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Use of Early Baculovirus Promoters for Continuous Expression and Efficient Processing of Foreign Gene Products in Stably Transformed Lepidopteran Cells

Abstract

Baculoviruses are currently used as vectors for the transient high-level expression of foreign gene products in insect cells. In this study, we demonstrate that baculoviruses can also be made to continuously express a foreign gene product by using the promoter from IE1, an immediate early viral gene, to produce stably-transformed insect cells. This approach gave levels of foreign gene expression lower than those usually obtained with the lytic baculovirus expression vector system. Expression, however, was continuous and stable, and a complex human glyco-protein (tissue plasminogen activator) was processed more efficiently. We conclude that stable transformation is a feasible approach for baculovirus-mediated foreign gene expression in lepidopteran cells, particularly for products that are relatively poorly-expressed and/or processed in lyrically infected cells.

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Jarvis, D., Fleming, JA., Kovacs, G. et al. Use of Early Baculovirus Promoters for Continuous Expression and Efficient Processing of Foreign Gene Products in Stably Transformed Lepidopteran Cells. Nat Biotechnol 8, 950–955 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1090-950

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