Large Scale Production of Spider Silk by Immortalized Spider Cells

Despite a decade of active research into cloning and expression of spider silk, no adequate solution has been found to the production of significant quantities of these proteins, especially for broader markets and materials applications. Two options that address the need for increased spider silk production, namely overcoming production limitations in engineered cells and scaling up production of low producing systems, do not offer sufficient advantages for further development. Foster-Miller, in collaboration with Tufts University, proposes an alternative approach that is based on generating stable cell lines that originate from silk producing spider glands via a spontaneous mutation process during continuous culture, viral transfection, and by telomerase immortalization. Retention of natural silk productivity in immortalized cells will be targeted. The proposed work for the Phase I base program involves generating and characterizing immortalized spider silk producing cells, producing a representative batch of silk protein solution, and evaluating properties of the protein excreted by spider cell lines. The technological parameters of silk protein production will be optimized in the option program. Nexia Biotechnologies, Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of recombinant silk proteins, has agreed to assist the proposing team in the commercialization of the proposed process. (P-030567)