Sulphation of hirudin in BHK cells

Hirudin, a thrombin inhibitor of the leech, was expressed in BHK cells; the alpha 1-antitrypsin signal peptide was used to direct secretion into the culture medium. The recombinant hirudin so produced inhibited thrombin and was shown by labelling experiments with [35S]sulphate to have been posttranslationally modified.