A hybrid baculovirus expression system, which means a hybrid virus of the Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus and the Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus, was used for the large-scale production of porcine interleukin-18 (IL-18) in silkworms. Two recombinant hybrid baculoviruses containing cDNA of the porcine precursor IL-18 and the porcine caspase-1 were constructed and used to infect silkworm larvae. After the co-infection of the two viruses, porcine mature IL-18 was efficiently produced in the haemolymph. The concentration of IL-18 in the haemolymph was 80-100 μg/ml. The porcine mature IL-18 produced by this system strongly induced interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production from porcine PBMC. (Immune System Section, Department of Immunology TEL +81-29-838-7857)
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- Muneta et al. (2003) J. Vet. Med. Sci. 65:219-223.
