Production and characterization of human basic fibroblast growth factor from Escherichia coli

The cDNA sequence coding for human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) has been cloned downstream of a transcription promoter recognized by the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase. Initiation of translation at the fgf gene has been coupled to upstream translation of a fragment of the T7 phi 10 gene. Expression of the fgf gene in this system can lead to an accumulation of approximately 40 mg/liter/A600 unit of bFGF. This material can be purified close to homogeneity from a soluble protein extract on a heparin-Sepharose column. bFGF so obtained has been shown to have bioactivity indistinguishable from human placental fibroblast growth factor in mitogenicity, synthesis of plasminogen activator, and angiogenesis assays.