Purification of recombinant membrane proteins tagged with calmodulin-binding domains by affinity chromatography on calmodulin-agarose: example of nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase

This protocol describes affinity purification of bacterially expressed, recombinant membrane proteins fused with calmodulin-binding domains. As exemplified by the Escherichia coli nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, this method allows isolation of the protein fusions in a single chromatography step using elution with the calcium chelating agent EDTA and, unlike purification of His-tagged proteins on nickel chelate, it is not sensitive to the presence of strong reducing agents (e.g., DTT). Our protocol involves disruption of host bacteria by sonication, sedimentation of membranes by differential centrifugation, solubilization of membrane proteins and affinity chromatography on calmodulin-agarose. To achieve maximum purity and yield, the use of a combination of non-ionic and anionic detergents is suggested. Purification takes two working days, with an overnight wash of the column to increase the purity of the product.     

A Review of: “Bioseparations, (Downstream Processing for Biotechnology) P.A. Belter,E.L. Cussler and W.S. Hu,Wiley Interscience,New York, 1988; hardbound, 368 pages, $39.95”

ABSTRACT

Covalent structural information on membrane proteins is not easily acquired since it is difficult to obtain pure membrane proteins in sufficient quantities. We have therefore examined the Bio-Rad 491 prep cell continuous elution electrophoresis apparatus as a method for providing the quantities of purified , alpha and beta subunits from (Na.K)-ATPase required for these studies. Twenty-four milligrams of crude (Na.K)-ATPase preparation was applied to the prep cell which consisted of a 7% Laemmli separating gel 4.5 cm in length. The prep cell was Y run under constant power and continuous cooling conditions. Those fractions containing the beta subunit were combined and further purified by wheat germ agglutinin affinity"' chromatography. Fractions containing the alpha subunit were combined and did not require further purification. The identity and the degree of purity of the proteins obtained using this approach was assessed utilizing SDS-PAGE, amino acid analysis 375 Copyright 1993 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. * and N-tertninal sequencing. This simple and fast method provides approximately 1.8 milligrams of each purified subunit from 24 milligrams of relatively crude microsomes. Recovery of the alpha and beta subunits from the crude (Na.K)-ATPase preparation was estimated to be 28% and 81%, respectively.     

Nucleotide sequence of the pntA and pntB genes encoding the pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase of Escherichia coli

A 3240-base-pair DNA fragment spanning the pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase (pnt) genes of Escherichia coli has been sequenced. The sequence contains two open-reading frames, pntA and pntB of 1506 and 1386 base pairs, coding for the transhydrogenase alpha and beta subunits, respectively. The coding sequences are preceded by a promoter-like structure and are most likely co-transcribed. Each coding sequence is preceded by a Shine-Dalgarno sequence. The amino-terminal amino acid sequences were determined from the purified alpha and beta subunits of the transhydrogenase. These sequences agree with those predicted from the nucleotide sequences of the pntA and pntB genes. The predicted relative molecular masses of 53906 (alpha) and 48667 (beta) are close to the values obtained by analysis of the subunits by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Several hydrophobic regions large enough to span the cytoplasmic membrane were observed in each subunit. These results indicate that transhydrogenase is an intrinsic membrane protein.     

Comparison of affinity tags for protein purification

Affinity tags are highly efficient tools for purifying proteins from crude extracts. To facilitate the selection of affinity tags for purification projects, we have compared the efficiency of eight elutable affinity tags to purify proteins from Escherichia coli, yeast, Drosophila, and HeLa extracts. Our results show that the HIS, CBP, CYD (covalent yet dissociable NorpD peptide), Strep II, FLAG, HPC (heavy chain of protein C) peptide tags, and the GST and MBP protein fusion tag systems differ substantially in purity, yield, and cost. We find that the HIS tag provides good yields of tagged protein from inexpensive, high capacity resins but with only moderate purity from E. coli extracts and relatively poor purification from yeast, Drosophila, and HeLa extracts. The CBP tag produced moderate purity protein from E. coli, yeast, and Drosophila extracts, but better purity from HeLa extracts. Epitope-based tags such as FLAG and HPC produced the highest purity protein for all extracts but require expensive, low capacity resin. Our results suggest that the Strep II tag may provide an acceptable compromise of excellent purification with good yields at a moderate cost.     

一种用于药物蛋白亲和纯化和跨膜转运的双功能标签的开发

目的:开发一种既能用于亲和纯化目标蛋白,又可介导不能自主进入细胞的药物蛋白跨膜转运到细胞内发挥活性的双功能标签。方法:从已有文献资料中挑选四种富含碱性氨基酸的钙调蛋白结合肽(calmodulin binding peptide,CBP),将其与绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)融合表达,然后采用与钙调蛋白(calmodulin,CaM)亲和结合过程来筛选与CaM具有最高亲和力的CBP;随后采用荧光显微镜检测、激光共聚焦显微镜检测以及流式细胞术等技术来分析测定和比较候选CBP序列将EGFP重组蛋白自主转运进入细胞的能力。最后将筛选到的新型CBP双功能标签与凋亡蛋白融合表达,考察其与CaM亲和结合后纯化重组凋亡蛋白的能力,以MTT法分析此重组蛋白进入肿瘤细胞抑制生长的能力。结果:通过CaM-CBP亲和层析筛选出与CaM具高有亲和力的三种CBP序列;从重组蛋白胞内荧光检测结果得知,带有野生型骨骼肌肌球蛋白轻链激酶CBP序列(MLCK)的重组EGFP蛋白具有最佳跨膜转运效率,且显著高于来源于艾滋病毒的经典穿膜肽TAT的穿膜效率。以此MLCK新型双功能标签成功地通过CaM-CBP亲和结合纯化得到重组凋亡蛋白,并可将重组凋亡蛋白转运进入细胞内发挥抗肿瘤作用。重组凋亡蛋白对MGC-803、H460、HeLa三种肿瘤细胞生长的24h半抑制浓度(IC50)分别为:1. 18μmol/L、1. 23μmol/L、1. 23μmol/L。结论:筛选得到一种新型双功能标签MLCK,其可通过与CaM高亲和作用进行亲和纯化;同时标签本身还具有和典型穿膜肽一样的高效跨膜转运功能,可将药物蛋白自主转运进入细胞,发挥药物的生物活性。因此,新型双功能标签既可用于药物蛋白的亲和纯化,又兼具体内跨膜运输作用,可广泛用于各种新型药物的开发。     

Rat liver mitochondrial ATP synthase. Effects of mutations in the glycine-rich region of a beta subunit peptide on its interaction with adenine nucleotides

The beta subunit of the rat liver mitochondrial ATP synthase contains a glycine-rich amino acid sequence implicated in binding nucleotides by its similarity to a sequence found in many other nucleotide-binding proteins. A C-terminal three-quarter-length rat liver beta subunit fragment (Glu122 through Ser479), containing this homology region, interacts with adenine nucleotides (Garboczi, D.N., Hullihen, J.H., and Pedersen, P.L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 15694-15698). Here we directly test the involvement of the glycine-rich region in nucleotide binding by altering its amino acid sequence through mutation or deletion. Twenty-one mutations within the glycine-rich region of the beta subunit cDNA were randomly generated. Wild-type and mutant beta subunit proteins were purified from overexpressing Escherichia coli strains. The mutant proteins were screened for changes in their interaction with 2'(3')-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)adenosine 5'-triphosphate (TNP-ATP), a fluorescent nucleotide analog. Only one mutant protein bearing two amino acid changes (Gly153----Val, Gly156----Arg) exhibited a fluorescence enhancement higher than that of the wild-type "control." Further analysis of this protein revealed a lower affinity for TNP-ATP (Kd = 10 microM) compared with wild type (Kd = 5 microM). In addition, a mutant from which amino acids Gly149-Lys214 had been deleted was prepared. This mutant protein, which lacks the entire glycine-rich region, also displayed a marked reduction in affinity for TNP-ATP (Kd greater than 60 microM). Prior addition of 0.5 mM ATP significantly reduced the binding of TNP-ATP to both the double and deletion mutants. The altered interaction of nucleotide with both glycine-rich region mutants points to the involvement of this region in the binding site. Further, this work shows that a beta subunit protein that lacks the glycine-rich homology region can still interact with nucleotide, indicating that one or more additional regions of this subunit contribute to the nucleotide binding site.     

Topological analysis of the pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase of Escherichia coli using proteolytic enzymes

The pyridine nucleotide transhydrogenase of Escherichia coli has an alpha 2 beta 2 structure (alpha: Mr, 54,000; beta: Mr, 48,700). Hydropathy analysis of the amino acid sequences suggested that the 10 kDa C-terminal portion of the alpha subunit and the N-terminal 20-25 kDa region of the beta subunit are composed of transmembranous alpha-helices. The topology of these subunits in the membrane was investigated using proteolytic enzymes. Trypsin digestion of everted cytoplasmic membrane vesicles released a 43 kDa polypeptide from the alpha subunit. The beta subunit was not susceptible to trypsin digestion. However, it was digested by proteinase K in everted vesicles. Both alpha and beta subunits were not attacked by trypsin and proteinase K in right-side out membrane vesicles. The beta subunit in the solubilized enzyme was only susceptible to digestion by trypsin if the substrates NADP(H) were present. NAD(H) did not affect digestion of the beta subunit. Digestion of the beta subunit of the membrane-bound enzyme by trypsin was not induced by NADP(H) unless the membranes had been previously stripped of extrinsic proteins by detergent. It is concluded that binding of NADP(H) induces a conformational change in the transhydrogenase. The location of the trypsin cleavage sites in the sequences of the alpha and beta subunits were determined by N- and C-terminal sequencing. A model is proposed in which the N-terminal 43 kDa region of the alpha subunit and the C-terminal 30 kDa region of the beta subunit are exposed on the cytoplasmic side of the inner membrane of E. coli. Binding sites for pyridine nucleotide coenzymes in these regions were suggested by affinity chromatography on NAD-agarose columns.     

Expression of a Brassic napus glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant protein

Glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase (GSA-AT) is a key regulatory enzyme, which converts glutamate 1-semialdehyde (GSA) to 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in chlorophyll biosynthesis. ALA is the universal precursor for the synthesis of chlorophyll, heme, and other tetrapyrroles. To study the regulation of chlorophyll biosynthesis in Brassica napus, two cDNA clones of GSA-AT were isolated for genetic manipulation. A SalI-XbaI fragment from one of the two cDNA clones of GSA-AT was used for recombinant protein expression by inserting it at the 3' end of a calmodulin-binding-peptide (CBP) tag of the pCaln vector. The CBP tagged recombinant protein, expressed in Escherichia coli, was purified to apparent homogeneity in a one step purification process using a calmodulin affinity column. The purified CBP tagged GSA-AT is biologically active and has a specific activity of 16.6 nmol/min/mg. Cleavage of the CBP tag from the recombinant protein with thrombin resulted in 9.2% loss of specific activity. However, removal of the cleaved CBP tag from the recombinant protein solution resulted in 60% loss of specific activity, suggesting possible interactions between the recombinant protein and the CBP tag. The enzyme activity of the CBP tagless recombinant protein, referred as TR-GSA-AT hereafter, was not affected by the addition of pyridoxamine 5' phosphate (PMP). Addition of glutamate and pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PLP) to the TR-GSA-AT enhanced the enzyme activity by 3-fold and 3.6-fold, respectively. Addition of both glutamate and PLP increased the enzyme activity by 4.6-fold. Similar to the GSA-AT of B. napus, the active TR-GSA-AT is a dimeric protein of 88 kDa with 45.5 kDa subunits. As the SalI-XbaI fragment encodes a biologically active GSA-AT that has the same molecular mass as the native GSA-AT, it is concluded that the SalI-XbaI fragment is the coding sequence of GSA-AT. The highly active polyclonal antibodies generated from TR-GSA-AT were used for the detection of GSA-AT of B. napus.     

Orthogonal Protein Purification Facilitated by a Small Bispecific Affinity Tag

Due to the high costs associated with purification of recombinant proteins the protocols need to be rationalized. For high-throughput efforts there is a demand for general methods that do not require target protein specific optimization¹ . To achieve this, purification tags that genetically can be fused to the gene of interest are commonly used² . The most widely used affinity handle is the hexa-histidine tag, which is suitable for purification under both native and denaturing conditions³ . The metabolic burden for producing the tag is low, but it does not provide as high specificity as competing affinity chromatography based strategies^1,2.Here, a bispecific purification tag with two different binding sites on a 46 amino acid, small protein domain has been developed. The albumin-binding domain is derived from Streptococcal protein G and has a strong inherent affinity to human serum albumin (HSA). Eleven surface-exposed amino acids, not involved in albumin-binding⁴ , were genetically randomized to produce a combinatorial library. The protein library with the novel randomly arranged binding surface (Figure 1) was expressed on phage particles to facilitate selection of binders by phage display technology. Through several rounds of biopanning against a dimeric Z-domain derived from Staphylococcal protein A⁵, a small, bispecific molecule with affinity for both HSA and the novel target was identified⁶ .The novel protein domain, referred to as ABDz1, was evaluated as a purification tag for a selection of target proteins with different molecular weight, solubility and isoelectric point. Three target proteins were expressed in Escherishia coli with the novel tag fused to their N-termini and thereafter affinity purified. Initial purification on either a column with immobilized HSA or Z-domain resulted in relatively pure products. Two-step affinity purification with the bispecific tag resulted in substantial improvement of protein purity. Chromatographic media with the Z-domain immobilized, for example MabSelect SuRe, are readily available for purification of antibodies and HSA can easily be chemically coupled to media to provide the second matrix.This method is especially advantageous when there is a high demand on purity of the recovered target protein. The bifunctionality of the tag allows two different chromatographic steps to be used while the metabolic burden on the expression host is limited due to the small size of the tag. It provides a competitive alternative to so called combinatorial tagging where multiple tags are used in combination^1,7.     

The relation between the soluble factor associated with H(+)-transhydrogenase of Rhodospirillum rubrum and the enzyme from mitochondria and Escherichia coli.

Although in mitochondria, Escherichia coli and Rhodobacter capsulatus the H(+)-transhydrogenases are intrinsic membrane proteins, in Rhodospirillum rubrum a water-soluble component (Ths) and a membrane-bound component are together required for activity. Ths was selectively removed from chromatophore membranes of Rhs. rubrum and was purified to homogeneity by precipitation with (NH4)2SO4 and ion-exchange, affinity dye and gel exclusion chromatography. The latter indicated an Mr of approx. 74,000 under non-denaturing conditions but analysis of the pure protein by SDS-PAGE revealed a single polypeptide, Mr 43,000. Antibodies against this polypeptide inhibited transhydrogenase activity of chromatophores and decreased the capacity of Ths to restore activity to depleted membranes. They reacted with a polypeptide of Mr 43,000 in crude cell extract, chromatophore membranes and chromatophore washings but not with transhydrogenase polypeptides from the membranes of E. coli, Rb. capsulatus or animal mitochondria. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 43,000 polypeptide was strongly homologous with the reported N-terminal regions of mitochondrial transhydrogenase and the alpha subunit of the E. coli protein. The break between the alpha and beta polypeptides of E. coli transhydrogenase is such that both components are membrane-associated. In contrast, these results suggest that in the Rhs. rubrum enzyme Ths has been formed by a break closer to the N-terminus, thus avoiding the putative trans-membrane helical segments and yielding a relatively hydrophilic subunit, which is water-soluble. There is a predicted similarity between Ths and the reported sequence of alanine dehydrogenase from Bacillus but Ths did not have any alanine dehydrogenase activity.     

A novel multiple affinity purification tag and its use in identification of proteins associated with a cyclin-CDK complex

A novel multiple affinity purification (MAFT) or tandem affinity purification (TAP) tag has been constructed. It consists of the calmodulin binding peptide, six histidine residues, and three copies of the hemagglutinin epitope. This 'CHH' MAFT tag allows two or three consecutive purification steps, giving high purity. Active Clb2-Cdc28 kinase complex was purified from yeast cells after inserting the CHH tag into Clb2. Associated proteins were identified using mass spectrometry. These included the known associated proteins Cdc28, Sic1 and Cks1. Several other proteins were found including the 70 kDa chaperone, Ssa1.     

A new expression vector for high level protein production,one step purification and direct isotopic labeling of calmodulin-binding peptide fusion proteins

Calmodulin-binding peptide (CBP), a peptide of 26 amino acids derived from muscle myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), binds to calmodulin with nanomolar affinity. Proteins fused in frame with CBP can be purified from crude E. coli lysates in a single step using calmodulin affinity chromatography (Stofko-Hahn et al., 1992). Because the binding between CBP and calmodulin is calcium-dependent, the fusion protein can be eluted from the resin with virtually any buffer containing EGTA (2 mM) and used directly for many applications. To take full advantage of this affinity purification system, we constructed the versatile CBP fusion protein expression vector pCAL-n. The CBP coding sequence was positioned for fusion at the N-terminus, an advantage that ensures consistent high level synthesis of fusion proteins due to the efficient translation of the CBP in E. coli. The production of fusion proteins from pCAL-n is controlled by the tightly regulated T7lacO promoter. A versatile multiple cloning site (MCS) was included to facilitate the cloning of genes of interest. The protein coding sequence for the enzyme c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was inserted into the MCS of pCAL-n, and the resulting fusion protein CBP-JNK synthesized in E. coli cells at 15–20 mg/l culture. CBP-JNK was purified to near homogeneity in one step with calmodulin affinity resin. Purified CBP-JNK is fully active, and the CBP peptide tag can be removed by cleavage with thrombin. We also show that CBP can be efficiently phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Hence, the purified fusion proteins can be labeled directly with [γ-³²P]ATP and used to probe protein–protein or protein–nucleic acid interactions.     

Purification of the integration host factor homolog of Rhodobacter capsulatus: cloning and sequencing of the hip gene, which encodes the beta subunit.

We describe a method for rapid purification of the integration host factor (IHF) homolog of Rhodobacter capsulatus that has allowed us to obtain microgram quantities of highly purified protein. R. capsulatus IHF is an alpha beta heterodimer similar to IHF of Escherichia coli. We have cloned and sequenced the hip gene, which encodes the beta subunit. The deduced amino acid sequence (10.7 kDa) has 46% identity with the beta subunit of IHF from E. coli. In gel electrophoretic mobility shift DNA binding assays, R. capsulatus IHF was able to form a stable complex in a site-specific manner with a DNA fragment isolated from the promoter of the structural hupSL operon, which contains the IHF-binding site. The mutated IHF protein isolated from the Hup- mutant IR4, which is mutated in the himA gene (coding for the alpha subunit), gave a shifted band of greater mobility, and DNase I footprinting analysis has shown that the mutated IHF interacts with the DNA fragment from the hupSL promoter region differently from the way that the wild-type IHF does.     

Mitochondrial ribosome assembly in Neurospora crassa. Purification of the mitochondrially synthesized ribosomal protein, S-5

In Neurospora, one mitochondrial ribosomal protein (S-5, Mr = 52,000) is synthesized intramitochondrially and is presumably encoded by mitochondrial DNA. We have developed a rapid method for the purification of S-5 which takes advantage of its high affinity for carboxymethyl-Sepharose in the presence of 6 M urea. Using this method, S-5, at purity greater than 95%, can be prepared by column chromatography in a single batch elution step. The amino acid composition of S-5 was determined. Judged by the contents of hydrophilic and basic amino acids, S-5 is more similar to Escherichia coli and yeast ribosomal proteins than to other mitochondrial translation products which are hydrophobic membrane proteins.     

Quantitative evaluation of His‐tag purification and immunoprecipitation of tristetraprolin and its mutant proteins from transfected human cells

Histidine (His)‐tag is widely used for affinity purification of recombinant proteins, but the yield and purity of expressed proteins are quite different. Little information is available about quantitative evaluation of this procedure. The objective of this study was to evaluate His‐tag procedure quantitatively and to compare it with immunoprecipitation using radiolabeled tristetraprolin (TTP), a zinc finger protein with anti‐inflammatory property. Human embryonic kidney 293 cells were transfected with wild‐type and nine mutant plasmids with single or multiple phosphorylation site mutation(s) in His‐TTP. These proteins were expressed and mainly localized in the cytosol of transfected cells by immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy. His‐TTP proteins were purified by Ni‐NTA beads with imidazole elution or precipitated by TTP antibodies from transfected cells after being labeled with [³²P]‐orthophosphate. The results showed that (1) His‐tag purification was more effective than immunoprecipitation for TTP purification; (2) mutations in TTP increased the yield of His‐TTP by both purification procedures; and (3) mutations in TTP increased the binding affinity of mutant proteins for Ni‐NTA beads. These findings suggest that bioengineering phosphorylation sites in proteins can increase the production of recombinant proteins. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009     

High-throughput protein purification under denaturating conditions by the use of cation exchange chromatography

A high-throughput protein purification strategy using the polycationic Z(basic) tag has been developed. In order for the strategy to be useful both for soluble and less soluble proteins, a denaturating agent, urea, was used in all purification steps. First, four target proteins were genetically fused to the purification tag, Z(basic). These protein constructs were purified by cation exchange chromatography and eluted using a salt gradient. From the data achieved, a purification strategy was planned including stepwise elution to enable parallel protein purification using a laboratory robot. A protocol that includes all steps, equilibration of the chromatography resin, load of sample, wash, and elution, all without any manual handling steps, was handled by the laboratory robot. The program allows automated purification giving milligram amounts of pure recombinant protein of up to 60 cell lysates. In this study 22 different protein constructs, with different characteristics regarding pI and solubility, were successfully purified by the laboratory robot. The data show that Z(basic) can be used as a general purification tag also under denaturating conditions. Moreover, the strategy enables purification of proteins with different pI and solubility using ion exchange chromatography (IEXC). The procedure is highly reproducible and allows for high protein yield and purity and is therefore a good complement to the commonly used His(6)-tag.     

Purification and characterization of 55-kDa protein with 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine-binding activity and protein disulfide-isomerase activity from beef liver membrane

Beef liver membranes were shown to have different kinds of 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine binding proteins including the 55-kDa protein which had been reported to have this activity in many cells by affinity labelling with N-bromoacetyl-3,5,3'-[125I]triiodo-L-thyronine. In order to characterize the molecular features of these binding proteins, the 55-kDa protein was purified from a beef liver membrane fraction abundant in the plasma membrane. The protein was solubilized with 0.5% Chaps and purified by chromatography on gel filtration, hydroxyapatite, and Mono Q anion-exchange columns. The purity was confirmed with reversed-phase HPLC and SDS/PAGE. Consequently, 0.4% of the total proteins in the membrane fraction was recovered as the 55-kDa protein. One fourth of the amino acid composition of this protein was Glx (14.6%) plus Asx (11.7%) and the pI of this protein was 4.5. The purified protein has triiodothyronine-binding activity with a Kd of 57 nM which is similar to the high-affinity binding site of the membranes. The anti-(55-kDa protein) sera specifically recognized the 55-kDa protein of beef, rat and human cells. The immunoglobulin G fraction of the anti-(55-kDa protein) sera inhibited triiodothyronine binding to the beef liver membrane fraction. The purified protein also showed the activity of protein disulfide-isomerase (EC 5.3.4.1) as determined by reactivating scrambled ribonuclease. These data strongly suggested that the multi-functional 55-kDa protein which has triiodothyronine-binding activity and the activity of protein disulfide-isomerase, which is also reported to be the beta subunit of prolyl-4-hydroxylase, glycosylation-site-binding protein of oligosaccharyl transferase and iodothyronine 5'-monodeionidase, could be significant in the action of triiodothyronine towards the target cells.     

Affinity purification of the C alpha and C beta isoforms of the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase

A synthetic peptide of 18 amino acids corresponding to the inhibitory domain of the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor was synthesized and shown to inhibit both the C alpha and C beta isoforms of the catalytic (C) subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. Extracts from cells transfected with expression vectors coding for the C alpha or the C beta isoform of the C subunit required 200 nM protein kinase inhibitor peptide for half-maximal inhibition of kinase activity in extracts from these cells. An affinity column was constructed using this synthetic peptide, and the column was incubated with protein extracts from cells overexpressing C alpha or C beta. Elution of the affinity column with arginine allowed single step isolation of purified C alpha and C beta subunits. The C alpha and C beta proteins were enriched 200-400-fold from cellular extracts by this single step of affinity chromatography. No residual inhibitory peptide activity could be detected in the purified protein. The purified C subunit isoforms were used to demonstrate preferential antibody reactivity with the C alpha isoform by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, preliminary characterization showed both isoforms have similar apparent Km values for ATP (4 microM) and for Kemptide (5.6 microM). These results demonstrate that a combination of affinity chromatography employing peptides derived from the heat-stable protein kinase inhibitor protein and the use of cells overexpressing C subunit related proteins may be an effective means for purification and characterization of the C subunit isoforms. Furthermore, this method of purification may be applicable to other kinases which are known to be specifically inhibited by small peptides.     

Highly efficient purification of protein complexes from mammalian cells using a novel streptavidin-binding peptide and hexahistidine tandem tag system: application to Bruton's tyrosine kinase

Tandem affinity purification (TAP) is a generic approach for the purification of protein complexes. The key advantage of TAP is the engineering of dual affinity tags that, when attached to the protein of interest, allow purification of the target protein along with its binding partners through two consecutive purification steps. The tandem tag used in the original method consists of two IgG‐binding units of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus (ProtA) and the calmodulin‐binding peptide (CBP), and it allows for recovery of 20–30% of the bait protein in yeast. When applied to higher eukaryotes, however, this classical TAP tag suffers from low yields. To improve protein recovery in systems other than yeast, we describe herein the development of a three‐tag system comprised of CBP, streptavidin‐binding peptide (SBP) and hexa‐histidine. We illustrate the application of this approach for the purification of human Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk), which results in highly efficient binding and elution of bait protein in both purification steps (>50% recovery). Combined with mass spectrometry for protein identification, this TAP strategy facilitated the first nonbiased analysis of Btk interacting proteins. The high efficiency of the SBP‐His₆ purification allows for efficient recovery of protein complexes formed with a target protein of interest from a small amount of starting material, enhancing the ability to detect low abundance and transient interactions in eukaryotic cell systems.