Balancing the Expression and Production of a Heterodimeric Protein: Recombinant Agkisacutacin as a Novel Antithrombotic Drug Candidate

Agkisacucetin extracted from the venom of Agkistrodon acutus has been demonstrated to be a promising antithrombotic drug candidate in clinical studies due to its function as a novel platelet membrane glycoprotein (GP) Ib inhibitor. Agkisacucetin is a heterodimeric protein composed of α- and β-subunits with seven disulphide bonds. Both subunits form inactive homodimeric products, which cause difficulties for recombinant production. In this study, Agkisacucetin α- and β-subunits were inserted sequentially into the chromosome of Pichia pastoris at the mutant histidinol dehydrogenase gene and ribosomal DNA repeat sites, respectively. By optimizing the gene copies and productivity of each subunit by drug screening, we successfully obtained a recombinant strain with balanced expression of the two subunits. Using this strain, a yield greater than 100 mg/L recombinant Agkisacucetin in fed-batch fermentation was reached. The recombinant Agkisacucetin possessed extremely similar binding affinity to recombinant GPIb and human platelets in in vitro assays, and its ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation activity ex vivo was identical to that of the extracted native Agkisacucetin, demonstrating that the yeast-derived Agkisacucetin could be an effective alternative to native Agkisacucetin. Moreover, this study provides an effective strategy for balancing the expression and production of heterodimeric proteins in P. pastoris.