Abstract
An expression system is described whereby a gene product is expressed fused to an antibody Fab fragment to form an antibody-like molecule The antigen binding function of the original antibody is retained and the foreign gene replaces the CH2 and CH3 regions of the heavy chain. The fusion protein is secreted as if it were an antibody, and can be purified using the antigen-binding function of the Fab-Iike part of the molecule. In principle any open reading frame can be expressed and it is not necessary to develop an individual purification scheme, or any analytical reagents such as antibodies, for the expressed protein, as both these functions can be performed by the Fab part of the fusion protein. In practice, the nature of the nonantibodv part of the fusion influences the efficiency of expression and secretion, and detailed guidance is given on trouble-shooting and maximizing expression.
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Forster, S.J., Carr, F.J., Harris, W.J. et al. Expression of foreign genes in mammalian cells using an antibody fusion system. Mol Biotechnol 1, 251–263 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02921693
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02921693