G. Gellissen et K. Melber, METHYLOTROPHIC YEAST HANSENULA-POLYMORPHA AS PRODUCTION ORGANISM FOR RECOMBINANT PHARMACEUTICALS, Arzneimittel-Forschung, 46(9), 1996, pp. 943-948
Since the onset of genetic engineering, yeasts belong to the preferred
host cells for the production of heterologous proteins. They combine
ease of genetic manipulation and cultivation with the ability to proce
ss and to modify the produced compounds according to a general eukaryo
tic scheme. Since yeasts do not contain pathogens, pyrogens or viral i
nclusions they constitute attractive production systems for proteins c
onsidered for therapeutic administration. At the beginning of gene tec
hnology the attention of biotechnologists focussed on the use of the b
est characterized species Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Insulin and hepati
tis B vaccines are examples for S. cerevisiae-derived therapeutics. In
recent years alternative yeast have become accessible for the techniq
ues of modern molecular genetics and thus for potential applications i
n biotechnology. In this respect the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula po
lymorpha offers especially advantageous characteristics as host for th
e production of pharmaceutical proteins. As a consequence, production
systems based on this yeast have been established for serum proteins,
vaccines and other therapeutically important compounds. Some H. polymo
rpha-derived products are under preclinical or clinical trials at pres
ent and are expected to reach the market within the near future. In th
e following article the current status of this system is presented and
discussed comparing it with other expression systems.