Co-overexpression of PpPDI enhances secretion of ancrod in Pichia pastoris

Ancrod, a serine protease purified from the venom of Agkistrodon rhodostoma, is highly specific for fibrinogen. It causes anticoagulation by defibrinogenation and has been used as a therapeutic anticoagulant for the treatment of moderate to severe forms of peripheral arterial circulatory disorders in a variety of countries. The DNA of ancrod was amplified by recursive PCR with a yeast bias codon and cloned into the pGEM-T Easy vector. In order to achieve a high level secretion and a full activity expression of ancrod in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris), the P. pastoris protein disulfide bond isomerase (PpPDI) was co-overexpressed in the strain. The secretion characteristics of ancrod with and without PpPDI were examined. With co-overexpression of PpPDI, the production of recombinant ancrod (rAncrod) was increased to 315 mg/L in the culture medium, which is twofold higher than the control strain carrying only the ancrod gene. Through purified by Ni affinity chromatography and phenyl Sepharose column, the purity of rAncrod was found to be as high as 95.2%. The fibrinogenolytic and zymographic activities of the rAncrod were determined and found to be similar to that of the native protein. This improved expression system can facilitate further studies and the industrial production of ancrod. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.