Overview of a High-Throughput Pipeline for Streamlining the Production of Recombinant Proteins.

Production of high quality protein is an essential step for both structural and functional studies. Throughput has increased in the past decade by the use of streamlined workflows with standard operating procedures and automation. In this chapter, we describe the Oxford Protein Production Facility (OPPF) pipeline for protein production, from conception, through vector construction, to expression and purification. Results from projects run in the OPPF demonstrate the value of using parallel expression screening of intracellular proteins in both E. coli and insect cells. Transient expression in Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) cells is used exclusively for production of secreted glycoproteins. Protein purification and quality assessment are independent of the expression system and enable sample preparation to be simplified and streamlined.