10 - Protein Expression in Mammalian Cells Using Sindbis Virus

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the use of the Sindbis (SIN) virus for heterologous protein expression in mammalian cells. This virus, along with Semliki Forest virus (SFV), has a simple replication pathway and a broad host range that allows very high levels of heterologous protein expression in a variety of eukaryotic cell types. The chapter presents an introduction to the virus and genome structure. The life cycle and host range are also mentioned. Further, the applications of the SIN virus vector system are discussed. It is used for cell biology, immunology, virology, etc. The chapter discusses that SIN virus expression would be useful for a wider variety of applications if the time of expression could be lengthened and if the cytopathic effects could be limited. The SIN virus has the potential to be very useful as an expression tool in vivo. SIN has a very broad host range because it recognizes the high-affinity laminin receptor. Finally, the chapter concludes the discussion with the fact that SIN virus is growing in popularity for heterologous protein expression in tissue-culture cell lines and in vivo. New advancements such as cell-specific targeting and the use of DNA promoters should further the use of SIN as a expression tool in vivo and increase the use of the SIN system as a candidate for gene-therapy protocols.