Production and Cell Adhesion Activity of Recombinant Full-length Hornet Silk Protein Fused with RGDS Peptide

Abstract

Vssilk1, a major component of hornet silk produced by larvae of the yellow hornet (Vespa simillima), can be produced as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli. Here, we successfully fused a tandem repeat of a cell adhesion peptide, Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS), to full-length Vssilk1 protein by genetic recombination. The recombinant Vssilk1 protein with the RGDS sequence (Vssilk1-RGDS) was fabricated into a cast film. We observed that more fibroblasts adhered to, and spread out on, the Vssilk1-RGDS film than on a Vssilk1 film.