GPCR production in a novel yeast strain that makes cholesterol-like sterols

Susan M. Kitson, William Mullen, Richard J. Cogdell, Roslyn M. Bill, Niall J. Fraser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The activities of many mammalian membrane proteins including G-protein coupled receptors are cholesterol-dependent. Unlike higher eukaryotes, yeast do not make cholesterol. Rather they make a related molecule called ergosterol. As cholesterol and ergosterol are biologically non-equivalent, the potential of yeast as hosts for overproducing mammalian membrane proteins has never been fully realised. To address this problem, we are trying to engineer a novel strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in which the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway of mammalian cells has been fully reconstituted. Thus far, we have created a modified strain that makes cholesterol-like sterols which has an increased capacity to make G-protein coupled receptors compared to control yeast.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)287-292
Number of pages6
JournalMethods
Volume55
Issue number4
Early online date6 Oct 2011
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2011

Keywords

  • cell membrane
  • cholesterol
  • molecular cloning
  • genetic engineering
  • humans
  • genetically modified organisms
  • G-protein-coupled receptors
  • recombinant proteins
  • saccharomyces cerevisiae
  • sterols
  • genetic transformation

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