Production of serpins using yeast expression systems.

Serpins occupy a unique niche in the field of biology. As more of them are discovered, the need to produce sufficient quantities of each to aid experimental and therapeutic research increases. Yeast expression systems are well suited for the production of recombinant serpins. The genetics of many yeast species is well understood and readily manipulated to induce the targeted over-production of many different serpins. In addition, protease-deficient strains of certain species are available and a few species carry out post-translational modifications resembling those of humans. Yeasts are easy to grow and multiply readily in simple culture media hence the cost of production is low, while the scale of production can be small or large. The disadvantages are the inability of most yeast(s) to perform complex post-translational modifications and a lower product yield of secreted protein compared to intracellular protein production. However, for the intracellular production of serpins, in particular the clade B serpins that do not have complex post-translational modifications, yeast expression systems should be among the first systems considered.