Enhanced production of leech hyaluronidase by optimizing secretion and cultivation in Pichia pastoris
Research article published in Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2015)
Abstract
Leech hyaluronidase (LHAase) was recently cloned and successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris. To increase its secretory expression level, four signal peptides (nsB, YTP1, SCS3, and HKR1) and six amphipathic peptides (APs) were comparatively investigated. After substitution with nsB and fusion with AP2, the production of LHAase was significantly increased, from 8.42 × 10(5) to 1.24 × 10(6) U/ml. Compared with the parental LHAase, the variant AP2-LHAase showed a lower optimum pH (5.0), higher optimum temperature (50 °C), and a broader range of thermal stability (20-60 °C). To further promote fermentative production of the variant AP2-LHAase, the cultivation temperature was systematically optimized according to cell viability and alcohol oxidase activity. Eventually, through a combination of N-terminal engineering and optimization of cultivation, the production of LHAase was improved to 1.68 × 10(6) U/ml, with a high productivity of 1.87 × 10(4) U/ml/h.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Summary
Combining signal-peptide substitution and amphipathic-peptide fusion with cultivation-temperature optimization raised secretory production of leech hyaluronidase in Pichia pastoris from 8.42 x 10(5) to 1.68 x 10(6) U/ml, with productivity of 1.87 x 10(4) U/ml/h.
Why This Matters for Hirudotherapy
This study enhanced the secretory production of leech hyaluronidase (LHAase) in Pichia pastoris through N-terminal engineering — substituting the nsB signal peptide and fusing an amphipathic peptide (AP2) — combined with systematic optimization of cultivation conditions, achieving production of 1.68 × 10⁶ U/ml with high productivity of 1.87 × 10⁴ U/ml/h. The engineered variant AP2-LHAase exhibited altered enzymatic properties including a lower optimum pH, higher optimum temperature, and broader thermal stability. This work addresses scalable production of a leech enzyme. The study is purely biotechnological, involving
Citation
Reference (Vancouver style)
Kang Z, Zhang N, Zhang Y. Enhanced production of leech hyaluronidase by optimizing secretion and cultivation in Pichia pastoris. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2016;100(2):707-717. doi:10.1007/s00253-015-7056-5. PMID: 26476646
Bibliographic details (authors, volume, pages, DOI) are taken from the PubMed record.
Added to ASH library: May 27, 2026 · Site last updated: June 18, 2026