Efficient expression,purification and characterization of hepatitis B virus preS1 protein from Escherichia coli

Summary The complete (encoding 119 aminon acids, aa) or partial (encoding the N-terminal 90 aa) preS1 region gene of hepatitis B virus (HBV) was fused to the 3-end of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) gene and expressed at 37 °C under the control of the inducible tac promoter in E. coli. The results showed that the fusion protein with the full length of preS1 was moderately expressed, about 10% of total cellular proteins, while the protein with the partial preS1 was highly expressed, about 33% of total cellular proteins but the half was degraded into the protein with about N-terminal 60 aa of preS1. Accordingly, GST fusion protein containing the N-terminal 56 aa of the preS1, which still encodes B-and T-cell epitopes and a hepatocyte receptor binding site, was expressed under the same induction conditions and was shown to be highly and stably expressed, about 37% of total cellular proteins. The fusion protein with the full length or N-terminal 56 aa of preS1 and the peptides were simply and successfully purified by affinity chromatography and were demonstrated to exhibit the antigenicity and immunogenicity of the preS1 antigen.     

Interaction of preS domains of hepatitis B virus with phospholipid vesicles

The role of preS domains of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope proteins in the first steps of viral infection has been restricted to their implication in virus attachment to a putative hepatocyte receptor. In order to explore a fusion activity in these regions, we used recombinant preS domains to characterize their interaction with liposomes. Binding experiments carried out with NBD-labeled proteins indicated that preS were able to interact in a monomeric way with acidic phospholipid vesicles, being the partition coefficient similar to that described for peptides which can insert deeply into bilayers. Fluorescence depolarization of DPH-labeled vesicles confirmed the specificity for negative charged phospholipids. Upon interaction the proteins induced aggregation, lipid mixing and release of internal contents of acidic vesicles at both acid and neutral pH in a concentration-dependent manner. Taken together, all these data indicate that preS domains are able to insert into the hydrophobic core of the bilayer. Moreover, the insertion resulted in a protein conformational change which increased the helical content. Therefore all these results suggest that, besides their participation in the recognition of a cellular receptor, the preS domains could be involved in the fusion mechanism of HBV with the plasma membrane of target cells.     

Bacterial expression,purification, and in vitro N-myristoylation of fusion hepatitis B virus preS1 with the native-type N-terminus

Very low-level expression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) preS1 with the native-type N-terminus hampered the biochemical and functional studies on its myristoylation. In the present study, the fusion HBV preS1 with the native-type N-terminus and a His6-Tag fused to C-terminus (HBV preS1-HT) was highly expressed in Escherichia coli. This was due to an introduced mutation of the rare codon GGA found in the HBV preS1 to the codon preferred by E. coli, GGU. The protein was rapidly purified from bacterial lysate by Ni-IDA affinity chromatography. The experimental assays using 3H-labeled substrate demonstrate that the purified HBV preS1-HT can be effectively N-myristoylated by recombinant human protein N-myristoyltransferase (NMT) in vitro.     

Efficient expression and characterization of hepatitis B virus preS2 antigen in Escherichia coli

The complete (encoding 55 amino acids, aa) or partial (encoding aa 1–26) preS2 region gene of hepatitis B virus (HBV) was fused to the 3-end of glutathion-S-transferase (GST) gene and expressed under the control of the inducible tac promoter in Escherichia coli at 37 °C. The fusion protein with the complete preS2 region was moderately expressed (8%) while the protein with the N-terminal 26 aa was expressed at a higher level, yielding about 20% of the total cellular proteins. The GST-preS2 (aa 1–26) protein, which contains the immunodominant epitope, was produced form the soluble protein fraction of the recombinant bacteria and purified by affinity chromatography using glutathione-agarose column. The purified preS2 fusion protein showed the antigenicity of preS2, as assessed by indirect and competitive ELISAs.     

Purification and structural analysis of the hepatitis B virus preS1 expressed from Escherichia coli

The preS1 of hepatitis B virus (HBV) is located at the outermost part of the envelope protein and possesses several functionally important regions such as hepatocyte receptor-binding site and virus-neutralizing epitopes. As the first step to understand the structure-function relationship for the preS1 antigen, we have purified the preS1 and performed its structural characterization by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The preS1 was purified to near homogeneity from bacterially expressed glutathione S-transferase (GST)-preS1 fusion protein by two-step purification, affinity chromatography on glutathione-agarose column, and cation-exchange chromatography on Mono S column. The CD analysis showed that the purified preS1, which was largely unstructured in aqueous solution, acquired a significant (16%) alpha-helical structure when analyzed in 50% trifluoroethanol or 20 mM SDS. The results suggest that the preS1 assumes a mainly unstructured conformation and may form induced secondary structures upon binding to target proteins or under hydrophobic environment.     

Study of the putative fusion regions of the preS domain of hepatitis B virus

In a previous study, it was shown that purified preS domains of hepatitis B virus (HBV) could interact with acidic phospholipid vesicles and induce aggregation, lipid mixing and leakage of internal contents which could be indicative of their involvement in the fusion of the viral and cellular membranes (Núñez, E. et al. 2009. Interaction of preS domains of hepatitis B virus with phospholipid vesicles. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 17884:417–424). In order to locate the region responsible for the fusogenic properties of preS, five mutant proteins have been obtained from the preS1 domain of HBV, in which 40 amino acids have been deleted from the sequence, with the starting point of each deletion moving 20 residues along the sequence. These proteins have been characterized by fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopy, establishing that, in all cases, they retain their mostly non-ordered conformation with a high percentage of β structure typical of the full-length protein. All the mutants can insert into the lipid matrix of dimyristoylphosphatidylglycerol vesicles. Moreover, we have studied the interaction of the proteins with acidic phospholipid vesicles and each one produces, to a greater or lesser extent, the effects of destabilizing vesicles observed with the full-length preS domain. The ability of all mutants, which cover the complete sequence of preS1, to destabilize the phospholipid bilayers points to a three-dimensional structure and/or distribution of amino acids rather than to a particular amino acid sequence as being responsible for the membrane fusion process.     

An anti-viral peptide derived from the preS1 surface protein of hepatitis B virus

The preS1 surface protein of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a key factor involved in initial viral entry into hepatocytes. It has been long postulated that an anti-HBV effect should be achievable using peptide fragments of the preS1. Recent reports demonstrated that several preS1-derived lipo-peptides in genotype D HBV exhibit nano to picomolar inhibitory activity against HBV infection. In this study, an acylated analog of a preS1 fragment, a 21-residue lipo-peptide (named 7524 BVS7) with a sequence of palmitoyl-GMGTNLSVPNPLGFFPDHQLDC-NH2, from genotype C HBV was produced base upon a previous structural study and was shown potently inhibits HBV infection with an IC(50) of approximately 20 nM.     

Cloning and structural analyses of hepatitis B virus DNAs, subtype adr.

Entire genomes of hepatitis B virus (subtype adr) have been cloned. The nucleotide sequence data were compared with other sequences of HBV genome including: adw [Valenzuela et al. (1981) in Animal Virus Genetics. Fields et al. eds. Academic Press, Inc., NY. pp. 57-70], ayw [Galibert et al. (1979) Nature, 281, 646-650], and adyw [Pasek et al. (1979) Nature 282, 575-579]. Four open coding frames for polypeptides larger than 6,000 dalton were found to be conserved and were highly compressed by overlapping with each other in one strand (L-strand). Sites of initiation of the S gene and termination of the P gene were not conserved. No conserved coding frame was found on the opposite strand (S strand). Amino acid sequences of six surface antigen (HBsAg) peptides, including subtypes adr, adw, and ayw, are deduced from the DNA sequences, and the substitution of amino acid residues which are consistent with the change of subtypes are demonstrated.     

Affinity purification of histidine-tagged proteins

Expression of recombinant proteins is a standard technique in molecular biology and a wide variety of prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic expression systems are currently in use. A limiting step is often the purification of the expressed recombinant protein, particularly if mammalian expression systems that yield low expression levels are employed. Here, we discuss the advantages and restrictions of tagging recombinant proteins with histidines and purifying them by Ni²⁺-NTA chromatography.Abbreviations GST glutathione S-transferase - NTA nitrilotriacetic acid - His histidine - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis     

Cloning,expression, and purification of mouse heparanase

Heparanase is an endoglucuronidase that plays an important role in tumor invasion and metastasis. A full-length heparanase gene was cloned from a mouse embryo cDNA library and determined to encode a protein of 535 amino acids that is 77% identical to human heparanase. The full-length mouse gene was stably expressed in NS0 myeloma cells. The recombinant mouse heparanase protein was purified to homogeneity from cell lysates by a combination of Con-A affinity chromatography, heparin affinity chromatography, and size exclusion chromatography. The purified protein consisted of a non-covalent heterodimer of 50- and 8-kDa polypeptides, similar to the human homolog. The protein was enzymatically active in assays using radiolabeled ECM and heparan sulfate as substrates. The maximum heparanase activity was observed at acidic conditions; however, significant activity was also detected at neutral pH. The enzymatic activity of mouse heparanase was blocked by known heparanase inhibitors.     

Serum levels of preS antigen (HBpreSAg) in chronic hepatitis B virus infected patients

Background

Viruses that are incorporating host cell proteins might trigger autoimmune diseases. It is therefore of interest to identify possible host proteins associated with viruses, especially for enveloped viruses that have been suggested to play a role in autoimmune diseases, like human herpesvirus 6A (HHV-6A) in multiple sclerosis (MS).

Results

We have established a method for rapid and morphology preserving purification of HHV-6A virions, which in combination with parallel analyses with background control material released from mock-infected cells facilitates qualitative and quantitative investigations of the protein content of HHV-6A virions. In our iodixanol gradient purified preparation, we detected high levels of viral DNA by real-time PCR and viral proteins by metabolic labelling, silver staining and western blots. In contrast, the background level of cellular contamination was low in the purified samples as demonstrated by the silver staining and metabolic labelling analyses. Western blot analyses showed that the cellular complement protein CD46, the receptor for HHV-6A, is associated with the purified and infectious virions. Also, the cellular proteins clathrin, ezrin and Tsg101 are associated with intact HHV-6A virions.

Conclusion

Cellular proteins are associated with HHV-6A virions. The relevance of the association in disease and especially in autoimmunity will be further investigated.     

Genotyping of hepatitis B virus in Malaysia based on the nucleotide sequence of preS and S genes

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has been classified into eight genotypes, designated A-H. These genotypes are known to have distinct geographic distributions. The clinical importance of genotype-related differences in the pathogenicity of HBV has been revealed recently. In Malaysia, the current distribution of HBV remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the genotypes and subtypes of HBV by using PCR, followed by DNA sequencing, as well as to analyse the mutations in the immunodominant region of preS and S proteins. The S gene sequence was determined from HBV DNA of four apparently healthy blood donors' sera and three sera from asymptomatic chronic hepatitis B carriers. Of this batch of sera, the preS gene sequence was obtained from HBV DNA from three out of the four blood donors and two out of the three chronic carriers. Due to insufficient sera, we had to resort to using sera from another blood donor to make up for the sixth DNA sequence of the preS gene. Based on the comparative analysis of the preS sequences with the reported sequences in the GenBank database, HBV DNA from two normal carriers was classified as genotype C. Genotype B was assigned to HBV from one blood donor and two hepatitis B chronic carriers, whereas HBV of one chronic carrier was of genotype D. Based on the S gene sequences, HBV from three blood donors was of genotype C, that of one blood donor and one chronic carrier was of genotype B, and the remaining, of genotype D. In the five cases where both preS and S gene sequences were determined, the genotypes assigned based on either the preS or S gene sequences were in concordance. The nature of the deduced amino acid (aa) sequences at positions 125, 127, 134, 143, 159, 161 and 168 of the S gene enabled the classification of these sequences into subtypes, namely, adrq+, adw2 and ayw2. The clustering of our DNA sequences into genotype groups corresponded to their respective subtype, that is, adw2 in genotype B, adrq in genotype C and ayw in genotype D. Analysis of the point mutations revealed that five of the sequences contained aa substitutions at immunodominant epitopes involved in B or/and T cell recognition. In conclusion, despite the low numbers of samples studied, due to budget constraints, these data are still worthwhile reporting, as it is important for the control of HBV infections. In addition, the genotype and mutational data obtained in this study may be useful for designing new treatment regimes for HBV patients.     

Molecular cloning, expression and purification of protein 2A of hepatitis A virus

Expression of the protein 2A of Hepatitis A virus (HAV), spanning amino acids 764 through 981 of the viral polyprotein results in a strong inhibition of cap-dependent translation (Maltese et al., 2000). However, the molecular mechanism responsible has remained unclear, in part because the HAV 2A protein was not available in amounts large enough to allow biological or structural studies. To address this issue, a cDNA representation of the sequences encoding HAV 2A was generated by PCR, using primers that introduced an AUG triplet, and a sequence coding for 6 histidine residues at the 5'- and 3'-termini of the genomic sequence, respectively. The cDNA fragment was introduced by cassette exchange in the inducible expression vector pQE-60, and the construct was propagated in bacteria E. coli M15 which constitutively expresses the lac repressor. Upon induction with IPTG (1 mM), HAV 2A was visualized by SDS-PAGE of bacterial lysates as a prominent band M(r) = 21 kDa. The identity of the polypeptide was confirmed by both MALDI-TOF peptide mapping and direct amino acid sequencing. The His-tagged HAV 2A was extracted from bacterial pellets under totally denaturing conditions (6 M urea), subjected to Ni(++)-Sepharose affinity chromatography, allowed to refold while still attached to the matrix, and eluted with 250 mM Imidazole. Contaminant material was partly removed by differential ammonium sulfate precipitation. The protein was further concentrated (Vivaspin centrifugal concentrator), the insoluble material (if present) was discarded, and the homogeneity of the dispersion was ascertained by light scattering. SDS-PAGE revealed that in addition to the main protein (Mr = 21 kDa), a second one of apparent Mr = 14 kDa was always present in variable amounts. The proportion of the latter tended to increase with aging of the preparation. Edman degradation analysis proved that the 14 kDa protein resulted from the cleavage of HAV 2A at a so far undetected scissile bond Gly856/Val857 of the viral polyprotein. A first attempt to crystallize the protein by the hanging drop procedure yielded only small crystals containing exclusively the 14 kDa derivative of HAV 2A. Western blot analysis of HeLa cell extracts that had been incubated with the His-tagged HAV 2A so purified failed to reveal any change in the electrophoretic mobility of the eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4G I.     

Genotyping of Tunisian hepatitis B virus isolates based on the sequencing of preS2 and S regions

The S nucleotide sequences of five hepatitis B virus strains isolated from plasma samples of Tunisian patients with chronic hepatitis B were determined; the preS2 region of three of them were sequenced. According to the comparative analysis of S peptide sequences with the reported sequences in the database bank, the five hepatitis B strains were shown to be related to the D genotypic group, subtype ayw. The nature of residues at positions 125 and 127 allowed us to distinguish between each subtype of the D group and to class all five Tunisian sequences in the 'ayw2' subtype. Moreover, two of them (1366 and 523) contained a substitution of the invariant Cys69 by Arg and Cys221 by Phe, respectively. Potential structural modifications due to the Cys-Arg change are discussed.     

Cloning, expression, and purification of Helicobacter pylori L-asparaginase

Asparaginase from Helicobacter pylori (HpA) has been cloned and expressed in E. coli cells. The recombinant strain stably expressed catalytically active HpA. Optimization of culturing and expression conditions resulted in the expression level of the recombinant enzyme amounting up to 6% of total protein of the producer strain. A method developed for HpA purification included a single chromatographic stage and provided more than 60%-yield of the active enzyme. Specific asparaginase activity was 92 U/mg of protein, whereas the rate of glutamine hydrolysis was just 8.3 × 10^?3 U/mg, respectively. Data obtained indicate that due to low glutaminase specificity HpA may be employed as a non-toxic enzyme preparation for treatment of leukemia.     

乙肝病毒表面抗原基因在胡萝卜中的克隆及表达

构建HBV表达抗原（HBsAg)植物表达载体并在胡萝卜植株中表达。采用自行构建adr亚型HBsAg基因克隆T-adr,再次酶切获得860bp含PreS2的HBsAg基因片段,将其插入到植物表达载体pBPC55,新质粒命名为pBPC91adr。将其与含除草剂抗性基因及GUS蛋白基因的筛选质粒pBPC93共同经基因枪（PDS-1000/He)转化胡萝卜悬浮细胞,经含除草剂（Biolaphos)的培养基筛选及植物激素诱导分化,获得除草剂抗性胡萝卜幼苗,结果为转化后8周,自胡萝卜细胞中分化出除草剂抗性胡萝卜幼苗,提取新分化幼苗总DNA,特异性引物PCR扩增后可见860bp扩增带;Southern-Blot证明有HBsAg基因整合,胡萝卜蛋白萃取物的Western-Blot及ELISA检测证实有HBsAg蛋白表达。利用基因枪转化使质粒pBPC91adr中HBsAg基因在胡萝卜幼苗内整合并表达,提示以植物生产疫苗具有可行性。     

Immunogenicity of recombinant hepatitis B virus surface antigen fused with preS1 epitopes expressed in rice seeds

To test the possibility of producing a novel hepatitis B vaccine in plants, the modified hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen (HBsAg) gene SS1 was expressed in rice under the control of the seed-specific Glub-4 promoter. The SS1 gene encodes a fusion protein consisting of amino acids 21-47 of the hepatocyte receptor-binding presurface 1 region (preS1) fused to the truncated C-terminus of the major HBV surface (S) protein. The production of antibodies against the preS1 region acts to protect humans against HBV infection by preventing HBV from binding to hepatocytes. The presence of SS1 in the genome of transgenic rice was confirmed by PCR and Southern blot analysis, and RNA dot blot analysis indicated that the fused SS1 gene was specifically expressed in rice seeds, with the highest expression level being about 31.5 ng/g dry weight grain. Western blot analysis revealed that the recombinant SS1 protein could be specifically recognized by both an anti-S protein antibody and an anti-preS1 antibody. The recombinant SS1 protein was also observed to form virus-like particles with a diameter of about 22 nm and a density of 1.25 g cm(-3). Furthermore, immunological responses against both the S and preS1 epitopes were induced in BALB/c mice immunized with the recombinant SS1 protein, indicating that this rice-derived SS1 protein could be a promising candidate as an alternative HBV vaccine for preventing hepatitis B.