Expression in Escherichia coli and purification of human recombinant connexin-43, a four-pass transmembrane protein

We have recently shown, using a well-defined in vitro model, that connexin 43 (Cx43) is directly involved in human cytotrophoblastic cell fusion into a multinucleated syncytiotrophoblast. Cx43 appears to interact with partner proteins within a fusogenic complex, in a multi factorial and dynamic process. This fusogenic complex remains to be characterized and constituent proteins need to be identified. In order to identify proteins interacting with the entire Cx43 molecule (extracellular, transmembrane and intracellular domains), we produced and purified full-length recombinant Cx43 fused to glutathione S-transferase (GST-Cx43) and used it as "bait" in GST pull-down experiments. Cx43 cDNA was first cloned into the pDEST15 vector in order to construct a GST-fusion protein, using the Gateway system. The fusion protein GST-Cx43 was then expressed in Escherichia coli strain BL21-AI? and purified by glutathione-affinity chromatography. The purified fusion protein exhibited the expected size of 70 kDa on SDS-PAGE, western blot and GST activity. A GST pull-down assay was used to show the capacity of the full-length recombinant protein to interact with known partners. Our results suggest that this method has the capacity to produce sufficient full-length recombinant protein for investigations aimed at identifying Cx43 partner proteins.     

Purification and characterization of three forms of glutathione transferase from Proteus mirabilis.

Three forms of glutathione transferase (GST) with pI values of 6.0, 6.4 and 7.3 were isolated from Proteus mirabilis AF 2924 by glutathione-affinity chromatography followed by isoelectric focusing, and their structural, kinetic and immunological properties were investigated. Upon SDS/polyacrylamide-slab-gel electrophoresis, all forms proved to be composed of two subunits of identical (22,500) Mr. GST-6.0 and GST-6.4 together account for about 95% of the total activity, whereas GST-7.3 is present only in trace amounts. Extensive similarities have been found between GST-6.0 and GST-6.4. These include subunit molecular mass, amino acid composition, substrate specificities and immunological characteristics. GST-7.3 also cross-reacted (non-identity) with antisera raised against bacterial GST-6.0. None of the antisera raised against a number of human, rat and mouse GSTs cross-reacted with the bacterial enzymes, indicating major structural differences between them and the mammalian GSTs. This conclusion is further supported by c.d. spectra.     

Diabetes and semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activity: a review

The enzyme of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activity has been reported to be elevated in blood from diabetic patients. SSAO are widely distributed in plasma membranes of various tissues and blood plasma. SSAO-mediated production of toxic aldehydes has been proposed to be related to pathophysiological conditions. Cytotoxic metabolites by SSAO may cause endothelial injury and subsequently induce atherosclerosis. The precise physiological functions of SSAO could play an important role in the control of energy balance in adipose tissue. It is possible that the increased SSAO activity in diabetes may be a result of up-regulation due to increase of SSAO substrates, such as methylamine or aminoacetone. SSAO could play an important role in the regulation of adipocyte homeostasis. Inhibition of SSAO could be of therapeutic value for treatment of diabetic patient.     

Activity of the Human Rhinovirus 3C Protease Studied in Various Buffers,Additives and Detergents Solutions for Recombinant Protein Production

Proteases are widely used to remove affinity and solubility tags from recombinant proteins to avoid potential interference of these tags with the structure and function of the fusion partner. In recent years, great interest has been seen in use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease owing to its stringent sequence specificity and enhanced activity. Like other proteases, activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease can be affected in part by the buffer components and additives that are generally employed for purification and stabilization of proteins, hence, necessitate their removal by tedious and time-consuming procedures before proteolysis can occur. To address this issue, we examined the effect of elution buffers used for common affinity based purifications, salt ions, stability/solubility and reducing agents, and detergents on the activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease using three different fusion proteins at 4°C, a temperature of choice for purification of many proteins. The results show that the human rhinovirus 3C protease performs better at 4°C than the frequently used tobacco etch virus protease and its activity was insensitive to most of the experimental conditions tested. Though number of fusion proteins tested is limited, we expect that these finding will facilitate the use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease in recombinant protein production for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications.     

Expression, purification and characterization of aprotinin and a human analogue of aprotinin

Aprotinin is a Kunitz-type inhibitor with a relatively broad specificity. It has been shown to be clinically useful for the management of hemorrhagic complications. In this report, small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) linked with a hexa-histidine tag was used as a fusion partner for the production of recombinant aprotinin and a human aprotinin analogue (cloned form human cDNA library). Both fusion proteins were overexpressed mainly as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli and accounted for approximately 28% of the total cell proteins. After purification by Ni-Sepharose affinity chromatography and renaturation, the fusion proteins were cleaved with SUMO protease 1. Aprotinin and its analogue were separated from the fusion partner by the subtractive chromatography using Ni-Sepharose and then further purified with CM-cellulose. Kinetic studies demonstrated that the amidolytic activity of plasmin was competitively inhibited by recombinant aprotinin with a K_i of 8.6 ± 2.4 nM, which was similar to the K_i (7.5 ± 2.7 nM) of natural aprotinin. The K_i of human aprotinin analogue was 22.7 ± 6.5 nM. The expression strategy described in this study allows convenient high yield and easy purification of small recombinant protease inhibitors with complete native sequences.     

Vascular cell lines expressing SSAO/VAP-1: a new experimental tool to study its involvement in vascular diseases

Background information. PrAO (primary amine oxidase), also known as SSAO (semicarbazide‐sensitive amine oxidase)/VAP‐1 (vascular adhesion protein‐1), is an enzyme (EC 1.4.3.21) that is highly expressed in blood vessels and participates in many cell processes, including glucose handling or inflammatory leucocyte recruitment. High activity levels of this enzyme are associated with diabetes, atherosclerosis, AD (Alzheimer's disease) or stroke, among others, thus meaning that studies concerning SSAO as a therapeutic target are becoming more frequent. However, the study of this enzyme is difficult, owing to its loss of expression in cell cultures. Results. We have developed an endothelial cell line that stably expresses the human SSAO/VAP‐1 to be used as endothelial cell model for the study of this enzyme. The transfected protein is mainly expressed as a dimer in the membrane of these cells, and we demonstrate its specific localization in the lipid rafts of endothelial cells. The protein shows levels of enzymatic activity and kinetic parameters comparable with those observed in vivo by the same cell type. The transfected SSAO/VAP‐1 is also able to mediate the adhesion of leucocytes to the endothelium, a known function of this protein under inflammatory conditions. This distinctive function is not exerted by the SSAO/VAP‐1 transfected protein in a smooth muscle cell line that expresses 3‐fold higher protein levels. These differences have been widely reported to exist in vivo. Furthermore, using this endothelial cell model, we describe for the first time the involvement of the leucocyte‐adhesion activity of SSAO/VAP‐1 in the Aβ (amyloid β‐peptide)‐mediated pro‐inflammatory effect. Conclusions. The characterization of this new cell line shows the correct behaviour of the transfected protein and endorses the use of these cellular models for the in‐depth study of the currently poorly understood functions of SSAO/VAP‐1 and its involvement in the above‐mentioned pathologies. This cellular model will be also useful for the evaluation of potential compounds that could modulate its activity for therapeutic purposes.     

重组人胰高血糖素样肽-1突变体的分离纯化及活性分析

对基因工程构建的含人胰高血糖素样肽1(hGLP1)突变体的工程菌株进行诱导表达,分离纯化N末端第二位突变的2GlyhGLP1突变体.IPTG诱导4h,收获的菌体经超声破碎后,裂解液用GlutathioneSepharose4B亲和层析纯化GST2GlyhGLP1融合蛋白,经CNBr裂解、SephadexG25柱脱盐、QAESepharoseFF阴离子交换柱层析和RPC18柱脱盐,得到纯度大于98%的重组2GlyhGLP1.Western印迹分析证实,该突变体可被特异性hGLP1抗体所识别.生物学活性分析表明,2GlyhGLP1具有明显的降血糖活性和促胰岛素分泌活性(P<0.001).     

Molecular characteristics of tissue-bound semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) in guinea pig tissues

Various mammalian tissues contain a tissue-bound amine oxidizing enzyme distinct from mitochondrial outer membrane enzyme, monoamine oxidase (MAO, EC 1.4.3.4), termed semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO, EC 1.4.3.6). An increase in SSAO activity was found in patients suffering from vascular disorders such as diabetes and diabetic complications. It has previously been shown that 2-bromoethylamine (2-BEA) is a potent, and selective suicidal inhibitor of tissue-bound SSAO. The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction of this suicidal SSAO inhibitor with the tissue-bound enzyme in guinea pig lung, kidney, stomach, and heart homogenates. The conditions necessary for this inhibitor to titrate the concentrations of this enzyme were also determined. 2-BEA appears to interact with SSAO, as reported previously for this enzyme from different sources, in a manner consistent with an irreversible, "suicide" reaction. Because of this property, 2-BEA could be used to titrate the concentrations of SSAO active centers in these tissues under the appropriate conditions employed. Although some possible non-specific binding of the inhibitor to sites other than the active center of the enzyme, metabolism of this inhibitor and/or presence of enzyme subtypes was hypothesized, the molecular characteristics of SSAO in these tissues (Km, Vmax values, enzyme efficiencies, approximate enzyme concentrations, and molecular turnover numbers) towards the substrate kynuramine (0.1 mM) at pH 7.4 and 37 degrees C have been estimated.     

Soluble semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activity is related to oxidative stress and subchronic inflammation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Diabetes is known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia via oxidative stress and inflammation. There are speculations that SSAO activity might be related to the development of AD. Our aim was to investigate whether changes of soluble SSAO activity, oxidative stress and inflammation markers are related to each other in diabetes. Soluble and tissue-bound SSAO activities (from serum and aorta, respectively) were determined in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats without insulin treatment, receiving insulin once, or twice daily compared to control animals. After three weeks of treatment soluble and tissue-bound SSAO activities (seSSAO and aoSSAO, respectively), serum total antioxidant status (TAS), high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), fructose amine levels and routine laboratory parameters were determined. SeSSAO activity significantly increased in the diabetic groups without treatment and receiving insulin once daily, and a marked decrease in aoSSAO activity was seen in all diabetic groups. Increased oxidative stress was correlated with hsCRP elevation, while hsCRP and seSSAO activity were also significantly correlated. In all groups seSSAO and aoSSAO activities were in negative correlation with each other. Our results support the view that poor metabolic control leads to increased oxidative stress, which in turn may cause the elevation of hsCRP levels. Soluble SSAO on the one hand acts as an adhesion molecule - thus possibly being a factor responsible for the late complications of diabetes - and on the other hand, it may contribute to oxidative stress. Our parsimonious conclusion is that there is a relation between the risk factors of AD and vascular dementia (diabetes, oxidative stress and chronic inflammation) and SSAO activity, which may originate from the vessel wall.     

Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase (SSAO) in the Brain

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) is widely distributed in almost tissues. However, its presence in brain microvessels is still controversial. The affinity of SSAO towards benzylamine (Bz) is considerably higher than that of monoamine oxidase (MAO). SSAO plays a role in the toxicity of several environmental and endogenous amines. SSAO-mediated production of toxic aldehydes has been proposed to be related to pathophysiological conditions. The most potent of inhibition of SSAO in monkey brain was observed by tricyclic antidepressant drug imipramine, as compared to tetracyclic drug maprotiline or non-cyclic drug nomifensine. An endogenous SSAO modulator in rat brain cytosol after immobilization stress (IMMO) was found and that this inhibitor could be induced by IMMO. SSAO activity in rat brain might be regulated by the level of this inhibitor. Semicarbazide, a SSAO inhibitor, enhances the formation of OH products of efflux/oxidation due to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium ion (MPP⁺). The precise physiological functions of SSAO could play an important role in the control of energy balance in adipose tissue. SSAO could play an important role in the regulation of adipocyte homeostasis.     

Arylalkylamine vanadium salts as new anti-diabetic compounds

Vanadium compounds show insulin-like effects in vivo and in vitro. Several clinical studies have shown the efficacy of vanadium compounds in type 2 diabetic subjects. However, a major concern is safety, which calls for the development of more potent vanadium compounds. For that reason different laboratories develop strategies to decrease the therapeutic dose of vanadate. One of these strategies use substrates of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO)/vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1), a bifunctional protein with amine oxidase activity and adhesive properties implicated in lymphocyte homing at inflammation sites. Substrates of SSAO combined with low concentrations of vanadate strongly stimulate glucose transport and GLUT4 glucose transporter recruitment to the plasma membrane in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and in rat adipocytes. This combination also shows anti-diabetic effects in various animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Benzylamine/vanadate administration generates peroxovanadium locally in pancreatic islets, which stimulates insulin secretion, and also produces peroxovanadium in adipose tissue, thereby activating glucose metabolism in adipocytes and in neighboring muscle. This opens up the possibility of using the SSAO/VAP-1 activity as a local generator of protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors in anti-diabetic therapy. More recently a novel class of arylalkylaminevanadium salts have shown potent insulin-mimetic effects downstream of the insulin receptor. Administration of these compounds lowers glycemia and normalizes the plasma lipid profile in type 1 and type 2 models of diabetes. The combination of different approaches to decrease vanadium doses, among them chelating agents and SSAO substrates, should permit to develop safe and efficient vanadium based agents safe for diabetes treatment.     

Expression and purification of human urodilatin by small ubiquitin-related modifier fusion in Escherichia coli

To prevent in vivo degradation, small peptides are usually expressed in fusion proteins from which target peptides can be released by proteolytic or chemical reagents. In this report, small ubiquitin-related modifier (SUMO) linked with a hexa-histidine tag was used as a fusion partner for the production of recombinant human urodilatin, a hormone for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure. The fusion protein, which was overexpressed mainly as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli, constituted about 25% of the total cell proteins. After purification by Ni-sepharose affinity chromatography and renaturation in refolding buffer, the fusion protein was cleaved with SUMO protease 1. Urodilatin was separated from the fusion partner by the subtractive chromatography using Ni-sepharose once again, and then further purified with reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. In vitro activity assay demonstrated that the recombinant urodilatin had a potent vasodilatory effect on rabbit aortic strips with an EC₅₀ of 1.77 ± 0.53 μg/ml, which was similar to that of the synthetic urodilatin standard. The expression strategy presented in this study allows convenient high yield and easy purification of small recombinant peptides with native sequences. Z. Sun and Z. Xia contribute equally to the work.     

Absence of tissue-bound semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase activity in carp tissues

We have previously reported that carp (Cyprinus carpio) tissue mitochondria contain a novel form of monoamine oxidase (MAO), which belongs neither to MAO-A nor to MAO-B of the mammalian enzyme. This conclusion results from the findings that the carp MAO was equally sensitive to a selective MAO-A inhibitor clorgyline and to the MAO-B selective inhibitor l-deprenyl, when tyramine, a substrate for both forms, serotonin or beta-phenylethylamine, a substrate for either A or B-form of mammalian MAO, was used. In the present study, we tried to detect another amine oxidase, termed tissue-bound semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO), activity in carp tissues. As definition of SSAO was used, such as insensitivity to inhibition of the kynuramine oxidizing activity by an MAO inhibitor pargyline and high sensitivity to the SSAO inhibitor semicarbazide. The results indicated that the oxidizing activity was selectively and almost completely inhibited by 0.1 mM pargyline alone or a combination of 0.1 mM pargyline plus 0.1 mM semicarbazide, but not by 0.1 mM semicarbazide alone. We also tried to detect any SSAO activity by changing experimental conditions, such as lower incubation temperature, higher enzyme protein concentration, a lower substrate concentration and different pH's in the reaction, as the enzyme source. However, still no SSAO activity could be detected in the tissues. These results conclusively indicate that carp tissues so far examined do not contain SSAO activity.     

Synthetic liver X receptor agonist T0901317 inhibits semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase gene expression and activity in apolipoprotein E knockout mice

Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) catalyzes oxidative deamination of primary aromatic and aliphatic amines. Increased SSAO activity has been found in atherosclerosis and diabetes mellitus. We hypothesize that the anti-atherogenic effect of liver X receptors (LXRs) might be related to the inhibition of SSAO gene expression and its activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of LXRagonist T0901317 on SSAO gene expression and its activity in apolipoprotein E knockout (apoE^−/−) mice. Male apoE^−/− mice (8 weeks old) were randomly divided into four groups: basal control group; vehicle group; prevention group; and treatment group. SSAO gene expression was analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and its activity was determined. The activity of superoxide dismutase and content of malondialdehyde in the aorta and liver were also determined. In T0901317-treated mice, SSAO gene expression was significantly decreased in the aorta, liver, small intestine, and brain. SSAO activities in serum and in these tissues were also inhibited. The amount of superoxide dismutase in the aorta and liver of the prevention group and treatment group was significantly higher compared with the vehicle group ( P < 0.05). Malondialdehyde in the tissues of these two groups was significantly lower compared with the vehicle group ( P < 0.05). Our results showed that T0901317 inhibits SSAO gene expression and its activity in atherogenic apoE^−/− mice. The atheroprotective effect of LXR agonist T0901317 is related to the inhibition of SSAO gene expression and its activity.     

The use of recombinant fusion proteases in the affinity purification of recombinant proteins

In the affinity purification of recombinant fusion proteins, the rate-limiting step is usually the efficient proteolytic cleavage and removal of the affinity tail and the protease from the purified recombinant protein. We have developed a rapid, convenient, and efficient method of affinity purification that can overcome this limitation. In one example of the method, the protease 3C from a picornavirus (3Cpro), which cleaves specific sequences containing a minimum of 6-7 amino acids, has been expressed as a fusion with glutathione S-transferase. The resultant recombinant "fusion protease" cleaves fusion proteins bearing (from the amino-terminus) the same affinity tail as the fusion protease, a 3Cpro cleavage recognition site, and the recombinant protein of interest. The recombinant protein is purified in a single chromatographic step, which removes both the affinity tail and the fusion protease. The advantages over existing methods include much improved specificity of proteolytic cleavage, complete removal of the protease and the affinity tail in one step, and the option of adding any desired amount of fusion protease to ensure efficient cleavage. The potential flexibility of the method is shown by the use of various affinity tails and alternative fusion proteases.     

Human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase: purification and characterization of a recombinant protein

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate is the most abundant sulfated steroid transformed in human tissues and serves as a precursor for steroid hormones. Recombinant human dehydroepiandrosterone sulfotransferase (DHEA-ST) expressed in glutathione sulfotransferase fusion form in E. coli was purified using glutathione sepharose 4B affinity adsorption chromatography, a Factor Xa cleavage step, and Q-sepharose fast flow column chromatography. The homogeneous preparation had an activity toward dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) of 150+/-40 nmol/min per mg of protein under the assay conditions at an overall yield of 38.4%. The recombinant human DHEA-ST was shown to have a subunit mass of 34 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, while having a molecular mass of 67.2 kDa by Superose-12 gel filtration. Our results indicate that the active recombinant enzyme expressed in E. coli is a homodimer.Biochemical properties for purified DHEA-ST were studied using DHEA as a substrate. The optimum pH ranged from pH 7 to 8, and the optimum temperature 40-45 degrees C. Ninety percent of basal DHEA-ST activity remained even after the enzyme was treated at 45 degrees C for 15 min. The 50% inactivation concentration of NaCl for DHEA-ST activity was determined to be around 500 mM. The K(m) value for DHEA was 1.9+/-0.3 microM and V(max)=190+/-18 nmol/min per mg of protein at 37 degrees C, pH 7.5.     

Production of recombinant isotopically labelled peptide by fusion to an insoluble partner protein: generation of integrin αvβ6 binding peptides for NMR

The integrin αvβ6 is up-regulated in several cancers and has clinical potential for both tumour imaging and therapy. Peptide ligands have been developed which show good binding specificity for αvβ6 and provide an opportunity to study the interaction in more detail by NMR. Such studies ideally require (15)N and (13)C labelled peptides, and recombinant expression within E. coli provides a cost effective way of generating isotopically labelled proteins and peptides. In this study we have used an insoluble fusion partner (ketosteroid isomerase) to produce high yields of recombinant peptide. The insoluble nature of the fusion allowed simple product recovery by cell lysis and centrifugation, and thorough washing of the insoluble pellet to remove contaminating proteins avoided the need for nickel-affinity chromatography in denaturing conditions which is the standard procedure. The protocol described here is convenient to scale-up and requires only one chromatography step (reverse-phase HPLC) which is comparable to solid-phase synthesis.     

Adipogenesis-related increase of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase and monoamine oxidase in human adipocytes

A strong induction of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) has previously been reported during murine preadipocyte lineage differentiation but it remains unknown whether this emergence also occurs during adipogenesis in man. Our aim was to compare SSAO and monoamine oxidase (MAO) expression during in vitro differentiation of human preadipocytes and in adipose and stroma-vascular fractions of human fat depots. A human preadipocyte cell strain from a patient with Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome was first used to follow amine oxidase expression during in vitro differentiation. Then, human preadipocytes isolated from subcutaneous adipose tissues were cultured under conditions promoting ex vivo adipose differentiation and tested for MAO and SSAO expression. Lastly, human adipose tissue was separated into mature adipocyte and stroma-vascular fractions for analyses of MAO and SSAO at mRNA, protein and activity levels. Both SSAO and MAO were increased from undifferentiated preadipocytes to lipid-laden cells in all the models: 3T3-F442A and 3T3-L1 murine lineages, human SGBS cell strain or human preadipocytes in primary culture. In human subcutaneous adipose tissue, the adipocyte-enriched fraction exhibited seven-fold higher amine oxidase activity and contained three- to seven-fold higher levels of mRNAs encoded by MAO-A, MAO-B, AOC3 and AOC2 genes than the stroma-vascular fraction. MAO-A and AOC3 genes accounted for the majority of their respective MAO and SSAO activities in human adipose tissue. Most of the SSAO and MAO found in adipose tissue originated from mature adipocytes. Although the mechanism and role of adipogenesis-related increase in amine oxidase expression remain to be established, the resulting elevated levels of amine oxidase activities found in human adipocytes may be of potential interest for therapeutic intervention in obesity.     

Dihydrofolate reductase as a new "affinity handle".

Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) has been demonstrated to be a versatile "affinity handle" for expression of recombinant proteins. The DHFR "handle" has advantages not only in terms of efficiency of expressing the fusion protein as a soluble form but also in stabilizing unstable polypeptides and facilitating purification of the expressed protein by means of methotrexate-bound affinity chromatography and by making use of the enzyme activity. Fifteen genes encoding different lengths of polypeptides of 5 to 44 amino acids were chemically synthesized and introduced into expression vectors, pTP70-1 or its derivatives. All the polypeptide genes were efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli cells as fusion proteins which show DHFR activity. The respective fusion proteins were highly purified from cell-free extracts by monitoring the DHFR activity at each purification step. The use of methotrexate-bound affinity chromatography was very effective. In order to cut out the polypeptides, the purified fusion proteins were treated with either BrCN or site-specific protease according to the spacer sequence. The objective polypeptide was purified by means of a reversed-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) system. Specific cleavage of the purified fusion protein actually yielded very few peptide fragments, so the assignment and isolation of the objective polypeptide were carried out without difficulty.