Expression of Nerve
Growth Factor from Agkistrodon halys Pallas in Silkworm
Larvae
GUO Li-Ying, LIU Jie-Wu, WU Xiang-Fu and ZHOU Yuan-Cong**
( Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai
200031, China )
Abstract The cDNA encoding nerve growth
factor ( NGF ) precursor from Agkistrodon halys Pallas (a Chinese
snake species) was cloned into pBacPAK8, a baculovirus shuttle vector. The
recombinant shuttle vector pBacPAK-NGF was coinfected with linear Bm-BacPAK6
DNA into BmN cells. The recombinant virus was screened and plaque-purified. The
silkworm larvae were infected with the recombinant virus and collected 5 days
later. The SDS-PAGE and the NGF activity by bioassay of PC12 cells have shown a
high expression level of NGF of good biological activity in the larvae.
Key words Agkistrodon halys Pallas; nerve growth factor; recombinant
Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus
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