蛛丝蛋白的研究进展及应用前景

蛛丝蛋白是一种很特殊的纤维蛋白。由丙氨酸组成的β-折叠和富含脯氨酸的α-螺旋,及其紧密堆砌的二级结构使之成为一种半结晶状态的分子弹簧结构,决定了蛛丝具有强度高,韧性大等一些重要特点。对其蛋白质序列的组成与结构人们已基本研究清楚;蛛丝蛋白基因部分序列的克隆已取得成功,在基因表达方面也取得了一些进展。虽然由于蛛丝蛋白基因序列的高重复性、不稳定性和较长的基因序列,使得对蛛丝蛋白的全基因克隆变得困难重重,但是蛛丝蛋白独特的结构和性质,使其在医学领域尤其是组织工程方面有着诱人的前景 。     

蛛丝蛋白的研究进展及应用前景

蛛丝蛋白是一种很特殊的纤维蛋白。由丙氨酸组成的β－折叠和富含脯氨酸的α－螺旋,及其紧密堆砌的二级结构使之成为一种半结晶状态的分子弹簧结构,决定了蛛丝具有强度高,韧性大等一些重要特点。对其蛋白质序列的组成与结构人们已基本研究清楚;蛛丝蛋白基因部分序列的克隆已取得成功,在基因表达方面也取得了一些进展。虽然由于蛛丝蛋白基因序列的高重复性、不稳定性和较长的基因序列,使得对蛛丝蛋白的全基因克隆变得困难重重,但是蛛丝蛋白独特的结构和性质,使其在医学领域尤其是组织工程方面有着诱人的前景。     

分子伴侣

分子伴侣是最近十几年才发现的一类非常保守的蛋白家庭。它与酶的作用方式类似，能和某些不同的多肽链非特异性结合，催化介导蛋白质特定构象的形成，参与体内蛋白质的折叠、装配和转运，但又不构成其结构的一部分。这类保守的蛋白家族大致可分为四类，广泛存在于生物体中。其中研究得最多的是热休克蛋白。实际上，分子伴侣是一种蛋白质分子构象的协助者，主要参与蛋白质次级结构的形成。     

蜘蛛丝蛋白的结构及其应用

蜘蛛的拖丝是一种既具有抗张强度又具有高度弹性的奇特蛋白质纤维。近看来,生物学者用现代生物工程技术和其它技术对蛛丝蛋白分子的结构和物理特性,主要是机械特性,进行了广泛深入的研究,取得了很大进展,指出了蛛丝蛋白的工业应用价值。1蛛丝蛋白结构研究进展概述编码一种拖丝蛋白（Spidroiril）的部分cDNA克隆以前已获分离产物,但是所预期的氨基酸顺序并不能解释拖丝蛋白的氨基酸组成。此后又分离出一种编码另一拖丝蛋白（SPidloin2）的部分dD：NA克隆,说明蜘蛛的拖丝是由复合蛋白组成的。Spidroin2的氨基酸顺序是一种与Spidro…     

二硫键异构酶

天然二硫键的形成是许多蛋白正确折叠中的限速步骤,在稳定蛋白质构象和保持蛋白质活性方面起重要作用。讨论的二硫键异构酶是内质网中一种重要的蛋白折叠催化剂,它催化蛋白二硫键的形成和错误配对二硫键的重排,并有抑制错误折叠蛋白聚集的分子伴侣活性。PDI广泛应用于基因工程上提高外源蛋白表达水平。     

蛋白质内含子介导蛛丝功能化平台的建立

为建立高效快捷的蛛丝功能化修饰平台,蛋白质内含子的反式剪接技术被首次应用于重组蛛丝的功能化修饰。在体外通过Ssp Dna B的反式剪接作用,在蛋白质水平上将12 k Da泛素相关修饰蛋白(SUMO)与蛛丝蛋白(W2CT)连接形成功能化蛛丝蛋白SUMOW2CT。修饰后SUMOW2CT与W2CT均能形成纳米至微米级的丝纤维,但SUMOW2CT自动成丝速度明显下降且产量约为W2CT的一半。与W2CT丝纤维(W)相似,SUMOW2CT丝纤维(UW)不具有超收缩能力和对2%SDS不耐受,但机械性能低于W2CT丝纤维。功能化蛋白SUMOW2CT形成的丝纤维中SUMO蛋白仍保持着正确三维结构,可被SUMO蛋白酶酶切。外源功能化蛋白质虽在一定程度上降低了丝的形成速度和机械性能,但修饰上的功能化蛋白仍保持着生物活性,表明断裂蛋白质内含子介导的蛛丝修饰平台成功建立,也为蛛丝的功能化修饰和应用奠定了坚实的技术基础。     

分子伴侣 SecB 基因和人淋巴毒素基因在大肠杆菌中的共表达

分于伴侣(Chaperohe)是细胞内催化及维持其他蛋白质正确梅象的一类蛋白质分子^[1,2]。研究表明,分子伴侣参与细胞内许多蛋白质的折叠、聚合以及跨膜运输^[3,4],通过瞬时稳定其他蛋白质折叠中间体,阻止了蛋白中间体的聚集,帮助其形成正确构象^[5,6]。SecB是一个胞质酸性蛋白．单体分子量为17kDa,在体内以4～6个相同亚基组成的寡聚体形式存在。它在大肠杆菌中参与蛋白质分泌系统,纯化后进行离体试验表明,它可以阻止抗蛋白酶的pre-MBP的出现,能稳定地结合前体蛋白．使其处于适合运输的构型^[7],它的作用是使蛋白质可以在正确折叠前跨过细胞膜,运输到细胞周质中。SecB通过与前体蛋白结合．从而阻止前体蛋自由于不正确折叠发生的聚集,属于分子伴侣家族的成员。分子伴侣的这些特性使得它们在基因工程中具有广阔的应用前景。外源蛋白在大肠杆菌中高表达时往往形成无活性的包涵体,包涵体大多是蛋白质在过量表达过程中不正确折叠形成的^[8],正确构象的形成需要在体外进行变性和复性。蛋白质的复性过程十分复杂,在方法上缺少一定的规律可循,特别是分子量较大以及二硫键较多的分子,复性更加困难,有的甚至根本难以复性。分子伴侣可以促进其它蛋白质的正确折叠,设想在基因工程中如果将分子伴侣基因与外源蛋白基因共存表达,可能会有效地促进外源蛋白形成正确的构象．提高其活性,减少包涵体的形成,对基因工程下游的处理带来很大方便。根 据这个思路,我们将克隆的SecB基因与重组人淋巴毒索(Lymphotoxin,简称LT)基因在同一个大肠杆菌细胞中共存表达,来研究分子伴侣SecB对外源基因表达的影响。     

翩翩起舞的蛋白质

蛋白质并不是逆来顺受的物质。两个蛋白质之间的分子相互作用比一个成熟的蛋白质以类似锁和钥匙的形式嵌入另一个蛋白复杂的多。特别是考虑到当信号蛋白相互作用时快速通讯的形成、散失、再形成,情况更是如此。一些重要的信号蛋白以高度无序或非折叠的方式存在,只有在碰到分子伴侣并在其作用下,才形成最终的构象。     

重组杂合蛛丝蛋白MiSpNT-PySpRp-MiSpCT的二级结构表征

重组蛛丝纤维作为一种性能优异的生物材料,具有良好的生物相容性,在生物医学工程领域具有极大的潜在应用价值。已有研究表明,重组蛛丝蛋白可用作血管、神经导管及药物载体等,但其生物学功能仍有待研究。本研究以大腹园蛛基因组为模板,设计特异性引物,通过PCR扩增获得大腹园蛛梨状腺丝（piriform spidroin: PySp）一个完整重复区（Rp）编码序列;此Rp模块与MiSpNT/CT模块重组,构建微小型杂合蛛丝蛋白MiSpNT-PySpRp-MiSpCT,成功在大肠杆菌BL21中高效表达,借助8 mol/L尿素裂解缓冲液进行变性纯化,得到纯度较高的杂合蛛丝蛋白MiSpNT-PySpRp-MiSpCT,产量约100 mg/L。CD图谱显示,MiSpNT-PySpRp-MiSpCT蛋白质溶液主要以α-螺旋和无规卷曲形式存在,随着溶液pH值降低,部分α-螺旋向β-折叠转变;红外光谱显示,在自然成丝及冻干过程中,部分α-螺旋转化为β-折叠,符合天然蛛丝蛋白成丝过程的二级结构变化特征。本研究结果为今后获得具有天然蛛丝纤维优异性能的人工重组蛛丝纤维材料提供一种新的可能。     

保守GTP酶ObgE的分子伴侣活性研究

分子伴侣(molecular chaperone)能够帮助新生多肽链或错误折叠的蛋白质形成天然构象,但本身又不是成熟蛋白质的组成成分。蛋白质需要分子伴侣的帮助,才能够从核糖体合成的新生肽链折叠成有生物活性的大分子。E.coli的ObgE蛋白是保守的GTP酶,ObgE蛋白参与信号转导、蛋白运输和细胞周期调控,并与E.coli在氨基酸饥饿下的应激反应有关。本实验通过分子克隆,将E.coli ObgE蛋白的基因克隆到表达载体pET-28a中,转化到E.coli BL21进行蛋白表达纯化。纯化后的ObgE蛋白通过柠檬酸合成酶变复性实验、α-葡萄糖苷酶变复性实验、牛碳酸酐酶变复性实验,检测ObgE蛋白的分子伴侣活性,发现ObgE具有一定的分子伴侣活性,为该蛋白的研究应用奠定了基础。     

Spider silks: recombinant synthesis,assembly, spinning,and engineering of synthetic proteins

Since thousands of years humans have utilized insect silks for their own benefit and comfort. The most famous example is the use of reeled silkworm silk from Bombyx mori to produce textiles. In contrast, despite the more promising properties of their silk, spiders have not been domesticated for large-scale or even industrial applications, since farming the spiders is not commercially viable due to their highly territorial and cannibalistic nature. Before spider silks can be copied or mimicked, not only the sequence of the underlying proteins but also their functions have to be resolved. Several attempts to recombinantly produce spider silks or spider silk mimics in various expression hosts have been reported previously. A new protein engineering approach, which combines synthetic repetitive silk sequences with authentic silk domains, reveals proteins that closely resemble silk proteins and that can be produced at high yields, which provides a basis for cost-efficient large scale production of spider silk-like proteins.     

Microbial production of amino acid-modified spider dragline silk protein with intensively improved mechanical properties

Spider dragline silk is a remarkably strong fiber with impressive mechanical properties, which were thought to result from the specific structures of the underlying proteins and their molecular size. In this study, silk protein 11R26 from the dragline silk protein of Nephila clavipes was used to analyze the potential effects of the special amino acids on the function of 11R26. Three protein derivatives, ZF4, ZF5, and ZF6, were obtained by site-directed mutagenesis, based on the sequence of 11R26, and among these derivatives, serine was replaced with cysteine, isoleucine, and arginine, respectively. After these were expressed and purified, the mechanical performance of the fibers derived from the four proteins was tested. Both hardness and average elastic modulus of ZF4 fiber increased 2.2 times compared with those of 11R26. The number of disulfide bonds in ZF4 protein was 4.67 times that of 11R26, which implied that disulfide bonds outside the poly-Ala region affect the mechanical properties of spider silk more efficiently. The results indicated that the mechanical performances of spider silk proteins with small molecular size can be enhanced by modification of the amino acids residues. Our research not only has shown the feasibility of large-scale production of spider silk proteins but also provides valuable information for protein rational design.     

Characterization and expression of a cDNA encoding a tubuliform silk protein of the golden web spider Nephila antipodiana

Spider silks are renowned for their excellent mechanical properties. Although several spider fibroin genes, mainly from dragline and capture silks, have been identified, there are still many members in the spider fibroin gene family remain uncharacterized. In this study, a novel silk cDNA clone from the golden web spider Nephila antipodiana was isolated. It is serine rich and contains two almost identical fragments with one varied gap region and one conserved spider fibroin-like C-terminal domain. Both in situ hybridization and immunoblot analyses have shown that it is specifically expressed in the tubuliform gland. Thus, it likely encodes the silk fibroin from the tubuliform gland, which supplies the main component of the inner egg case. Unlike other silk proteins, the protein encoded by the novel cDNA in water solution exhibits the characteristic of an alpha-helical protein, which implies the distinct property of the egg case silk, though the fiber of tubuliform silk is mainly composed of beta-sheet structure. Its sequence information facilitates elucidation of the evolutionary history of the araneoid fibroin genes.     

Review the role of terminal domains during storage and assembly of spider silk proteins

Fibrous proteins in nature fulfill a wide variety of functions in different structures ranging from cellular scaffolds to very resilient structures like tendons and even extra-corporal fibers such as silks in spider webs or silkworm cocoons. Despite their different origins and sequence varieties many of these fibrous proteins share a common building principle: they consist of a large repetitive core domain flanked by relatively small non-repetitive terminal domains. Amongst protein fibers, spider dragline silk shows prominent mechanical properties that exceed those of man-made fibers like Kevlar. Spider silk fibers assemble in a spinning process allowing the transformation from an aqueous solution into a solid fiber within milliseconds. Here, we highlight the role of the non-repetitive terminal domains of spider dragline silk proteins during storage in the gland and initiation of the fiber assembly process.     

RGD-functionalized bioengineered spider dragline silk biomaterial

Spider silk fibers have remarkable mechanical properties that suggest the component proteins could be useful biopolymers for fabricating biomaterial scaffolds for tissue formation. Two bioengineered protein variants from the consensus sequence of the major component of dragline silk from Nephila clavipes were cloned and expressed to include RGD cell-binding domains. The engineered silks were characterized by CD and FTIR and showed structural transitions from random coil to insoluble beta-sheet upon treatment with methanol. The recombinant proteins were processed into films and fibers and successfully used as biomaterial matrixes to culture human bone marrow stromal cells induced to differentiate into bone-like tissue upon addition of osteogenic stimulants. The recombinant spider silk and the recombinant spider silk with RGD encoded into the protein both supported enhanced the differentiation of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to osteogenic outcomes when compared to tissue culture plastic. The recombinant spider silk protein without the RGD displayed enhanced bone related outcomes, measured by calcium deposition, when compared to the same protein with RGD. Based on comparisons to our prior studies with silkworm silks and RGD modifications, the current results illustrate the potential to bioengineer spider silk proteins into new biomaterial matrixes, while also highlighting the importance of subtle differences in silk sources and modes of presentation of RGD to cells in terms of tissue-specific outcomes.     

Complete gene sequence of spider attachment silk protein (PySp1) reveals novel linker regions and extreme repeat homogenization

Spiders use a myriad of silk types for daily survival, and each silk type has a unique suite of task-specific mechanical properties. Of all spider silk types, pyriform silk is distinct because it is a combination of a dry protein fiber and wet glue. Pyriform silk fibers are coated with wet cement and extruded into “attachment discs” that adhere silks to each other and to substrates. The mechanical properties of spider silk types are linked to the primary and higher-level structures of spider silk proteins (spidroins). Spidroins are often enormous molecules (>250 kDa) and have a lengthy repetitive region that is flanked by relatively short (∼100 amino acids), non-repetitive amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions. The amino acid sequence motifs in the repetitive region vary greatly between spidroin type, while motif length and number underlie the remarkable mechanical properties of spider silk fibers. Existing knowledge of pyriform spidroins is fragmented, making it difficult to define links between the structure and function of pyriform spidroins. Here, we present the full-length sequence of the gene encoding pyriform spidroin 1 (PySp1) from the silver garden spider Argiope argentata. The predicted protein is similar to previously reported PySp1 sequences but the A. argentata PySp1 has a uniquely long and repetitive “linker”, which bridges the amino-terminal and repetitive regions. Predictions of the hydrophobicity and secondary structure of A. argentata PySp1 identify regions important to protein self-assembly. Analysis of the full complement of A. argentata PySp1 repeats reveals extreme intragenic homogenization, and comparison of A. argentata PySp1 repeats with other PySp1 sequences identifies variability in two sub-repetitive expansion regions. Overall, the full-length A. argentata PySp1 sequence provides new evidence for understanding how pyriform spidroins contribute to the properties of pyriform silk fibers.     

Molecular cloning and expression of the C-terminus of spider flagelliform silk protein from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Araneus ventricosus</Emphasis>

A cDNA coding for the C-terminus of spider flagelliform silk protein (AvFlag) was cloned from Araneus ventricosus. Analysis of the cDNA sequence shows that the C-terminus of AvFlag consists of 167 amino acids of a repetitive region and 87 amino acids of a C-terminal non-repetitive region. The peptide motifs found in spider flagelliform silk proteins, GPGGX and GGX, were conserved in the repetitive region of AvFlag. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that AvFlag belongs to the spider flagelliform silk proteins. The AvFlag cDNA was expressed as a 28 kDa polypeptide in baculovirus-infected insect cells. As a new expression approach for spider silk protein, the combination of polyhedrin and AvFlag creates a polyhedrin AvFlag fusion protein (61 kDa) that is produced as recombinant polyhedra; this provides a basis for the source of spider silk proteins for various applications.     

Inducing β-sheets formation in synthetic spider silk fibers by aqueous post-spin stretching

As a promising biomaterial with numerous potential applications, various types of synthetic spider silk fibers have been produced and studied in an effort to produce man-made fibers with mechanical and physical properties comparable to those of native spider silk. In this study, two recombinant proteins based on Nephila clavipes Major ampullate Spidroin 1 (MaSp1) consensus repeat sequence were expressed and spun into fibers. Mechanical test results showed that fiber spun from the higher molecular weight protein had better overall mechanical properties (70 KD versus 46 KD), whereas postspin stretch treatment in water helped increase fiber tensile strength significantly. Carbon-13 solid-state NMR studies of those fibers further revealed that the postspin stretch in water promoted protein molecule rearrangement and the formation of β-sheets in the polyalanine region of the silk. The rearrangement correlated with improved fiber mechanical properties and indicated that postspin stretch is key to helping the spider silk proteins in the fiber form correct secondary structures, leading to better quality fibers.     

Novel In Silico Analyses of Repetitive Spider Silk Sequences to Understand the Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Fibrous Protein Materials

The mechanical properties of spider silks have diverged as spiders have diversely speciated. Because the main components of silks are proteins, it is valuable to investigate their sequences. However, silk sequences have been regarded as difficult information to analyze due to their imbalance and imperfect tandem repeats (ITR). Here, an in silico approach is applied to systemically analyze a group of silk sequences. It is found that every time new spider groups emerge, unique trimer motifs appear. These trimer motifs are used to find additional clues of evolution and to determine relationships with mechanical properties. For the first time, crucial evidence is provided that shows silk sequences coevolved with spider species and the mechanical properties of their fibers to adapt to new living environments. This novel approach can be used as a platform for analyzing other groups of ITR‐harboring proteins and to obtain information for the design of tailor‐made fibrous protein materials.     

Microbial production of spider silk proteins.

The remarkable properties of spider dragline silk and related protein polymers will find many applications if the materials can be produced economically. We have demonstrated the production of high molecular weight spider dragline silk analog proteins encoded by synthetic genes in several microbial systems, including Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. In E. coli, proteins of up to 1000 amino acids in length could be produced efficiently, but the yield and homogeneity of higher molecular weight silk proteins were found to be limited by truncated synthesis, probably as a result of ribosome termination errors. No such phenomenon was observed in the yeast P. pastoris, where higher molecular weight silk proteins could be produced without heterogeneity due to truncated synthesis. Spider dragline silk analog proteins could be secreted by P. pastoris when fused to both the signal sequence and N-terminal pro-sequence of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-mating factor gene.