Staphylokinase Enzyme: An Overview of Structure, Function and Engineered Forms

Background: One of the most important causes of death in the modern lifestyle is acute ischemic stroke, which is related to thrombosis in the blood vessels. Staphylokinase (SAK), a fibrinolytic agent, which is produced mainly by Staphylococcus aureus, is an indirect activator of plasminogen and belongs to the third generation of fibrinolytic enzymes. Methods: Considering the very low level of production and immunogenicity concerns of natural SAK produced by Staphylococcus aureus, attempts have been made to produce recombinant SAKs with high production levels, more fibrinolytic activities and low immunogenicity. Results and Conclusion: In this review, we summarized a number of expression systems based on recombinant DNA technology and protein-engineering approaches, which have been developed for the production of engineered recombinant SAK molecules with higher fibrinolytic activities and lower antigenicity.