Production of feline omega interferon in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The recombinant proteins are applied in practically all activities and are fundamental in areas such as medicine, industry and research. Among the recombinant proteins, biopharmaceuticals (cytokines, growth factors and antibodies) are applied for the treatment of several health disorders in humans. In veterinary, despite the potential, biopharmaceuticals are applied on a smaller scale compared to human medicine. This issue is accentuated in Brazil, where the market for veterinary biopharmaceuticals is limited and based on the adaptation of products for human use. A compelling example is the use of feline omega interferon (rFeIFN-Omega). rFeIFN-Omega is approved for the treatment of feline leukemia and immunodeficiency caused by feline leukemia virus (FELV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), respectively. This biopharmaceutical is still applied for the treatment of the enteric form of parvovirus in dogs. In addition, rFeIFN-Omega is experimentally used for the treatment of mammary carcinomas in dogs and cats. Moreover, rFeINF-Omega demonstrates efficacy for the treatment of bovine enterovirus, bovine viral rhinotracheitis and diarrhea, viral vesicular stomatitis, viral pseudorabies, European bat lyssavirus, influenza, calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpes (FHV-1). However, despite the effective use of rFeIFN-Omega in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, this biopharmaceutical is not marketed in Brazil. An important issue related to the limited use of rFeIFN-Omega is the cost of production. Only one rFeIFN-Omega manufacturer (Toray Industries, Japan) is available in the world, which supplies the product to other subsidiaries (eg. Virbac, France). In this sense, our proposal focuses on the production of rFeIFN-Omega in Escherichia coli (E. coli), using the 1081 technology (BR102013020117-0). Using this technology, we are able to produce high amounts of the soluble biopharmaceutical, with a diminution of the production costs. Currently, the commercial form of rFeIFN-Omega is produced in silkworm (baculovirus) larvae, limiting the scale-up of production worldwide. Therefore, our goal is to produce a soluble and scalable form of rFeIFN-Omega for use in animals, focusing on the Brazilian market supply. (AU)