insulin is now more than 40 tons annually, half of which is produced by recombinant secretory expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We discuss how, in this yeast species, adaptation of insulin precursors by removable structural elements is pivotal for efficient secretory expression. The technologies reviewed have been implemented at industrial scale and are seminal for the supply of human insulin and insulin analogues to people with diabetes now and in the future. Engineering of a target protein with removable structural elements may provide a general approach to yield optimisation.PMID:37880066 | DOI:10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.09.012

Source: Trends in Biotechnology - October 25, 2023 Category: Biotechnology Authors: Thomas Kjeldsen Asser Sloth Andersen Franti šek Hubálek Eva Johansson Frederik Flindt Kreiner Gerd Schluckebier Peter Kurtzhals Source Type: research