The role of N-linked glycosylation in the protection of human and bovine lactoferrin against tryptic proteolysis.

Lactoferrin (LF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein of the innate host defence system. To elucidate the role of N-linked glycosylation in protection of LF against proteolysis, we compared the tryptic susceptibility of human LF (hLF) variants from human milk, expressed in human 293(S) cells or in the milk of transgenic mice and cows. The analysis revealed that recombinant hLF (rhLF) with mutations Ile130-->Thr and Gly404-->Cys was about twofold more susceptible than glycosylated and unglycosylated variants with the naturally occurring Ile130 and Gly404. Hence, N-linked glycosylation is not involved in protection of hLF against tryptic proteolysis. Apparently, the previously reported protection by N-linked glycosylation of hLF [van Berkel, P.H.C., Geerts, M.E.J., van Veen, H.A., Kooiman, P.M., Pieper, F., de Boer, H.A. & Nuijens, J.H. (1995) Biochem. J. 312, 107-114] is restricted to rhLF containing the Thr130 and Cys404. Comparison of the tryptic proteolysis of hLF and bovine LF (bLF) revealed that hLF is about 100-fold more resistant than bLF. Glycosylation variants A and B of bLF differed by about 10-fold in susceptibility to trypsin. This difference is due to glycosylation at Asn281 in bLF-A. Hence, glycosylation at Asn281 protects bLF against cleavage by trypsin at Lys282.     

The dominant expression of functional human lactoferrin in transgenic cloned goats using a hybrid lactoferrin expression construct

Human Lactoferrin (hLF) is an iron-binding protein with multiple physiological functions. As the availability of natural hLF is limited, alternative means of producing this biopharmaceutical protein have been extensively studied. Here we report on the dominant expression of recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF) in transgenic cloned goats using a novel optimised construct made by fusing a 3.3kb hLF minigene to the regulatory elements of the β-casein gene. The transgenic goat produced more than 30mg/ml rhLF in its milk, and rhLF expression was stable during the entire lactation cycle. The rhLF purification efficiency from whole goat milk is approximately 70%, and its purity is above 98%. Compared with natural hLF, the rhLF from transgenic goats has similar biological characteristics including molecular mass, N-terminal sequence, isoelectric point, immunoreactivity and digestive stability. More importantly, the purified rhLF showed specific anti-tumour activity in the mouse model of melanoma experimental metastasis. Therefore, our study shows that the large-scale production of functional rhLF in transgenic goat milk could be an economical and promising source of human therapeutic use in the future.     

Expression of human lactoferrin in milk of transgenic mice

The expression of human lactoferrin (hLF) in the milk of transgenic mice is described. Regulatory sequences derived from the bovine S1-casein gene were fused to the coding sequence of the hLF cDNA and several lines of transgenic mice were generated. Human LF RNA was detected exclusively in the mammary gland of lactating females and only after the onset of lactation. No aberrant RNA products could be detected using northern blotting and primer extension analysis. The hLF concentrations in the milk ranged from less than 0.1 to 36 g ml^–1. Human LF thus expressed did not differ from human milk derived LF, with respect to molecular mass and immunoreactivity with monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies.     

人乳铁蛋白cDNA的克隆及序列分析

从北京正常人乳腺组织中提取总RNA,用RT-PCR的方法扩增人乳铁蛋白(hLF)的cDNA,将其克隆到pGEM-T载体上并进行DNA序列测定。结果表明,所克隆的hLF cDNA序列全长为2136bp,其DNA序列与GenBank中另外5个hLF cDNA序列相比,有2个碱基与这5个序列不同：1740位这5个序列是G,本文序列是C;1756位这5个序列是T,本文序列是C。其中1740位碱基的变化导致了第580位氨基酸由Glu变为Asp。     

An inducible expression system for the production of human lactoferrin in Aspergillus nidulans.

The production and secretion of human lactoferrin (hLF) in Aspergillus nidulans is described. The hLF cDNA was expressed under the control of the strong ethanol-inducible alcohol dehydrogenase (alcA) promoter. Recombinant hLF (re-hLF) is produced at levels up to 5 micrograms/ml. Approximately 30% of the re-hLF produced in this system is secreted into the growth medium. The re-hLF is indistinguishable from native hLF with respect to size and immunoreactivity. Furthermore, re-hLF is functional by the criterion of iron-binding capacity. The A. nidulans expression system offers an inexpensive, convenient method for the controlled production of mg amounts of biologically active mammalian glycoproteins.     

Analytical cation-exchange chromatography to assess the identity,purity, and N-terminal integrity of human lactoferrin

Human lactoferrin (hLF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein involved in the innate host defense. The positively charged N-terminal domain of hLF mediates several of its activities by interacting with ligands such as bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), specific receptors, and other proteins. This cationic domain is highly susceptible to limited proteolysis, which impacts on the affinity of hLF for the ligand. An analytical method, employing cation-exchange chromatography on Mono S, was developed to assess the N-terminal integrity of hLF preparations. The method, which separates N-terminally intact hLF from hLF species lacking two (Gly(1)-Arg(2)) or three (Gly(1)-Arg(2)-Arg(3)) residues, showed that 5-58% of total hLF in commercially obtained preparations was N-terminally degraded. The elution profile of hLF on Mono S unequivocally differed from lactoferrins from other species as well as homologous and other whey proteins. Analysis of fresh human whey samples revealed two variants of N-terminally intact hLF, but not limitedly proteolyzed hLF. Mono S chromatography of 2 out of 26 individual human whey samples showed a rare polymorphic hLF variant with three N-terminal arginines (Gly(1)-Arg(2)-Arg(3)-Arg(4)-Ser(5)-) instead of the usual variant with four N-terminal arginines (Gly(1)-Arg(2)-Arg(3)-Arg(4)-Arg(5)-Ser(6)-). In conclusion, Mono S cation-exchange chromatography appeared a robust method to assess the identity, purity, N-terminal integrity, and the presence of polymorphic and intact hLF variants.     

The protein structure of recombinant human lactoferrin produced in the milk of transgenic cows closely matches the structure of human milk-derived lactoferrin

Human lactoferrin (hLF) is an iron-binding glycoprotein involved in the host defence against infection and excessive inflammation. As the availability of (human milk-derived) natural hLF is limited, alternative means of production of this biopharmaceutical are extensively researched. Here we report the crystal structure of recombinant hLF (rhLF) expressed in the milk of transgenic cows at a resolution of 2.4 Å. To our knowledge, the first reported structure of a recombinant protein produced in milk of transgenic livestock. Even though rhLF contains oligomannose- and hybrid-type N-linked glycans next to complex-type glycans, which are the only glycans found on natural hLF, the structures are identical within the experimental error (r.m.s. deviation of only 0.28 Å for the main-chain atoms). Of the differences in polymorphic amino acids between the natural and rhLF variant used, only the side-chain of Asp⁵⁶¹ could be modeled into the rhLF electron density map. Taken together, the results confirm the structural integrity of the rhLF variant used in this study. It also confirms the validity of the transgenic cow mammary gland as a vehicle to produce recombinant human proteins.Ellen A. J. Thomassen, Harrie A. van Veen - These authors have contributed equally to this paper.The PDB-code of recombinant human lactoferrin is 2BJJ     

Purification, characterization, and molecular gene cloning of an antifungal protein from Ginkgo biloba seeds

A novel basic protein with antifungal activity was isolated from the seeds of Ginkgo biloba and purified to homogeneity. The protein inhibited the growth of some fungi (Fusarium oxysporum, Trichoderma reesei, and Candida albicans) but did not exhibit antibacterial action against Escherichia coli. Furthermore, this protein showed weak inhibitory activity against the aspartic protease pepsin. To design primers for gene amplification, the NH(2)-terminal and partial internal amino acid sequences were determined using peptides obtained from a tryptic digest of the oxidized protein. The full-length cDNA of the antifungal protein was cloned and sequenced by RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The cDNA contained a 402-bp open reading frame encoding a 134-aa protein with a potential signal peptide (26 residues), suggesting that this protein is synthesized as a preprotein and secreted outside the cells. The antifungal protein shows approximately 85% identity with embryo-abundant proteins from Picea abies and Picea glauca at the amino acid level; however, there is no homology between this protein and other plant antifungal proteins, such as defensin, and cyclophilin-, miraculin- and thaumatin-like proteins.     

A novel serine protease inhibitor from Bungarus fasciatus venom

By Sephadex G-50 gel filtration, cation-exchange CM-Sephadex C-25 chromatography and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), a novel serine protease inhibitor named bungaruskunin was purified and characterized from venom of Bungarus fasciatus. Its cDNA was also cloned from the cDNA library of B. fasciatus venomous glands. The predicted precursor is composed of 83 amino acid (aa) residues including a 24-aa signal peptide and a 59-aa mature bungaruskunin. Bungaruskunin showed maximal similarity (64%) with the predicted serine protease inhibitor blackelin deduced from the cDNA sequence of the red-bellied black snake Pseudechis porphyriacus. Bungaruskunin is a Kunitz protease inhibitor with a conserved Kunitz domain and could exert inhibitory activity against trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastase. By screening the cDNA library, two new B chains of beta-bungarotoxin are also identified. The overall structures of bungaruskunin and beta-bungarotoxin B chains are similar; especially they have highly conserved signal peptide sequences. These findings strongly suggest that snake Kunitz/BPTI protease inhibitors and neurotoxic homologs may have originated from a common ancestor.     

人乳铁蛋白基因克隆及细胞表达研究

通过PCR法直接克隆了2.366kb的人乳铁蛋白基因cDNA序列及800bp的山羊β乳球蛋白基因5′ 端调控序列,并连接到表达载体pLNCX中。利用脂质体包裹含人乳铁蛋白基因cDNA的重组质粒pLNCXHLF,并导入到小鼠乳腺癌细胞株MA∕782中,G418及PCR筛选获得阳性单克隆细胞,增殖后,转染细胞利用海藻酸钠固定化包埋培养,经激素诱导,培养液上清通过Western印记检测证明,转染细胞表达并分泌出人乳铁蛋白,分子质量为34kDa;ELISA法测出,每升培养基(含105个细胞)重组蛋白最高表达量为65mg;抗菌实验表明,所获得的重组人乳铁蛋白具有抑制大肠杆菌生长的作用,而且比人乳铁蛋白标准品作用更强。 Abstract:In this paper,we directly cloned 2.366Kb cDNA sequence of human lactoferrin gene and 800bp 5′flank regulatory sequence of β/lactoglobulin gene from goat by PCR,then connected them with the expression vector pLNCX.The recombinant plasmid pLNCXHLF containing human lactoferrin gene cDNA was transfected into mice mammary tumor cell line MA/782 after liposome transinfection.Positive single clone cells were selected with G418 and by PCR.After proliferating,the transfected cells immobilized and cultured in soldium alginate were induced by hormone.The result of Western blotting analysis on cultured cell supernatant shows that transfected cells can express the exogenic gene and secrete hLF protein,whose MW is 34 KD.The highest amount detected by ELISA reached 65mg/l medium/105 cells.The result of antibacterial experiment indicates that the recombinant hLF protein has the effect of inhibiting E.coli proliferation;moreover,its activity is superior to the commercial available hLF′s.     

Molecular cloning and expression in Escherichia coli of the cDNA coding for rat lipocortin I (calpactin II)

Lipocortins (LC) are a family of proteins that were initially described to be induced by glucocorticosteroids and to inhibit phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Using oligodeoxynucleotide probes corresponding to partial amino acid (aa) sequences of rat lipocortin I (LCI), we have isolated a cDNA clone for rat LCI from a cDNA library prepared from poly(A)+RNA of peritoneal cells of dexamethasone-treated rat. The cDNA insert (1355 bp) had an open reading frame of 1038 bp that encoded a 346-aa polypeptide (Mr 38,784). The nucleotide sequence and the amino acid sequence deduced from it showed high homology with the reported sequences of human LCI. A plasmid containing the trc promoter and cDNA sequence for 346 aa residues of the rat LCI was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. Antibody to human LCI crossreacted with the recombinant rat LCI, and the recombinant protein had characteristics of natural rat LCI including PLA2 inhibitory activity in vitro.     

Cloning and sequencing of cDNA for the rat plasminogen activator inhibitor-1

A cDNA encoding rat plasminogen activator-inhibitor (PAI-1) has been isolated from an HTC rat hepatoma cell cDNA library constructed in phage lambda gt10. The cDNA contains 118 bp of 5'-untranslated sequence, 1206 bp encoding a 402-amino acid (aa) protein and 1747 bp of 3'-untranslated sequence. The protein-coding sequence and the derived amino acid sequence share 82% and 81% identity, respectively, with human PAI-1 cDNA and protein. The rat cDNA encodes a preprotein with a 23-aa leader peptide and a predicted N-terminal serine for the mature protein. Three of four potential N-glycosylation acceptor sites as well as the active site of rat PAI-1 are identical to the human protein. The 3'-untranslated region contains a number of unusual regions, including 80 bp of tandemly repeated GpA dinucleotides, a 115-bp stretch which shares greater than 90% sequence identity with a region within the 3'-untranslated cDNA of human PAI-1, and two 70-bp stretches of highly T-rich sequence located close to the 3'-terminus of the cDNA.     

人乳铁蛋白在转基因马铃薯块茎中的表达

人乳铁蛋白(human lactoferrin,hLF)是人体非特异性免疫系统的重要成员之一,具有抗细菌、真菌和抗病毒活性及其他多种功能.报道将hLF基因的cDNA与马铃薯(Solarium tuberosum L.)块茎专一性表达patain基因启动子融合后通过农杆菌介导导入马铃薯,PCR检测证实获得了多个转基因株系,RT-PCR阳性结果说明hLF mRNA在马铃薯植株中得到了表达.同时,经过ELISA及Western blot检测证实,转基因马铃薯表达了hLF并具有人乳铁蛋白的活性.     

Molecular cloning and analysis of residues associated with iron binding of Spodoptera litura transferrin

We isolated transferrin cDNA from tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura) and refer to it as SlTf (Spodoptera litura transferrin). The 2,237-bp SlTf cDNA encoded 685 amino acids, with a predicted Mw of 76.3 kDa and an isoelectric point of pH 7.97. The amino acid sequence of the SlTf protein had 11?C81% similarity with those of other reported animal transferrins, showing the highest similarity with another Lepidopteran insect, the silkworm (Bombyx mori), and the lowest similarity with atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) serum transferrin. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed that SlTf was close to transferrins of B. mori and M. sexta. By urea-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, four different iron-bound forms (apo-, C-terminal monoferric, N-terminal monoferric and diferric) were found from both SlTf and human transferrin, suggesting the C-lobe iron-binding motif of SlTf possesses the iron-biding activity, although its amino acid sequence is not well conserved compare to that of vertebrate transferrins. Accordingly, we suggest that the amino acid residues of iron-binding sites in SlTf are different from those of human serum transferrin, however the iron-binding capacity is conserved in both the C-lobe and the N-lobe of SlTf.     

Large scale production of recombinant human lactoferrin in the milk of transgenic cows

The limited capacity of current bioreactors has led the biopharmaceutical industry to investigate alternative protein expression systems. The milk of transgenic cattle may provide an attractive vehicle for large-scale production of biopharmaceuticals, but there have been no reports on the characteristics of such recombinant proteins. Here we describe the production of recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLF), an iron-binding glycoprotein involved in innate host defense, at gram per liter concentrations in bovine milk. Natural hLF from human milk and rhLF had identical iron-binding and -release properties. Although natural hLF and rhLF underwent differential N-linked glycosylation, they were equally effective in three different in vivo infection models employing immunocompetent and leukocytopenic mice, and showed similar localization at sites of infection. Taken together, the results illustrate the potential of transgenic cattle in the large-scale production of biopharmaceuticals.     

Expression of full-length bioactive antimicrobial human lactoferrin in potato plants

A cDNA fragment encoding human lactoferrin (hLF) linked to a plant microsomal retention signal peptide (SEKDEL) was stably integrated into the Solanum tuberosum genome by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated leaf disk transformation methods. The lactoferrin gene was expressed under control of both the auxin-inducible manopine synthase (mas) P2 promoter and the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S tandem promoter. The presence of the hLF cDNA in the genome of regenerated transformed potato plants was detected by polymerase chain reaction amplification methods. Full-length hLF protein was identified by immunoblot analysis in tuber tissue extracts from the transformed plants by immunoblot analysis. The hLF produced in transgenic plant tissues migrated during polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis as a single band with an approximate molecular mass equal to hLF. Auxin activation of the mas P2 promoter increased lactoferrin expression levels in transformed tuber and leaf tissues to approximately 0.1% of total soluble plant protein. Antimicrobial activity against four different human pathogenic bacterial strains was detected in extracts of lactoferrin-containing potato tuber tissues. This is the first report of synthesis of full length, biologically active hLF in edible plants.     

Cloning and expression analysis of a cDNA that encodes a leech hemerythrin

We report the cDNA sequence of a leech hemerythrin. A cDNA was isolated from a Theromyzon tessulatum cDNA library and encodes a 120 amino acid protein of about 14 kDa. The predicted protein contains the hemerythrin signature sequence and the iron ligand residues previously identified in crystal structures of hemerythrin and myohemerythrin. The protein displayed the highest identity to myohemerythrin, a non-heme iron-binding protein described in sipunculids. Expression analysis indicated that the mRNA is widely expressed in leech and is stage specific in appearance, being absent after the two first blood meals, appearing after the last blood meal during the period preceding oogenesis and disappearing after egg laying.     

High-level expression of human lactoferrin in milk of transgenic mice using genomic lactoferrin sequence.

In our previous study, transgenic mice were generated that expressed human lactoferrin (hLF) in milk using cDNA under control of the 2 kb bovine beta-casein promoter. The expression level of the protein in milk of 7 mice ranged from 1 to 200 microg/ml; 1 to 34 microg/ml in 6 mice and 200 microg/ml in 1 mouse. With the aim of inducing higher expression of the protein, we constructed an expression cassette comprised of 10 kb of the bovine beta-casein gene promoter and the hLF genomic sequence in place of the cDNA. The hLF genomic sequence of about 27 kb, spanning 23 kb of the entire coding region and 4 kb of the 3'-flanking sequence, was placed downstream the bovine beta-casein promoter. In total, 8 transgenic mice were generated from 31 mice (transgenic rate of 25.8%) born from the embryos microinjected with the 40-kb hLF expression cassette. Mammary-specific expression of the transgene was addressed by performing Northern hybridization of the total RNAs from various tissues of transgenic mice. Immunoblot analysis showed that the recombinant protein expressed in milk has the same molecular weight as the native protein. The amount of the protein in milk of 5 mice ranged from 60 to 6,600 microg/ml when judged by ELISA analysis. Three mice expressed the protein at the level higher than 500 microg/ml. These data suggest that the genomic lactoferrin sequence represents a valuable element for the efficient expression of the protein in milk of transgenic animals.