| abstract |
A method of producing recombinant heterotetrameric immunoglobulin from a procaryotic organism which includes providing a procaryotic organism that has been transformed with DNA encoding the heavy and light chains of an immunoglobulin having a binding site for immunologically binding a preselected antigen and an amino acid sequence which signals the export of the immunoglobulin from the cytoplasm of the organism, the DNA being operationally associated with a promoter recognizable by RNA polymerase endogenous to the organism, and culturing the transformed procaryote for a time and under conditions sufficient to allow the organism to export the immunoglobulin from the cytoplasm, wherein the exported heterotetrameric immunoglobulin retains its native conformation and binding specificity for the preselected antigen. |