Heterologous biopharmaceutical protein expression in Streptomyces

The commercial production of human proteins in recombinant microorganisms for therapeutic use is well established. Systems have been developed to exploit the natural ability of certain bacteria to secrete properly folded, bioactive proteins into the extracellular medium. The streptomycetes are a relatively well-characterized group of nonpathogenic filamentous bacteria that have the capacity to secrete large amounts of protein. In particular, Streptomyces lividans has the ability to secrete human proteins at a commercially viable level, thanks to relatively well-established plasmid-based expression system, a high-biomass fermentation process and a low level of endogenous protease activity.