Novel vectors for animal cells and utilization thereof

摘要

The present invention is intended to provide a technique for selecting cells, into which a gene has been transfected in a stable state, by using a novel drug resistant gene as a selection marker, and a technique for obtaining cells in which a gene is highly expressed. Protein synthesis inhibitor resistance genes (typified by a cycloheximide resistant gene) capable of imparting the resistance to a protein synthesis inhibitor (typified by cycloheximide) to animal cells sensitive to the inhibitor and having a sequence derived via substitution from a gene encoding a ribosome-constituting protein originating in an animal are disclosed. Recombinant vectors containing such a protein synthesis inhibitor resistance gene as described above and expression vectors containing the above gene together with a foreign protein structural gene are disclosed. A method of selecting an animal cell strain resistant to a protein synthesis inhibitor characterized by transferring such an expression vector as described above into animal cells sensitive to the protein synthesis inhibitor, culturing the cells and then selecting the target cell strain by using the protein synthesis inhibitor resistance gene as a selection marker is disclosed. A process for producing a protein characterized by culturing the transformed cells as described above and collecting the expressed foreign protein from the culture is disclosed.