High-level expression and rapid purification of rare-codon genes from hyperthermophilic archaea by the GST gene fusion system

In this study, we compared two gene fusion expression strategies using two rare codon genes (Ssh10b and MtGrxM) from archaea as a model system. Both genes can be highly expressed as N- or C-terminal fusion partners to GST or the intein/chitin-binding tag. However, the fusion protein with intein tag could not be cleaved, even under stringent conditions, possibly due to steric hindrance, thus preventing further purification. In contrast, the GST fusion system could increase protein expression level and the corresponding fusion protein could be easily cleaved by thrombin. After binding to glutathione sepharose, the fusion protein was cleaved on column, and a roughly purified protein fraction was eluted. This fraction was purified by heating at 80 degrees C for 10 min, followed by centrifugation. The correct total mass and N-terminal primary structure were confirmed by mass spectrometry and Edman degradation. Both constructs were used for in vitro expression, and similar results were obtained, indicating higher expression levels of the GST tag vs. intein/chitin tag. Taken together, our results suggest that the GST fusion system can be used as a considerable alternative to synthetic genes for the expression of rare codon genes. The affinity chromatography purification followed by a heating step is an efficient and convenient method for thermostable protein purification.     

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%。     

Interacting domains of the HN and F proteins of newcastle disease virus

The activation of most paramyxovirus fusion proteins (F proteins) requires not only cleavage of F(0) to F(1) and F(2) but also coexpression of the homologous attachment protein, hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) or hemagglutinin (H). The type specificity requirement for HN or H protein coexpression strongly suggests that an interaction between HN and F proteins is required for fusion, and studies of chimeric HN proteins have implicated the membrane-proximal ectodomain in this interaction. Using biotin-labeled peptides with sequences of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) F protein heptad repeat 2 (HR2) domain, we detected a specific interaction with amino acids 124 to 152 from the NDV HN protein. Biotin-labeled HR2 peptides bound to glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins containing these HN protein sequences but not to GST or to GST containing HN protein sequences corresponding to amino acids 49 to 118. To verify the functional significance of the interaction, two point mutations in the HN protein gene, I133L and L140A, were made individually by site-specific mutagenesis to produce two mutant proteins. These mutations inhibited the fusion promotion activities of the proteins without significantly affecting their surface expression, attachment activities, or neuraminidase activities. Furthermore, these changes in the sequence of amino acids 124 to 152 in the GST-HN fusion protein that bound HR2 peptides affected the binding of the peptides. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that HN protein binds to the F protein HR2 domain, an interaction important for the fusion promotion activity of the HN protein.     

人SUMO-3基因原核表达及多克隆抗体制备

构建人SUMO-3基因的原核表达载体pET41a(+)-SUMO-3,表达重组GST-SUMO-3融合蛋白,制备人SUMO-3多克隆抗体。试验结果显示,通过PCR方法从重组质粒pEYFP-SUMO-3中克隆到的SUMO-3 N端93个氨基酸的基因序列与NCBI上提供的序列一致,重组质粒pET41a(+)-SUMO-3构建成功;重组pET41a(+)-SUMO-3在E.coli.BL21 (DE3) pLysS中表达GST-SUMO-3融合蛋白,分子量为44.0 kDa,与预期分子量一致;采用亲和层析纯化融合蛋白GST-SUMO-3并免疫家兔,获得人SUMO-3抗体;Western blot 检测显示该抗体可以特异性识别SUMO-3,ELISA检测结果成阳性,抗体效价约为1: 20000。实验结果为进一步研究人SUMO-3及SUMO第二类家族的功能提供了有用工具。     

Construction of a dual-tag system for gene expression, protein affinity purification and fusion protein processing

An E. coli vector system was constructed which allows the expression of fusion genes via a l-rhamnose-inducible promotor. The corresponding fusion proteins consist of the maltose-binding protein and a His-tag sequence for affinity purification, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Smt3 protein for protein processing by proteolytic cleavage and the protein of interest. The Smt3 gene was codon-optimized for expression in E. coli. In a second rhamnose-inducible vector, the S. cerevisiae Ulp1 protease gene for processing Smt3 fusion proteins was fused in the same way to maltose-binding protein and His-tag sequence but without the Smt3 gene. The enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) was used as reporter and protein of interest. Both fusion proteins (MalE-6xHis-Smt3-eGFP and MalE-6xHis-Ulp1) were efficiently produced in E. coli and separately purified by amylose resin. After proteolytic cleavage the products were applied to a Ni-NTA column to remove protease and tags. Pure eGFP protein was obtained in the flow-through of the column in a yield of around 35% of the crude cell extract.     

Peptides selected from phage display library may change the conformation of S protein of rice stripe virus

Phages with high affinity to the S protein obtained fromrice stripe virus (RSV) were enriched fromphage-displayed random 12-mer peptide library after threerounds of biopanning. 9 different peptides from theenriched library were selected by ELISA. Circulardichroism (CD) spectra of the GST-S fusion protein withbinding phages and non-binding phages showed thatstructure of the S protein was changed after it bound toeach of these 9 selected 12-mer peptides, which suggestedthat these peptides might disrupt the function of Sprotein. Thus, those peptides might be used to developplant resistance and disrupt virus transmission. 3 of the12-mer peptide genes were fused with the GST gene in pGEX3X. The fusion proteins were also obtained using E.coli expression system and purified.     

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。     

Characterization,expression and regulation of a third gene encoding glutathione S-transferase from the fission yeast

A third gene encoding glutathione S-transferase (GSTIII) was cloned from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. The nucleotide sequence determined was found to contain 2110 base pairs including an open reading frame of 242 amino acids that would encode a protein of a molecular mass of 26,620 Da. The cloned GSTIII gene could be expressed in S. pombe, S. cerevisiae and Escherichia coli cells which gave 1.4-, 2.1-, and 3.0-fold higher GST activity in an assay using 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as a substrate, respectively. The cloned GSTIII gene caused higher survivals of S. pombe cells on solid media with cadmium chloride or mercuric chloride. The GSTIII protein has 16% and 18% homologies with the GSTI and GSTII proteins, respectively. To independently monitor the regulation of the GSTIII gene, its 1168 bp upstream region and N-terminal 33 amino acid-coding region was fused into the promoterless beta-galactosidase gene of the shuttle vector YEp357. The synthesis of beta-galactosidase from the fusion plasmid pGY357 was greatly enhanced by cadmium chloride (50 microM), cupric chloride (10 microM), aluminum chloride (5 mM, 10 mM), mercuric chloride (1 microM), and zinc chloride (10 mM). However, the synthesis of beta-galactosidase from the fusion plasmid pGY357 was not affected by superoxide-generating menadione, and o-dinitrobenzene, whereas they could significantly induce the expression of the GSTI and GSTII genes of S. pombe. The overproduced Pap1 inhibited the induction of beta-galactosidase synthesis from the fusion plasmid pGY357 by cadmium chloride, which is opposite to the previously known role of Pap1 in the response to oxidative stress. Our results collectively indicate that the three GST genes of S. pombe are subjected to different regulatory mechanisms. The major role of the GSTIII protein in S. pombe may be the detoxification of various metals.     

Reconstitution of mammalian excision repair activity with mutant cell-free extracts and XPAC and ERCC1 proteins expressed in Escherichia coli.

Nucleotide excision repair in humans involves the coordinated actions of 8-10 proteins. To understand the roles of each of these proteins in excision it is necessary to develop an in vitro excision repair system reconstituted entirely from purified proteins. Towards this goal we have expressed in E. coli two of the 8 genes known to be essential for the excision reaction. XPAC and ERCC1 were expressed as fusion proteins with the Escherichia coli maltose binding protein (MBP) and purified to > 80% homogeneity by affinity chromatography. The purified proteins either as fusions or after cleavage from the MBP were able to complement the CFE of cells with mutations in the corresponding genes in an excision assay with thymine dimer containing substrate.     

Peptides selected from phage display library may change the conformation of S protein of rice stripe virus

Summary Phages with high affinity to the S protein obtained from rice stripe virus (RSV) were enriched from phage-displayed random 12-mer peptide library after three rounds of biopanning. 9 different peptides from the enriched library were selected by ELISA. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the GST-S fusion protein with binding phages and non-binding phages showed that structure of the S protein was changed after it bound to each of these 9 selected 12-mer peptides, which suggested that these peptides might disrupt the function of S protein. Thus, those peptides might be used to develop plant resistance and disrupt virus transmission. 3 of the 12-mer peptide genes were fused with the GST gene in pGEX 3X. The fusion proteins were also obtained usingE. coli expression system and purified.     

Purification, characterization and gene cloning of the killer toxin produced by the marine-derived yeast Williopsis saturnus WC91-2

As the killer toxin produced by Williopsis saturnus WC91-2 could kill many sensitive yeast strains, including the pathogenic ones, the extracellular killer toxin in the supernatant of cell culture of the marine yeast strain was purified and characterized. The molecular mass of the purified killer toxin was estimated to be 11.0kDa according to the data from SDS-PAGE. The purified killer toxin had killing activity, but could not hydrolyze laminarin. The optimal conditions for action of the purified killer toxin against the pathogenic yeast Metschnikowia bicuspidate WCY were the assay medium with 10% NaCl, pH 3-3.5 and temperature 16°C. The gene encoding the killer toxin from the marine killer yeast WC91-2 was cloned and the ORF of the gene was 378bp. The deduced protein from the cloned gene encoding the killer toxin had 125 amino acids with calculated molecular weight of 11.6kDa. It was also found that the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified killer toxin had the same corresponding sequence deduced from the cloned killer toxin gene in this marine yeast, confirming that the purified killer toxin was indeed encoded by the cloned gene.     

Cloning and expression of the Mycobacterium fortuitum Superoxide dismutase gene

Abstract The beta-toxin gene from Clostridium perfringens type C was cloned and expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein in Escherichia coll . The DNA sequence was determined and compared to the type B sequence. Two nucleotide differences were found in the protein coding sequence, resulting in one amino acid difference between the two proteins. The purified beta-toxin fusion protein is not toxic in mice, but rabbit antiserum raised against it neutralises the toxic effect of C. perfringens type C culture filtrate in mice.     

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