ABSTRACT
A large portion of the human pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 59–241 has been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. A 1·0 kb DNA fragment encoding this peptide was cloned into the expression vectors pUC8 and pUR291. Plasmid pJMBG51 (a pUC8 recombinant) was found to direct the expression of a 24 kDa peptide. The recombinant pUR291 (pJMBG52) was shown to produce a β-galactosidase fusion protein of 140 kDa. Western blot analysis showed that both the 24 kDa and 140 kDa peptides are recognized by antibodies raised against POMC-derived peptides. The β-galactosidase fusion protein has been partially purified from crude E. coli cell lysates using affinity chromatography on p-aminobenzyl-1-thio-β-d-galactopyranoside agarose.
Ultra-High Expression of a Thermally Responsive Recombinant Fusion Protein in E. coli