[Gene cloning, expression and activity detection of porcine interleukin-18 mature protein in Escherichia coli].

Porcine interleukin-18 mature protein gene was amplified from porcine spleen cells by RT-PCR. PCR product was cloned into the T vector pGEM-T for sequencing. The nucleotide sequence of this gene was 474 bp. Then, it was subcloned into the prokaryotic expressing plasmid vector pGEX6P-1 and transformed into host E. coli strain BL21 for expression. The expression of pIL-18 mature protein gene was identified by SDS-PAGE .The expression product was fusion protein with molecular weight of 45 kD and the percentage of expression protein in E. coil protein was 28%. The protein was purified by washing of inclusion bodies and the activity was measured by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT).