Crystal structure of a bifunctional transformylase and cyclohydrolase enzyme in purine biosynthesis

ATIC, the product of the purH gene, is a 64 kDa bifunctional enzyme that possesses the final two activities in de novo purine biosynthesis, AICAR transformylase and IMP cyclohydrolase. The crystal structure of avian ATIC has been determined to 1.75 A resolution by the MAD method using a Se-methionine modified enzyme. ATIC forms an intertwined dimer with an extensive interface of approximately 5,000 A(2) per monomer. Each monomer is composed of two novel, separate functional domains. The N-terminal domain (up to residue 199) is responsible for the IMPCH activity, whereas the AICAR Tfase activity resides in the C-terminal domain (200-593). The active sites of the IMPCH and AICAR Tfase domains are approximately 50 A apart, with no structural evidence of a tunnel connecting the two active sites. The crystal structure of ATIC provides a framework to probe both catalytic mechanisms and to design specific inhibitors for use in cancer chemotherapy and inflammation.     

组织因子膜外区融合蛋白基因的表达及产物的分离纯化与活性分析

 为构建表达组织因子 (TF)膜外区的融合载体 ,制备组织因子膜外区 ,抽提人胎盘组织的总RNA,通过 RT- PCR法扩增出 TF的 c DNA克隆至 p UC1 8并测定全序列 .然后以此为模板 ,再次PCR扩增出 TF膜外区 (soluble TF,s TF) c DNA,并将其插入到谷胱甘肽巯基转移酶融合表达载体 p GEX4T- 1 ,构建了 tac启动子控制下的 GST- s TF融合蛋白的表达载体 .表达的融合蛋白经亲和层析、凝血酶切得到纯化的 s TF.表达产物经 ELISA验证 ,能特异性地与 TF抗体结合 .重新脂化后 ,该产物具有较大凝血活性 .以上说明采用融合蛋白表达系统可以大量制备组织因子膜外区 ,为研制国产重组凝血活酶试剂和研究 s TF的结构和功能创造条件 .     

人GST-AWP1融合蛋白的原核表达及其抗体制备

为进一步研究人的一新蛋白———蛋白激酶C相关激酶 1相关蛋白 (AWP1)的结构、功能及与其相互作用的蛋白而进行GST AWP融合蛋白表达载体的构建、原核表达、纯化及其抗体的制备 .采用逆转录PCR(RT PCR)法从人ECV30 4内皮细胞中扩增AWP1cDNA编码区 ,并将其重组于谷胱甘肽硫转移酶 (GST)融合蛋白表达质粒pGEX KG中 .经酶切、序列鉴定分析后 ,用该重组质粒转化大肠杆菌BL2 1,并经异丙基 β D 硫代半乳糖苷 (IPTG)诱导产生GST AWP1融合蛋白 ,继而纯化获得了分子量约 5 6kD的融合蛋白 .将此融合蛋白免疫新西兰兔 ,经ELISA和Western印迹检测获得了效价高、免疫活性强的兔抗人多克隆抗体 .结果表明成功构建了GST AWP1融合蛋白表达载体 ,在大肠杆菌高效表达了GST AWP1融合蛋白 ,并获得高效多抗 ,为下阶段深入AWP1功能研究提供了重要的基础     

重组人MBD4蛋白在大肠杆菌中的表达、纯化及活性分析

为获得重组人MBD4蛋白,将编码MBD4的开放式阅读框（ORF）插入原核表达载体pGEX6P1 GST基因下游的多克隆位点（MCS）.将获得的表达质粒转化入大肠杆菌BL21(DE3) 菌株扩大培养并用IPTG诱导融合蛋白的表达.用谷胱甘肽琼脂糖凝胶 4B亲和介质从菌体裂解液中纯化了GST-MBD4融合蛋白.经过Prescision protease专一性裂解成功去除了融合蛋白上的GST标签.通过Mono Q阴离子交换层析获得了纯度达94%以上的MBD4蛋白,该蛋白具有甲基化DNA结合和糖苷酶生物活性.     

p16抑癌基因定点突变及其在大肠杆菌中的表达与纯化

为了研究错义突变对ｐ１６功能的影响,应用ＰＣＲ体外定点突变方法对ｐ１６ｃＤＮＡ进行体外定点突变,并将野生型和突变型ｐ１６ｃＤＮＡ克隆于ｐＧＥＸ－５Ｔ载体,在大肠杆菌中经ＩＰＴＧ诱导表达,Ｗｅｓｔｅｒｎ印迹鉴定确证表达．而后用谷胱甘肽－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ４Ｂ亲和层析纯化野生型和突变型ｐ１６融合蛋白．得到了第４８位密码子ＣＣＧ（Ｐｒｏ）→ＣＴＧ（Ｌｅｕ）突变的ｐ１６－Ｐ４８突变体,并在大肠杆菌中表达了４２ｋＤ的ＧＳＴ－ｐ１６和ＧＳＴ－ｐ１６Ｐ４８Ｌ融合蛋白．最后经纯化得到了野生和Ｐ４８Ｌ突变的ｐ１６融合蛋白     

幽门杆菌Catalase/GST融合蛋白的表达、标签切除及鉴定

旨在利用GST融合基因表达系统表达幽门螺杆菌Catalase融合蛋白,并利用凝血酶切除GST标签.将重组质粒Catalase/pGEX-4T-1转化大肠杆菌BL21( DE3)感受态中,用IPTG进行诱导表达,菌体经反复冻融、溶菌酶裂解及超声破菌后,Catalase/GST融合蛋白以部分可溶性的形式表达在上清中.采用谷胱甘肽琼脂糖树脂Glutathione Sepharose 4B对其进行纯化,得到Catalase/GST融合蛋白,再用凝血酶进行GST标签的切除,所得产物进行Western blotting鉴定.高效表达出Catalase/GST融合蛋白的相对分子质量约85 kD,凝血酶成功地切除了GST标签,Western blotting证实Catalase蛋白能被鼠抗Catalase单克隆抗体识别.     

鲑鱼降钙素基因在大肠杆菌中的克隆与表达

以鲑鱼基因组ＤＮＡ为模板,采用ＰＣＲ获得ｓＣＴ基因,并为ＤＮＡ序列分析所证实．以ｐＧＥＸ－３Ｘ为表达载体,利用体外定点突变技术成功地构建了融合蛋白ＧＳＴ－ｓＣＴ的重组表达质粒ｐＧＥＸ－３Ｘ－ｓＣＴ,在大肠杆菌中得到高效表达,其表达量约为菌体总蛋白的３０％;利用亲合层析法对融合蛋白ＧＳＴ－ｓＣＴ进行纯化,再经Ｆａｃ－ｔｏｒΧａ酶切后获得了重组ｓＣＴ,并对其进行活性检测．初步实验证明,重组ｓＣＴ具有较强的生物活性     

Structural insights into the human and avian IMP cyclohydrolase mechanism via crystal structures with the bound XMP inhibitor

Within de novo purine biosynthesis, the AICAR transformylase and IMP cyclohydrolase activities of the bifunctional enzyme ATIC convert the intermediate AICAR to the final product of the pathway, IMP. Identification of the AICAR transformylase active site and a proposed formyl transfer mechanism have already resulted from analysis of crystal structures of avian ATIC in complex with substrate and/or inhibitors. Herein, we focus on the IMPCH active site and the cyclohydrolase mechanism through comparison of crystal structures of XMP inhibitor complexes of human ATIC at 1.9 A resolution with the previously determined avian enzyme. This first human ATIC structure was also determined to ascertain whether any subtle structural differences, compared to the homologous avian enzyme, should be taken into account for structure-based inhibitor design. These structural comparisons, as well as comparative analyses with other IMP and XMP binding proteins, have enabled a catalytic mechanism to be formulated. The primary role of the IMPCH active site appears to be to induce a reconfiguration of the substrate FAICAR to a less energetically favorable, but more reactive, conformer. Backbone (Arg64 and Lys66) and side chain interactions (Thr67) in the IMPCH active site reorient the 4-carboxamide from the preferred conformer that binds to the AICAR Tfase active site to one that promotes intramolecular cyclization. Other backbone amides (Ile126 and Gly127) create an oxyanion hole that helps orient the formyl group for nucleophilic attack by the 4-carboxamide amine and then stabilize the anionic intermediate. Several other residues, including Lys66, Tyr104, Asp125, and Lys137', provide substrate specificity and likely enhance the catalytic rate through contributions to acid-base catalysis.     

Expression and purification of pheophorbidase, an enzyme catalyzing the formation of pyropheophorbide during chlorophyll degradation: comparison with the native enzyme

Formation of pyropheophorbide (PyroPheid) during chlorophyll metabolism in some higher plants has been shown to involve the enzyme pheophorbidase (PPD). This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of pheophorbide (Pheid) a to a precursor of PyroPheid, C-13(2)-carboxylPyroPheid a, by demethylation, and then the precursor is decarboxylated non-enzymatically to yield PyroPheid a. In this study, expression, purification, and biochemical characterization of recombinant PPD from radish (Raphanus sativus L.) were performed, and its properties were compared with those of highly purified native PPD. Recombinant PPD was produced using a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion system. The PPD and GST genes were fused to a pGEX-2T vector and expressed in Escherichia coli under the control of a T7 promoter as a fusion protein. The recombinant PPD-GST was expressed as a 55 kDa protein as measured by SDS-PAGE and purified by single-step affinity chromatography through a GSTrap FF column. PPD-GST was purified to homogeneity with a yield of 0.42 mg L(-1) of culture. The protein purified by this method was confirmed to be PPD by measuring its activity. The purified PPD-GST fusion protein revealed potent catalytic activity for demethylation of the methoxycarbonyl group of Pheid a and showed a pH optimum, substrate specificity, and thermal stability quite similar to the native enzyme purified from radish, except for the Km values toward Pheid a: 95.5 microM for PPD-GST and about 15 microM for native PPDs.     

Purification of human alpha-L-fucosidase precursor expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein

Alpha-L-fucosidase (FUC) is a glycosidase involved in the degradation of fucose-containing glycoconjugates. A cDNA representing the complete sequence of human FUC was inserted into the prokaryotic expression vector pGEX-2T. High levels of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein were detected in Escherichia coli cells after induction with isopropyl thio-beta-D-galactopyranoside. The GST-FUC protein was mostly found as inclusion bodies and attempts to optimise its expression as a soluble form were unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the recombinant protein was purified by affinity chromatography on glutathione-sepharose and its fucosidase activity was characterised. After thrombin cleavage of the GST tag, the FUC precursor protein was purified by electro-elution.     

Expression and purification of the mitochondrial serine protease LACTB as an N-terminal GST fusion protein in Escherichia coli

LACTB is a mammalian mitochondrial protein sharing sequence similarity to the beta-lactamase/penicillin-binding protein family of serine proteases that are involved in bacterial cell wall metabolism. The physiological role of LACTB is unclear. In this study we have subcloned the cDNA of mouse LACTB (mLACTB) and produced recombinant mLACTB protein in Escherichia coli. When mLACTB was expressed as an N-terminal GST fusion protein (GST-mLACTB), full-length GST-mLACTB protein was recovered by glutathione-agarose affinity chromatography as determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and immunoblotting. Expression of mLACTB as a C-terminal GST fusion protein or with either an N- or C-terminal His6-tag resulted in proteolytic degradation of the protein and we were not able to detect full-length mLACTB. Analysis of GST-mLACTB by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry revealed the presence of alpha-helices, beta-sheets and turns, consistent with a well-defined secondary structure. These results show that mLACTB can be expressed as a GST fusion protein in E. coli and suggest that GST-mLACTB was properly folded.     

Expression, purification, and properties of recombinant encephalomyocarditis virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

Encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase (GST), which allowed easy purification of the fusion protein by affinity chromatography on immobilized glutathione. Inclusion of a thrombin cleavage site between the GST carrier and the viral enzyme facilitated the release of purified mature EMC virus RNA polymerase from the GST carrier by proteolysis with thrombin. The purified recombinant enzyme has a molecular mass of about 52 kDa and is recognized by polyclonal immune serum raised against a peptide sequence corresponding to the C-terminal region of the protein. The recombinant enzyme comigrates with immunoprecipitated EMC virus RNA polymerase from infected mouse L929 cell extracts when run in parallel lanes on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. The enzyme exhibits rifampin-resistant, poly(A)-dependent poly(U) polymerase activity and RNA polymerase activity, which are both oligo(U) dependent. Template-size products are synthesized in in vitro reactions with EMC virus genomic RNA or globin mRNA. The availability of recombinant EMC virus RNA polymerase in a purified form will allow biochemical analysis of its role in the replication of the virus as well as structure-function studies of this unique class of enzyme.     

Expression cloned cDNA for 10-deacetylbaccatin III-10-O-acetyltransferase in Escherichia coli: a comparative study of three fusion systems

10-Deacetylbaccatin III-10-O-acetyltransferase (10-DABT) catalyzes the formation of baccatin III, which is an immediate diterpenoid precursor of Taxol. A cDNA encoding 10-DABT was cloned from Taxus baccata by using RT-PCR and screening a cDNA library. A study of its heterologous overexpression in Escherichia coli was carried out. To get high-level expression of recombinant enzyme, three kinds of IPTG inducible fusion expression systems (with glutathione S-transferase (GST), hexahistidine (6x His), and biotinylated tag) were used, and results of expression were compared. Fusion 10-DABT with different tags was expressed with diverse expression levels and solubility in the three systems. Optimum IPTG concentration, temperature, and inducing time for producing recombinant enzymes were found. Under higher IPTG concentration (up to 1 mM), the highest level of expression for fusion protein was obtained in the 6x His fusion system with phage T5 promoter, but expressed products were only partially soluble. With lower IPTG concentration (less than 0.5 mM), the highest expression was detected in the GST fusion system with tac promoter, and the lowest level of expression appeared in the biotinylated fusion system. The expression level in the latter system did not differ dramatically with a range of different inducer concentrations. GST and 6x His fusion proteins were mainly soluble in aqueous solutions and Triton X-100 improved the solubility of biotinylated fusion proteins (inferring this protein is membrane-associated). Fusion proteins could only be partially purified by a single affinity chromatography step for all three systems. Glutathione-coupled matrix and streptavidin-conjugated resin have higher specificity than Ni-NTA resin, and elution conditions were shown to affect enzyme activity. Three kinds of recombinant 10-DABT with different tags showed enzyme activity, but total enzyme activity was lost as a result of the affinity chromatography step. Thrombin and Factor Xa could be used for site-specific cleavage of fusion proteins, but the incubation temperature affected enzyme activity of recombinant enzymes.     

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.     

Production of recombinant rat interleukin-6 in Escherichia coli using a novel highly efficient expression vector pGEX-3T.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is one of the most important mediators of the acute phase reaction in liver. For the production of recombinant rat IL-6 in Escherichia coli, a previously isolated cDNA coding for the rat IL-6 was cloned into the modified novel expression vector pGEX-3T. The IL-6 cDNA was highly expressed as a fusion protein with the glutathione S-transferase (GST) at its C-terminus and rat IL-6 at its N-terminus. The GST-IL-6 fusion protein was controlled by a tac-promoter and could be induced very efficiently by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside. The synthesized GST-IL-6 fusion protein was insoluble and precipitated intracellularly in E. coli. Using an advanced technique, the insoluble protein was solubilized and purified to homogeneity by affinity chromatography using immobilized glutathione in a one-step procedure.     

猪Follistatin cDNA克隆及在大肠杆菌中的表达

提取猪卵巢总RNA,用RT-PCR方法克隆了猪FollistatincDNA的完整开放阅读框,长1038bp。将FollistatincDNA连接到原核表达载体pGEX-4T-3中,转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),以IPTG诱导,进行了GST-FS融合蛋白表达。用SDS-PAGE和Western杂交检测,结果显示在63kD处有特异性表达蛋白。     

幽门螺杆菌Lpp20融合蛋白的表达、标签切除及鉴定

目的:利用GST融合基因表达系统表达Lpp20-GST融合蛋白,并利用凝血酶切除GST标签.方法:IPTG诱导重组质粒Lpp20/pGEX-4T -1在大肠杆菌BL21 (DE3)中表达,菌体经反复冻融、溶菌酶裂解及超声破菌后,发现Lpp20-GST融合蛋白以部分可溶性的形式表达.采用GST蛋白纯化系统对其纯化,得到Lpp20- GST融合蛋白,再用凝血酶进行GST标签的切除,所得产物进行Western Blot鉴定.结果:高效表达出Lpp20-GST融合蛋白的相对分子质量约4.5kDa,凝血酶成功切除了GST标签,Western Blot证实Lpp20蛋白能被鼠抗Lpp20单克隆抗体识别.结论:成功表达和纯化了重组Lpp20蛋白,为深入研究Lpp20的功能奠定了基础.     

肿瘤相关抗原基因HCA520重组蛋白的表达纯化及其肝癌患者血清中相应抗体的分析

HCA5 2 0是用SEREX(serologicalidentificationofrecombinantcDNAexpressingcloning)方法 ,即用肝癌病人血清从肝癌组织cDNA表达文库中筛选得到的肝癌相关性抗原编码基因 .利用RT PCR技术检测了HCA5 2 0mRNA在各种组织中的分布情况 ,构建了GST融合表达载体并且用亲和层析的方法纯化表达的融合蛋白 .最后用Western印迹检测了重组蛋白的免疫反应性 ,用斑点印迹检测了肝癌病人血清中HCA5 2 0的天然抗体的存在情况 .结果表明 ,HCA5 2 0在各种组织中呈丰度差异分布 ,构建好的pGEX 4T 3重组载体经IPTG诱导后高效表达GST HCA5 2 0融合蛋白 ,其分子量约 4 9kD .经GST Agarose亲和层析 ,重组蛋白得到高度纯化 .Western印迹证实 ,纯化蛋白为目的重组蛋白 ,重组蛋白具有与天然蛋白相同或相似的免疫反应性 .斑点印迹分析表明 ,2 0份肝癌病人血清中有 1份HCA5 2 0抗体阳性 ,而 4份正常人均为阴性 .HCA5 2 0的足量提供 ,可用以研究其在致癌中的作用 ,并可以免疫动物制备抗体 .它作为抗原 ,分析其抗体在不同肿瘤病人中的表达情况 ,评估其在临床肿瘤诊断中的作用     

人细胞核dUTPase的克隆表达及其酶学活性

以阿尔茨海默病 (Alzheimer’sdisease ,AD)患者脑cDNA文库质粒为模板 ,用PCR方法扩增得到人细胞核dUTP焦磷酸酶 (dUTPase)的cDNA ,将其克隆到谷胱甘肽 S 转移酶 (GST)融合表达载体pGEX 4T 1中 ,并在大肠杆菌BL2 1中获得高效表达 .表达的融合蛋白GST dUTPase经过谷胱甘肽 Sepharose 4B亲和层析 ,凝血酶酶切和SephacrylS 10 0纯化 ,得到高纯度dUTPase蛋白 .通过SDS PAGE ,氨基酸组成分析 ,N端氨基酸序列测定以及HPLC测Mr 结果与期望值一致 .通过检测该酶水解dUTP释放的焦磷酸 (PPi)来测定表达产物dUTPase蛋白及GST dUTPase融合蛋白的酶活性 ,发现两蛋白都具有正常的酶水解dUTP活性 ,但融合蛋白的活性比dUTPase蛋白低 7～ 8倍 .同时研究了Mg2 +和EDTA对酶活性的影响     

Structure of avian AICAR transformylase with a multisubstrate adduct inhibitor beta-DADF identifies the folate binding site

The penultimate catalytic step of the purine de novo synthesis pathway is the conversion of aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR) to 5-formyl-AICAR that requires the cofactor N(10)-formyl-tetrahydrofolate as the formyl donor. This reaction is catalyzed by the AICAR transformylase domain of the bifunctional enzyme AICAR transformylase/inosine monophosphate cyclohydrolase (ATIC). Identification of the location of the AICAR transformylase active site was previously elucidated from the crystal structure of the avian ATIC with bound substrate AICAR; however, due to the absence of any bound folate, the folate binding region of the active site could not be identified. Here, we have determined the homodimeric crystal structure of avian ATIC in complex with the ATIC-specific multisubstrate adduct inhibitor beta-DADF to 2.5 A resolution. Beta-DADF encompasses both the AICAR and folate moieties into a single covalently linked entity, thereby allowing for the characterization of the folate binding pocket of the AICAR transformylase active site. Beta-DADF is intimately bound at the dimer interface of the transformylase domains with the majority of AICAR moiety interactions occurring within one subunit, whereas the primary interactions to the folate occur with the opposing subunit. The crystal structure suggests that a buried Lys(267) is transiently protonated during formyl transfer allowing for the stabilization of the oxyanion transition state and subsequent protonation of N10 on the tetrahydrofolate leaving group. Furthermore, the beta-DADF-bound structure provides a more optimal three-dimensional scaffold to improve the design of specific antineoplastic agents.