Functional expression and production of human H-ferritin in Pichia pastoris

Human heavy chain ferritin (H-ferritin) was cloned from human heart cDNA library and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The H-ferritin transformant was cultivated by fed-batch and the cell mass reached about 52 g cell dry wt l−1 after 150 h. In atomic absorption spectrometry analysis, intracellular content of iron in H-ferritin transformant was measured to 3038 ± 72 μg g−1 which was 9.6-fold more than that of control strain.