Promoter Optimisation for Recombinant Mammalian Protein Manfacture

The production of recombinant proteins for medical research and healthcare is a rapidly expanding area of biotechnology. However, many of these proteins must be manufactured in expensive mammalian systems to ensure correct protein folding, where the yield is typically low in comparison to bacterial systems (usually 100-1000-fold lower). In part this is due to the inferior strength of mammalian promoters (that control protein production) in comparison to bacterial counterparts.
At Oxford Genetics Ltd we have developed a ‘bioselection’ cloning system to screen large numbers of recombinant mammalian promoters. We have chosen 5 potent recombinant promoters for further development. In this project we will analyse these 5 promoters in detail, aiming to identify the key features that make them successful, and incorporate multiple such features into a new range of ‘superstrength’ promoters. This will dramatically improve the yields of recombinant proteins during manufacture, making production of recombinant proteins in mammalian cells far more cost effective.