Protein Co-Expression Service

Co-expression technology refers to a technical method that simultaneously expresses two or more proteins in the same host system. Its core value lies in simulating protein interactions and complex assembly in the natural physiological environment, thereby obtaining multi-protein complexes with natural structures and biological activities. This technology breaks through the limitations of single protein expression and provides a key tool for analyzing protein interaction mechanisms, reconstructing functional complexes, and producing complex biological products.

At present, co-expression technology has formed three core host systems: prokaryotic (E. coli), insect cells, and mammalian cells. They meet different research needs by virtue of low cost and high efficiency, eukaryotic processing capabilities, and human-like modification characteristics, respectively. They are widely used in structural biology, drug research and development, vaccine production, industrial enzyme engineering, and other fields, promoting the rapid development of basic life science research and the biotechnology industry.

E. coli Protein Co-Expression

Relying on the high efficiency of the prokaryotic expression system, 2-10 proteins can be simultaneously expressed in E. coli through single-vector or multi-vector strategies to quickly obtain natural complexes. Its advantages include low culture cost, short cycle (about 4-5 weeks for the whole process), and activity retention rate of 60%-90%. It is suitable for structural biology research (may not be applicable to proteins containing multiple disulfide bonds or complex folds), industrial enzyme co-expression and other scenarios. However, limited by the characteristics of the prokaryotic system, it lacks complex post-translational modifications and is more suitable for the preparation of protein complexes that are not glycosylation-dependent.

Insect Cell Protein Co-Expression

Based on the baculovirus expression vector system(BEVS), multi-gene expression is achieved through co-infection or co-expression strategies. It has both eukaryotic protein processing capabilities (such as glycosylation and phosphorylation) and high expression efficiency, with high biological safety, and the whole process takes about 4-5 weeks. It can produce complex products such as virus-like particles and membrane protein complexes, and performs excellently in vaccine development and structural analysis. It is an efficient intermediate platform connecting prokaryotic and mammalian systems.

Mammalian Cell Protein Co-Expression Service

Multi-protein co-expression is realized in mammalian cells, which have similar characteristics to human cells. They have post-translational modification capabilities closest to the natural state, which can ensure the functional integrity of complex complexes such as ion channels and antibodies. Through fluorescence screening and stable cell line construction, it supports the expression of ultra-large molecular complexes (such as nuclear pore complexes). The whole process takes about 8-11 weeks, and it is mainly used in biopharmaceuticals, precision medical research and other fields with extremely high requirements for protein functions. However, the cost is high and the cycle is long.