Development and characterization of a xylose-dependent system for expression of cloned genes in Bacillus subtilis: conditional complementation of a teichoic acid mutant

We have developed a xylose-dependent expression system for tight and modulated expression of cloned genes in Bacillus subtilis. The expression system is contained on plasmid pSWEET for integration at the amyE locus of B. subtilis and incorporates components of the well-characterized, divergently transcribed xylose utilization operon. The system contains the xylose repressor encoded by xylR, the promoter and 5' portion of xylA containing an optimized catabolite-responsive element, and intergenic xyl operator sequences. We have rigorously compared this expression system to the isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside-induced spac system using a thermostable beta-galactosidase reporter (BgaB) and found the xyl promoter-operator to have a greater capacity for modulated expression, a higher induction/repression ratio (279-fold for the xyl system versus 24-fold with the spac promoter), and lower levels of expression in the absence of an inducer. We have used this system to probe an essential function in wall teichoic acid biosynthesis in B. subtilis. Expression of the teichoic acid biosynthesis gene tagD, encoding glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, from the xylose-based expression system integrated at amyE exhibited xylose-dependent complementation of the temperature-sensitive mutant tag-12 when grown at the nonpermissive temperature. Plasmid pSWEET thus provides a robust new expression system for conditional complementation in B. subtilis.     

Expression in periplasmic space of Shewanella oneidensis

A Shewanella expression system has been used for an overproduction of c-type multiheme proteins. The proteins were exported to the periplasmic space for the maturation. Since the periplasmic expression system is attractive, especially for protease-sensitive proteins, an expression vector containing a signal peptide was constructed for expressions in the periplasmic space of Shewanella oneidensis. To evaluate the system, two eukaryotic proteins which originally do not have signal sequences and are difficult to express in Escherichia coli, were selected. The first is human cytochrome c. Properties of the recombinant cytochrome c were identical to those previously reported, indicating the protein is intact. The other was potato calcium-dependent protein kinase. The protein was expressed in periplasmic space. These results indicated that the system is generally applicable for any protein expression including c-type cytochromes, protease-sensitive proteins and those with multi-disulfide bonds because of transportation to the periplasmic space.     

Expression of Giardia duodenalis beta-tubulin as a soluble protein in Escherichia coli

The beta-tubulin gene of the parasitic protozoan Giardia duodenalis has been expressed for the first time using a novel and direct method. The protein was expressed in both soluble and insoluble forms in an Escherichia coli-based expression system. The level of expression was found to be affected by several variables including the incubation temperature, length of time for which expression was carried out, and the E. coli culture volume. The protein expression system contributed no additional amino acids to the final fusion protein and the polyhistidine fusion sequence was easily removed from the beta-tubulin protein using a specific enterokinase enzyme. The expression system also provided a means of preparing a soluble protein and purifying it by a relatively straightforward affinity chromatography method to give a very high level of protein purity. This makes the protein suitable for a number of applications for characterization including beta-tubulin antibody assays, alpha-/beta-tubulin-binding regions, and beta-tubulin folding intermediates.     

农杆菌介导的棉花子叶瞬时表达系统的建立

植物瞬时表达系统在研究功能基因的亚细胞定位、蛋白质互作、启动子活性等方面具有重要作用。选取棉花(Gossypium hirsutum)子叶为材料, 以β-葡糖醛酸酶基因(GUS)、增强型绿色荧光蛋白基因(eGFP)为报告基因, 对棉花子叶生长时间、农杆菌浓度、注射量、共培养时间等因素进行了分析, 建立了农杆菌介导的棉花子叶瞬时表达系统。结果表明, 对萌发6天的棉花子叶注射50 μLOD₆₀₀为0.5的含目的基因的农杆菌LBA4404或GV3101, 共培养2–3天后, 外源基因表达效率最高。利用此方法从棉花萌发到观测结果, 仅需8–13天, 且操作简单易行, 可快速检测棉花来源的启动子活性、亚细胞定位、蛋白质互作等。该方法在棉花基因功能研究方面有很好的应用价值。     

促进原核表达蛋白可溶性的研究进展

以大肠杆菌为代表的原核表达蛋白系统具有操作简单、周期短、成本低、表达量高等优点而成为获得外源表达蛋白的首选方案.但外源蛋白在原核宿主中往往以无生物活性的包涵体形式存在,这限制了原核表达系统的广泛应用.随着对蛋白折叠动力学、参与蛋白折叠的酶和分子伴侣等认识的不断深入,科学家们通过诱导条件优化、宿主细胞改造以及使用融合标签...     

Geminivirus vectors for high-level expression of foreign proteins in plant cells

Bean yellow dwarf virus (BeYDV) is a monopartite geminivirus that can infect dicotyledonous plants. We have developed a high-level expression system that utilizes elements of the replication machinery of this single-stranded DNA virus. The replication initiator protein (Rep) mediates release and replication of a replicon from a DNA construct ("LSL vector") that contains an expression cassette for a gene of interest flanked by cis-acting elements of the virus. We used tobacco NT1 cells and biolistic delivery of plasmid DNA for evaluation of replication and expression of reporter genes contained within an LSL vector. By codelivery of a GUS reporter-LSL vector and a Rep-supplying vector, we obtained up to 40-fold increase in expression levels compared to delivery of the reporter-LSL vectors alone. High-copy replication of the LSL vector was correlated with enhanced expression of GUS. Rep expression using a whole BeYDV clone, a cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter driving either genomic rep or an intron-deleted rep gene, or 35S-rep contained in the LSL vector all achieved efficient replication and enhancement of GUS expression. We anticipate that this system can be adapted for use in transgenic plants or plant cell cultures with appropriately regulated expression of Rep, with the potential to greatly increase yield of recombinant proteins.     

Soluble expression of a functional recombinant cytolytic immunotoxin in insect cells

We have previously described the production of a recombinant melittin-based cytolytic immunotoxin (IT), scFv-mel-FLAG, in bacterial cells. While the IT exhibited specific cytotoxicity for a human lymphoblastoid cell line, HMy2, yields from expression were low. Here, we describe a baculovirus expression system for the overexpression and secretion of scFv-mel-FLAG. A novel snake phospholipase A2 inhibitor signal peptide was used to aid in the secretion of the immunotoxin. Sf21 insect cells infected with the recombinant virus secreted soluble scFv-mel-FLAG into the culture medium from which it was purified directly on an affinity column. The final yield of scFv-mel-FLAG was estimated at 3-5 mg/L, which was an improvement of 30-fold compared to expression in the prokaryotic system. The cell binding characteristics of the recombinant IT were assessed by flow cytometry using the antigen expressing cell line HMy2. ScFv-mel-FLAG bound specifically to HMy2 cells in direct binding assays and this binding was completely inhibited in the presence of an excess of soluble antigen. Significant cytotoxicity for HMy2 cells, measured by leakage of cytosolic LDH, was also observed for the IT at a concentration of 60 pmol/10(4) cells. Cytotoxicity was concentration dependent and was specific for antigen-positive cells. Thus the baculovirus expression system, under the control of a novel secretion signal, can be used for the production of soluble and functional recombinant cytolytic immunotoxins. To our knowledge, this is the first report of expression of a recombinant immunotoxin in the baculovirus expression vector system.     

Hyperactivation of midbrain dopaminergic system in schizophrenia could be attributed to the down-regulation of dysbindin

Extraordinal activation of nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopaminergic systems (midbrain dopaminergic system) is thought to be one of the most important etiologies for schizophrenia, though the reason why unusual hyperactivation of the dopaminergic system occurs in the schizophrenic brain is quite obscure. Dysbindin, one of the most susceptible genes for schizophrenia, has been reported to be reduced in the schizophrenic brain. In situ hybridization analysis showed the mRNA expression of dysbindin in the mouse substantia nigra. Furthermore, suppression of dysbindin expression in PC12 cells resulted in an increase of the expression of SNAP25, which plays an important role in neurotransmitter release, and increased the release of dopamine. On the other hand, up-regulation of dysbindin expression in PC12 cells showed a tendency to decrease the expression of SNAP25. These data suggest that dysbindin might regulate the dopamine release of the dopaminergic system via modulation of the expression of SNAP25.     

Expression-independent consumption of substrates in cell-free expression system from Escherichia coli

In a cell-free expression system derived from Escherichia coli, expression is abruptly ceased after 30 min of incubation while at this time not all the substrates have been utilized in expression. Expression-independent consumption of phosphoenolpyruvate and cysteine was found in this system, which was responsible for the above sudden cessation of expression. The above consumption was at least partially due to the dephosphorylation of nucleoside triphosphates and the conversion of cysteine into gamma-glutamylcysteine, respectively. Based on these, we developed a new system employing new S30 extract of lower phosphatase activity, higher cysteine concentration, and an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis pathway. This system showed 70% enhance in productivity (179-302 microg chloramphenicolacetyltransferase protein per ml reaction mixture per hour) over the model system.     

巴斯德毕赤酵母研究进展

巴斯德毕赤酵母以其独特的生物学和遗传特征成为当今一种诱人的外源基因表达系统,已成功地表达了各种类型的外源蛋白。本文综述了巴斯德毕赤酵母的一些特征及其作为外源基因表达系统,实现高表达的策略。     

A novel role for BDNF-TrkB in the regulation of chemotherapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Mechanisms of resistance for HNSCC to cisplatin (CDDP), the foundational chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of this disease, remain poorly understood. We previously demonstrated that cisplatin resistance (CR) can be overcome by targeting Trk receptor. In the current study, we explored the potential mechanistic role of the BDNF-TrkB signaling system in the development of CDDP resistance in HNSCC. Utilizing an in vitro system of acquired CR, we confirmed a substantial up-regulation of both BDNF and TrkB at the protein and mRNA levels in CR cells, suggesting an autocrine pathway dysregulation in this system. Exogenous BDNF stimulation led to an enhanced expression of the drug-resistance and anti-apoptotic proteins MDR1 and XiAP, respectively, in a dose-dependently manner, demonstrating a key role for BDNF-TrkB signaling in modulating the response to cytotoxic agents. In addition, modulation of TrkB expression induced an enhanced sensitivity of cells to CDDP in HNSCC. Moreover, genetic suppression of TrkB resulted in changes in expression of Bim, XiAP, and MDR1 contributing to HNSCC survival. To elucidate intracellular signaling pathways responsible for mechanisms underlying BDNF/TrkB induced CDDP-resistance, we analyzed expression levels of these molecules following inhibition of Akt. Inhibition of Akt eliminated BDNF effect on MDR1 and Bim expression in OSC-19P cells as well as modulated expressions of MDR1, Bim, and XiAP in OSC-19CR cells. These results suggest BDNF/TrkB system plays critical roles in CDDP-resistance development by utilizing Akt-dependent signaling pathways.     

Circadian expression of clock genes in human peripheral leukocytes

In mammals, behavioral and physiological processes display 24-h rhythms that are regulated by a circadian system. In the present study, we investigated the possibility that the expression of clock genes in peripheral leukocytes can be used to assess the circadian clock system. We found that Per1 and Per2 exhibit circadian oscillations in mRNA expression in mouse peripheral leukocytes. Furthermore, the rhythms of Per1 and Per2 mRNA expression in peripheral leukocytes are severely blunted in homozygous Cry1/2 double-deficient mice that are known to have an abolished biological clock. We have examined the circadian expression of clock genes in human leukocytes and found that Per1 mRNA exhibits a robust circadian expression while Per2 and Bmal1 mRNA showed weak rhythm. These observations suggest that monitoring Per1 mRNA expression in human leukocytes may be useful for investigating the function of the circadian system in physiological and pathophysiological states.     

逆转录病毒表达系统及其在外源蛋白高效表达中的应用

逆转录病毒表达系统是一种新的重组蛋白高效表达系统,它由逆转录病毒载体,包膜蛋白载体和包装细胞系构成,在基因治疗和生物制药领域都有很大的应用潜力。逆转录病毒和宿主细胞基因组的重组倾向于发生在转录活性区;口炎疱疹病毒-G蛋白 (vesicular stomatitis virus G, VSV-G)能有效扩大逆转录病毒感染宿主细胞的范围、提高逆转录病毒的感染效率;用高滴度的重组病毒感染细胞,经过简单的筛选即可获得高表达细胞株。本文对逆转录病毒表达系统的组成、感染的特点和机制及其应用前景作了概述。