Expression at a 20L scale and purification of the extracellular domain of the Schistosoma mansoni TSP-2 recombinant protein: a vaccine candidate for human intestinal schistosomiasis

Abstract

A novel recombinant protein vaccine for human schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma mansoni is under development. The Sm-TSP-2 schistosomiasis vaccine is comprised of a 9 kDa recombinant protein corresponding to the extracellular domain of a unique S. mansoni tetraspanin. Here, we describe the cloning and the expression of the external loop of Sm-TSP-2 recombinant protein secreted by Pichia Pink the process development at 20L scale fermentation, and the two-steps purification, which resulted in a protein recovery yield of 31% and a protein purity of 97%. The developed processes are suitable for the production of purified protein for subsequent formulation and Phase 1 clinical studies.

Keywords: Pichia Pastoris; Schistosoma mansoni; Schistosomiasis; Sm-TSP-2; neglected tropical diseases; recombinant protein; vaccine.