Protein expression is a crucial tool for both production and study of proteins. Cell lines optimized for protein expression are used to manufacture therapeutics and also to study the inner workings of cells.
Antibodies
Antibodies manufactured in genetically-modified cells are a important therapeutic and research tool, such as in this study, where a baculovirus vector was used to express a high-affinity chimeric antibody for CD19. This antibody is a potential treatment for leukemia.
Gene Therapy
Cell lines are used to manufacture shRNA-producing vectors for gene silencing as well as other gene therapeutics. One example of shRNA vectors produced via a recombinant gene is this study which used shRNA vectors made in DH5a E. coli cells to silence the expression of survivin in pancreatic cancer cells.
Vaccines
Recombinant organisms are used to produce both immune-activating proteins and virus-like particles. In this example, virus-like proteins that mimic murine polyomavirus are manufactured in both yeast and bacteria and compared for effectiveness.
Cell Research
Cells modified for protein expression can be used to study intra and extra-cellular signaling, protein-protein interactions, folding and structural biology. An example of protein expression used to study cell signaling can be found in this study, which used murine vascular cells designed to under- and over-express TGFβ to study signaling pathways that may play a role in ocular diseases.