Leishmania tarentolae: purification and characterization of tubulin and its suitability for antileishmanial drug screening

Previously, tubulin has been purified from Leishmania amazonensis and used to identify novel molecules with selective antimitotic activity. However, L. amazonensis is pathogenic and requires a relatively expensive medium for large-scale cultivation. Herein, the purification and characterization of tubulin from the non-pathogenic Leishmania tarentolae is reported, together with the sequence of alpha- and beta-tubulin from this organism. This protein was purified by sonication, diethylaminoethyl-Sepharose chromatography, and one assembly disassembly cycle in 1% overall recovery based on total cellular protein. Leishmania tarentolae tubulin was indistinguishable from the corresponding L. amazonensis protein in terms of binding affinity for dinitroaniline sulfanilamides and sensitivity to assembly inhibition by these compounds. The amino acid sequences derived from the L. tarentolae alpha- and beta-tubulin genes were 99.6 and 99.4% identical to the corresponding amino acid sequences from the Leishmania major Friedlin strain. These results indicate that tubulin from L. tarentolae is suitable for use in drug screening.     

Expression and purification of sea raven type II antifreeze protein from Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells

We present a system for the expression and purification of recombinant sea raven type II antifreeze protein, a cysteine-rich, C-type lectin-like globular protein that has proved to be a difficult target for recombinant expression and purification. The cDNAs encoding the pro- and mature forms of the sea raven protein were cloned into a modified pMT Drosophila expression vector. These constructs produced N-terminally His(6)-tagged pro- and mature forms of the type II antifreeze protein under the control of a metallothionein promoter when transfected into Drosophila melanogaster S2 cells. Upon induction of stable cell lines the two proteins were expressed at high levels and secreted into the medium. The proteins were then purified from the cell medium in a simple and rapid protocol using immobilized metal affinity chromatography and specific protease cleavage by tobacco etch virus protease. The proteins demonstrated antifreeze activity indistinguishable from that of wild-type sea raven antifreeze protein purified from serum as illustrated by ice affinity purification, ice crystal morphology, and their ability to inhibit ice crystal growth. This expression and purification system gave yields of 95 mg/L of fully active mature sea raven type II AFP and 9.6 mg/L of the proprotein. This surpasses all previous attempts to express this protein in Escherichia coli, baculovirus-infected fall armyworm cells and Pichia pastoris and will provide sufficient protein for structural analysis.     

Isotopic labeling of recombinant proteins expressed in the protozoan host Leishmania tarentolae

Isotope labeling of recombinant proteins is a prerequisite for application of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) for the characterization of the three-dimensional structures and dynamics of proteins. Overexpression of isotopically labeled proteins in bacterial or yeast host organisms has several drawbacks. In this work, we tested whether the recently described eukaryotic protein expression system based on the protozoa Leishmania tarentolae could be used for production of amino acid specific (15)N-labeled recombinant proteins. Using synthetic growth medium we were able to express in L. tarentolae and purify to homogeneity (15)N-valine labeled Enchanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) with the final yield of 5.7 mg/liter of suspension culture. NMR study of isolated EGFP illustrated the success of the labeling procedure allowing identification of all 18 valine residues of the protein in the HSQC spectrum. Our results demonstrate the suitability of the L. tarentolae expression system for production of isotopically labeled proteins.     

Stable isotope labeling of protein by Kluyveromyces lactis for NMR study

Stable isotope labeling for proteins of interest is an important technique in structural analyses of proteins by NMR spectroscopy. Escherichia coli is one of the most useful protein expression systems for stable isotope labeling because of its high-level protein expression and low costs for isotope-labeling. However, for the expression of proteins with numerous disulfide-bonds and/or post-translational modifications, E. coli systems are not necessarily appropriate. Instead, eukaryotic cells, such as yeast Pichia pastoris, have great potential for successful production of these proteins. The hemiascomycete yeast Kluyveromyces lactis is superior to the methylotrophic yeast P. pastoris in some respects: simple and rapid transformation, good reproducibility of protein expression induction and easy scale-up of culture. In the present study, we established a protein expression system using K. lactis, which enabled the preparation of labeled proteins using glucose and ammonium chloride as a stable isotope source.     

Abstracts: Albany 2005, The 14th Conversation

Abstract

We report a cost efficient approach for amino-acid-type selective isotope labeling of proteins expressed in Leishmania tarentolae. The method provides an economically advantageous alternative to recently established protocol for isotopic labeling using expensive synthetic media. The method is based on cultivation of the L. tarentolae expression strain in a cheap complex medium supplemented with labeled amino acid(s). In this protocol, a labeled amino acid is deliberately diluted in the medium of undefined composition, which leads to a low-level isotope enrichment upon protein over-expression. The economic advantage of the protocol is achieved by avoiding large volumes of expensive synthetic medium. Decreased sensitivity of a NMR experiment due to low-level isotope enrichment is compensated by a five- to seven-fold increase of the yield of the recombinant protein in complex medium as compared to that in the synthetic medium. In addition, the decreased sensitivity can be compensated by using a higher magnetic field, cryo-detection system or higher number of transients during the NMR data acquisition. We show that enrichment as low as 5% does not compromise a NMR experiment and makes preparation of the recombinant proteins over- expressed in L. tarentolae economically viable. The method is demonstrated by selective labeling of the ～27 kDa enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) with ¹⁵N-labeled valine.     

Expression, purification, and characterization of Leishmania donovani trypanothione reductase in Escherichia coli

Trypanothione reductase (TR) is an NADPH-dependent flavoprotein oxidoreductase central to thiol metabolism in all the trypanosomatids including Leishmania. The unique presence of this enzyme in trypanosomatids and absence in mammalian host make this enzyme an attractive target for the development of the antileishmanials. Complete open reading frame encoding trypanothione reductase from Leishmania donovani (Dd8 strain, causative agent of Indian visceral leishmaniasis) was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21 (DE3) as glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The conditions were developed for overexpression of fusion protein in soluble form and purification of the recombinant protein to homogeneity. The recombinant LdTR was 54.68 kDa in size, dimeric in nature, and reduces oxidized trypanothione to reduced form. The kinetic parameters for trypanothione disulfide are K(m), 50 microM; k(cat), 18,181 min(-1); and k(cat)/K(m), 6.06x10(6) M(-1) s(-1). The yield of recombinant LdTR was approximately 16 mg/L bacterial culture and accounted for 6% of the total soluble proteins. The expressed protein was inhibited by known TR inhibitors as well as by SbIII, the known antileishmanial compound. This is the first report of large-scale production of any leishmanial TR in E. coli.     

Expression and purification of a novel mannose-binding lectin from Pinellia ternata

Pinellia ternata agglutinin (PTA) from the tubers of P. ternata is a monocot mannose-binding lectin that catalytically agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes. The potential effect of PTA has gained considerable interest in recent years owing to clinical use of native PTA as the preparation against cancer and for plant protection against insect pests. Here we report a successful strategy to allow high-level expression of PTA as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli M15. Purification of refolded recombinant protein from solubilized inclusion bodies by Ni-NTA agarose affinity chromatography yielded biological activity recombinant PTA (final yield of about 10 mg/L). The recombinant PTA agglutinated rabbit erythrocytes to a dilution similar to that determined for “native” lectin purified from P. ternata. The expression and purification system makes it possible to obtain sufficient quantities of biologically active and homogenous recombinant PTA sufficient to carry out advanced clinical trials. This is the first report on the large-scale expression and purification of biologically active recombinant PTA from E. coli.     

Construction of intein-mediated hGMCSF expression vector and its purification in Pichia pastoris

As a novel attempt for the intracellular recombinant protein over expression and easy purification from Pichia pastoris, the therapeutic cytokine human granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (hGMCSF) gene was fused to an intein-chitin-binding domain (gene from pTYB11 vector) fusion tag by overlap extension PCR and inserted into pPICZB vector, allowing for the purification of a native recombinant protein without the need for enzymatic cleavage. The fusion protein under the AOX1 promoter was integrated into the P. pastoris genome (SMD 1168) and the recombinant Pichia clones were screened for multicopy integrants. Expression of hGMCSF was done using glycerol and methanol based synthetic medium by three stage cultivation in a bioreactor. Purification of the expressed hGMCSF fusion protein was done after cell disruption and binding of the solubilized fusion protein to chitin affinity column, followed by DTT induced on column cleavage of hGMCSF from the intein tag. In this study, final biomass of 89 g dry cell weight/l and purified hGMCSF of 120 mg/l having a specific activity of 0.657 x 10(7) IU/mg was obtained. This strategy has an edge over the other--His or--GST based fusion protein purification where non-specific protein binding, expensive enzymatic cleavage and further purification of the enzyme is required. It distinguishes itself from all other purification systems by its ability to purify, in a single chromatographic step.     

Expression and purification of a cold-adapted group III trypsin in Escherichia coli

The recently classified group III trypsins include members like Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) trypsin Y as well as seven analogues from other cold-adapted fish species. The eight group III trypsins have been characterized from their cDNAs and deduced amino acid sequences but none of the enzymes have been isolated from their native sources. This study describes the successful expression and purification of a recombinant HP-thioredoxin-trypsin Y fusion protein in the His-Patch ThioFusion Escherichia coli expression system and its purification by chromatographic methods. The recombinant form of trypsin Y was previously expressed in Pichia pastoris making it the first biochemically characterized group III trypsin. It has dual substrate specificity towards trypsin and chymotrypsin substrates and demonstrates an increasing activity at temperatures between 2 and 21 degrees C with a complete inactivation at 30 degrees C. The aim of the study was to facilitate further studies of recombinant trypsin Y by finding an expression system yielding higher amounts of the enzyme than possible in our hands in the P. pastoris system. Also, commercial production of trypsin Y will require an efficient and inexpensive expression system like the His-Patch ThioFusion E. coli expression system described here as the enzyme is produced in very low amounts in the Atlantic cod.     

Cloning and expression of truncated form of tissue plasminogen activator in Leishmania tarentolae

An expression cassette containing kringle 2 and serine protease domains (K2S), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), together with a signal sequence derived from Leishmania tarentolae and two fragments of the small subunit ribosomal RNA locus, was introduced into L. tarentolae. The transfected cells produced recombinant K2S (rK2S) protein extracellularly with serine protease activity. Expression and enzyme activity of rK2S in the supernatant was 930 i.u./ml. The specific activity of purified rK2S was 7.4 U/mg of protein. Replacement of the human signal sequence tPA with the signal sequence derived from Leishmania increased the secretion of recombinant protein up to 30 times.     

Enhanced expression,detection and purification of recombinant proteins using RNA stem loop and tandem fusion tags

The creation of a double His-tag fusion that forms a RNA stem loop in the mRNA encoding the N-terminus of the target protein is a novel approach for the enhancement of expression, purification, and detection of a recombinant protein. Compared to a single His-tag fusion, a tandem His-tag fusion RNA stem loop, located downstream of the constitutive groE and Ch promoters, enhanced heterologous gene expression in Brucella, Salmonella, and Escherichia. We demonstrated one-step detection and purification of recombinant green fluorescence protein (GFP) directly from Brucella spp. without using Escherichia coli as an expression host. The amount of purified GFP using the tandem His-tag RNA stem loop increased more than threefold; moreover, the sensitivity of detection increased more than fourfold in comparison to the single His-tag fusion form. This method has the potential to significantly improve heterologous gene expression and high-throughput protein synthesis and purification.     

Purification and characterization of bovine adrenal cytochrome b561 expressed in insect and yeast cell systems

Bovine adrenal chromaffin granule cytochrome (cyt) b561 is a transmembrane hemoprotein that plays a key role in transporting reducing equivalents from ascorbate to dopamine-beta-hydroxylase for catecholamine synthesis. We have developed procedures for expression and purification of functional bovine adrenal cyt b561 in insect and yeast cell systems. The bovine cyt b561 coding sequence, with or without a hexahistidine-tag sequence at the C-terminus, was cloned into the pVL1392 transfer vector under the control of the polyhedrin promoter to generate recombinant baculovirus for protein expression in Sf9 insect cells (approximately 0.5 mg detergent-solubilized cyt b561/L culture). For the yeast system, the cyt b561 cDNA was modified with a hexahistidine-tag sequence at the C-terminus, and inserted into the pPICZB vector under the control of the alcohol oxidase promoter. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115 competent cells to give methanol-inducible cyt b561 expression (approximately 0.7 mg detergent-solubilized cyt b561/L culture). Recombinant His-tagged cyt b561 expressed in Sf9 or Pichia cells was readily solubilized from membrane fractions with dodecyl maltoside and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by one-step chromatography on Ni-NTA affinity resin. The purified recombinant cytochrome from both systems had a heme to protein ratio close to two and was fully functional, as judged by comparison with the spectroscopic and kinetic parameters of the endogenous cytochrome from chromaffin granules. A novel procedure for isolation of chromaffin granule membranes was developed to utilize frozen adrenal glands instead of fresh tissue.     

低温几丁质酶基因在乳酸克鲁维酵母中的重组表达及酶学性质表征

【目的】通过构建假交替单胞菌(Pseudoalteromonassp.DL-6)低温几丁质酶(chitinaseA,chi A;chitinase C,chi C)的重组乳酸克鲁维酵母菌株、纯化重组蛋白并对其进行酶学性质表征,为低温几丁质酶潜在工业化生产几丁寡糖奠定理论基础。【方法】人工合成密码子优化的几丁质酶基因,构建重组乳酸克鲁维酵母表达质粒(p KLAC1-chi A、p KLAC1-chi C)并用电脉冲法转化到乳酸克鲁维酵母中,实现低温几丁质酶的可溶表达。利用镍柱亲和层析纯化得到高纯度的重组几丁质酶。【结果】成功构建产低温几丁质酶的重组乳酸克鲁维酵母并纯化获得高纯度的重组几丁质酶。经SDS-PAGE分析在110 k Da与90 k Da附近出现符合预期大小的蛋白条带。铁氰化钾法测得Chi A和Chi C的酶活分别为51.45 U/mg与108.56 U/mg。最适反应温度分别为20°C和30°C,最适p H分别为8.0和9.0。在低于40°C,p H 8.0–12.0时,Chi A和Chi C重组酶较稳定。Chi A和Chi C对胶体几丁质以及粉状底物α-几丁质与β-几丁质具有明显的降解活性,且具有一定协同降解能力。【结论】首次实现假交替单胞菌来源的低温几丁质酶在乳酸克鲁维酵母中的重组表达、纯化、酶学性质及其降解产物分析,为其他低温几丁质酶的研究提供借鉴意义。     

Secretion of human interferon-β 1b by recombinant Lactococcus lactis

Interferon-beta has anti-viral, anti-proliferation and multifunctional immunomodulatory activities and shows promising clinical effects for treatment of inflammatory disorders. The recombinant human interferon-beta (huIFN-beta) 1b was expressed in the food-grade lactic acid bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, using a nisin-controlled gene expression system. huIFN-beta production from recombinant strains (with and without LEISSTCDA propeptide) was approximately 21 and 7 mug l(-1), respectively. Moreover, 95% (former strain) and 88% (latter strain) of total recombinant proteins were secreted into the culture medium. The biological activities of huIFN-beta from recombinant strains revealed similar antiviral activities of 10(7) I.U. mg(-1). These results demonstrate the potential application of recombinant strains as a food grade vehicle to deliver bioactive huIFN-beta in vivo.     

Towards the construction of expressed proteomes using a Leishmania tarentolae based cell-free expression system

The adaptation of organisms to a parasitic life style is often accompanied by the emergence of novel biochemical pathways absent in free-living organisms. As a result, the genomes of specialized parasitic organisms often code for a large number (>50%) of proteins with no detectable homology or predictable function. Although understanding the biochemical properties of these proteins and their roles in parasite biogenesis is the next challenge of molecular parasitology, analysis tools developed for free-living organisms are often inadequate for this purpose. Here we attempt to solve some of these problems by developing a methodology for the rapid production of expressed proteomes in cell-free systems based on parasitic organisms. To do so we take advantage of Species Independent Translational Sequences (SITS), which can efficiently mediate translation initiation in any organism. Using these sequences we developed a single-tube in vitro translation system based on the parasitic protozoan Leishmania tarentolae. We demonstrate that the system can be primed directly with SITS containing templates constructed by overlap extension PCR. To test the systems we simultaneously amplified 31 of L. tarentolae's putative translation initiation factors and phosphatases directly from the genomic DNA and subjected them to expression, purification and activity analysis. All of the amplified products produced soluble recombinant proteins, and putative phosphatases could be purified to at least 50% purity in one step. We further compared the ability of L. tarentolae and E. coli based cell-free systems to express a set of mammalian, L. tarentolae and Plasmodium falciparum Rab GTPases in functional form. We demonstrate that the L. tarentolae cell-free system consistently produced higher quality proteins than E. coli-based system. The differences were particularly pronounced in the case of open reading frames derived from P. falciparum. The implications of these developments are discussed.     

A new tagging system for production of recombinant proteins in Drosophila S2 cells using the third domain of the urokinase receptor

The use of protein fusion tag technology greatly facilitates detection, expression and purification of recombinant proteins, and the demands for new and more effective systems are therefore expanding. We have used a soluble truncated form of the third domain of the urokinase receptor as a convenient C-terminal fusion partner for various recombinant extracellular human proteins used in basic cancer research. The stability of this cystein-rich domain, which structure adopts a three-finger fold, provides an important asset for its applicability as a fusion tag for expression of recombinant proteins. Up to 20mg of intact fusion protein were expressed by stably transfected Drosophila S2 cells per liter of culture using this strategy. Purification of these secreted fusion proteins from the conditioned serum free medium of S2 cells was accompanied by an efficient one-step immunoaffinity chromatography procedure using the immobilized anti-uPAR monoclonal antibody R2. An optional enterokinase cleavage site is included between the various recombinant proteins and the linker region of the tag, which enables generation of highly pure preparations of tag-free recombinant proteins. Using this system we successfully produced soluble and intact recombinant forms of extracellular proteins such as CD59, C4.4A and vitronectin, as well as a number of truncated domain constructs of these proteins. In conclusion, the present tagging system offers a convenient general method for the robust expression and efficient purification of a variety of recombinant proteins.