Molecular Expression, Purification and Characterization of Human Recombinant Galectin 3 in Pichiapastoris

Over the past century, the areas of genomics, proteomics and lipids have captured the attention of investigators worldwide. Carbohydrates, have recently received increased attention through the expanding field of glycobiology; probably because they are very complex and not encoded in the genome.. The purpose of this study was to express and purify recombinant human galectin 3via the Pichiapastoris expression system.. cDNA of human galectin 3 gene was amplified with specific primers and cloned into a pcDNA3.1 vector with His-tag for easier purification using Ni2andchromatography. Furthermore, galectin 3was purified to homogeneity and confirmed using SDS-PAGE and western blotting.. The protein band corresponding to 29 kDa was excised from the gels, digested with trypsin and processed for mass spectrometric analysis by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization- Time of Flight Mass Spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS), using a Reflex III instrument.. Tryptic digest analysis clearly revealed that the purified protein was indeed galectin 3. Similarly, the biological activity of recombinant galectin 3 was confirmed using the hemagglutination inhibition assay..