Production of vampire bat plasminogen activator DSPA α1 in CHO and insect cells

Salivary plasminogen activator from the vampire bat Desmodus rotundus (DSPA α1) is a promising new thrombolytic agent. Continuous growth of a stably transfected, methotrexate amplified, dhfr− CHO cell line yields up to 60 mg l−1 of DSPA α1. Utilizing an engineered baculovirus 10 mg l−1 were produced in batches of Sf 9 insect cells. Recombinant DSPA α1 is purified from both sources using a one-step purification protocol. Although differences in glycosylation were detected, enzymatic activity and fibrin cofactor dependency are unaffected when DSPA α1 derived from the two expression systems is compared.