title: The production of hybrid Ty:IFN virus-like particles in yeast.
abstract: The yeast retrotransposon Ty encodes proteins that assemble into virus-like particles (Ty-VLPs) which can be readily purified. We have recently shown that expression of the pl protein encoded by the TYA gene of Ty is sufficient for particle formation. In this paper we show that when a heterologous coding sequence, human interferon-alpha 2 (IFN), is fused in frame to the TYA gene, the resulting p1-IFN fusion protein is still assembled into VLPs. These Ty:IFN-VLPs can be easily purified to near homogeneity and furthermore, they induce an antibody response to interferon when they are injected into rabbits. Therefore, these data show that hybrid Ty-VLPs can be used as a convenient system for the efficient purification of fusion proteins in yeast.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Malim
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gull
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kingsman
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kingsman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular / Q000379:methods*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D007370:Interferon Type I / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010957:Plasmids; D011817:Rabbits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D007370:Interferon Type I; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins