Industrial Scale Production of Important Therapeutic Proteins Using Bacterial Expression System

Abstract

Proteins are very important for the smooth functioning of the human body since they act as structural components, enzymes, signaling molecules and cell-cell interaction mediator. Mutations in genes, might result in improper expression or maturation of proteins leading to mild or serious abnormalities. In many cases, external supply of such functionally active proteins in the body subsidizes protein related abnormalities. Some protein related abnormalities such as diabetes are common in a large section of public where insulin is the best source of protein to streamline the proper body functions. However, large productions of such proteins are required for the treatment of deficient patients. In such a scenario, natural sources are not sufficient enough to match the required demand and chemical synthesis increases the cost. However, recombinant DNA (r-DNA) technology using a host expressing system fulfilled the large-scale therapeutics requirement at a low cost. Bacterial systems when compared to other organisms are the most studied and easy to handle in generating these proteins. Apart from recombinant therapeutic protein production, bacteria naturally produce peptide antibiotics as defense metabolites which can be used to treat bacterial infections. Peptide antibiotics are thus very useful products. However, are naturally produced in minute concentrations in bacterial systems. Hence r-DNA technology is generally preferred for mass production. In this chapter review, we have discussed the major therapeutic proteins, peptide antibiotics and their industrial scale production. We also elaborated the benefits of a bacterial host system for a large-scale production of these recombinant products.