Expression, purification of human vasostatin120-180 in Escherichia coli, and its anti-angiogenic characterization

According to codon preference of Escherichia coli, the optimized coding sequence of human vasostatin120-180aa (VAS) was obtained by chemical synthesis and molecular cloning methods. Using PCR and enzyme digestion, the full encoding sequence for VAS was cloned into the E. coli expression vector pALEX and expressed as a GST fusion protein in BL21 (DE3) strain. GST-VAS protein approximately accounted for 45% of the total bacterial proteins. Most of target protein existed in inclusion body. To improve the solubility of GST-VAS, the contribution of low temperature and molecular chaperone co-expression to the solubility of GST-VAS was tested. The results showed that co-expression with chaperons, TF and GroES/GroEL, and low expression temperature cooperatively improved the solubility of GST-VAS from 10 to 85%, and the yield of soluble GST-VAS was sixfold increased. When purified by GST affinity chromatography, 50 mg GST-VAS was obtained with purity over 85% from 1 L culture. Intact VAS was released by enterokinase digestion and further purified by Sephadex G50 gel filtration chromatography. About 7.2 mg intact homogeneous VAS protein was finally produced from 1L bacterial culture. The identity of GST-VAS and VAS was validated by Western blotting analysis. Recombinant VAS protein displayed distinct inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation and anti-angiogenic activity by chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay.     

An improved strategy for high-level production of human vasostatin120-180

We previously reported a strategy for expression and purification of human Vasostatin120-180 (VAS), a potent angiogenesis inhibitor in a GST fusion form; however, the yield of 7.2 mg per liter of culture was relatively low. The aim of this study was to develop a more efficient system to improve and facilitate the production of VAS protein in a soluble and native form in Escherichia coli. The VAS gene with optimized condons was cloned into pET28a and overexpressed as a N-terminal His-tagged fusion protein. Between His-tag and VAS, an enterokinase recognition site was introduced to release the intact VAS. Optimal expression of soluble His-VAS was achieved by examining the contribution of chaperone coexpression and lower temperature fermentation. Ammonium sulfate precipitation was first employed to remove nucleic acid and partial host proteins. When further purified by Ni2+ affinity chromatography, 40 mg of His-VAS was isolated with purity over 85% from 1 L of culture. After desalting with Sephadex G15 and digestion with His-EK, followed by the removal of the His-tag and His-EK with Ni(2+)-NTA resin, 21 mg of intact VAS was finally obtained from 1 L of bacterial culture, which was approximately 3-fold the yield we previously obtained via GST fusion expression strategy. The identity of His-VAS and VAS was confirmed by Western blot. Purified VAS displayed distinct anti-angiogenic activity, which was shown by the endothelial cell proliferation inhibition assay and chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay. In sum, we greatly improved the yield of intact and bioactive VAS protein, and using this successful example, we propose a more efficient system for the high-level production of intact functional proteins, especially for low molecule weight peptides.     

The chloroplast grana proteome defined by intact mass measurements from liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Proteomics seeks to address the entire complement of protein gene products of an organism, but experimental analysis of such complex mixtures is biased against low abundance and membrane proteins. Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry coupled with reverse-phase chromatography was used to separate and catalogue all detectable proteins in samples of photosystem II-enriched thylakoid membrane subdomains (grana) from pea and spinach. Around 90 intact mass tags were detected corresponding to approximately 40 gene products with variable post-translational covalent modifications. Provisional identity of 30 of these gene products was proposed based upon coincidence of measured mass with that calculated from genomic sequence. Analysis of isolated photosystem II complexes allowed detection and resolution of a minor population of D1 (PsbA) that was apparently palmitoylated and not detected in less purified preparations. Based upon observed +80-Da adducts, D1, D2 (PsbD), CP43 (PsbC), two Lhcbs, and PsbH were confirmed to be phosphorylated, and a new phosphoprotein was proposed to be the product of psbT. The appearance of a second +80-Da adduct on PsbH provides direct evidence for a second phosphorylation site on PsbH, complicating interpretation of its role in regulation of thylakoid membrane organization and function, including light-state transitions. Adducts of +32 Da, presumably arising from oxidative modification during illumination, were associated with more highly phosphorylated forms of PsbH implying a relationship between the two phenomena. Intact mass proteomics of organellar subfractions and more highly purified protein complexes provides increasingly detailed insights into functional genomics of photosynthetic membranes.     

Eukaryotic proteins expressed in Escherichia coli: an improved thrombin cleavage and purification procedure of fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase

Several systems have been developed to allow for rapid and efficient purification of recombinant proteins expressed in bacteria. The expression of polypeptides in frame with glutathione S-transferase (GST) allows for purification of the fusion proteins from crude bacterial extracts under nondenaturing conditions by affinity chromatography on glutathione agarose (D. B. Smith and K. S. Johnson, 1988, Gene 67, 31-40). This vector expression system has also incorporated specific protease cleavage sites to facilitate proteolysis of the bacterial fusion proteins. In our hands, the cleavage of these fusion proteins at a thrombin cleavage site proceeded slowly. To facilitate the cleavage of fusion proteins, we have introduced a glycine-rich linker (glycine kinker) containing the sequence P.G.I.S.G.G.G.G.G located immediately following the thrombin cleavage site. This glycine kinker greatly increases the thrombin cleavage efficiency of several fusion proteins. The introduction of the glycine kinker into fusion proteins allows for the cleavage of the fusion proteins while they are attached to the affinity resin resulting in a single step purification of the recombinant protein. More than 2 mg of the highly purified protein was obtained from the equivalent of 100 ml of bacterial culture within a few hours when a protein tyrosine phosphatase was employed as a test protein. The vector, pGEX-KG, has also been modified to facilitate cloning of a variety of cDNAs in all reading frames and has been successfully used to express several eukaryotic proteins.     

霍乱毒素B亚单位基因（CtxB）的克隆及其表达

从霍乱弧菌中抽提基因组ＤＮＡ,用ＰＣＥＲ方法获取霍乱毒素Ｂ亚单位基因（ＣｔｘＢ）。序列分析结果表明,ＣｔｘＢ基因编码１２４个氨基酸,其中编码６２位Ｔｈｒ的密码子与文献报道有差异。将ＣｔｘＢ基因插入质粒ｐＧＥＸ－４Ｔ－２,构建ｐＧＥＸ－ＣＴＸＢ表达质粒,转化大肠相菌ＢＬ２１（ＤＥ３０,筛选表达菌株ＣＴＸＢ／ＢＬ２１。工程株经ＩＰＴＧ诱导表达,可产生大量的表达蛋白,经ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ分析,融合蛋白分子     

肾炎致病原重组受体相关蛋白的表达及纯化

用pGEX载体系统体外构建了Heymann肾炎致病原受体相关蛋白(RAP)重组表达质粒,经IPTG诱导,该质粒表达的融合蛋白在大肠杆菌中得到了高效表达,其表达量达39．4％,经GST-Sephrose 4B亲和层析,得到了高度纯化,其诱导产生的抗体经蛋白质印迹法分析证明能识别肾皮质天然抗原44ku受体相关蛋白.RAP表达及纯化的成功为研究致病原病理性表型提供了有利条件．     

CpTI蛋白在大肠杆菌中的高效融合表达及其纯化与活性测定

豇豆胰蛋白酶抑制剂 (Cowpea Trypsin Inhibitor) 基因 (CpTI) 因其抗虫谱广及不易耐受等优点在植物基因工程中得到广泛应用。为进行遗传修饰食品（Genetically modified foods, GMF）中所含CpTI基因表达产物的安全性评价,我们需要在体外微生物体系中获得大量的CpTI蛋白。采用pGEX融合蛋白表达系统,将CpTI与GST的编码序列在大肠杆菌BL21中进行融合表达,表达产物达到菌体总蛋白的40%。经一步Glutathione Sephrose 4B亲和纯化,融合蛋白GSTCpTI纯度达到90％以上。将Thrombin蛋白酶与融合蛋白过夜作用,可获得切掉了GST标签的CpTI蛋白。活性测定显示GSTCpTI及CpTI蛋白均具有明显的胰蛋白酶抑制剂活性。用纯化的融合蛋白免疫家兔还可诱导产生高效价的抗体,经ELISA检测抗体滴度>1∶20000。Western Blotting 实验显示,无论是菌体超声裂解后总蛋白中的CpTI蛋白或是经纯化后的CpTI蛋白均可与自制的抗体发生特异性结合。这为进一步进行CpTI蛋白的安全性评价工作奠定了良好基础。     

鲑鱼降钙素基因在大肠杆菌中的克隆与表达

以鲑鱼基因组ＤＮＡ为模板,采用ＰＣＲ获得ｓＣＴ基因,并为ＤＮＡ序列分析所证实．以ｐＧＥＸ－３Ｘ为表达载体,利用体外定点突变技术成功地构建了融合蛋白ＧＳＴ－ｓＣＴ的重组表达质粒ｐＧＥＸ－３Ｘ－ｓＣＴ,在大肠杆菌中得到高效表达,其表达量约为菌体总蛋白的３０％;利用亲合层析法对融合蛋白ＧＳＴ－ｓＣＴ进行纯化,再经Ｆａｃ－ｔｏｒΧａ酶切后获得了重组ｓＣＴ,并对其进行活性检测．初步实验证明,重组ｓＣＴ具有较强的生物活性     

A bacterially produced virus enhancing factor from an entomopoxvirus enhances nucleopolyhedrovirus infection in armyworm larvae

Using an Escherichia coli expression system, pGEX-2T, that expresses foreign sequences as fusion proteins with a glutathione S-transferase (GST) carrier, we have expressed a virus enhancing factor (EF) from Pseudaletia separata entomopoxvirus, which enhances P. unipuncta multi nucleopolyhedrovirus (PsunMNPV) infection in larvae of the armyworm, P. separata. The lysates of transformed E. coli cells, which were not active in enhancing PsunMNPV infection, became active when treated with either trypsin or thrombin. The GST-EF fusion protein in a lysate was purified with a bulk GST purification module and cleaved into the EF and GST moieties with thrombin. Removal of the GST moiety with glutathione-Sepharose 4B resulted in a highly purified EF preparation, which enhanced PsunMNPV infection in armyworm larvae and PsunMNPV fusion with an armyworm cell line, SIE-MSH-805-F.     

口蹄疫病毒P1基因在大肠杆菌中的高效表达及其生物活性的初步分析

将口蹄疫病毒 (FMDV)结构蛋白基因P1的完整cDNA序列插入原核表达性载体pGEX KG中 ,使P1基因与GST融合 ,获得融合表达质粒pKG P1,转化E .coliBL₂₁ (DE3) ,经IPTG诱导 ,SDS PADE结果表明GST P1融合蛋白获得高效表达 ,Western blot检测证实表达的融合蛋白具有免疫学活性 ,表达产物主要存在于细菌裂解液上清中。进一步采用GST纯化试剂盒纯化P1蛋白并作为诊断抗原 ,建立了P1 ELISA诊断方法 ,与FMD间接血凝 (IHA)检测方法平行检测 86 4份血清样品 ,总的符合率达87%。     

腮腺炎病毒F蛋白七肽重复序列的表达、纯化及特性分析

副粘病毒F蛋白的两段七肽重复序列（HR1和HR2）在病毒侵染细胞的过程中相互作用形成热稳定的富含α螺旋的异源二聚体,此结构的形成引起病毒囊膜与细胞膜的并置而最终导致膜融合的发生。腮腺炎病毒（Mumps virus, MuV）属于副粘病毒科,腮腺炎病毒属,可能利用与其他副粘病毒相似的侵染机制。本研究对MuV 融合蛋白的HR区进行了计算机程序预测,并利用大肠杆菌GST融合表达系统对MuV F蛋白HR1和HR2两段多肽进行了表达和纯化,通过GST pull_down 实验证实HR1和HR2多肽在体外能够相互作用,凝胶过滤层析证明HR1、HR2多肽能够形成多聚体,说明MuV F蛋白的HR区的相互作用可能是其发挥融合功能的关键因素。     

Penicillin-binding protein 2a of Streptococcus pneumoniae: expression in Escherichia coli and purification and refolding of inclusion bodies into a soluble and enzymatically active enzyme.

Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs), targets of beta-lactam antibiotics, are membrane-bound enzymes essential for the biosynthesis of the bacterial cell wall. PBPs possess transpeptidase and transglycosylase activities responsible for the final steps of the bacterial cell wall cross-linking and polymerization, respectively. To facilitate our structural studies of PBPs, we constructed a 5'-truncated version (lacking bp from 1 to 231 encoding the N-terminal part of the protein including the transmembrane domain) of the pbp2a gene of Streptococcus pneumoniae and expressed the truncated gene product as a GST fusion protein in Escherichia coli. This GST fusion form of PBP2a, designated GST-PBP2a*, was expressed almost exclusively as inclusion bodies. Using a combination of high- and low-speed centrifugation, large amounts of purified inclusion bodies were obtained. These purified inclusion bodies were refolded into a soluble and enzymatically active enzyme using a single-step refolding method consisting of solubilization of the inclusion bodies with urea and direct dialysis of the solubilized preparations. Using these purification and refolding methods, approximately 37 mg of soluble GST-PBP2a* protein was obtained from 1 liter of culture. The identity of this refolded PBP2a* protein was confirmed by N-terminal sequencing. The refolded PBP2a*, with or without the GST-tag, was found to bind to BOCILLIN FL, a beta-lactam, and to hydrolyze S2d, an analog of the bacterial cell wall stem peptides. The S2d hydrolysis activity of PBP2a* was inhibited by penicillin G. In conclusion, using this expression system, and the purification and refolding methods, large amounts of the soluble GST-PBP2a* protein were obtained and shown to be enzymatically active.     

Purification of dual-tagged intact recombinant proteins

Large-scale purification of recombinant proteins has been used extensively to assist numerous protein studies, including investigation of function, substrate identification and protein-protein interaction of low abundance proteins. Genetic fusion of affinity tags to these proteins has also been widely used for ease of purification by affinity chromatography. However, this technique sometimes yields unstable and degraded protein products limiting its application. In this study, we show a facile and straightforward method of dual-tagged recombinant protein purification that eliminates contamination by degraded protein products. A 6His-containing BamHI-HindIII fragment from pQE12 was ligated into the pGEX-KG BamHI-HindIII fragment and the protein of interest (p25(nck5a), which is highly susceptible to proteolytic degradation when expressed and purified from bacteria) was cloned into the BamHI site without a termination codon. The resulting plasmid construct, designated as pGST-p25(nck5a)-6His, with GST at the N-terminal and 6His at the C-terminal was expressed in Escherichia coli DH5alpha and purified using a two-step procedure. We show that using Ni(2+)-NTA chromatography as a first purification step and GSH-agarose chromatography as a second step, rather than vice-versa, yields a highly purified intact protein that is free of any contaminating degraded protein product. The purified fusion protein is soluble and fully active.     

De novo purine nucleotide biosynthesis: cloning, sequencing and expression of a chicken PurH cDNA encoding 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-ribonucleotide transformylase-IMP cyclohydrolase

The purH cDNA, encoding 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-ribonucleotide (AICAR) transformylase-inosine monophosphate cyclohydrolase (ATIC), was cloned by functional complementation of an Escherichia coli purH mutant using a chicken liver cDNA expression library. This represents the first report of the cloning of any eukaryotic ATIC-encoding cDNA (PurH). The avian ATIC mRNA is 2.3 kb long and encodes a protein with an Mr of 64,422. The deduced amino acid sequence is 36% identical to the bacterial purH-encoded enzymes from Bacillus subtilis and E. coli. The avian cDNA was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein that was purified in a single step by affinity chromatography. A novel vector was employed which permits rapid and highly efficient cleavage of the GST fusion protein yielding 10 mg of purified PurH product per liter of bacterial culture. Km values were determined with the purified fusion protein utilizing AICAR and (6-R)N10-formyl-tetrahydrofolate as substrates. These values compare favorably with the isolated avian enzyme, supporting the idea that kinetic, as well as other physical properties of the recombinant fusion protein are similar to the native avian enzyme. Large quantities of purified enzyme and the ability to generate site-directed mutations should make mechanistic studies possible. The recombinant enzyme also affords a simple and reliable approach to identifying new antifolates.     

Expression in Escherichia coli and purification of human recombinant connexin-43, a four-pass transmembrane protein

We have recently shown, using a well-defined in vitro model, that connexin 43 (Cx43) is directly involved in human cytotrophoblastic cell fusion into a multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast. Cx43 appears to interact with partner proteins within a fusogenic complex, in a multi factorial and dynamic process. This fusogenic complex remains to be characterized and constituent proteins need to be identified. In order to identify proteins interacting with the entire Cx43 molecule (extracellular, transmembrane and intracellular domains), we produced and purified full-length recombinant Cx43 fused to glutathione S-transferase (GST-Cx43) and used it as "bait" in GST pull-down experiments. Cx43 cDNA was first cloned into the pDEST15 vector in order to construct a GST-fusion protein, using the Gateway system. The fusion protein GST-Cx43 was then expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21-AI? and purified by glutathione-affinity chromatography. The purified fusion protein exhibited the expected size of 70 kDa on SDS-PAGE, western blot and GST activity. A GST pull-down assay was used to show the capacity of the full-length recombinant protein to interact with known partners. Our results suggest that this method has the capacity to produce sufficient full-length recombinant protein for investigations aimed at identifying Cx43 partner proteins.     

GST-His双标签原核表达载体的构建及应用

目的：在原有带有GST标签的pGEX-KG载体上添加His标签,构建双标签原核表达载体,以提高纯化后的融合蛋白的纯度。方法：双酶切pGEX-KG载体,将同样带有双酶切位点编码His标签的DNA序列酶切后与其连接、转化大肠杆菌DH5α、鉴定阳性克隆并测序,并将编码雌激素受体B（ERβ）的片段构建到该载体上,分别利用GST标签和His标签对ERβ蛋白进行2次纯化。结果：构建了GST-His双标签原核表达载体,将ERβ编码片段克隆入该载体中,在原核生物中得到表达;分别用GST和His抗体进行Westernblot分析,均可检测到GST-His-ERβ融合蛋白的表达;利用此双标签载体纯化得到了纯度较高的ERβ蛋白。结论：GST-His双标签原核表达载体的构建对提高目的蛋白纯度具有重要意义。     

Expression and purification of a novel rice (Oryza sativa L.) mitochondrial ATP synthase small subunit in Escherichia coli

To clarify the function of the rice mitochondrial ATP synthase 6 kDa subunit (RMtATP6), a method of producing large quantities of this protein is needed. Here, we describe an Escherichia coli expression system for the rapid and economic expression of RMtATP6. The RMtATP6 gene (GenBank Accession No. ) was cloned into the pGEX-6p-3 vector to allow expression of RMtATP6 as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein. The RMtATP6-GST fusion protein was purified by affinity chromatography using a glutathione-Sepharose 4B column. A Western blot analysis using anti-GST antibody showed that the fusion protein was not degraded. After enzymatic cleavage of the GST tail, the RMtATP6 protein showed a molecular weight of around 6 kDa. The predicted pI of this protein is 10.01. After improving the conditions of expression and the purification procedures, the final yield of the entire expression and purification process was about 4.6 mg of pure RMtATP6 protein per liter of bacterial culture.     

Improved recovery of active GST-fusion proteins from insoluble aggregates: solubilization and purification conditions using PKM2 and HtrA2 as model proteins

The glutathione S-transferase (GST) system is useful for increasing protein solubility and purifying soluble GST fusion proteins. However, purifying half of the GST fusion proteins is still difficult, because they are virtually insoluble under non-denaturing conditions. To optimize a simple and rapid purification condition for GST-pyruvate kinase muscle 2 (GST-PKM2) protein, we used 1% sarkosyl for lysis and a 1:200 ratio of sarkosyl to Triton X-100 (S-T) for purification. We purified the GST-PKM2 protein with a high yield, approximately 5 mg/L culture, which was 33 times higher than that prepared using a conventional method. Notably, the GST-high-temperature requirement A2 (GST-HtrA2) protein, used as a model protein for functional activity, fully maintained its proteolytic activity, even when purified under our S-T condition. This method may be useful to apply to other biologically important proteins that become highly insoluble in the prokaryotic expression system.