小鼠S100A3蛋白的表达纯化及其多克隆抗体的制备

富含半胱氨酸的S100A3是S100蛋白家族成员,其表达具有组织和细胞特异性。本研究利用基因克隆技术将小鼠S100A3克隆到原核表达载体p ET28a(+)上,经过原核表达纯化获得了高纯度的目的蛋白,制备了高效价的兔多克隆抗体。重组小鼠S100A3蛋白原核表达和纯化方法的建立及多克隆抗体的制备为其生物学功能研究提供了材料,并对其它S100蛋白家族的表达纯化具有一定的参考意义。     

人CXCL4蛋白原核表达与纯化

CXCL4又名血小板因子4(PF4),属于CXC趋化因子亚家族,能够广谱的作用于多种细胞,在炎症,凝血等众多生理及病理反应中发挥重要作用。将CXCL4全长基因构建到原核表达载体pET43.1a(+),利用大肠杆菌系统表达,继而纯化获得高纯度的目的蛋白。实验表明重组人CXCL4蛋白可以有效抑制人肾癌细胞增殖,具有生物学活性。重组人CXCL4原核表达与纯化方法的建立将有助于其生物学结构与功能的研究,并且对趋化因子家族其它蛋白质的表达与纯化具有参考价值。     

重组hS100A6蛋白的原核表达及其对人骨肉瘤细胞系143B的生物学作用

目的:制备重组hS100A6蛋白,并研究其对人骨肉瘤细胞系143B的生物学作用。方法:构建pGST-HRV3C-hS100A6质粒,经转化至E.coli BL21,IPTG诱导表达融合蛋白GST-HRV3C-hS100A6,经超声破菌,谷胱甘肽-琼脂糖4B球珠纯化,GST-HRV3C酶切,再纯化,Western blot鉴定,分光光度法蛋白定量。以人骨肉瘤细胞系143B为研究对象,MTT检测细胞增殖,Hoechst检测细胞凋亡,Transwell检测细胞迁移和侵袭,Western blot检测hS100A6对β-catenin表达的影响。结果:成功制备重组hS100A6蛋白,测得该蛋白产量约为4mg/L菌液。30μg/ml重组hS100A6促进143B细胞的增殖、迁移、侵袭以及β-catenin的表达(P0.05),对143B细胞的凋亡无明显影响(P0.05)。结论:成功制备重组hS100A6蛋白,30μg/ml重组hS100A6蛋白对143B细胞有一定的促进作用。     

重组人钙网蛋白的克隆与原核表达

［摘要］目的: 克隆人钙网蛋白（calreticulin,CRT）并在E.coli中原核表达和纯化。方法：采用RT-PCR 法从人非小细胞肺腺癌A549细胞总RNA中克隆人钙网蛋白cDNA,构建CRT原核表达质粒（pET-15b/CRT）并转化E.coli 的Rossetta菌株。IPTG诱导后,表达蛋白在变性条件下经Ni-NTA 树脂亲和层析纯化,然后透析复性。分别用SDS-PAGE和Western blotting法鉴定CRT表达和纯化状态。结果：从A549细胞总RNA中成功获得人CRT cDNA克隆,重组质粒pET-15b/CRT构建正确。转化pET-15b/CRT的E.coli Rossetta诱导性表达重组人CRT蛋白,该蛋白可经Ni-NTA树脂亲和层析高度纯化。结论：成功建立了CRT原核表达和纯化的实验方法,该方法为后续的CRT蛋白功能研究奠定了基础。     

eEF1A1基因克隆、原核分泌表达及融合蛋白纯化

eEF1A1作为蛋白合成中的重要翻译延伸因子,可与多种功能性蛋白如F-actin、BPOZ-2结合,并在细胞凋亡、蛋白降解方面起重要作用.以往原核基因工程蛋白表达系统大多为包涵体表达的变性分子,需要复性.为了获得eEF1A1原核分泌性可溶性蛋白分子,克隆了人eEF1A1蛋白编码序列(约1 300 bp),并成功构建pET22b-A原核分泌表达重组质粒,转化到大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)菌株,0.4 mmol/L终浓度IPTG诱导,经不同温度下包涵体与胞浆蛋白组分分析,快速明确蛋白表达情况,即诱导4 h后,37℃表达于包涵体组分,在30℃分泌表达至胞浆组分.通过His-Trap亲和层析纯化柱进行线性洗脱,Bradford法测定蛋白浓度高达620 mg/mL,SDS-PAGE分析纯度约为95%,蛋白大小符合50 kD,Western blotting显示目的蛋白能被eEF1A1抗体识别;质谱分析证实重组蛋白为人eEF1A1蛋白分子.为进一步研究其与重要功能性蛋白的相互作用及在细胞凋亡和蛋白降解中的作用奠定基础.     

人钙结合蛋白S100A9基因克隆表达纯化及其对SH-SY5Y细胞作用的研究

钙结合蛋白S100A9在许多慢性疾病中聚集并可能在一些自身免疫性如老年痴呆中发挥了重要的作用。大量的报道也表明S100A9日益获得人们的注意。通过获取足量重组人S100A9蛋白,探索其对神经母细胞瘤细胞SH-SY5Y的作用及机制。运用全基因合成法合成人S100A9基因,构建人S100A9原核表达重组质粒p ET28a-S100A9,经单酶切法及PCR法鉴定重组质粒已构建成功。利用异丙基硫代-β-D-半乳糖苷(IPTG)在18℃、25℃、37℃分别诱导表达,经聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)和Western blotting鉴定,结果显示18℃时蛋白大量表达于上清中,在37℃时大量表达于包涵体。采用镍亲和层析法分别纯化两种来源重组蛋白,透析后低温冻干获得蛋白粉。使用CCK-8法检测上清来源和包涵体来源的S100A9蛋白对神经母细胞瘤细胞SH-SY5Y的增殖抑制作用。结果显示两种来源重组蛋白对SH-SY5Y细胞具有生长抑制作用,在浓度为0.05 mg/m L时即有明显抑制作用(p0.01),且二者作用无明显差异(p0.01)。采用AO/EB双重染色和流式细胞术初步检测S100A9对SH-SY5Y细胞的增殖抑制机理,结果显示该蛋白可促进SH-SY5Y细胞的凋亡。两种来源蛋白之间的比较也显示二者对于SH-SY5Y细胞作用无明显差异(p0.05)。本研究成功获得足量S100A9重组蛋白,且两种来源S100A9蛋白作用于SH-SY5Y细胞的生物学效应一致。     

重组人ERP57蛋白克隆和原核表达

目的：克隆人ERP57蛋白进行原核表达和纯化。方法：采用巢式RT-PCR从人非小细胞肺腺癌A549细胞总RNA中克隆人ERP57 cDNA,构建ERP57原核表达质粒（pET-28a/ERP57）并转化E.coli的BL21菌株。IPTG诱导蛋白表达,并在变性条件下经Ni-NTA树脂亲和层析纯化。分别用SDS-PAGE和Western blotting鉴定。结果：成功获得大小为1518bp的人ERP57基因片段,转化菌诱导性表达61kDa的人ERP57蛋白,该蛋白可经Ni-NTA树脂亲和层析高度纯化。结论：成功获得纯化的重组人ERP57蛋白,为后续ERP57蛋白功能研究奠定了基础。     

炭疽芽孢杆菌EA1蛋白的融合表达和纯化

目的：原核表达重组炭疽芽孢杆菌EA1蛋白。方法：用PCR方法从炭疽芽孢杆菌A16R疫苗株染色体中扩增编码EA1蛋白的eag基因序列,经过纯化、酶切后克隆到含有GST标签的原核表达载体pGEX-6P-2中,构建重组载体pGEX-EA1;将空载体（作为对照）、重组载体转化大肠杆菌BL21（DE3）菌株获得表达工程菌株,对其表达和纯化条件进行优化;利用Western印迹检测融合蛋白的表达。结果：构建了EA1蛋白的融合表达载体,并在大肠杆菌中获得高效表达;经Glutathione Sepharose 4B纯化获得了EA1蛋白;Western印迹表明,此蛋白可与GST标签抗体反应。结论：在原核表达系统中表达并纯化得到EA1融合蛋白,为进一步对其进行功能研究奠定了基础。     

GST-Smad4融合蛋白的表达与纯化

旨在原核表达Smad4基因,纯化获得GST-Smad4融合蛋白。以人表皮HaCaT细胞的cDNA为模板,利用PCR扩增含有BamH I和SalI酶切位点的Smad4基因;然后将其克隆到pGEX-4T-1原核表达载体中,将正确的重组载体转入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3);用IPTG诱导表达,再利用MagneGST particles亲和纯化GST-Smad4融合蛋白;最后通过Western blot鉴定此融合蛋白。结果显示,成功构建pGEX-4T-1-Smad4原核表达载体;30℃条件下,0.2 mmol/L的IPTG能诱导出大量的可溶性GST-Smad4蛋白;经MagneGST particles纯化的GST-Smad4蛋白可被Smad4的抗体特异识别。纯化的GST-Smad4蛋白可用于后续的生物学研究。     

梅花鹿S100A4 基因的克隆及融合蛋白的表达

为了研究梅花鹿S100A4 (S100 calcium binding protein A4)基因在鹿茸生长过程中的作用。用RT-PCR 法
从生茸骨膜细胞总RNA 中克隆了梅花鹿S100A4 基因,在NCBI 中对基因序列进行比对;将完整的基因序列与逆
转录病毒表达载体pLEGFP-C1 重组,获得了重组质粒pLEGFP-S100;用脂质体法将pLEGFP-S100 与pVSV-G (被
膜载体)共转染包装细胞GP2 - 293,获得重组病毒上清液,感染角柄骨膜细胞后逆转录病毒携带的基因进入宿
主细胞。结果显示:S100A4 基因是一个相对保守的基因,与多个物种的匹配度达到90% ;重组逆转录病毒载体
pLEGFP-S100 可以形成重组逆转录病毒粒子,将S100A4 基因导入靶细胞,并表达S100A4 与GFP (Green fluorescent
protein)的融合蛋白。     

Equilibrium and kinetic studies of protein cooperativity using urea-induced folding/unfolding of a Ubq-UIM fusion protein

Understanding the origins of cooperativity in proteins remains an important topic in protein folding. This study describes experimental folding/unfolding equilibrium and kinetic studies of the engineered protein Ubq-UIM, consisting of ubiquitin (Ubq) fused to the sequence of the ubiquitin interacting motif (UIM) via a short linker. Urea-induced folding/unfolding profiles of Ubq-UIM were monitored by far-UV circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies and compared to those of the isolated Ubq domain. It was found that the equilibrium data for Ubq-UIM is inconsistent with a two-state model. Analysis of the kinetics of folding shows similarity in the folding transition state ensemble between Ubq and Ubq-UIM, suggesting that formation of Ubq domain is independent of UIM. The major contribution to the stabilization of Ubq-UIM, relative to Ubq, was found to be in the rates of unfolding. Moreover, it was found that the kinetic m-values for Ubq-UIM unfolding, monitored by different probes (far-UV circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopies), are different; thereby, further supporting deviations from a two-state behavior. A thermodynamic linkage model that involves four states was found to be applicable to the urea-induced unfolding of Ubq-UIM, which is in agreement with the previous temperature-induced unfolding study. The applicability of the model was further supported by site-directed variants of Ubq-UIM that have altered stabilities of Ubq/UIM interface and/or stabilities of individual Ubq- and UIM-domains. All variants show increased cooperativity and one variant, E43N_Ubq-UIM, appears to behave very close to an equilibrium two-state.     

Structure–activity studies on the upstream splice junction of a semisynthetic intein

Protein trans-splicing by split inteins holds great potential for the chemical modification and semisynthesis of proteins. However, the structural requirements of the extein sequences immediately flanking the intein are only poorly understood. This knowledge is of particular importance for protein labeling, when synthetic moieties are to be attached to the protein of interest as seamlessly as possible. Using the semisynthetic Ssp DnaB intein both in form of its wild-type sequence and its evolved M86 mutant, we systematically varied the sequence upstream of the short synthetic Int^N fragment using both proteinogenic amino acids and unnatural building blocks. We could show for the wild-type variant that the native N-extein sequence could be reduced to the glycine residue at the (?1) position directly flanking the intein without significant loss of activity. The glycine at this position is strongly preferred over building blocks containing a phenyl group or extended alkyl chain adjacent to the scissile amide bond of the N-terminal splice junction. Despite their negative effects on the splicing yields, these unnatural substrates were well processed in the N–S acyl shift to form the respective thioesters and did not result in an increased decoupling of the asparagine cyclization step at the C-terminal splicing junction. Therefore, the transesterification step appeared to be the bottleneck of the protein splicing pathway. The fluorophore 7-hydroxycoumarinyl-4-acetic acid as a minimal N-extein was efficiently ligated to the model protein, in particular with the M86 mutant, probably because of its higher resemblance to glycine with an aliphatic c-α carbon atom at the (?1) position. This finding indicates a way for the virtually traceless labeling of proteins without inserting extra flanking residues. Due to its overall higher activity, the M86 mutant appears most promising for many protein labeling and chemical modification schemes using the split intein approach.     

Dual conformation of H2H3 domain of prion protein in mammalian cells

The concept of prion is applied to protein modules that share the ability to switch between at least two conformational states and transmit one of these through intermolecular interaction and change of conformation. Although much progress has been achieved through the understanding of prions from organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Podospora anserina, or Aplysia californica, the criteria that qualify a protein module as a prion are still unclear. In addition, the functionality of known prion domains fails to provide clues to understand the first identified prion, the mammalian infectious prion protein, PrP. To address these issues, we generated mammalian cellular models of expression of the C-terminal two helices of PrP, H2 and H3, which have been hypothesized, among other models, to hold the replication and conversion properties of the infectious PrP. We found that the H2H3 domain is an independent folding unit that undergoes glycosylations and glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchoring similar to full-length PrP. Surprisingly, in some conditions the normally folded H2H3 was able to systematically go through a conversion process and generate insoluble proteinase K-resistant aggregates. This structural switch involves the assembly of amyloid structures that bind thioflavin S and oligomers that are reactive to A11 antibody, which specifically detects protein oligomers from neurological disorders. Overall, we show that H2H3 is a conformational switch in a cellular context and is thus suggested to be a candidate for the conversion domain of PrP.     

Single-molecule force spectroscopy reveals the individual mechanical unfolding pathways of a surface layer protein

Surface layers (S-layers) represent an almost universal feature of archaeal cell envelopes and are probably the most abundant bacterial cell proteins. S-layers are monomolecular crystalline structures of single protein or glycoprotein monomers that completely cover the cell surface during all stages of the cell growth cycle, thereby performing their intrinsic function under a constant intra- and intermolecular mechanical stress. In gram-positive bacteria, the individual S-layer proteins are anchored by a specific binding mechanism to polysaccharides (secondary cell wall polymers) that are linked to the underlying peptidoglycan layer. In this work, atomic force microscopy-based single-molecule force spectroscopy and a polyprotein approach are used to study the individual mechanical unfolding pathways of an S-layer protein. We uncover complex unfolding pathways involving the consecutive unfolding of structural intermediates, where a mechanical stability of 87 pN is revealed. Different initial extensibilities allow the hypothesis that S-layer proteins adapt highly stable, mechanically resilient conformations that are not extensible under the presence of a pulling force. Interestingly, a change of the unfolding pathway is observed when individual S-layer proteins interact with secondary cell wall polymers, which is a direct signature of a conformational change induced by the ligand. Moreover, the mechanical stability increases up to 110 pN. This work demonstrates that single-molecule force spectroscopy offers a powerful tool to detect subtle changes in the structure of an individual protein upon binding of a ligand and constitutes the first conformational study of surface layer proteins at the single-molecule level.     

Tracing Primordial Protein Evolution through Structurally Guided Stepwise Segment Elongation

The understanding of how primordial proteins emerged has been a fundamental and longstanding issue in biology and biochemistry. For a better understanding of primordial protein evolution, we synthesized an artificial protein on the basis of an evolutionary hypothesis, segment-based elongation starting from an autonomously foldable short peptide. A 10-residue protein, chignolin, the smallest foldable polypeptide ever reported, was used as a structural support to facilitate higher structural organization and gain-of-function in the development of an artificial protein. Repetitive cycles of segment elongation and subsequent phage display selection successfully produced a 25-residue protein, termed AF.2A1, with nanomolar affinity against the Fc region of immunoglobulin G. AF.2A1 shows exquisite molecular recognition ability such that it can distinguish conformational differences of the same molecule. The structure determined by NMR measurements demonstrated that AF.2A1 forms a globular protein-like conformation with the chignolin-derived β-hairpin and a tryptophan-mediated hydrophobic core. Using sequence analysis and a mutation study, we discovered that the structural organization and gain-of-function emerged from the vicinity of the chignolin segment, revealing that the structural support served as the core in both structural and functional development. Here, we propose an evolutionary model for primordial proteins in which a foldable segment serves as the evolving core to facilitate structural and functional evolution. This study provides insights into primordial protein evolution and also presents a novel methodology for designing small sized proteins useful for industrial and pharmaceutical applications.     

Evolutionary remodeling of βγ-crystallins for domain stability at cost of Ca2+ binding

The topologically similar βγ-crystallins that are prevalent in all kingdoms of life have evolved for high innate domain stability to perform their specialized functions. The evolution of stability and its control in βγ-crystallins that possess either a canonical (mostly from microorganisms) or degenerate (principally found in vertebrate homologues) Ca2+-binding motif is not known. Using equilibrium unfolding of βγ-crystallin domains (26 wild-type domains and their mutants) in apo- and holo-forms, we demonstrate the presence of a stability gradient across these members, which is attained by the choice of residues in the (N/D)(N/D)XX(S/T)S Ca2+-binding motif. The occurrence of a polar, hydrophobic, or Ser residue at the 1st, 3rd, or 5th position of the motif is likely linked to a higher domain stability. Partial conversion of a microbe-type domain (with a canonical Ca2+-binding motif) to a vertebrate-type domain (with a degenerate Ca2+-binding motif) by mutating serine to arginine/lysine disables the Ca2+-binding but significantly augments its stability. Conversely, stability is compromised when arginine (in a vertebrate-type disabled domain) is replaced by serine (as a microbe type). Our results suggest that such conversions were acquired as a strategy for desired stability in vertebrate members at the cost of Ca2+-binding. In a physiological context, we demonstrate that a mutation such as an arginine to serine (R77S) mutation in this motif of γ-crystallin (partial conversion to microbe-type), implicated in cataracts, decreases the domain stability. Thus, this motif acts as a "central tuning knob" for innate as well as Ca2+-induced gain in stability, incorporating a stability gradient across βγ-crystallin members critical for their specialized functions.     

The aggregation properties of Escherichia coli proteins associated with their cellular abundance

Proteins are key players in most cellular processes. Therefore, their abundances are thought to be tightly regulated at the gene-expression level. Recent studies indicate, however, that steady-state cellular-protein concentrations correlate better across species than the levels of the corresponding mRNAs; this supports the existence of selective forces to maintain precise cellular-protein concentrations and homeostasis, even if gene-expression levels diverge. One of these forces might be the avoidance of protein aggregation because, in the cell, the folding of proteins into functional conformations might be in competition with anomalous aggregation into non-functional and usually toxic structures in a concentration-dependent manner. The data in the present work provide support for this hypothesis because, in E. coli, the experimental solubility of proteins correlates better with the cellular abundance than with the gene-expression levels. We found that the divergence between protein and mRNAs levels is low for high-abundance proteins. This suggests that because abundant proteins are at higher risk of aggregation, cellular concentrations need to be stringently regulated by gene expression.     

Molecular basis for the unique role of the AAA+ chaperone ClpV in type VI protein secretion

Ring-forming AAA(+) ATPases act in a plethora of cellular processes by remodeling macromolecules. The specificity of individual AAA(+) proteins is achieved by direct or adaptor-mediated association with substrates via distinct recognition domains. We investigated the molecular basis of substrate interaction for Vibrio cholerae ClpV, which disassembles tubular VipA/VipB complexes, an essential step of type VI protein secretion and bacterial virulence. We identified the ClpV recognition site within VipB, showed that productive ClpV-VipB interaction requires the oligomeric state of both proteins, solved the crystal structure of a ClpV N-domain-VipB peptide complex, and verified the interaction surface by mutant analysis. Our results show that the substrate is bound to a hydrophobic groove, which is formed by the addition of a single α-helix to the core N-domain. This helix is absent from homologous N-domains, explaining the unique substrate specificity of ClpV. A limited interaction surface between both proteins accounts for the dramatic increase in binding affinity upon ATP-driven ClpV hexamerization and VipA/VipB tubule assembly by coupling multiple weak interactions. This principle ensures ClpV selectivity toward the VipA/VipB macromolecular complex.     

Aromatic small molecules remodel toxic soluble oligomers of amyloid beta through three independent pathways

In protein conformational disorders ranging from Alzheimer to Parkinson disease, proteins of unrelated sequence misfold into a similar array of aggregated conformers ranging from small oligomers to large amyloid fibrils. Substantial evidence suggests that small, prefibrillar oligomers are the most toxic species, yet to what extent they can be selectively targeted and remodeled into non-toxic conformers using small molecules is poorly understood. We have evaluated the conformational specificity and remodeling pathways of a diverse panel of aromatic small molecules against mature soluble oligomers of the Aβ42 peptide associated with Alzheimer disease. We find that small molecule antagonists can be grouped into three classes, which we herein define as Class I, II, and III molecules, based on the distinct pathways they utilize to remodel soluble oligomers into multiple conformers with reduced toxicity. Class I molecules remodel soluble oligomers into large, off-pathway aggregates that are non-toxic. Moreover, Class IA molecules also remodel amyloid fibrils into the same off-pathway structures, whereas Class IB molecules fail to remodel fibrils but accelerate aggregation of freshly disaggregated Aβ. In contrast, a Class II molecule converts soluble Aβ oligomers into fibrils, but is inactive against disaggregated and fibrillar Aβ. Class III molecules disassemble soluble oligomers (as well as fibrils) into low molecular weight species that are non-toxic. Strikingly, Aβ non-toxic oligomers (which are morphologically indistinguishable from toxic soluble oligomers) are significantly more resistant to being remodeled than Aβ soluble oligomers or amyloid fibrils. Our findings reveal that relatively subtle differences in small molecule structure encipher surprisingly large differences in the pathways they employ to remodel Aβ soluble oligomers and related aggregated conformers.