Purification and characterization of human IL-10/Fc fusion protein expressed in Pichia pastoris

Interleukin (IL)-10 is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that could be potentially applied for clinical therapy. However, its short circulating half-life in the serum limits its clinical applications. In this study, we designed a fusion protein containing human IL-10 and an IgG Fc fragment (hIL-10/Fc), and expressed it in Pichia pastoris. This hIL-10/Fc fusion protein was purified from the culture supernatant using MabSelect affinity chromatography and size-exclusion chromatography. The hIL-10/Fc yield was about 5mg/L in shake flasks, with purity exceeding 95%. In addition, the hIL-10/Fc fusion protein suppressed the phytohemagglutinin-induced IFN-γ production in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Pharmacokinetic study also revealed that hIL-10/Fc has a prolonged circulating half-life of about 30h in rats. More importantly, the hIL-10/Fc fusion protein displayed highly specific biological activity, which was slightly higher than that of the commercial recombinant human IL-10 (rhIL-10). Therefore, P. pastoris is useful in the large-scale production of hIL-10/Fc fusion protein for both research and therapeutic applications.     

重组人小分子抗体ScFv-Fc发酵条件的优化及纯化

目的：研究重组人小分子抗体ScFv—Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件,以及ScFv—Fc的纯化方法。方法：分别从甲醇浓度、pH、诱导时间等方面对毕赤酵母重组菌株产生ScFv-Fc的发酵过程进行了优化;通过硫酸铵沉淀结合proteinA亲和层析柱,对ScFv—Fc的纯化方法进行了研究。结果：确定ScFv—Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件为：在pH5．2的条件下,以0．5％甲醇诱导72h。经过proteinA亲和层析柱纯化后,ScFv—Fc纯度可达94％以上。结论：确定了ScFv-Fe在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件以及纯化方法,为重组抗体分子诊断、治疗试剂的开发以及抗体的人源化奠定了物质基础。     

发酵条件对毕赤酵母表达重组人干扰素ω糖基化的影响

发酵条件是影响毕赤酵母 (P .pastoris)表达外源重组糖蛋白时糖基化的重要因素。通过菌体浓度、起始pH值、甲醇诱导浓度和周期、装液量等摇瓶发酵实验 ,研究不同发酵条件对毕赤酵母表达分泌型重组人干扰素ω(rhIFNω)过程中糖基化的影响 ;同时 ,在连续培养过程中考察pH值变化对rhIFNω糖基化的影响和分批发酵过程中rhIFNω糖基化的变化。结果表明 ,控制菌体密度 250g L(WCW)、起始pH值 6 0、装液量小于 30mL、甲醇诱导浓度 15g L、甲醇诱导 3次 (每 24h诱导一次 )等发酵条件 ,有利于摇瓶发酵过程中rhIFNω的糖基化 ;控制pH值 70～75可促进rhIFNω的糖基化 ;分批发酵过程中 ,糖基化与非糖基化rhIFNω的含量有同比变化趋势 ,但糖基化rhIFNω所占比例明显低于摇瓶发酵实验的结果 ,其原因有待进一步研究。     

Generation of diploid Pichia pastoris strains by mating and their application for recombinant protein production

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Yeast mating provides an efficient means for strain and library construction. However, biotechnological applications of mating in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris have been hampered because of concerns about strain stability of P. pastoris diploids. The aim of the study reported here is to investigate heterologous protein expression in diploid P. pastoris strains and to evaluate diploid strain stability using high cell density fermentation processes. RESULTS: By using a monoclonal antibody as a target protein, we demonstrate that recombinant protein production in both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids is stable and efficient during a nutrient rich shake flask cultivation. When diploid strains were cultivated under bioreactor conditions, sporulation was observed. Nevertheless, both wild-type and glycoengineered P. pastoris diploids showed robust productivity and secreted recombinant antibody of high quality. Specifically, the yeast culture maintained a diploid state for 240 h post-induction phase while protein titer and N-linked glycosylation profiles were comparable to that of a haploid strain expressing the same antibody. As an application of mating, we also constructed an antibody display library and used mating to generate novel full-length antibody sequences. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this study reports for the first time a comprehensive characterization of recombinant protein expression and fermentation using diploid P. pastoris strains. Data presented here support the use of mating for various applications including strain consolidation, variable-region glycosylation antibody display library, and process optimization.     

Production of large quantities of isotopically labeled protein in Pichia pastoris by fermentation

Heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris has many of the advantages of eukaryotic expression, proper folding and disulfide bond formation, glycosylation, and secretion. Contrary to other eukaryotic systems, protein production from P.pastoris occurs in simple minimal defined media making this system attractive for production of labeled proteins for NMR analysis. P.pastoris is therefore the expression system of choice for NMR of proteins that cannot be refolded from inclusion bodies or that require post-translational modifications for proper folding or function. The yield of expressed proteins from P.pastoris depends critically on growth conditions, and attainment of high cell densities by fermentation has been shown to improve protein yields by 10–100-fold. Unfortunately, the cost of the isotopically enriched fermentation media components, particularly 15NH4OH, is prohibitively high. We report fermentation methods that allow for both 15N- labeling from (15NH4)2SO4 and 13C-labeling from 13C-glucose or 13C-glycerol of proteins produced in Pichia pastoris. Expression of an 83 amino acid fragment of thrombomodulin with two N-linked glycosylation sites shows that fermentation is more cost effective than shake flask growth for isotopic enrichment.     

Expression of Sonic hedgehog-Fc fusion protein in Pichia pastoris. Identification and control of post-translational,chemical, and proteolytic modifications

We have investigated the suitability of Pichia pastoris as an expression system for the candidate therapeutic protein, Sonic hedgehog fused to an immunoglobulin Fc domain (Shh-Fc). Sonic hedgehog is a morphogen protein involved in the patterning of a wide range of tissues during animal embryogenesis. The presence of Sonic hedgehog and its receptor, Patched, in adult nervous tissue suggests possible applications for the protein in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease and injury. We have engineered the Shh-Fc fusion protein in order to improve binding affinity and increase systemic exposure in animals. N-terminal sequencing, peptide mapping, mass spectrometry, and other biochemical and biological methods were used to characterize the purified protein. These analyses revealed several unanticipated problems, including thiaproline modification of the N-terminal cysteine, cleavage by a Kex2-like protease at a site near the N-terminus, proteolysis at sites near the hinge, addition of a hexose in the CH3 domain of the Fc region, and several sites of methionine oxidation. Sequence modifications to the protein and changes in fermentation conditions resulted in increased potency and greater consistency of the product. The final product was shown to be biologically active in animal studies.     

海藻糖合酶在毕赤酵母表面的展示

海藻糖合酶能够利用麦芽糖一步法转化生产海藻糖,其底物专一性较高,该酶体系生产工艺简单,不受底物麦芽糖浓度的影响,是工业生产海藻糖的首选。为获得具有生产海藻糖合酶能力的毕赤酵母表面展示载体,实验以筛选的Pseudomonas putide P06海藻糖合酶基因为模板,PCR扩增得到海藻糖合酶基因(tres,2064 bp),连接至pPICZαA质粒中,获得重组质粒pPICZαA-tres。以来自酿酒酵母的共价连接细胞壁的Pir系列蛋白的Pir1p成熟肽蛋白作为毕赤酵母表面展示的锚定蛋白,利用PCR技术扩增得到pir1p(847 bp),连接至重组质粒pPICZαA-tres中,获得重组质粒pPICZαA-tres-pir1p。将重组质粒电击转入毕赤酵母GS115中,利用α-factor信号肽将蛋白引导分泌至细胞壁展示于毕赤酵母表面。通过Zeocin抗性筛选,挑选出阳性克隆子并摇瓶发酵。发酵产物经离心、破碎并使用昆布多糖酶水解,洗脱,结果显示,SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳分析可见明显融合蛋白条带,表明海藻糖合酶已成功地锚定在毕赤酵母。将重组毕赤酵母使用pH 7.5的缓冲液清洗并重悬,与底物浓度为30%的麦芽糖在30℃~60℃水浴条件下作用2 h,反应产物利用HPLC检测,能够检测到酶学活性。在优化后的条件pH 7.5,50℃,表面展示海藻糖合酶酶活达到300.65 U/g。40℃~50℃酶活较稳定,保温60 min,残留酶活相对活力达75%以上;最适反应pH值为7.5,并在碱性环境下稳定。     

基于密码子优化的蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中的表达及分离纯化

【目的】提高蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中的表达产量,建立分离纯化方法。【方法】首先对蛋白酶K密码子进行优化,将其导入毕赤酵母GS115中实现分泌表达。然后对甲醇浓度、发酵温度和p H等表达条件进行优化,再对硫酸铵沉淀、亲和层析等纯化工艺进行比对分析。【结果】蛋白酶K密码子优化后实现了在毕赤酵母中的高效表达。在甲醇量0.75%、温度25°C和p H 7.0条件下进行发酵罐培养,蛋白酶K表达量达到2.2 g/L。采用Ni-NTA亲和柱对发酵液进行纯化可以得到较好的纯化效果。【结论】密码子优化后的蛋白酶K在毕赤酵母中高效表达并可以利用Ni-NTA亲和柱进行有效分离纯化。     

重组毕赤酵母发酵牛肉风味肽的中试研究

研究分泌表达16拷贝牛肉风味肽（beefy meaty peptide, BMP）毕赤酵母工程菌株(Pichia pastoris GS115-16B2)的500L发酵罐中试发酵工艺。在500L发酵罐中采用三步发酵法进行了3批次中试发酵实验,设定菌体培养阶段温度为30℃,pH5.0,诱导表达阶段温度为28℃,pH3.0。在发酵程中通过调节搅拌速度、通气量和罐压等措施来使DO维持在20%~35%左右,总共发酵126h（诱导时间为96h）,当诱导88h后（发酵118h）,600nm波长下的光密度值(OD600)达到184.5,菌体湿重达到318.7g/L,目的产物BMP的表达量达到最高为172 mg/L,实现了BMP的高效表达。通过中试发酵初步建立了工程菌P. pastoris GS115-16B2的中试发酵工艺,为BMP的进一步研究开发奠定了良好基础。     

用GAP启动子在Pichia pastoris GS115中组成型表达鼠灰链霉菌腺苷酸脱氨酶

【目的】构建产AMP脱氨酶的重组毕赤酵母(Pichia pastoris GS115)菌株,并初步优化其发酵条件。【方法】以鼠灰链霉菌(Streptomyces murinus)基因组为模板PCR扩增获得腺苷酸脱氨酶基因AMPD,以pGAP9K为载体构建重组表达质粒pGAP9K-AMPD并通过电转化法转入Pichia pastoris GS115,筛选转化子对其酶活进行测定,并初步优化其发酵条件。【结果】构建了毕赤酵母重组菌,通过分光光度法测定,显示重组菌有明显的酶活;初步优化发酵条件为:该重组菌最适发酵培养基为:甘油2%,蛋白胨2%,酵母膏1%,KH2PO40.5%,MgSO4·7H2O0.05%,pH 6.0;发酵条件为:接种龄24 h,转接量3%,30°C﹑200 r/min培养96 h,取发酵上清液测定酶活,重组菌腺苷酸脱氨酶酶活达到2 230±60 U/mL。【结论】构建了一株产AMP脱氨酶活性较高的重组毕赤酵母菌株,并通过优化发酵条件使其酶活达到2 230±60 U/mL。为AMP脱氨酶工业化生产奠定了一定的基础。     

强化表达SAM合成酶促进SAM在毕赤酵母中累积

S 腺苷甲硫氨酸 (S adenosyl L methionine ,SAM)是生物体硫代谢的重要中间代谢物质 ,在体内起着转甲基、转硫基、转氨丙基的作用 ,具有重要的药用和保健价值。将酿酒酵母来源的SAM合成酶 2基因置于GAP启动子调控下 ,构建胞内组成型表达质粒 ,并电转化至毕赤酵母菌株GS115。经Zeocin抗性和培养筛选到一株高产SAM的重组菌。对重组菌表达工艺的研究表明 ,碳源、氮源、pH和溶解氧对SAM的累积有较大影响。在优化条件下 ,重组细胞培养 3天 ,SAM累积量可达 2 .49g/L。     

重组人小分子抗体ScFv-Fc发酵条件的优化及纯化

目的:研究重组人小分子抗体ScFv-Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件,以及ScFv-Fc的纯化方法。方法:分别从甲醇浓度、pH、诱导时间等方面对毕赤酵母重组菌株产生ScFv-Fc的发酵过程进行了优化;通过硫酸铵沉淀结合protein A亲和层析柱,对ScFv-Fc的纯化方法进行了研究。结果:确定ScFv-Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件为:在pH5.2的条件下,以0.5%甲醇诱导72 h。经过protein A亲和层析柱纯化后,ScFv-Fc纯度可达94%以上。结论:确定了ScFv-Fc在毕赤酵母中分泌表达的最佳条件以及纯化方法,为重组抗体分子诊断、治疗试剂的开发以及抗体的人源化奠定了物质基础。     

人GLP -1- IgG Fc融合蛋白在毕赤酵母中的高效表达

目的:构建GLP-1-IgG Fc融合蛋白分子并在毕赤酵母中实现高效表达.方法:使用蛋白质工程技术改造GLP -1,去除其蛋白酶降解位点,然后利用重叠延伸PCR方法得到改造后的GLP -1与人IgG-Fc片断的嵌合体基因并将其插入pPIC9K载体中.以重组载体转化巴斯德毕赤酵母菌中进行表达.采用SDS-PAGE和Western Blot方法检测重组蛋白的表达.结果:成功的构建了GLP -1-IgG Fc嵌合体基因并使其在重组毕赤酵母中高效分泌表达.在25℃条件下,摇瓶培养添加0.5％甲醇诱导72h后融合蛋白的表达量最大,为5mg/L.SDS-PAGE和Westem-Blot结果表明表达产物为GLP -1-IgG Fc融合蛋白.结论:获得了高效表达GLP -1-IgG Fc融合蛋白的毕赤酵母菌株,为GLP -1-IgG Fc的活性和半衰期测定及下一步的开发奠定了基础,并为在毕赤酵母菌中表达其他Fc融合蛋白和抗体提供了参考.     

利用毕赤酵母系统直接分泌表达具有活性的谷氨酰胺转胺酶

使用异源表达系统直接分泌表达具有活性的微生物谷氨酰胺转氨酶(Microbial transglutaminase,MTG)是目前最具前景的MTG生产方法之一,但由于产量较低无法实现工业化生产.毕赤酵母是近年来发展出的高效蛋白表达系统.通过采用pro序列与成熟MTG基因共表达的策略,成功地实现了用重组毕赤酵母分泌表达具有活性的茂原链霉菌Streptomyces mobaraense MTG.进一步通过对pro序列和MTG基因拷贝数以及重组酵母培养条件的优化,最终使得MTG在1L发酵罐中高密度发酵的酶活达到7.3 U/mL,为MTG的工业化生产奠定了基础.     

High-level expression and stabilization of recombinant human chitinase produced in a continuous constitutive Pichia pastoris expression system

A continuous fermentation process has been developed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) with the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAP) promoter in order to produce large quantities of recombinant human chitinase (rh-chitinase) for preclinical studies as a potential high-dose antifungal drug. Expression levels of about 200 to 400 mg/L have been demonstrated in fed-batch fermentations using strains with either the traditional methanol-inducible or the constitutive GAP promoter. Proteolytic degradation of the enzyme was typically seen in fed-batch fermentations. Continuous production of the enzyme by P. pastoris with the GAP promoter was demonstrated in a 1.5-L working volume fermentor using either glucose or glycerol as the carbon source. The fermentation could be extended for >1 month with a steady-state protein concentration of approximately 300 mg/L. Cell densities were >400 g/L wet cell weight (WCW) (approximately 100 g/L dry cell weight [DCW]) at a dilution rate (D) of 0.83 day(-1) or 1.2 volume exchanges per day (VVD). No proteolytic degradation of the enzyme was seen in the continuous fermentation mode.     

Optimization of a glycoengineered Pichia pastoris cultivation process for commercial antibody production

Glycoengineering enabled the production of proteins with human N-linked glycans by Pichia pastoris. This study used a glycoengineered P. pastoris strain which is capable of producing humanized glycoprotein with terminal galactose for monoclonal antibody production. A design of experiments approach was used to optimize the process parameters. Followed by further optimization of the specific methanol feed rate, induction duration, and the initial induction biomass, the resulting process yielded up to 1.6 g/L of monoclonal antibody. This process was also scaled-up to 1,200-L scale, and the process profiles, productivity, and product quality were comparable with 30-L scale. The successful scale-up demonstrated that this glycoengineered P. pastoris fermentation process is a robust and commercially viable process.     

Alkaline protease production by an isolated Bacillus circulans under solid-state fermentation using agroindustrial waste: process parameters optimization

Alkaline protease production using isolated Bacillus circulans under solid-state fermentation environment was optimized by using Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) experimental design (DOE) methodology to understand the interaction of a large number of variables spanned by factors and their settings with a small number of experiments in order to economize the process optimization. The software-designed experiments with an OA worksheet of L-27 was selected to optimize fermentation (temperature, particle size, moisture content and pH), nutrition (yeast extract and maltose), and biomaterial-related (inoculum size and incubation time) factors for the best production yields. Analysis of experimental data using Qualitek-4 methodology showed significant variation in enzyme production levels (32,000-73,000 units per gram material) and dependence on the selected factors and their assigned levels. Validation of experimental results on alkaline protease production by this bacterial strain based on DOE methodology revealed 51% enhanced protease production compared to average performance of the fermentation, indicating the importance of this methodology in the evaluation of main and interaction effects of the selected factors individually and in combination for bioprocess optimization.     

Human chymotrypsinogen B production with Pichia pastoris by integrated development of fermentation and downstream processing. Part 1. Fermentation

Based on an integrated approach of genetic engineering, fermentation process development, and downstream processing, a fermentative chymotrypsinogen B production process using recombinant Pichia pastoris is presented. Making use of the P. pastoris AOX1-promotor, the demand for methanol as the single carbon source as well as an inducer of protein secretion enforced the use of an optimized feeding strategy by help of on-line analysis and an advanced controller algorithm. By using an experimental system of six parallel sparged column bioreactors, proteolytic product degradation could be minimized while also optimizing starting conditions for the following downstream processing. This optimization of process conditions resulted in the production of authentic chymotrypsinogen at a final concentration level of 480 mg.L(-)(1) in the whole broth and a biomass concentration of 150 g.L(-)(1) cell dry weight, thus comprising a space-time yield of 5.2 mg.L(-)(1).h(-)(1). Alternatively to the high cell density fermentation approach, a continuous fermentation process was developed to study the effects of reduced cell density toward oxygen demand, cooling energy, and biomass separation. This development led to a process with a highly increased space-time yield of 25 mg.L(-)(1).h(-)(1) while reducing the cell dry weight concentration from 150 g.L(-)(1) in fed-batch to 65 g.L(-)(1) in continuous cultivation.     

Overexpression of a small medicinal peptide from ginseng in the yeast Pichia pastoris

A medicinal peptide, Gsp, which was initially extracted from the traditional medicinal herb ginseng, has potential use as a drug against diabetes. Gsp is a low molecular weight protein that we have secreted in a recombinant form from the yeast Pichia pastoris. A DNA fragment encoding four copies of the Gsp protein each separated by a basic amino acid was synthesized and inserted into the P. pastoris expression vector plasmid pPIC9. After electroporation of the resulting vector, pPIC9-Gsp, into the yeast, transformants were selected. Recombinant pre-Gsp secreted from P. pastoris had a molecular weight of 5.9 kDa and mature recombinant Gsp had a primary structure indistinguishable from native Gsp. After optimization of the culturing process, the yield of pre-Gsp reached 800 mg/L in the clarified broth. A continuous batch fermentation process was developed that allowed the same population of cells to be reutilized five times without loss of expression level. This continuous culturing process resulted in a substantial saving of both time and cost in pharmaceutical production and should be applicable to the production of other recombinant proteins in P. pastoris.