Recombinant production of the human aquaporins in the yeast Pichia pastoris (Invited Review)

Abstract

Aquaporins are water facilitating proteins embedded in the cellular membranes. Such channels have been identified in almost every living organism – including humans. These proteins are vital molecules and their malfunction can lead to several severe disorders and diseases. Hence, an increased understanding of their structure, function and regulation is of the utmost importance for developing current and future drugs. Heading towards this goal, the first problem to overcome is to acquire the proteins in sufficient amounts to enable functional and structural characterization. Using a suitable host organism, large amounts of target molecules can possibly be produced, but for membrane proteins limitations are frequently encountered. In the work described here, we have produced the 13 human aquaporins (hAQPs) in one of the most successful hosts for recombinant overproduction of eukaryotic proteins; the yeast Pichia pastoris, in order to explore the underlying bottleneck to a successful membrane protein production experiment. Here we present exceptional yield of hAQP1, whereas some other hAQPs were below the threshold needed for scaled up production. In the overproduction process, we have established methods for efficient production screening as well as for accurate determination of the initial production yield. Furthermore, we have optimized the yield of low producing targets, enabling studies of proteins previously out of reach, exemplified with hAQP4 as well as the homologue PfAQP. Taken together, our results. present insight into factors directing high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins together with suggestions on ways to optimize the recombinant production in the yeast P. pastoris.     

毕赤酵母高效表达策略概述

毕赤酵母表达系统是外源蛋白表达的较为理想的系统,但是并不是所有蛋白都能利用此系统获得高效表达,不同来源的蛋白,其表达水平、生物活性和稳定性均存有明显差别。概述了影响毕赤酵母高效表达的主要因素以及外源蛋白在毕赤酵母中的高效表达策略。     

Insight into factors directing high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins; production of 13 human AQPs in Pichia pastoris

Membrane proteins are key players in all living cells. To achieve a better understanding of membrane protein function, significant amounts of purified protein are required for functional and structural analyses. Overproduction of eukaryotic membrane proteins, in particular, is thus an essential yet non-trivial task. Hence, improved understanding of factors which direct a high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins is desirable. In this study we have compared the overproduction of all human aquaporins in the eukaryotic host Pichia pastoris. We report quantitated production levels of each homologue and the extent of their membrane localization. Our results show that the protein production levels vary substantially, even between highly homologous aquaporins. A correlation between the extents of membrane insertion with protein function also emerged, with a higher extent of membrane insertion for pure water transporters compared to aquaporin family members with other substrate specificity. Nevertheless, the nucleic acid sequence of the second codon appears to play an important role in overproduction. Constructs containing guanine at the first position of this codon (being part of the mammalian Kozak sequence) are generally produced at a higher level, which is confirmed for hAQP8. In addition, mimicking the yeast consensus sequence (ATGTCT) apparently has a negative influence on the production level, as shown for hAQP1. Moreover, by mutational analysis we show that the yield of hAQP4 can be heavily improved by directing the protein folding pathway as well as stabilizing the aquaporin tetramer.     

Expression of recombinant GFP-actin fusion protein in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

The integrative vector pPIC3 for the yeast Pichia pastoris and a cDNA fragment encoding a fusion protein consisting of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and actin 5C of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster were used to construct a pPIC3-GFP-actin 5C expression plasmid. The P. pastoris host strain GS115 was transformed with the pPIC3-GFP-actin 5C carrying HIS4 as a selective marker. The transformants were selected on a histidine-deficient medium, and were shown to contain the gene of GFP-actin 5C fusion protein. Expression was induced by cultivation of the transformant cells in a methanol-containing medium. Production of the fusion protein in the yeast was detected by the bright green fluorescence of the GFP tag. The pattern of yeast cytoskeleton labeling by the fusion indicated proper folding and functioning of GFP-actin 5C in a heterologous system in vivo. After cell destruction, purification of GFP-actin 5C was performed by DNase I-Sepharose. Efficient binding of the chimera to the DNase I indicated nativity of the actin 5C fusion in vitro. SDS electrophoresis and further Western blot confirmed the purified protein to exhibit the expected molecular mass of about 70 kDa. The recombinant GFP-actin 5C was used to produce polyclonal antibodies, which had not been reported so far but are extremely needed for immuno-labeling and isolation of wild-type and mutant forms of actin 5C.     

Improving thermal hysteresis activity of antifreeze protein from recombinant Pichia pastoris by removal of N-glycosylation

To survive in a subzero environment, polar organisms produce ice-binding proteins (IBPs). These IBPs prevent the formation of large intracellular ice crystals, which may be fatal to the organism. Recently, a recombinant FfIBP (an IBP from Flavobacterium frigoris PS1) was cloned and produced in Pichia pastoris using fed-batch fermentation with methanol feeding. In this study, we demonstrate that FfIBP produced by P. pastoris has a glycosylation site, which diminishes the thermal hysteresis activity of FfIBP. The FfIBP expressed by P. pastoris exhibited a doublet on SDS-PAGE. The results of a glycosidase reaction suggested that FfIBP possesses complex N-linked oligosaccharides. These results indicate that the residues of the glycosylated site could disturb the binding of FfIBP to ice molecules. The findings of this study could be utilized to produce highly active antifreeze proteins on a large scale.     

纳豆激酶基因的克隆及其在毕赤酵母中的表达

纳豆激酶纳是从日本传统食品纳豆中发现的一类具有溶栓效果的蛋白酶,由于其具有安全,高效,作用时间长,易吸收,廉价等优点,现在正成为一个开发治疗血栓类疾病药物的研究热点。从本实验室保存的一株高溶栓的纳豆杆菌N07出发,提取总基因组DNA,利用PCR手段扩增获得了纳豆激酶长为825bp的成熟肽基因片段。构建重组表达质粒pPICZaA-NK,经EcoR I、Xba I双酶切、PCR、测序验证得出重组表达质粒上的外源基因即为825bp的目的片段;将重组质粒pPICZaA-NK用内切酶Sac I线性化后电击导入毕赤酵母X33,通过含Zeocin的YPDS平板筛选获得重组酵母。重组酵母在BMMY培养基中发酵培养,用1%甲醇诱导目的蛋白表达。用纤维蛋白平板法检测发现发酵上清具有纤溶活性,经硫酸铵盐析、透析、Sephadex-G50过柱等步骤分离得到纳豆激酶蛋白,进行SDS-PAGE鉴定表明,表达的纳豆激酶蛋白分子量为27KD。以尿激酶为标准,实验所得纳豆激酶发酵上清液溶栓活性约为195U/mL。成功的将纳豆激酶成熟肽基因在毕赤酵母X33中表达,为纳豆激酶基因工程进一步研究奠定基础。     

乙型肝炎病毒包膜M蛋白在巴斯德毕赤酵母中的表达

转化了乙肝病毒 preS2 S基因的重组巴斯德毕赤酵母菌株经甘油培养基充分增殖 ,然后转移到甲醇培养基中进行诱导表达。破碎细胞并提取胞内蛋白 ,经ELISA和WesternBlot检测 ,证明有 4株GS1 1 5 /HIS MUT 表达了HBVM蛋白。     

产HSA—CP融合蛋白毕赤酵母的发酵条件优化

为提高重组毕赤酵母生产人血清白蛋白-C肽融合蛋白（HSA—CP）的产量和生产强度,在摇瓶条件下考察了甲醇诱导时间和浓度对目的蛋白产量的影响。结果表明,质量浓度10g/L的甲醇诱导72h最适于产物表达。通过对7L发酵罐中各因素的优化,得到最佳条件为：初始甘油质量浓度10g/L,30℃培养,菌体生长期和诱导期的pH及溶氧分别控制在pH5．0、30％溶解O2或pH6．0、15％的溶解O2。10g/L的甲醇诱导72h,最终使干细胞质量浓度达到56．43g/L,目的蛋白产量达368．45mg／L。生产强度为3．920mg/（L·h）,目标蛋白的比生产速率为5．12mg/（L·h）。     

Characterization of N- and O-linked glycosylation of recombinant human bile salt-stimulated lipase secreted by Pichia pastoris

Recombinant human bile salt-stimulated lipase (hBSSL) was expressed in and secreted by Pichia pastoris, an organism exploited for the large-scale production of recombinant (glyco)proteins by bioprocessing technology. The 76.3-kDa glycoprotein was associated with 75-80 Man and a small amount of GlcNAc. hBSSL has one N-glycosylation site at Asn187, which was 38-40% occupied with a Man(10)GlcNAc(2) structure defined previously in Pichia as the oligosaccharide-lipid form of Man(9)GlcNAc(2) trimmed of the middle-arm terminal alpha 1,2-Man and elongated with Man alpha 1,2Man alpha 1,6-disaccharide attached to the lower-arm core alpha 1,3-Man (Trimble et al. [1991], J. Biol. Chem., 266, 22807-22817). The C-terminal 192 residues of hBSSL contain 16 Pro-rich 11-amino-acid repeats, which include 32 Ser/Thr residues as potential O-glycosylation sites. Using hBSSL as a platform to study Pichia's O-glycosylation capabilities, we found that nearly all of these sites were occupied by mannose-containing O-glycans, whose structures, after beta-elimination and purification, were assigned by (1)H NMR and, in some cases, by linkage-specific exoglycosidases and methylation analysis. The most abundant O-glycan was alpha 1,2-mannobiitol (55%), followed by alpha 1,2-mannotriitol (16%) and mannitol (10%) and a lesser amount was alpha 1,2-mannotetraitol. Unexpectedly, Man(5) and Man(6) O-glycans were present, which had the structure Man beta 1,2Man beta 1,2Man alpha 1,2(Man alpha 1,2)(1,2)mannitol. Also a small amount of a phosphorylated Man(6) O-glycan was characterized by MALDI-TOF MS postsource decay analysis as having the reducing-end mannitol disubstituted with a glycosidically linked phosphorylated Man and an unbranched Man(4) polymer elongated from a different mannitol carbon. This is the first report of the synthesis of beta-Man- and phosphate-containing O-linked constituents on glycoproteins synthesized by P. pastoris.     

Effect of codon optimization on the expression of Trichoderma reesei endoglucanase 1 in Pichia pastoris

Trichoderma reesei cellulases are important biocatalysts for a wide range of industrial applications that include the paper, feed, and textile industries. T. reesei endoglucanase 1 (egl1) was successfully expressed as an active and stable catalyst in Pichia pastoris for the first time. Codon optimization was applied to egl1 of T. reesei to enhance its expression levels in P. pastoris. When compared with the originally cloned egl1 gene of T. reesei, the synthetic codon optimized egl1 gene (egl1s) was expressed at a higher level in P. pastoris. Batch fermentations of both clones with the same copy number under controlled conditions indicated that codon optimized EGI enzyme activity increased to 1.24 fold after 72 h of methanol induction. Our research indicated that P. pastoris is a suitable host for cellulase production.     

Production and secretion of biologically active recombinant canine growth hormone by Pichia pastoris

Production of recombinant canine (Canis familiaris) growth hormone (rCFGH) by two expression systems, methanol utilization slow (Mut^s) and methanol utilization plus (Mut⁺) based on Pichia pastoris. Led by the Saccharomyces cerevisiae -mating type signal sequence (SS), the hormone was secreted into the culture medium in its mature and active form. The level of total proteins secreted into the medium achieved at 25 ml working volume using Erlenmeyer flasks was approximately 40 and 15 μg/ml for Mut^s and Mut⁺ constructs, respectively. As judged by densitometry of proteins resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE), the hormone produced by the fermented Mut^s strain upon induction with methanol reached 24 μg/ml, representing around 60% of the total secreted proteins and being eight times more abundant than in its Mut⁺ counterpart. Finally, the recombinant hormone showed activity when tested in the Nb2 cell proliferation assay.     

Production and synthetic dyes decolourization capacity of a recombinant laccase from Pichia pastoris

Aims:  To produce and purify a recombinant laccase from Pichia pastoris and to test its ability in decolourization of synthetic dyes.
Methods and Results:  A cDNA encoding for a laccase was isolated from Pycnoporus sanguineus and was expressed in P. pastoris strain SMD1168H under the control of the alcohol oxidase (AOX1) promoter. The laccase native signal peptide efficiently directed the secretion of the recombinant laccase in an active form. Factors influencing laccase expression, such as cultivation temperature, pH, copper concentration and methanol concentration, were investigated. The recombinant enzyme was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity, and was estimated to have a molecular mass of about 62·8 kDa. The purified enzyme showed a similar behaviour to the native laccase produced by P. sanguineus . Four different synthetic dyes including azo, anthraquinone, triphenylmethane and indigo dyes could be efficiently decolourized by the purified recombinant laccase without the addition of redox mediators.
Conclusions:  Heterologous production of P. sanguineus laccase in P. pastoris was successfully achieved. The purified recombinant laccase could efficiently decolourize synthetic dyes in the absence of mediators.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  This study is the first report on the synthetic dye decolourization by the recombinant P. sanguineus laccase. The decolourization capacity of this recombinant enzyme suggested that it could be a useful biocatalyst for the treatment of dye-containing effluents.     

Structural characterization of recombinant human CD81 produced in Pichia pastoris

Human CD81 (hCD81) protein has been recombinantly produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The purified protein, produced at a yield of 1.75 mg/L of culture, was shown to interact with Hepatitis C virus E2 glycoprotein. Immunofluorescent and flow cytometric staining of P. pastoris protoplasts with monoclonal antibodies specific for the second extracellular loop (EC2) of hCD81 confirmed the antigenicity of the recombinant molecule. Full-length hCD81 was solubilized with an array of detergents and subsequently characterized using circular dichroism (CD) and analytical ultracentrifugation. These biophysical techniques confirmed that the protein solution comprises a homogenous species possessing a highly-defined alpha-helical secondary structure. The predicted alpha-helical content of the protein from CD analysis (77.1%) fits remarkably well with what would be expected (75.2%) from knowledge of the protein sequence together with the data from the crystal structure of the second extracellular loop. This study represents the first biophysical characterization of a full-length recombinant tetraspanin, and opens the way for structure-activity analyses of this ubiquitous family of transmembrane proteins.     

GAPDH基因克隆及其作为毕赤酵母内标物的可靠性研究

为了测定GAPDH在巴斯德毕赤酵母中作为内参蛋白的有效性,利用PCR鉴定巴斯德毕赤酵母中GAPDH基因,分别在含葡萄糖、甲醇、甘油培养基及不同温度下培养巴斯德毕赤酵母,采用SDS-PAGE、Western blotting和催化活性检测。测序结果与已报道的巴斯德毕赤酵母GAPDH基因完全一致。SDS-PAGE结果显示,表达蛋白分子量为35.4 kD,与预期分子量相符。Western blotting和催化活性测定显示,在葡萄糖诱导下GAPDH表达最高,甲醇次之,甘油最低。37℃下GAPDH表达略高于28℃。在同一诱导物或温度下,GAPDH表达不会随浓度或培养时间发生明显变化。结果表明,在同一种诱导方式下,GAPDH可以作为异源蛋白表达的内参对照。     

Production of human caseinomacropeptide in recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris

Caseinomacropeptide is a polypeptide of 64 amino acid residues (106–169) derived from the C-terminal part of the mammalian milk k-casein. This macropeptide has various biological activities and is used as a functional food ingredient as well as a pharmaceutical compound. The gene encoding the human caseinomacropeptide (hCMP) was synthesized and expressed with an α-factor secretion signal in the two yeast strains, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris. The complete polypeptide of the recombinant hCMP was produced and secreted in a culture medium by both the strains, but the highest production was observed in S. cerevisiae with a galactose-inducible promoter. In a fed-batch bioreactor culture, 2.5 g/l of the recombinant hCMP was obtained from the S. cerevisiae at 97 h.     

HBsAg/GM-CSF融合蛋白在毕赤酵母中的表达及其免疫原性研究

为探索一种提高乙肝病毒表面抗原免疫原性的新方法,用PCR和基因重组技术构建HBsAg与GM-CSF的融合基因,并在毕赤酵母中分泌表达HBsAg/GM-CSF(S-GM)融合蛋白。表达产物用SDS-PAGE检测,W estern b lot分析,离子交换柱纯化后免疫昆明鼠,ELISA检测免疫小鼠血清中抗HBsAg的抗体水平。结果显示S-GM融合蛋白在毕赤酵母中获得了表达,离子交换柱一步纯化即可得到纯度达90%以上的S-GM。W estern b lot分析S-GM可分别与抗HBsAg及抗GM-CSF的抗体特异结合。ELISA检测发现第一次免疫后4w出现抗HBsAg的抗体,加强免疫后融合蛋白组几乎全部阳转,且抗体水平较HBsAg组(P=0.009<0.05)及HBsAg和GM-CSF的混合物组(P=0.032<0.05)高。HBsAg/GM-CSF融合蛋白能够在毕赤酵母中表达,且可增强HBsAg的免疫原性,为提高乙肝疫苗的免疫效果提供了新的思路与方法。     

用GAP启动子在毕节酵母中组成型表达人血管抑制素

为探索用GAP启动子(PGAP)取代AOX1启动子(PAOX1),在毕节酵母(P．pastortis)中组成型表达外源蛋白的可能性,应用PCR方法从P．pastoris染色体中扩增了GAP启动子,以其取代诱导型表达载体pPIC9K上的PAOX1,构建了组成型表达载体pGAP9K。将人血管抑制素(AS)基因重组于pGAP9K的多克隆位点,获得含As基因的重组质粒pGAP9K-AS。转化P．pastorisGSll5,对获得的高拷贝转化子P．pastorisGSll5(pGAP9K-AS)进行组成型表达,同时以诱导型转化子P．pastoris GSll5(pPIC9K-AS)作为对照。SDS-PAGE结果显示：组成型转化子于培养4d后AS的表达水平已达到高峰,分泌量为58mg／L;而诱导型转化子诱导4d后表达的AS仅是组成型表达的70％,诱导6d后达到高峰,表达量也只是组成型表达系统表达高峰时(4d)的86％。CAM分析和抗癌实验结果显示：P．pastortis GS115(pGA．P9K-S)和P．pastoris GS115(pPIC9K-AS)表达的AS均具有抑制血管生成和C57BL／6J实验小鼠的B16黑色素瘤的生长,其平均瘤重抑制率分别达到90．61％和90．54％。以上结果表明,以GAP启动子构建的组成型表达系统具有发酵时间较短、表达水平较高、不用甲醇诱导、操作系统比较简单等优点,PGAP可以取代PAOX1在P．pastoris中表达AS及其他外源蛋白。     

Pathway analysis of Pichia pastoris to elucidate methanol metabolism and its regulation for production of recombinant proteins

This research rationally analyzes metabolic pathways of Pichia pastoris to study the metabolic flux responses of this yeast under methanol metabolism. A metabolic model of P. pastoris was constructed and analyzed by elementary mode analysis (EMA). EMA was used to comprehensively identify the cell's metabolic flux profiles and its underlying regulation mechanisms for the production of recombinant proteins from methanol. Change in phenotypes and flux profiles during methanol adaptation with varying feed mixture of glycerol and methanol was examined. EMA identified increasing and decreasing fluxes during the glycerol–methanol metabolic shift, which well agreed with experimental observations supporting the validity of the metabolic network model. Analysis of all the identified pathways also led to the determination of the metabolic capacities as well as the optimum metabolic pathways for recombinant protein synthesis during methanol induction. The network sensitivity analysis revealed that the production of proteins can be improved by manipulating the flux ratios at the pyruvate branch point. In addition, EMA suggested that protein synthesis is optimum under hypoxic culture conditions. The metabolic modeling and analysis presented in this study could potentially form a valuable knowledge base for future research on rational design and optimization of P. pastoris by determining target genes, pathways, and culture conditions for enhanced recombinant protein synthesis. The metabolic pathway analysis is also of considerable value for production of therapeutic proteins by P. pastoris in biopharmaceutical applications. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:28–37, 2014     

Consequences of the overexpression of a eukaryotic membrane protein, the human KDEL receptor, in Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli is the most widely used host for producing membrane proteins. Thus far, to study the consequences of membrane protein overexpression in E. coli, we have focussed on prokaryotic membrane proteins as overexpression targets. Their overexpression results in the saturation of the Sec translocon, which is a protein-conducting channel in the cytoplasmic membrane that mediates both protein translocation and insertion. Saturation of the Sec translocon leads to (i) protein misfolding/aggregation in the cytoplasm, (ii) impaired respiration, and (iii) activation of the Arc response, which leads to inefficient ATP production and the formation of acetate. The overexpression yields of eukaryotic membrane proteins in E. coli are usually much lower than those of prokaryotic ones. This may be due to differences between the consequences of the overexpression of prokaryotic and eukaryotic membrane proteins in E. coli. Therefore, we have now also studied in detail how the overexpression of a eukaryotic membrane protein, the human KDEL receptor, affects E. coli. Surprisingly, the consequences of the overexpression of a prokaryotic and a eukaryotic membrane protein are very similar. Strain engineering and likely also protein engineering can be used to remedy the saturation of the Sec translocon upon overexpression of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic membrane proteins in E. coli.     

Expression of recombinant rabbit tissue factor in Pichia pastoris,and its application in a prothrombin time reagent

Tissue factor (TF), or thromboplastin, is a cell membrane-associated glycoprotein composed, in full length, of cytoplasmic, transmembrane, and extracellular domains. It functions as a cofactor in a complex with factor VII (FVII), generating activated factor VII (FVIIa) and initiating blood coagulation. The prothrombin time (PT) assay uses TF as the in vitro activator of coagulation under defined conditions, and it is primarily used to diagnose and manage the extrinsic-pathway factor defficiencies. To overcome the limitations of natural-source TF, we have expressed the mature full-length recombinant rabbit TF (rRTF) protein in Pichia pastoris. Isolation, by purification by immobilized metal-affinity chromatography, of full-length rRTF was facilitated by engineering a (His)(6) tail on its C-terminus, which maximizes the selection of rRTF with intact transmembrane and cytoplasmic domains, critical for proper activity. A PT reagent that incorporates this purified rRTF has performance characteristics similar to those of PT reagents made with natural TF as indicated in method comparison studies, and shows lot-to-lot consistency and reproducibility.