Mapacalcine is a small homodimeric protein of 19kDa with 9 disulfide bridges extracted from the Cliona vastifica sponge (Red Sea). It selectively blocks a calcium current insensitive to most calcium blockers. Specific receptors for mapacalcine have been described in a variety of tissues such as brain, smooth muscle, liver, and kidney. Previous works achieved on hepatocytes and nervous cells demonstrated that this protein selectively blocks a calcium influx triggered by an ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) shock and efficiently protects cells from death after I/R. The aim of this work was to produce the recombinant mapacalcine in the yeast Pichia pastoris . Mass spectrometry, light scattering analysis and biological characterization demonstrated that the recombinant mapacalcine obtained was a monomeric form with 4 disulfide bridges which retains the biological activity of the natural protein. Highlights ? Mapacalcine is a homodimeric protein extracted from the Cliona vastifica sponge. ? Mapacalcine significantly increases cell survival after ischemia/reperfusion. ? We expressed a recombinant mapacalcine in the yeast Pichia pastoris. ? The expressed protein retains the biological properties of the natural mapacalcine.
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