Rapid High-level Transient Expression of Vampire Bat Plasminogen Activator (DSPAα1) in Plant for Stroke Treatment with a DNA Replicon System

A stroke is a medical emergency that can cause brain damage within minutes. Plasminogen activators (DSPAs), enzymes from the saliva of blood-feeding vampire bats, have been found to act only on fibrin without excess brain bleeding. Currently, recombinant DSPAα1 are produced in transformed yeast, animal, and insect cells. However, the yields of recombinant DSPAα1 are relatively low. We developed suitable rapid and robust geminivirus-based expression transformation vectors for the full length and mature length of DSPAα1 gene respectively. Fibrin plate tests showed that both the full length and mature length of DSPAα1 can degrade fibrin. In vitro blood clot lysis tests indicate that the mature DSPAα1 can break down the blood clots. Our research indicates that the replicon system represents an important method to produce active, safe, and inexpensive DSPA1 for stroke patients.