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Recombinant Protein Production in the Eukaryotic Protozoan Parasite Leishmania tarentolae: A Review

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Recombinant Gene Expression

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 824))

Abstract

Leishmania tarentolae is a trypanosomatid protozoan parasite of the gecko, and has been established as a new eukaryotic expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. It seems that a protozoan parasite is a curious choice as the expression host; however, Trypanosomatidae are rich in glycoproteins with a pattern of glycosylation closely related to those in mammals and higher vertebrates. Thus, one of the main advantages of a L. tarentolae expression system is the mammalian-type posttranslational modification of target proteins. Although there are few examples of recombinant protein expression using this system, it can be an attractive alternative to using mammalian cells. This chapter presents an overview of the newly developed protein expression system based on L. tarentolae.

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Acknowledgments

The preparation of this chapter was supported by a Grant-in-aid (no. 18108003) for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan.

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  1. Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Tomoaki Niimi

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  1. Tomoaki Niimi
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Correspondence to Tomoaki Niimi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Chemistry & Physics, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, University Loop E. 504, State University, 72401, Arkansas, USA

    Argelia Lorence

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Niimi, T. (2012). Recombinant Protein Production in the Eukaryotic Protozoan Parasite Leishmania tarentolae: A Review. In: Lorence, A. (eds) Recombinant Gene Expression. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 824. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-433-9_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-433-9_15

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-432-2

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