Patent ID: 6958223

Claim:
A method of producing an Extracellular Matrix Protein (EMP) or fragment thereof capable of providing a self aggregate in a cell which does not ordinarily hydroxylate proline comprising: providing a nucleic acid sequence encoding the EMP or fragment thereof which has been optimized for expression in the cell by substitution of codons preferred by the cell for naturally occurring codons not preferred by the cell; incorporating the nucleic acid sequence into the cell; providing hypertonic growth media containing at least one amino acid selected from the group consisting of trans-4-hydroxyproline and 3-hydroxyproline; and contacting the cell with the growth media wherein the at least one amino acid is assimilated into the cell and incorporated into the EMP or fragment thereof, wherein the EMP or fragment thereof having the at least one amino acid self aggregates to form an extracellular matrix.