Expression of VHH Antibody Fragments in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a production host for heterologous proteins has several advantages compared to the use of a bacterial host. First, S. cerevisiae has proven to be a productive host capable of expressing many heterologous proteins at high levels. Second, because S. cerevisiae does not secrete many homologous proteins during growth, an efficiently produced heterologous protein will be the major component of the growth medium. This, and the fact that S. cerevisiae does not produce any toxins and is generally regarded as safe, simplifies the processes of downstream processing. Third, S. cerevisiae contains a secretion machinery comparable to the mammalian system, including an endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. These organelles ensure the efficient formation of intramolecular disulphide bonds, as well as the glycosylation of the produced heterologous proteins.