Refolding,purification and characterization of an organic solvent-tolerant lipase from Serratia marcescens ECU1010

Expression of recombinant proteins as inclusion bodies in bacteria is one of the most efficient ways to produce cloned proteins, as long as the inclusion bodies can be successfully refolded. In this study, the different parameters were investigated and optimized on the refolding of denatured lipase. The maximum lipase activity of 5000 U/L was obtained after incubation of denatured enzyme in a refolding buffer containing 20 mM Tris–HCl (pH 7.0), 1 mM Ca²⁺ at 20 °C. Then, the refolded lipase was purified to homogeneity by anion exchange chromatography. The purified refolded lipase was stable in broad ranges of temperatures and pH values, as well as in a series of water-miscible organic solvents. In addition, some water-immiscible organic solvents, such as petroleum ether and isopropyl ether, could reduce the polarity and increase the nonpolarity of the refolding system. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) microspectroscopy were the first to confirm that lipase refolding could be further improved in the presence of organic solvents. The purified refolded lipase could enantioselectively hydrolyze trans-3-(4-methoxyphenyl) glycidic acid methyl ester [(±)-MPGM]. These features render the lipase attraction for biotechnological applications in the field of organic synthesis and pharmaceutical industry.     

Thermolabile antifreeze protein produced in Escherichia coli for structural analysis

Inclusion bodies of recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) were isolated from Escherichia coli, enriched and solubilized in 100 mM Tris buffer containing 6 M n-propanol and 2 M urea. Around 4 mg/ml of r-hGH from inclusion bodies were solubilized in 6 M n-propanol-based buffer containing 2 M urea. Existence of native-like secondary structure of r-hGH in 6 M n-propanol solution was confirmed by CD and fluorescence spectra. Solubilized r-hGH was subsequently refolded by pulsatile dilution, purified to homogeneity and found to be functionally active. Tris buffer containing 6 M n-propanol and 2 M urea also effectively solubilized a number of proteins expressed as inclusion bodies in E. coli. Mild solubilization of inclusion body proteins, chaotropic effect of n-propanol at high concentration and kosmotropic effect at lower concentration helped in improved refolding of the solubilized protein. Around 40% of the r-hGH in the form of inclusion body aggregates was refolded into bioactive form while using n-propanol as solubilization agent. Solubilization with 6 M n-propanol solution thus can be a viable alternative for achieving high throughput recovery of bioactive protein from inclusion bodies of E. coli.     

Purification and efficient refolding process for recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator derivative (reteplase) using glycerol and Tranexamic acid

In this study, a novel and economic method for refolding and purifying recombinant tissue plasminogen activator derivative (r-PA; reteplase) was developed. Reteplase with nine disulfide bonds in its complex structure is expressed in the form of inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli and requires tedious dissolving and refolding processes to achieve its biological activity. Among the different refolding additives that were evaluated, glycerol and tranexamic acid (Txa) were found to be more effective in increasing the refolding yield of reteplase. Using response surface methodology, a solution containing 3.5 M urea, 33% (v/v) glycerol, and 400 mM Txa was found to give the highest refolding yield. The synergic effect of urea, glycerol, and Txa under optimum conditions for a reteplase concentration of 25 μg ml⁻¹ resulted in a high refolding yield of 76.41%. Increased reteplase concentration in the refolding buffer was achieved using the pulse-fed method. In the pulse-fed method, a refolding yield of 49.53% was achieved for a final reteplase concentration of 300 μg ml⁻¹. Using Txa as a novel refolding aid for reteplase instead of ionic amino acids like l-Arginine allowed to purify the refolded reteplase directly by cation-exchange chromatography with high purity.     

Immobilized Triton X-100-assisted refolding of Green Fluorescent Protein-Tobacco Etch Virus protease fusion protein using β-cyclodextrin as the eluent

A new protein refolding technique based on the use of the non-charged detergent Triton X-100 immobilized to the cross-linked agarose gel Sepharose High Performance has been developed. The new solid phase was used in combination with soluble β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to refold recombinant Green Fluorescent Protein fused to Tobacco Etch Virus protease (GFPTEVP) expressed as inclusion bodies in E. coli. Previous attempts to refold recombinant GFPTEVP by dilution had failed. In the new procedure a column packed with Triton X-100-coupled Sepharose High Performance was used to capture unfolded GFPTEVP followed by elution using an increasing β-CD concentration gradient. The yield of properly refolded GFPTEVP was 46% at a protein concentration of 380 μg/ml. In contrast, dilution refolding of GFPTEVP at 200 μg/ml refolding buffer resulted in only 4.7% of native protein.     

Expression and biochemical analysis of codon-optimized polyphenol oxidase from Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze in E. coli

Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) are copper-containing industrially important enzymes that catalyze the synthesis of many commercially important products by using polyphenols as substrate. Camellia sinensis polyphenol oxidase (CsPPO) is interesting because it oxidizes epicatechins to yield theaflavins and thearubigins. The present study aimed to optimize the expression of CsPPO in Escherichia coli. Because CsPPO had a large number of E. coli rare codons, it yielded a poor quantity of protein in E. coli Rosetta™ 2 cells, which have additional tRNAs for E. coli rare codons. Thus, synthetically constructed codon-optimized CsPPO was cloned into pET-47b(+) vector and expressed in a bacterial host. Ectopic expression led to the formation of inclusion bodies. However, extensive standardization of buffers and methods of refolding such as dialysis, on-column refolding, and rapid dilution yielded active PPO from solubilized inclusion bodies with copper content of 0.880 ± 0.095 atom/molecule of protein.Experimental data produced maximum PPO activity in a rapid dilution buffer containing 0.5 M L-arginine. Refolded CsPPO had an optimum pH of 5.0 and K_m values of 3.10, 0.479, and 0.314 mM, and a V_max of 163.9, 82.64, and 142.8 U/mg of protein for catechol, catechin, and epicatechin, respectively.     

Characterization and kinetic properties of the purified Trematosphaeria mangrovei laccase enzyme

The properties of Trematosphaeria mangrovei laccase enzyme purified on Sephadex G-100 column were investigated. SDS–PAGE of the purified laccase enzyme showed a single band at 48 kDa. The pure laccase reached its maximal activity at temperature 65 °C, pH 4.0 with K_m equal 1.4 mM and V_max equal 184.84 U/mg protein. The substrate specificity of the purified laccase was greatly influenced by the nature and position of the substituted groups in the phenolic ring. The pure laccase was tested with some metal ions and inhibitors, FeSO₄ completely inhibited laccase enzyme and also highly affected by (NaN₃) at a concentration of 1 mM. Amino acid composition of the pure enzyme was also determined. Carbohydrate content of purified laccase enzyme was 23% of the enzyme sample. The UV absorption spectra of the purified laccase enzyme showed a single peak at 260–280 nm.     

Refolding of recombinant human interferon gamma inclusion bodies in vitro assisted by colloidal thermo-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) brushes grafted onto the surface of uniform polystyrene cores

Recombinant human interferon gamma (rhIFN-γ) is a protein with great potential for clinical therapy, but rhIFN-γ expressed in Escherichia coli is usually in the form of insoluble inclusion bodies which should be refolded in vitro. A novel type of hairy particles (PNIPAM-grafted-PS) consisted of submicron polystyrene cores and brushes of thermo-sensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) grafted onto the cores was prepared and then applied to assist the refolding of rhIFN-γ in vitro. Two kinds of PNIPAM-grafted-PS particles with different thickness of brush layer (55 nm and 110 nm) were synthesized, which were spherical shape with good dispersion properties and the LCST was about 33 °C. The effect of thickness of brush layer, particle concentration and temperature on the refolding process was investigated, it was shown that particles with larger thickness of brush layer were more effective and the final rhIFN-γ activity could be up to more than 21 times of that in dilution refolding when initial rhIFN-γ concentration was 50 μg/mL. The optimal refolding condition was the concentration ratio of particle to rhIFN-γ 1:1 and refolding temperature of 15 °C. All results above demonstrated that PNIPAM-grafted-PS particles could assist rhIFN-γ refolding which presented an alternative way to facilitate recombinant protein refolding in vitro.     

Refolding and two-step purification by hydrophobic interaction chromatography of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 from Escherichia coli

To renature the inactive rhBMP-2 which overexpressed in Escherichia coli, post-expression treatments including inclusion bodies solubilization and in vitro refolding were systematically investigated. An optimized refolding process was established from screening and successfully scaled up with yield greater than 70%. Then, hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) was adopted as two consecutive stages to separate the active rhBMP-2 homodimer from refolding mixture. Aiding additive N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) was found to enhance the resolution of rhBMP-2 homodimer most effectively. The rhBMP-2 homodimer was purified to homogeneity through two HIC separations at different salt contents, the purified rhBMP-2 homodimer was fully bioactive and had equivalent biological activity to rhBMP-2 produced from Chinese hamster ovary cell (CHO). Under the optimal refolding and purification conditions, 80 mg rhBMP-2 homodimer with high purity could be obtained from 1 g wet weight of inclusion bodies. Finally, this efficient refolding and purification procedure was successfully scaled up in the pilot pharmaceutical plant.     

Refolding and purification of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor using hydrophobic interaction chromatography at a large scale

High level expression of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in Escherichia coli (E. coli) usually forms insoluble and inactive aggregates, i.e. inclusion bodies. In the present work, high performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HPHIC) was applied to the refolding of rhG-CSF, which was solubilized by 8.0 mol L^?1 urea from the inclusion bodies. First a laboratorial scale column (10 mm × 20 mm I.D.) was employed to study the refolding process. Several factors, including concentration of ammonium sulfate, pH of the mobile phase and flow rate, were investigated in details. The results indicated that the rhG-CSF produced by E. coli could be successfully refolded with simultaneous purification by using HPHIC. The refolding process was further scaled up by using a large column (50 mm × 200 mm I.D.). 200 mL of rhG-CSF solution solubilized by 8.0 mol L^?1 urea, with a total amount of protein around 1.6 g, could be loaded onto the large column at one time. Under these conditions, the obtained rhG-CSF had a specific activity of 2.3 × 10⁸ IU mg^?1 and a purity of 95.4%, the mass recovery during the purification was 36.9%. This work might have great impact on practical production of rhG-CSF, and it also shed a light on protein refolding using liquid chromatography at large scales.     

Immobilization of fungal (Trametes versicolor) laccase onto Amberlite IR-120 H beads: Optimization and characterization

Laccase from Trametes versicolor was immobilized on Amberlite IR-120 H beads. Maximum immobilization obtained was 78.7% at pH = 4.5 and temperature T = 45 °C. Kinetic parameters, K_m and V_max values, were determined respectively as 0.051 mM and 2.77 × 10^?2 mM/s for free and 4.70 mM and 5.27 × 10^?3 mM/s for immobilized laccase. The Amberlite–laccase system showed a 30% residual activity after 7 cycles. On the other hand, the loss of activity for free laccase after 7 days of storage at 4 °C was 18.5% in comparison to Amberlite–laccase system with a loss of 1.4%, during the same period. Improved operational, thermal and storage stabilities of the immobilized laccase were obtained compared to the free counterpart. Therefore, the use of low-cost matrices, like Amberlite for enzyme immobilization represents a promising product for enzymatic industrial applications.     

Extraction and purification of a lectin from small black kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) using a reversed micellar system

Lectin from crude extract of small black kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) was successfully extracted using the reversed micellar extraction (RME). The effects of water content of organic phase (W_o), ionic strength, pH, Aerosol-OT (AOT) concentration and extraction time on the forward extraction and the pH and ionic strength in the backward extraction were studied to optimize the extraction efficiency and purification factor. Forward extraction of lectin was found to be maximum after 15 min of contact using 50 mM AOT in organic phase with W_o 27 and 10 mM citrate-phosphate buffer at pH 5.5 containing 100 mM NaCl in the aqueous phase. Lectin was backward extracted into a fresh aqueous phase using sodium-phosphate buffer (10 mM, pH 7.0) containing 500 mM KCl. The overall yield of the process was 53.28% for protein recovery and 8.2-fold for purification factor. The efficiency of the process was confirmed by gel electrophoresis analysis.     

Biotransformation of 3-cyanopyridine to nicotinic acid by free and immobilized cells of recombinant Escherichia coli

An efficient biocatalytic process for the production of nicotinic acid (niacin) from 3-cyanopyridine was developed using cells of recombinant Escherichia coli JM109 harboring the nitrilase gene from Alcaligenes faecalis MTCC 126. The freely suspended cells of the biocatalyst were found to withstand higher concentrations of the substrate and the product without any signs of substrate inhibition. Immobilization of the cells further enhanced their substrate tolerance, stability and reusability in repetitive cycles of nicotinic acid production. Under optimized conditions (37 °C, 100 mM Tris buffer, pH 7.5) for the immobilized cells, the recombinant biocatalyst achieved a 100% conversion of 1 M 3-cyanopyridine to nicotinic acid within 5 h at a cell mass concentration (fresh weight) of 500 mg/mL. The high substrate/product tolerance and stability of the immobilized whole cell biocatalyst confers its potential industrial use.     

Heterologous production of a temperature and pH-stable laccase from Bacillus vallismortis fmb-103 in Escherichia coli and its application

To enhance laccase yield, the laccase gene from Bacillus vallismortis fmb-103 was cloned and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells. The auto-induction strategy was applied during fermentation, and the process was controlled, as follows: Cu²⁺ was added when the optical density at 600 nm (OD₆₀₀) was 0.3, the fermentation temperature was adjusted to 16 °C when the OD₆₀₀ was 0.9, and fermentation was stopped after 50 h. The yield of recombinant laccase was up to 3420 U/L, as assayed by 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid). Recombinant laccase was purified 4.47-fold by heating for 10 min at 70 °C and dialyzing against 50–60% ammonium sulfate, retained more than 50% activity after 10 h at 70 °C, and demonstrated broad pH stability. Malachite green was efficiently degraded by recombinant laccase, especially in combination with mediators. These results provided a basis for the future application of recombinant laccase to malachite green degradation.     

Expression,refolding and purification of a human interleukin-17A variant

A human interleukin-17A (IL-17A) variant was overexpressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) under the control of a T₇ promoter. The resulting insoluble inclusion bodies were isolated and solubilized by homogenization with 6 M guanidine HCl. The denatured recombinant human IL-17A variant was refolded in 20 mM Tris–HCl, pH 9.0, 500 mM arginine, 500 mM guanidine HCl, 15% glycerol, 1 mM cystamine, and 5 mM cysteine at 2–8 °C for 40 h. The refolded IL-17A variant was subsequently purified using a combination of cation-exchange, reversed-phase and fluoroapatite chromatography. The final purified product was a monodisperse and crystallizable homodimer with a molecular weight of 30,348.3 Da. The protein was active in both receptor binding competition assay and IL-17A-dependent biological activity assay using human dermal fibroblasts.     

Expression and characterization of antimicrobial peptide CecropinAD in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

Hybrid antibacterial peptide CecropinAD (CAD) is a linear cationic peptide that has potent antimicrobial properties without hemolytic activity. To explore a new approach to express the hybrid peptide CAD in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, the cDNA sequence encoding CAD was obtained by recursive PCR (rPCR) and cloned into the vector pPICZα-A. The Sac I-linearized recombinant plasmid pPICZα-CAD was transformed into P. pastoris GS115 by electroporation. Expression of recombinant CAD was induced for 96 h with 1.0% methanol at 28 °C, pH 5.0. The recombinant CAD was purified by two steps of reversed-phase HPLC and 1.8 mg pure active CAD was obtained from 100 ml culture. Tricine-SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated that the molecular weight of the purified CAD was 3.8 kDa. Analysis of circular dichroism (CD) revealed that CAD mainly has α-helixes in the presence of 10 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.2), 50% TFE/water solution (pH 2.0), or 30 mM SDS (pH 10.8). FACScan analysis showed that the antibacterial mechanism of CAD is to act on the cell membrane to disrupt bacterial cell structure. Antimicrobial assays demonstrated that recombinant CAD has a broad spectrum of anti-microbial property against fungi, as well as Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, but does not have hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes. Our results suggest that recombinant antimicrobial peptide CAD may serve as an attractive candidate for the development of therapeutic antimicrobial drugs.     

Purification of a thermostable laccase from Leucaena leucocephala using a copper alginate entrapment approach and the application of the laccase in dye decolorization

Laccase from a tree legume, Leucaena leucocephala, was purified to homogeneity using a quick two-step procedure: alginate bead entrapment and celite adsorption chromatography. Laccase was purified 110.6-fold with an overall recovery of 51.0% and a specific activity of 58.5 units/mg. The purified laccase was found to be a heterodimer (∼220 kDa), containing two subunits of 100 and 120 kDa. The affinity of laccase was found to be highest for catechol and lowest for hydroquinone, however, highest K_cat and K_cat/K_m were obtained for hydroquinone. Purified laccase exhibited pH and temperature optima of 7.0 and 80 °C, respectively. Mn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Fe²⁺, Cu²⁺ and Na⁺ activated laccase while Ca²⁺ treatment increased laccase activity up to 3 mM, beyond which it inhibited laccase. Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, DTT, SDS and EDTA showed an inhibition of laccase activity. The Leucaena laccase was found to be fairly tolerant to organic solvents; upon exposure for 1 h individually to 50% (v/v) each of ethanol, DMF, DMSO and benzene, more than 50% of the activity was retained, while in the presence of 50% (v/v) each of methanol, isopropanol and chloroform, a 40% residual activity was observed. The purified laccase efficiently decolorized synthetic dyes such as indigocarmine and congo red in the absence of any redox mediator.     

Optimization of osmotic shock process variables for enhancement of the release of periplasmic interferon-α2b from Escherichia coli using response surface method

The osmotic shock process for the release of periplasmic recombinant human interferon-α2b from Escherichia coli was optimized using response surface method (RSM). The process parameters such as pH, buffer concentration and sucrose concentration in hypertonic solution, cell concentration to hypertonic solution, contact time of cells with hypertonic solution, temperature of hypertonic solution, cell concentration to hypotonic solution, contact time of cells with hypotonic solution and temperature of hypotonic solution were initially screened using Plackett Burman design. Further optimization was carried out using central composite design (one of the design in RSM) for sucrose concentration in hypertonic solution as well as cell concentration to hypertonic and hypotonic solutions. The optimal cell concentration was 0.05 g/mL in hypertonic solution and 0.2 g/mL in hypotonic solution. The use of hypertonic solution containing 18% sucrose with a combination of 100 mM Tris and 2.5 mM EDTA buffer (pH 8.0 and 25 °C) and cold water (4 °C) as a hypotonic solution gave the optimum release of interferon-α2b. Increased product concentration in the final solution resulted from the optimized process would reduce the downstream steps during purification. The concept of reuse of hypertonic solution was also demonstrated.     

Cyanobacterial biomass as N-supplement to agro-waste for hyper-production of laccase from Pleurotus ostreatus in solid state fermentation

The potential application of dry biomass of a cyanobacterium Anacystis nidulans as a supplement in SSF for the production of laccase from Pleurotus ostreatus was evaluated. Experiments were carried out in solid culture using groundnut shell as a basic substrate supplemented with four independent nitrogen sources (ammonium sulphate, urea, yeast extract and dry powder of cyanobacteria). All the four supplements enhanced the enzyme yield, and yeast extract showed precedence over inorganic nitrogenous sources. However, when dry biomass of A. nidulans was used as an additive to groundnut shell (agricultural residues), it supported maximum cell growth (56.83 ± 5.56 mg/g dry substrate) and laccase production (49.21 ± 4.89 U/g dry substrate). Addition of 1 mM copper salt in the medium containing groundnut shell supplemented with yeast extract gave laccase activity of 32.64 ± 3.4 U/g dry substrate. When dry powder of cyanobacterial biomass was used as N-supplement, laccase production enhanced to 65.42 ± 6.48 U/g dry substrate. In addition to the enhancement to enzyme production inhibitory effects of high concentrations of copper was also diminished in the medium having dry cyanobacterial biomass. This study, forms the first report on the potential application of cyanobacterial biomass as an additive for production of laccase by Pleurotus ostraetus MTCC 1804 in solid state fermentation and has relevance in scale-up production of this fungal enzyme of commercial significance.     

Enhancement of laccase production by Pleurotus ostreatus and its use for the decolorization of anthraquinone dye

The white-rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus strain 32 is an excellent producer of the industrially important enzyme laccase. Laccase was the only ligninolytic activity detected in the supernatant when the fungus was grown in liquid culture with or without shaking. Growth and laccase production in static cultivation were superior to that in agitated cultivation, and N-limited culture is of benefit to laccase production. When using cellobiose and peptone as carbon and nitrogen source, a higher activity level was obtained. 2,2′-Azino-di-(3-ethylbenzothialozin-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) (1 mM) was shown to be the best inducer of laccase production, reaching maximum values of about 400 U/ml. Cu²⁺ (1 mM) also had a positive effect on laccase production, activity being enhanced to 360 U/ml. In addition, anthraquinone dye SN4R can be effectively decolorized by crude laccase (30 U/ml), the rate of which was 66%. The decolorization rate was increased by 90% with ABTS (0.16%) addition as a mediator of laccase.     

Synthesis of methyl (R)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)glutarate via enzymatic desymmetrization of a prochiral diester

An efficient procedure for enzymatic desymmetrization of the prochiral dimethyl 3-(4-fluorophenyl)glutarate (3-DFG) in an aqueous–organic phase was successfully developed to prepare methyl (R)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)glutarate ((R)-3-MFG). Novozym 435 was selected as a highly efficient biocatalyst through lipase screening. The effects of various parameters in terms of co-solvent and its concentration, buffer pH, ionic strength and reaction temperature, on the reaction were investigated. It was found that 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 8.0) containing 20% MTBE (v/v) was the optimum reaction medium, and the optimum reaction temperature was 30 °C. Under the optimized reaction conditions, (R)-3-MFG was obtained in 95.6% ee value and 92.6% yield after 64 h when the concentration of 3-DFG and Novozym 435 were 200 mmol/l and 20 g/l respectively. Furthermore, Novozym 435 showed an excellent operational stability, retaining above 95% of the initial activity and enantioselectivity after 10 cycles of reaction. The developed method has a potential to be used for efficient enzymatic production of (R)-3-MFG.