Molecular cloning,expression, and characterization of bovine tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

Human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) is a matrix-associated Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor that is secreted by all cells of the vasculature, and presumably plays a role in the regulation of plasmin-mediated matrix remodeling. In this report, we describe the cloning and expression of a full-length cDNA for bovine TFPI-2 that exhibits 72% sequence identity with that of human TFPI-2. Following a 22 residue signal peptide, the mature protein contains 212 amino acids with 18 cysteines, three putative N-glycosylation sites, and one putative O-glycosylation site. The deduced sequence of mature bovine TFPI-2 revealed a short acidic amino-terminal region, three tandem Kunitz-type domains, and a carboxy-terminal tail highly enriched in basic amino acids. Recombinant bovine TFPI-2 was expressed in HEK 293 cells and resolved into two isoforms, designated as alpha-TFPI-2 (M(r) 33 kDa) and beta-TFPI-2 (M(r) 31 kDa), which presumably represent differentially glycosylated forms of the inhibitor. Similar to human TFPI-2, both bovine TFPI-2 isoforms exhibited strong inhibitory activity towards trypsin and plasmin, and weak inhibitory activity towards the factor VIIa-tissue factor complex.     

组织基质金属蛋白酶抑制剂-2的表达纯化及活性鉴定

组织基质金属蛋白酶抑制剂-2(TIMP-2)抑制肿瘤迁移及侵袭。文中以人TIMP-2为研究对象,探索人TIMP-2蛋白的原核表达特征,并进行纯化及活性鉴定。以人肺癌A549细胞的总RNA反转录得到的cDNA为模板,克隆人TIMP-2基因,构建pET28a重组表达载体;经酶切检测和测序分析的重组表达载体pET28a-TIMP-2转入大肠杆菌Escherichia coli BL21(DE3)中,利用异丙基-β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导表达,并对表达条件进行优化。经镍亲和柱纯化后,用Westernblotting法鉴定融合蛋白His-TIMP-2,并用明胶酶谱法检测融合蛋白的活性。研究发现融合蛋白His-TIMP-2在E.coliBL21(DE3)中以包涵体的形式存在;在一定范围内,IPTG浓度对His-TIMP-2的表达量没有显著影响;而在该表达系统中,诱导温度和时间是关键参数,His-TIMP-2的表达量随诱导温度升高而增加;纯化并复性后的融合蛋白His-TIMP-2能有效抑制人肺癌A549细胞表达的基质金属蛋白酶的活性。具有活性的融合蛋白的获得为后续深入研究人TIMP-2的功...     

Thrombin up-regulates tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 synthesis through a cyclooxygenase-2-dependent, epidermal growth factor receptor-independent mechanism

The serine proteinase inhibitor tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) inhibits the tissue factor-factor VIIa complex and thereby impairs factor Xa and subsequently thrombin generation. Here we show that thrombin itself up-regulates TFPI-2 mRNA and protein expression in human liver myofibroblasts, a cell type shown to express high levels of TFPI-2 (Neaud, V., Hisaka, T., Monvoisin, A., Bedin, C., Balabaud, C., Foster, D. C., Desmoulière, A., Kisiel, W., and Rosenbaum, J. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 35565-35569). This effect required thrombin catalytic activity, as shown by its abolition with hirudin. Although the thrombin effect could be mimicked by agonists of both protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and PAR-4, it was largely blocked by a PAR-1 blocking antibody. Transactivation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor has been reported as a common event in thrombin signaling. However, thrombin did not detectably transactivate the EGF receptor in liver myofibroblasts, and blocking the EGF receptor did not affect TFPI-2 induction. On the other hand, thrombin increased the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA via a MAPK-dependent pathway, and a specific COX-2 inhibitor abolished the effect of thrombin on TFPI-2 expression. Thus, thrombin, through PAR-1 signaling, up-regulates the synthesis of TFPI-2 via a MAPK/COX-2-dependent pathway. The up-regulation of TFPI-2 expression by thrombin could in turn down-regulate thrombin generation and contribute to limit blood coagulation.     

Expression and characterization of the first kunitz domain of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

Human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (hTFPI-2) has three kunitz domains whose structure and function are unclear. We expressed the first kunitz domain of hTFPI-2 (hTFPI-2/KD1) as functional form using Pichia pastoris and investigated its characterization. In the experiment, hTFPI-2/KD1 can inhibit the plasmin and trypsin activity and the Ki of hTFPI-2/KD1 towards plasmin (30nM) and trypsin (50nM) was determined as 10 and 7nM by chromogenic assay, respectively. hTFPI-2/KD1 can also inhibit MMP-2 and MMP-9 in zymography assay. Furthermore, the inhibition of hTFPI-2/KD1 to the Matrigel invasion by HT-1080 is also described. This study provides a method to produce hTFPI-2/KD1 efficiently and some insights into the structure and function of hTFPI-2/KD1.     

Suppression of the biological activities of the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domain by the heparin-binding domain of heparin-binding EGF-like Growth Factor

Heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor (HB-EGF) is a member of the EGF family of growth factors that has a high affinity for heparin and heparan sulfate. While interactions with heparin are thought to modulate the biological activity of HB-EGF, the precise role of the heparin-binding domain has remained unclear. We analyzed the activity of wild-type HB-EGF and a mutant form lacking the heparin-binding domain (DeltaHB) in the presence or absence of heparin. The activity of the EGF-like domain of HB-EGF was determined by measuring binding to diphtheria toxin (DT) as well as the growth factor activity in EGF receptor-expressing cells. The binding affinity of DeltaHB for DT was much higher than that of wild-type HB-EGF in the absence of heparin. The binding affinity of HB-EGF for DT was increased by addition of exogenous heparin and reached the level close to the affinity of DeltaHB, whereas that of DeltaHB was not affected. Moreover, the growth factor activity of DeltaHB was much higher than that of wild-type HB-EGF in the absence of heparin but was not affected by addition of exogenous heparin, whereas HB-EGF had increased growth factor activity with added heparin. These results indicate that the heparin-binding domain suppresses the activity of the EGF-like domain of HB-EGF and that association of heparin with HB-EGF via this domain removes the suppressive effect. Thus, we conclude that the heparin-binding domain serves as a negative regulator of this growth factor.     

Expression and characterization of Kunitz domain 3 and C-terminal of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

Human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 （hTFPI-2） is a serine protease inhibitor and its inhibitory activity is enhanced by heparin. The Kunitz domain 3 and C- terminal of hTFPI-2 （hTFPI-2/KD3C）, which has the activity toward heparin calcium, have been successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris and purified by SP- Sepharose and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. The Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy （FTIR）, Raman spectroscopy, and circular dichroism （CD） experiment results implied that hTFPI-2/KD3C contained small contents of α-helix and β-strand, but large amounts of random coil and two kinds of disulfide bonds, gauche-gauche-gauche （ggg） and trans-gauchetrans （tgt）. The interaction of hTFPI-2/KD3C with heparin calcium was investigated by CD. It was found that heparin calcium induced β-strands in hTFPI-2/ KD3C to different extents depending on the ratio of hTFPI-2/KD3C and heparin calcium.     

Prokaryotic expression, purification and characterization of nattokinase

Nattokinase is a fibrinolytic enzyme that is considered to be a promising agent for thrombosis therapy. In this study, nattokinase was purified from fermentation broth of a Bacillus subtilis strain by ammonium sulfate salting-out, gel filtration chromatography, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography with a purification fold of 5.2 and at a yield of 46.3%. The purified enzyme has molecular mass of 28 kDa and fibrinolytic activity of 4 580 U/mg. Since the concentration of nattokinase on fermentation broth was quite low, we cloned nattokinase gene from B. subtilis and expressed it in E. coli BL21 (DE3). Nattokinase was actively expressed in the recombinant strain. The yield of nattokinase was increased significantly, but the activity of the protein produced by recombinant strain was low.     

小鼠cofilin2蛋白的原核表达及纯化

[目的]构建小鼠cofilin2原核表达载体并纯化表达产物。[方法]以胚胎期小鼠心脏组织的c DNA为模板PCR扩增cofilin2基因,经酶切连接表达载体PGEX-4T-1后转化入大肠杆菌E. coli BL21感受态细胞中,利用异丙基-β-D-硫代吡喃半乳糖苷(IPTG)进行诱导表达及优化,利用SDS-PAGE凝胶电泳,考马斯亮蓝R-250进行染色,检测GST-cofilin2的表达情况。通过谷胱甘肽树脂(Glutathione Resin)亲和层析进行纯化,最后通过Western Blot进行验证。[结果]PCR成功扩增cofilin2基因,双酶切及测序结果表明p GEX-4T-1-cofilin2原核表达载体构建成功,SDS-PAGE鉴定表明,在22℃、200μmol/L的IPTG能诱导出大量可溶性的GST-cofilin2蛋白,分子量为43 k Da。Western Blot验证得到纯化的GST-cofilin2。[结论]成功构建小鼠cofilin2原核表达载体,纯化得到的重组小鼠cofilin2蛋白可用于后续的生物学研究。     

Novel method for expression and purification of human pigment epithelium-derived factor with biological activities in Escherichia coli

We developed a novel method for the expression and purification of recombinant human PEDF in Escherchia coli, and proved it to be simple, convenient, and cheap to obtain this protein with biological activity intact. Human PEDF gene, amplified by PCR from human retinal cNDA library, was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-22b(+). The recombinant pET-22b(+)/PEDF was expressed in E. coli strain BL21(DE3). The recombinant protein showed a molecular weight of about 50 kDa and was mainly in the form of inclusion bodies according to SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. The insoluble rPEDF was solublized from inclusion bodies by denaturation using 6 M urea, purified by His-tag affinity chromatography, and renatured to natural structure by dialysis in the presence of DTT. The rPEDF could cell-type-specifically inhibit HRCEC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner and induce HRCEC apoptosis.     

绵羊粒细胞集落刺激因子原核表达与提纯及用于颗粒细胞培养的效果

文中旨在研究粒细胞集落刺激因子(Granule cell stimulating factor,GCSF)对绵羊颗粒细胞体外培养过程中细胞增殖和凋亡的影响,明确GCSF对绵羊颗粒细胞生存的调节作用,为今后该蛋白用于羊繁育方面的研究奠定基础。原核克隆表达纯化羊GCSF蛋白,纯化的蛋白用M-NSF60细胞检测生物学活性,将纯化的GCSF添加到颗粒细胞培养基中作为试验组,以培养基中未添加GCSF的细胞为对照,利用Alarmarblue检测细胞增殖情况,流式细胞仪检测细胞周期和凋亡的变化。结果表明,羊GCSF可以原核表达并纯化,并且具有生物学活性。在24 h和48 h时,在0.06–600 ng/mL的范围内随着加入GCSF的终浓度增加,细胞活力升高。试验组颗粒细胞体外培养24 h后,与阴性对照相比,细胞周期的分布显著改变,S期细胞比例显著减少(P<0.05),G2/M期细胞比例显著增多(P<0.05)。试验组凋亡率和对照组相比,48 h检测时凋亡率显著降低(P<0.05)。综上表明,GCSF在体外培养的绵羊颗粒细胞中,可调控绵羊颗粒细胞周期,促进细胞增殖,抑制细胞凋亡。     

ADAMTS1 interacts with, cleaves, and modifies the extracellular location of the matrix inhibitor tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

ADAMTS1 is an extracellular metalloproteinase known to participate in a variety of biological processes that includes inflammation, angiogenesis, and development of the urogenital system. Many of its functions rely on its catalytic activity, which thus far has been limited to the cleavage of the matrix proteoglycans aggrecan and versican. However, it is likely that other substrates exist. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we identified the Kunitz-type inhibitor, tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2), as a binding partner of ADAMTS1. The interaction was confirmed by several biochemical and cell-based assays. In addition, our studies revealed alterations in the pattern of TFPI-2-secreted isoforms and in its extracellular location caused by the specific action of ADAMTS1. Interestingly, we found that TFPI-2 is a novel substrate of ADAMTS1. The cleavage removes a protease-sensitive C-terminal region in TFPI-2, altering its binding properties. The proposed role of TFPI-2 as a maintenance factor of extracellular remodeling suggests the indirect function of ADAMTS1 as an additional homeostatic player by its ability to alter the extracellular location of TFPI-2 and, therefore, to disrupt the remodeling machinery, a phenomenon directly associated to pathologies such as atherosclerosis and tumor progression.     

Structural mechanism for heparin-binding of the third Kunitz domain of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) inhibits the activity of coagulation factor VIIa and Xa through its K1 and K2 domain, respectively, and the inhibitory activity is enhanced by heparin. The function of the K3 domain of TFPI has not been established, but the domain probably harbors a heparin binding site (HBS-2). We determined the three-dimensional solution structure of the TFPI K3 domain (Glu182-Gly242) by heteronuclear multidimensional NMR. The results showed that the molecule is composed of one antiparallel beta-sheet and one alpha-helix, and in overall structure is very similar to the K2 domain, with the rms deviation of 1.55 A for the 58 defined C(alpha) positions. However, the surface electrostatic properties of both domains are different each other. The lack of inhibitory activity of the K3 domain is explained by the absence of electrostatic interaction with factor Xa over a large surface area. A titration experiment with size-fractionated heparin showed that a heparin binding site was located in the vicinity of the alpha-helix. In this region, a positively charged cluster is formed by Lys213, Lys232, and Lys240, and the negatively charged sulfate groups of heparin bind there. The enhancement of inhibitory activity by heparin probably was not due to a conformational change to TFPI itself. It is likely that heparin simply increases the local concentration of TFPI on the cell surface and stabilizes the initial complex that forms.     

拟南芥MnSOD的原核表达、纯化及抗体制备

PCR扩增拟南芥MnSOD cDNA的保守区段,构建pET-SOD重组质粒,转化大肠杆菌JM109(DE3),IPTG诱导融合蛋白高效表达;经检测表达产物占菌体总蛋白的69％,且以不溶的包涵体形式存在;表达产物变性后经Ni—NTA Superflow亲和柱分离纯化,得到相对分子质量约为29000的PAGE纯蛋白。融合蛋白经还原复性处理后,比活达到200U／mg;免疫家兔制备MnSOD融合蛋白抗体,抗体效价为1：10000。以上结果为进一步大规模制备MnSOD及其功能研究奠定基础。     

Structure-function analysis of the reactive site in the first Kunitz-type domain of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

Human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) is a Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitor that regulates a variety of serine proteinases involved in coagulation and fibrinolysis through their non-productive interaction with a P(1) residue (Arg-24) in its first Kunitz-type domain (KD1). Previous kinetic studies revealed that TFPI-2 was a more effective inhibitor of plasmin than several other serine proteinases, but the molecular basis for this specificity was unclear. In this study, we employed molecular modeling and mutagenesis strategies to produce several variants of human TFPI-2 KD1 in an effort to identify interactive site residues other than the P(1) Arg that contribute significantly to its inhibitory activity and specificity. Molecular modeling of KD1 based on the crystal structure of bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor revealed that KD1 formed a more energetically favorable complex with plasmin versus trypsin and/or the factor VIIa-tissue factor complex primarily due to strong ionic interactions between Asp-19 (P(6)) and Arg residues in plasmin (Arg-644, Arg-719, and Arg-767), Arg-24 (P(1)) with Asp-735 in plasmin, and Arg-29 (P(5)') with Glu-606 in plasmin. In addition, Leu-26 through Leu-28 (P(2)'-P(4)') in KD1 formed strong van der Waals contact with a hydrophobic cluster in plasmin (Phe-583, Met-585, and Phe-587). Mutagenesis of Asp-19, Tyr-20, Arg-24, Arg-29, and Leu-26 in KD1 resulted in substantial reductions in plasmin inhibitory activity relative to wild-type KD1, but the Asp-19 and Tyr-20 mutations revealed the importance of these residues in the specific inhibition of plasmin. In addition to the reactive site residues in the P(6)-P(5)' region of KD1, mutation of a highly conserved Phe at the P(18)' position revealed the importance of this residue in the inhibition of serine proteinases by KD1. Thus, together with the P(1) residue, the nature of other residues flanking the P(1) residue, particularly at P(6) and P(5)', strongly influences the inhibitory activity and specificity of human TFPI-2.     

Spectroscopic analysis on the effect of temperature on Kunitz domain 1 of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2

The conformation of Kunitz domain 1 of human tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (hTFPI-2/KD1) has been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, circular dichroism, and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that hTFPI-2/KD1 contained approximately 17% s-helices, 24% β-strands, 46% random coils, 13% β-turns, and two kinds of disulfide bonds (ggg and tgt) at 25℃. The detailed conformational changes of the heated protein observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, circular dichroism and Raman spectroscopy revealed that hTFPI-2/KD1 was thermally stable. However, KD1 could form an intermediate form at high temperature, then return to its normal conformation when the temperature was lowered. Activity assays also showed that hTFPI-2/KD1 was able to keep its inhibitory activity on plasmin after being heated to 80℃ for 5min.     

Differential expression of tissue factor and tissue factor pathway inhibitor in metastatic melanoma lesions

Tissue factor (TF) is involved in tumor progression and metastatic potency in some malignant tumors and its function is regulated by tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) therefore the interaction of both molecules is crucial for their functional role. We evaluated the clinical relevance of TF and TFPI expression in benign and malignant melanocytic lesions. Expression of both was examined by immunoperoxidase staining using serial tissue sections in 16 nevi, 34 primary and 15 metastatic melanoma lesions. TF and TFPI were ubiquitously expressed in benign and malignant melanocytic lesions. This finding was confirmed by Western blot analysis using cultured human melanocytes, nevi cells (NCN) and melanoma cell lines. Although TF expression was not associated with malignant transformation and disease progression, TFPI expression in primary and metastatic melanoma lesions was significantly lower and weaker than that in nevi lesions in terms of intensity and percentage of stained cells. In addition, TFPI expression in metastatic lesions was significantly lower and weaker than that of TF. These results suggest that the relative expression of TF to TFPI may play a crucial role in the malignant transformation and metastatic potency in melanocytic cells.