Expression and myristoylation of NAP-22 using a baculovirus transfer vector system

NAP-22 is a brain enriched acidic protein localized in the membrane fraction. The peptide sequence of NAP-22 elucidated from the cDNA sequencing, however, showed that NAP-22 is a very hydrophilic protein having no transmembrane regions. The peptide sequence analysis also showed that NAP-22 has a consensus sequence of N-myristoylation and the presence of polybasic domain in its N-terminal region. These sites could be the anchoring sites to localize to the membrane. In this study, we showed the myristoylation of NAP-22 using a Baculovirus expression system and also showed a liposome binding ability of the expressed protein in Escherichia coli.