Production of recombinant oxytocin through sulfitolysis of inteincontaining fusion protein

An artificial gene consisting of seven copies of an oxytocinoyl-lysine encoding sequence arranged in a tandem was synthesized and inserted downstream of the SspDnaB intein gene in a pTWIN1 plasmid. The corresponding fusion protein Dnab-7oxy contained 16 cysteine residues and formed inclusion bodies when expressed in E. coli. The standard protocol involving solubilization of the fusion protein and its autocatalytic cleavage on a chitin resin was not effective because of a very low yield of the cleavage reaction. Attempts to perform a refolding of the intein part of the fusion protein in solution were also unsuccessful because of a high level of protein aggregation. Sulfitolysis of cysteine residues is known to increase a solubility of proteins and peptides. Therefore we suggested a one-step approach that combines solubilization of inclusion bodies and sulfitolysis of a hybrid protein. The fusion protein was completely reduced and solubilized in 8M urea at pH 9.0 in the presence of sodium sulfite and sodium tetrathionate. The sulfitized protein was loaded onto a chitin column, an efficient cleavage was induced by a pH shift from 9.0 to 6.5, and seven successively connected oxytocinoyl- lysine units were released. The heptamer was subjected to trypsinolysis yielding sulfitized monomers of oxytocinoyllysine. Oxytocinoyl-lysine was refolded as described previously and treated by carboxypeptidase B to form the oxytocinic acid. The target oxytocin amide was then synthesized via methyl ester intermediate. Using this approach 6 mg of recombinant oxytocin can be obtained from 1 g of biomass.     

Expression of biologically active human pre-procorticotropin releasing hormone in E. coli: characterization and purification

1. Human pre-procorticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) was expressed in E. coli strain TG2 as a fusion protein with beta-galactosidase. 2. A 140 kDa band which corresponded to beta-galactosidase pre-proCRH fusion protein was identified in lysates of TG2 cells harbouring the recombinant plasmid pre-proCRH (10-196) [ph PPC (10-196)] after sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Coomassie Blue staining. The identity of the fusion protein was confirmed by Western blotting and a two-site immunoradiometric assay. 3. Purification of the fusion protein from isolated, washed and solubilized inclusion bodies was achieved by ion-exchange chromatography in the presence of 8 M urea. 4. When comparing the adrenocorticotropin-releasing activity on a molar basis, the potency of the chimeric CRH precursor was 4% of that of synthetic r/h CRH (1-41).     

Expression, folding, and thermodynamic properties of the bovine oxytocin-neurophysin precursor: relationships to the intermolecular oxytocin-neurophysin complex.

Earlier thermodynamic studies of the intermolecular interactions between mature oxytocin and neurophysin, and of the effects of these interactions on neurophysin folding, raised questions about the intramolecular interactions of oxytocin with neurophysin within their common precursor. To address this issue, the disulfide-rich precursor of oxytocin-associated bovine neurophysin was expressed in Escherichia coli and folded in vitro to yield milligram quantities of purified protein; evidence of significant impediments to yield resulting from damage to Cys residues is presented. The inefficiency associated with the refolding of reduced mature neurophysin in the presence of oxytocin was found not to be alleviated in the precursor. Consistent with this, the effects of pH on the spectroscopic properties of the precursor and on the relative stabilities of the precursor and mature neurophysin to guanidine denaturation indicated that noncovalent intramolecular bonding between oxytocin and neurophysin in the precursor had only a small thermodynamic advantage over the corresponding bonding in the intermolecular complex. Loss of the principal interactions between hormone and protein, and of the enhanced stability of the precursor relative to that of the mature unliganded protein, occurred reversibly upon increasing the pH, with a midpoint at pH 10. Correlation of these results with evidence from NMR studies of structural differences between the precursor and the intermolecular complex, which persist beyond the pH 10 transition, suggests that the covalent attachment of the hormone in the precursor necessitates a conformational change in its neurophysin segment and leads to properties of the system that are distinct from those of either the liganded or unliganded mature protein.     

EGFP-Tagged Vasopressin Precursor Protein Sorting Into Large Dense Core Vesicles and Secretion From PC12 Cells

1. Hypothalamic magnocellular neurons synthesize, store, and secrete large quantities of the neuropeptides, vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT), which are synthesized as protein precursors also containing proteins called neurophysins. These protein precursors are sorted through the regulated secretory pathway (RSP), packaged into large dense core vesicles LDCVs, and their peptide products are secreted from nerve terminals in the posterior pituitary.2. It has been hypothesized that this efficient packaging is dependent on the interaction of the peptide with neurophysin in a complex that forms the granule core. To test this, PC12 cells were transfected with vasopressin precursor DNA constructs that either contained or deleted the neurophysin moiety and tagged with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as reporters. The intracellular routing and secretion of the EGFP-tagged VP precursor proteins were studied by in differentiated PC12 cells by fluorescence microscopy, electron microscopic immunocytochemistry, and fluorescent imaging techniques.3. The data showed that only when the neurophysin was present in the VP precursor construct did the fluorescent fusion protein become routed to the RSP and get efficiently packaged into LDCVs and secreted. These data are consistent with the view that routing of the precursor to LDCVs requires the amino acids that encode the intravesicular chaperone, neurophysin.     

Cloning, expression, and refolding of a secretory protein ESAT-6 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A DNA encoding the 6-kDa early secretory antigenic target (ESAT-6) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was inserted into a bacterial expression vector of pQE30 resulting in a 6x His-esat-6 fusion gene construction. This plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli strain M15 and effectively expressed. The expressed fusion protein was found almost entirely in the insoluble form (inclusion bodies) in cell lysate. The inclusion bodies were solubilized with 8M urea or 6M guanidine-hydrochloride at pH 7.4, and the recombinant protein was purified by Ni-NTA column. The purified fusion protein was refolded by dialysis with a gradient of decreasing concentration of urea or guanidine hydrochloride or by the size exclusion protein refolding system. The yield of refolded protein obtained from urea dialysis was 20 times higher than that from guanidine-hydrochloride. Sixty-six percent of recombinant ESAT-6 was successfully refolded as monomer protein by urea gradient dialysis, while 69% of recombinant ESAT-6 was successfully refolded as monomer protein by using Sephadex G-200 size exclusion column. These results indicate that urea is more suitable than guanidine-hydrochloride in extracting and refolding the protein. Between the urea gradient dialysis and the size exclusion protein refolding system, the yield of the monomer protein was almost the same, but the size exclusion protein refolding system needs less time and reagents.     

An import-competent precursor of small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase generated by factor Xa cleavage from a beta-galactosidase fusion expressed in Escherichia coli.

A plasmid-encoding fusion protein interlinked by factor Xa recognition sequence between beta-galactosidase and a precursor of the small subunit of wheat ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase has been constructed. The plasmid directed abundant synthesis of the fusion protein in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein was accumulated in an aggregated form that was associated with the bacterial membranes. A procedure was developed to isolate the fusion protein in a relatively pure and soluble form. Bovine factor Xa cleaved the isolated chimera to generate the complete chloroplast precursor of the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase from the fused beta-galactosidase. The cleaved precursor protein was imported into the isolated chloroplasts and processed to yield its mature counterpart.     

Effect of neurophysin on enzymatic maturation of oxytocin from its precursor

We examined the extent to which rates of enzymatic conversion of the oxytocin biosynthetic precursor to mature peptide are modulated by intramolecular and intermolecular assembly of precursor and polypeptide intermediates. The biosynthesized precursor contains hormone and neurophysin sequences linked by a Gly-Lys-Arg sequence and undergoes enzymatic processing reactions which include endoproteolytic cleavage at the Lys-Arg dibasic sequence, carboxypeptidase B-like exoproteolytic cleavage, and enzymatic amidation. We evaluated the effect of neurophysin on such processing reactions using semisynthetic precursors of oxytocin/bovine neurophysin I and synthetic oxytocinyl precursor intermediates as substrates. Neurophysin I at high concentration (0.7 mM) reduced the rates of carboxy-peptidase B-like conversion of oxytocinyl-Gly-Lys-Arg to oxytocinyl-Gly and the enzymatic amidation of oxytocinyl-Gly to mature (C-terminal amidated) oxytocin. The dependence of rate suppression on the concentrations of peptide substrate and neurophysin I suggested that suppression is due to intermolecular formation of hormone-neurophysin complexes which are aggregated at least to dimers. An analogous intramolecular neurophysin effect was found for endoproteolytic processing of semisynthetic precursors. Endoproteinase Lys-C cleaved the Lys11-Arg12 peptide bond in a native-like semisynthetic precursor at a significantly slower rate than it did an assembly-deficient precursor analogue. The difference in semisynthetic precursor endoproteolysis rates is most substantial at the high concentrations at which the native-like precursor would form dimers but the assembly-deficient analogue would not. The native-like semisynthetic precursor was more stable than the assembly-deficient precursor analogue to tryptic digestion. The concentration-dependent effects of neurophysin, both intramolecularly as a precursor domain and intermolecularly as an interacting protein, are likely to occur in the secretory granules in which the biosynthetic precursors are packaged. The molecular organization of both hormone/neurophysin precursors and the noncovalently complexed hormone-neurophysin intermediates can be expected to play a role in modulating enzymatic processing reactions that lead to mature neurohypophysial hormones.     

Latent membrane perturbation activity of a mitochondrial precursor protein is exposed by unfolding.

We have purified milligram amounts of an importable mitochondrial precursor protein [the presequence of yeast cytochrome oxidase subunit IV fused to mouse dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR)]. This has made it possible, for the first time, to perform detailed studies on the conformation of a precursor protein and its interaction with lipid membranes. The precursor protein closely resembled authentic mouse DHFR with respect to secondary structure (measured by CD spectra) and stability towards urea (measured by tryptophan fluorescence and enzyme activity). With this precursor protein, the presequence thus does not significantly alter the folding of the attached 'passenger protein'. In contrast to the corresponding presequence peptide, the native precursor exhibited only weak ability to disrupt vesicles with a low mol% of negatively charged lipids, suggesting that the passenger protein masks the amphiphilic properties of the presequence. The membrane-perturbing properties of the precursor were greatly enhanced by increasing the vesicles' content of negatively charged lipid or by denaturing the precursor in 5 M urea. Interaction with vesicles rich in acidic phospholipid was accompanied by partial unfolding of the precursor, suggesting that such a conformational change may also be involved in the interaction of the precursor with the mitochondrial membranes.     

Purification of fusion proteins expressed by pEX3 and a truncated pEX3 derivative

A derivative of the pEX3 expression vector was constructed that codes for the first 407 amino acids of the 1051 amino acids of the pEX3 fusion protein. The amount of truncated fusion protein (40 mg/g cells), obtained by expression in E. coli, was similar to that produced by the original pEX3 vector. The truncated fusion protein was purified more easily from E. coli contaminants than the original fusion protein by washing with 2 M urea and 0.5% Triton X-100.     

Expression and purification of growth hormone-releasing factor with the aid of dihydrofolate reductase handle.

Expression of a fusion protein composed of dihydrofolate reductase and a derivative of growth hormone-releasing factor resulted in the formation of inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli at 37 degrees C. Among various chemicals, such as detergents, protein denaturants, and acetic acid, tested for the ability to dissolve the inclusion bodies, acetic acid, Brij-35, deoxycholic acid sodium salts, guanidine-HCl, and urea showed a strong solubilizing effect without damaging the DHFR activity. Acetic acid was useful in terms of preparing GRF derivatives, since it could be easily removed by lyophilization, and this made it easy to perform the succeeding BrCN treatment for cutting out the GRF derivative from the fusion protein. The GRF derivative was purified by reversed phase HPLC from the BrCN digest of the acetic acid extract, and its growth hormone-releasing activity was demonstrated. However, for obtaining a highly purified fusion protein itself, solubilization of inclusion bodies by urea was preferred because urea was the only agent which did not cause serious precipitation of the regenerated fusion protein after 10-fold dilution of the extracted inclusion bodies with buffer. The fusion protein was highly purified by means of a methotrexate affinity chromatography.     

The small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and its precursor expressed in Escherichia coli are associated with groEL protein

The small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase is synthesized in the cytoplasm as a precursor which is transported into the chloroplast. During or after transport the precursor is processed to its mature size by removal of an amino-terminal transit peptide. Eight small subunits and eight large subunits (synthesized in the chloroplast) assemble to form the holoenzyme. We have expressed the precursor of the small subunit in Escherichia coli as a fusion to the carboxyl terminus of staphylococcal protein A'. The fusion protein was recovered from the bacterial lysate by chromatography on IgG-agarose. A 58-kDa protein copurified with the fusion protein in approximately equal amounts. Much less of the 58-kDa protein copurified with a fusion in which the transit peptide was deleted, and it did not copurify with protein A'. The 58-kDa protein was identified as the E. coli groEL gene product with antibodies directed against a homologous mitochondrial heat shock protein. This finding is particularly interesting because a chloroplast protein involved in the assembly of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase also is homologous to the groEL protein. These homologs could modulate protein-protein interactions during folding and assembly of subunits into native complexes.     

Comparison of recombinant human immunodeficiency virus gag precursor and gag/env fusion proteins and a synthetic env peptide as diagnostic reagents

Diagnostic reagents for detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exposure with improved reliability may be provided by viral encoded proteins produced by recombinant DNA techniques or by synthetic peptides corresponding to appropriate viral epitopes. We have expressed at high levels in E. coli a gag gene segment corresponding to approximately 97% of the p55 gag precursor protein, as well as a novel gag/env fusion protein that contains antigenic determinants in common with gag p24, env gp41, and env gp120. The gag and gag/env proteins were purified from insoluble inclusion bodies by sequential extraction with increasing concentrations of urea. These components were tested for reactivity with antisera to HIV proteins and peptides. We have also chemically synthesized a peptide corresponding to env residues 578-608, representing a portion of env gp41. The final preparation of gag and gag/env proteins in 8 M urea reacted with sheep anti-HTLV-III p24 gag antibodies and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient sera. The gag/env fusion protein also reacted with rabbit anti-HIV env 500-511 peptide antibody. Both recombinant proteins and the env peptide were suitable as reagents for evaluation of serum samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results of ELISA assays utilizing the recombinant viral proteins and synthetic peptide were in good agreement with results obtained using disrupted virus as antigen in ELISA assays and immunoblotting.     

眼镜王蛇泛素融合蛋白基因和核糖体蛋白L30基因的克隆及分析

从广西产眼镜王蛇（Ophiophagus hannah）毒腺中抽提总RNA,经mRNA纯化后构建眼镜王蛇毒腺cDNA文库。从所构建的cDNA文库中,随机筛选200个克隆测序,得到两个在进化上高度保守的基因：泛素融合蛋白基因（GenBank登录号为AF297036）和核糖体蛋白L30基因（GenBank登录号是AF297033）。前者cDNA的开放阅读框为387bp,后者为348bp。前者编码128个氨基酸残基组成的泛素融合蛋白前体;后者编码115个氨基酸残基组成的核糖体蛋白L30前体。由cDNA序列推导出的氨基酸序列分析表明,泛素融合蛋白前体包括N-末端的泛素结构域（76个氨基酸残基）和C-末端的核糖体蛋白L40结构域（52个氨基酸残基）。该蛋白为一高碱性蛋白,C末端含有一个“锌指”模式结构。与16个物种比较的结果表明,眼镜王蛇与脊椎动物的泛素融合蛋白氨基酸序列相似度较高,具有高度的保守性。     

In-vitro studies on the folding characteristics of the Escherichia coli precursor protein prePhoE. Evidence that SecB prevents the precursor from aggregating by forming a functional complex.

We characterised the behaviour of the purified precursor protein prePhoE upon dilution from 8 M urea by CD, fluorescence spectroscopy and gel-filtration techniques. It is demonstrated that prePhoE rapidly adopts beta structure, folds and aggregates upon dilution to urea concentrations below 3 M. These processes are paralleled by a loss of translocation competence. Furthermore the interaction of prePhoE with SecB was investigated. SecB is shown to have a very high content of beta structure, therefore we propose that precursor recognition by SecB is mediated through beta-beta interaction. It is shown that SecB has little effect on the adoption of secondary structure and tertiary folding upon dilution of the precursor from urea. However, SecB prevents the precursor from aggregating by forming a functional and stable complex.     

Unexpected intracellular localization of the AMD-associated cystatin C variant

Cystatin C is abundantly expressed by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of the eye. Targeting of cystatin C to the Golgi apparatus and processing through the secretory pathway of RPE cells are dependent upon a 26-amino acid signal sequence of precursor cystatin C. A variant with an alanine (A) to threonine (T) mutation in the penultimate amino acid of the signal sequence (A25T) was recently correlated with increased risk of developing exudative age-related macular degeneration. The biochemical consequence of the A25T mutation upon targeting of the protein is reported here. Targeting and trafficking of full-length mutant (A25T) precursor cystatin C-enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion protein were studied in living, cultured retinal pigment epithelial and HeLa cells. Confocal microscopy studies were substantiated by immunodetection. In striking contrast to wild-type precursor cystatin C fusion protein conspicuously targeted to the Golgi apparatus, the threonine variant was associated principally with mitochondria. Some diffuse fluorescence was also observed throughout the cytoplasm and nucleus (but not nucleoli). Secretion of fusion protein derived from the threonine variant was reduced by approximately 50% compared with that of the wild-type cystatin C fusion protein. Expression of the variant fusion protein did not appear to impair expression or secretion of endogenous cystatin C.     

Human adenovirus serotype 3 fiber protein. Comparison of native and recombinant proteins

We were able to isolate viral fiber and penton from Ad3-infected KB cells using for their detection antibodies obtained against recombinant Ad3 fiber. The native material was examined by electron microscopy and the characteristic fiber shape of a shaft terminated by a globular head was observed. The native fiber was compared with two recombinant fibers synthesized in Escherichia coli cells. One, the Ad3 fiber protein expressed in E. coli with a 14-amino acid NH2-terminal fusion peptide, under the control of the T7 promoter has been described previously. The second is a recombinant Ad3 fiber without the fusion peptide (recAd3fib), expressed in the same system. As with the fusion protein recAd3fib was found to be insoluble upon expression. It was solubilized in 6 M urea and the gradual removal of urea during the purification cycle led to a soluble preparation. Biochemical and biophysical studies show that, similarly to fusion fiber, recAd3fib self-assembles as trimers in prokaryotic cells. Electron microscopy shows that, whereas the fusion fiber consists of a population of heterogeneous particles, recAd3fib has the characteristic morphology and size of the Ad3 trimeric native fiber. Small angle neutron scattering gives a molecular weight consistent with a trimeric fiber and a radius of gyration consistent with the dimensions derived from electron microscopy. These results suggest that the fusion peptide at the NH2 terminus prevents correct protein folding. They also indicate that after solubilization with urea and subsequent renaturation a correctly folded eukaryotic oligomeric protein can be produced in E. coli.     

Characterization of adrenodoxin precursor expressed in Escherichia coli.

The precursor of bovine adrenodoxin (pAd), a mitochondrial protein, was expressed in Escherichia coli. The cloned cDNA of pAd was ligated to an expression vector pET-3d, and silent mutations were introduced into the N-terminal portion of the cDNA in order to increase the expression. The precursor was highly expressed (approximately 20% of the total cell protein) as the inclusion body, and contained an iron-sulfur center as judged from its optical absorption spectra. The inclusion body was solubilized with 7 M urea and pAd was purified in the presence of urea. The purified pAd was efficiently imported into isolated bovine adrenal cortex mitochondria and processed to the mature form. The import reaction required ATP inside the mitochondria in addition to the inner membrane potential, and was strongly inhibited by trypsin treatment of the mitochondria, as in the case of the in vitro translated precursor. It was, however, not dependent on the unfolding activity of the cytosolic factor with extramitochondrial ATP.     

SUA41蛋白表达和纯化及其多克隆抗体制备

旨在制备特异性SUA41多克隆抗体,为深入研究其在植物生长发育中的功能提供有力的分子生物学和生物化学的工具。PCR扩增拟南芥SUA41基因中编码280个氨基酸(401-680位氨基酸)的特异片段,经过GATEWAY的DNA重组技术构建了原核表达载体pDEST17-SUA41,用热休克法转化到E.coliBL21(DE3)star感受态细胞,以异丙基β-D-硫代半乳糖苷(IPTG)诱导表达出6×His-SUA41融合蛋白,用8 mol/L尿素缓冲液溶解包涵体并且经过水逐级去除尿素获得提纯的融合蛋白,并利用Western blotting鉴定确认。融合蛋白经Ni金属螯合柱亲和层析得以纯化,用SDS-PAGE进一步纯化。纯化的融合蛋白经过SDS-PAGE后切胶回收,免疫小白兔,制备多抗血清,然后用Western blotting进行检测,鉴定血清特异性和效价。结果显示,融合蛋白6×His-SUA41免疫兔,产生特异性的SUA41兔抗血清,可以检测到细菌和拟南芥组织中SUA41蛋白。用水提纯变性剂尿素溶解的包涵体蛋白具有可行性。制备的特异性SUA41兔抗血清效价高,能够有效地识别大肠杆菌表达的和拟南芥的SUA41蛋白。在有合适的对照情况下,该兔抗血清可以用于分析植物中SUA41蛋白的功能。