Expression and secretion of human epidermal growth factor in Escherichia coli.

E. coli 294 cells were transformed with a plasmid containing a hybrid gene in which the sequence encoding mature human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) was joined to the closed sequence encoding the signal peptide of E. coli alkaline phosphatase. During phosphate limitation these cells secreted hEGF to the periplasmic space.