Expression, purification, and bioactivity of human tumstatin from Escherichia coli

Tumstatin is a M(r) 28,000 C-terminal NC1 fragment of type alpha3 (IV) collagen that inhibits pathological angiogenesis and suppresses proliferation of endothelial cells and growth of tumors. We report here high cytoplasmic expression of recombinant human tumstatin in Escherichia coli and its purification, in vitro refolding, and inhibitory activity analysis. Human tumstatin was expressed in the bacterial cytoplasm as an insoluble N-terminal polyhistidine tagged protein, which accounted for more than 30% of total bacterial protein in BL21 (DE3) cells. After extraction and solubilization in guanidine-HCl, recombinant protein was purified to homogeneity using a simple one-step Ni(2+)-chelate affinity chromatography and then refolded by dialysis against acidic pH buffers with gradually decreasing concentrations of denaturant. The renatured recombinant tumstatin could specifically inhibit endothelial cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, and suppress bFGF-induced angiogenesis in chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane and tumor growth in mouse B16 melanoma xenograft models.     

血管生成抑制因子K4K5 Cdna基因的克隆及其在毕赤酵母中的表达

应用PCR方法,扩增人纤溶酶原cDNA基因中K4K5 cDNA片段,与酵母表达载体pPIC9K重组,获得表达质凿p9kkk-18。该质粒转化毕赤酵母菌GS115,用G418－YPD筛选高拷贝表型,PCR筛选K4K5 cDNA与酵母染色体整全形成的阳性克隆,阳性克隆用甲醇诱导表达。表达产物r-K4K5分子量约21.5kD,占分泌总蛋白80％以上,产物浓度为150－250mg/L。初步纯化产物抑制牛毛细血管内皮（BCE）细胞增殖与鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜（CAM）新生血管生成。     

Kringle 5 causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of endothelial cells.

Angiostatin which contains the first four kringle domains of plasminogen has been documented to be a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis. More recently, another kringle structure within plasminogen but outside angiostatin, known as kringle 5 (K5), was found to inhibit endothelial cell proliferation and migration. Here, we report the cloning and expression of mouse kringle 5 (rK5) in a bacterial expression system. The protein was purified to homogeneity using a Ni-NTA column. rK5 inhibited both proliferation and migration of endothelial cells with ED50's of 10 nM and < 500 nM, respectively. In addition, we show for the first time that rK5 causes cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, shedding further insight into rK5's mechanism of action. Finally, we show that these actions are endothelial cell specific.     

Expression of kringle 5 domain of human plasminogen in Pichia pastoris

The kringle 5 domain of plasminogen exhibits potent inhibitory effect on endothelial cell proliferation. It can also cause cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of endothelia cell specifically, and shows promise in antiangiogenic therapy. It has been prepared via both proteolysis of native plasminogen and recombinant DNA methodologies. When expressed in E. coli, recombinant, kringle 5 deposited mainly as inactive, insoluble inclusion bodies and the refolding yield was also low. In the present study, human kringle 5 encoding gene was cloned into secretory plasmid pPIC9K and then integrated into Pichia pastoris genome for expression. On methanol induction, biologically active recombinant kringle 5 was expressed and secreted into the culture medium by the integrated Pichia pastoris with the expression level around 30mg/L of yeast culture. After a simple and economical three-step purification protocol, namely precipitation, DEAE ion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration, the recombinant kringle 5 was purified to homogeneity, with the yield of 7.5 mg/liter yeast culture.     

High level expression of kringle 5 fragment of plasminogen in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">pastoris</Emphasis>

Angiogensis can be blocked by inhibitors such as endostatin and angiostatin. The kringle 5 fragment of plasminogen also has a potent inhibitory effect on endothelial cell proliferation and leads to the inhibition of angiogenesis. It has promise in anti-angiogenic therapy due to its small size and potent inhibitory effect. Preparation of kringle 5 has been achieved through the proteolysis of native plasminogen and recombinant DNA technology. Bacterially expressed recombinant kringle 5 is mainly insoluble and expressed at low level. The refolding yield is also low. To produce recombinant human kringle 5 in a large quantity, we have genetically modified a strain of Pichia pastoris. On methanol induction, this strain expressed and secreted biologically active, recombinant kringle 5. The expression level of the engineered strain in culture reached more than 300mgl^-1. Purification was easily achieved by precipitation, hydrophobic and DEAE ion exchange chromatography. The recovery of recombinant kringle 5 was about 50% after purification. Yeast-expressed kringle 5 has a higher activity in anti-endothelial proliferation than bacterially expressed kringle 5.Revisions requested 9 November 2004; Revisions received 2 December 2004     

Inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation by the recombinant kringle domain of tissue-type plasminogen activator

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is a multidomain serine protease that converts the zymogen plasminogen to plasmin. tPA contains two kringle domains which display considerable sequence identity with those of angiostatin, an angiogenesis inhibitor. TK1-2, a recombinant kringle domain composed of t-PA kringles 1 and 2 (Ala(90)-Thr(263)), was produced by both bacterial and yeast expression systems. In vitro, TK1-2 inhibited endothelial cell proliferation stimulated by basic fibroblast growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and epidermal growth factor. It did not inhibit proliferation of non-endothelial cells. TK1-2 also inhibited in vivo angiogenesis in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane model. These results suggest that the recombinant kringle domain of t-PA is a selective inhibitor of endothelial cell growth and identifies this molecule as a novel anti-angiogenic agent.     

Expression of biologically active kringle 5 domain of human plasminogen in Escherichia coli

The kringle 5 domain of plasminogen exhibits potent inhibitory effect on endothelial cell proliferation. It can also cause cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of endothelial cell specifically, and shows promise in anti-angiogenic therapy. It has been prepared via both proteolysis of native plasminogen and recombinant DNA methodologies. When previously expressed in Escherichia coli, recombinant kringle 5 mainly deposited as inactive, insoluble inclusion bodies and the refolding yield was low. In the present study, human kringle 5 was fusion-expressed with GST (gluthathione-S-transferase) under the control of T7 promoter in E. coli. The IPTG-induced GST-kringle 5 was about 20% of the total cellular proteins and, among the expressed GST-kringle 5 proteins, 80% was present in the supernatant. The GST-kringle 5 fusion protein exhibited some anti-proliferation activity towards bovine capillary endothelial cells. After GST-kringle 5 purification, subsequent enterokinase release of intact kringle 5 from the fusion protein and further purification by gluthathione-Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography, the recombinant kringle 5, with a yield of 10.5 mg/L culture, displayed apparent inhibition of endothelial cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner with ED50 about 20 nM.     

Reexamination of the effect of endotoxin on cell proliferation and transfection efficiency

Plasmid DNA purified from bacterial cells can be contaminated with endotoxin to different extents, depending on the purification method. Earlier reports indicate that endotoxin can decrease transfection efficiency in many eukaryotic cell lines; however, the amount of endotoxin required for inhibition is unclear. We determined endotoxin effects in several cell lines and observed that endotoxin levels greater than or equal to 10,000 endotoxin units (EU) were needed to significantly affect cell proliferation and viability; levels greater than 2000 EU/mu g DNA were required to significantly inhibit transfection for all but one (Huh-7) of the cell lines tested. These endotoxin levels are significantly higher than endotoxin contamination in plasmid DNA purified by anion exchange, CsCl2 gradient and endotoxin-free purification technology, but not as high as a crude alkaline lysis preparatory method. Plasmid DNA prepared using anion exchange technology was comparable to endotoxin-free technology in terms of transfection efficiency. Even Huh-7 cells, which are markedly more sensitive to endotoxins, have comparable transfection efficiencies using plasmid DNA purified by either of these two methods. We conclude that for those cell lines commonly used for transfection studies, endotoxin-free, quality DNA is not necessary because significantly higher levels of bacterial endotoxins are required to inhibit either cell proliferation or transfection.     

Approaches to efficient production of recombinant angiogenesis inhibitor rhVEGI‐192 and characterization of its structure and antiangiogenic function

Methods to prepare pure, bioactive recombinant human vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (rhVEGI), a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis potentially applicable in antiangiogenic cancer therapy, are in urgent demand for preclinical investigation as well as future clinical trials of the protein. Here, we report expression and purification of rhVEGI‐192, a recombinant VEGI isoform, comparatively using host strains BL21 (DE3) pLysS and Origami B (DE3) with IPTG‐induction and autoinduction techniques. Our study identified that a combined use of Origami B (DE3) strain and autoinduction expression system gave rise to a high yield of purified rhVEGI‐192 at 105.38 mg/L culture by immobilized‐metal affinity chromatography on Ni‐NTA column. The antiangiogenic activity was effectively restored after the insoluble fractions being dissolved in 8M urea and subsequently subjected to a gradient‐dialysis refolding process. Functional tests demonstrated that the purified rhVEGI‐192 potently inhibited endothelial growth, induced endothelial apoptosis and suppressed neovascularization in chicken chorioallantoic membrane, indicating that the developed method allows preparation of rhVEGI‐192 with high yield, solubility, and bioactivity. Most importantly, our study also demonstrates that VEGI‐192 is capable of forming polymeric structure, which is possibly required for its antiangiogenic activity.     

人纤溶蛋白酶原K5在毕赤酵母中的表达及其生物活性鉴定

化学合成人纤溶蛋白酶原K5 (pK5 )的编码基因并克隆到毕赤氏酵母表达系统的分泌型载体pPIC9K上 ,将重组质粒经BglⅡ单酶切后电转化PichiapastorisGS115菌株 ,筛选出对G4 18有高抗性和在MM培养基上生长缓慢的转化子。经摇瓶发酵和甲醇诱导后 ,用 15 %SDS PAGE检测发酵上清液 ,表明有重组蛋白pK5的高表达。经CM-Sepherose离子交换柱和Superdex 75分子筛层析两步分离纯化 ,获得了纯度达到 98%的rpK5。用MTT方法检测的结果表明 ,纯化的rpK5可显著地抑制人血管内皮细胞的生长     

含蛋白转导域的SARA/SBD融合蛋白的原核表达、纯化及生物学活性鉴定

目的:SARA/SBD是纤维化形成过程中的负性调节因子。原核表达、纯化含反式激活蛋白(TAT)蛋白转导域(PTD)的TAT PTD-SARA/SBD融合蛋白,并鉴定其生物学活性。方法:将TAT PTD-SARA/SBD基因克隆入带His标签的原核表达载体pET-44a(+)中,转化大肠杆菌BL21,IPTG诱导表达,表达产物经Ni2+-NTA亲和层析柱纯化后,SDS-PAGE和Western印迹鉴定目的蛋白;用人腹膜间皮细胞系(HPMC),通过免疫细胞化学方法检测其穿膜能力,及与TGF-β1信号通路中Smad2因子的共定位情况。结果:用基因工程方法表达和纯化了TAT PTD-SARA/SBD融合蛋白,目的蛋白约占菌体总蛋白的20%左右,且以可溶形式表达,经Ni2+-NTA纯化后,所获蛋白纯度高于95%(HPLC归一法);功能学实验结果显示该蛋白能穿过胞膜,主要定位于胞核,且与Smad2因子具有核内共定位。结论:表达了TAT PTD-SARA/SBD融合蛋白,该蛋白具有生物学活性。     

Expression, purification and sublocalization of SARS-CoV nucleocapsid protein in insect cells

The causative agent of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a previously unidentified coronavirus, SARS-CoV. The nucleocapsid (N) protein of SARS-CoV is a major viral protein recognized by acute and early convalescent sera from SARS patients. To facilitate the studies on the function and structure of the N protein, this report describe the expression and purification of recombinant SARS-CoV N protein using the baculovirus     

Expression of caltrin in the baculovirus system and its purification in high yield and purity by cobalt (II) affinity chromatography

Direct protein extraction from animals is the only approach available to obtain caltrin, calcium transport inhibitor. Here we report the expression and purification of caltrin, previously shown to hinder the influx of calcium into epididymal spermatozoa. Cloning of the caltrin gene into the pCDNA3.1 V5/His-TOPO vector and the subsequent ligation of the caltrin-His sequence into the transfer vector pBacPAK9 allowed the expression of recombinant caltrin using the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS). Recombinant His-tagged caltrin was purified utilising both nickel (II)-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni(2+)-NTA) and cobalt (II)-carboxymethylaspartate (Co(2+)-CmAsp) immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Using the BEVS, caltrin-His was identified in the supernatant and in the cell lysate, suggesting that caltrin is a secreted protein. Based on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blot results, purified recombinant caltrin-His was ascertained to be approximately 14.5kDa. Purification under the Co(2+) system yielded significantly purer protein samples when compared to the Ni(2+) system. Furthermore, Co(2+) was observed to bind the recombinant caltrin-His protein with higher efficiency and specificity and to yield a higher total protein concentration. Collectively, our results indicate that the Co(2+) system would be a better approach for purifying caltrin-His proteins than the Ni(2+).     

Anti-angiogenic activity of the recombinant kringle domain of urokinase and its specific entry into endothelial cells

Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) belongs to a family of proteins that contains kringle domain and plays an important role in inflammation, tissue remodeling, angiogenesis, and tumor metastasis by pericellular plasminogen activation. Kringle domains of plasminogen have been shown to demonstrate anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activities. Here, we report our investigation of the kringle domain of uPA for anti-angiogenic activity and a possible cellular mechanism of action. The recombinant kringle domain of uPA (Asp(45)-Lys(135)) (UK1) inhibited endothelial cell proliferation stimulated by basic fibroblast growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), or epidermal growth factor. It also inhibited migration of endothelial cells induced by VEGF or uPA, and in vivo angiogenesis on the chick chorioallantoic membrane. It did not block plasminogen activation by activated uPA in clot lysis and chromogenic substrate assays. Neither binding of UK1 to immobilized uPA receptor nor competitive inhibition of uPA binding were confirmed by real-time interaction analysis. However, internalization of UK1 followed by translocation from cytosol to nucleus was determined to be specific to endothelial cells. It also elicited a transient increase of Ca(2+) flux of more than 2-fold within 2 min of exposure in an endothelial cell-specific manner. These results suggest that the kringle domain of uPA exhibits anti-angiogenic activity and that its anti-angiogenic activity may occur through a different mechanism from inhibition of uPA-uPA receptor interaction or uPA proteolytic activity and may be associated with endothelial-cell specific internalization not mediated by the uPA receptor.     

人血纤维蛋白溶酶原K5环的基因合成、表达、纯化与活性鉴定

 根据大肠杆菌遗传密码的偏爱性 ,人工合成人血纤维蛋白溶酶原 K5全基因 ,并在原核系统中以硫氧还蛋白融合蛋白的形式实现了高效表达 .重组蛋白通过 Ni2 +金属螯合层析得到初步纯化 ,通过肠激酶切割去除了融合标签 .应用鸡胚尿囊膜实验检测切割后的 rh K5的生物学活性 ,发现与对照组相比 ,rh K5能明显地降低血管管径、血管总面积以及血管总面积与视野面积的比值 ,表明切割后的产物具有显著抑制新生血管生成的生物学活性 .为进一步研究和开发抗血管生成药物奠定了基础 .     

The N-terminal domain of hepatocyte growth factor inhibits the angiogenic behavior of endothelial cells independently from binding to the c-met receptor

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic factor that plays an important role in complex biological processes such as embryogenesis, tissue regeneration, cancerogenesis, and angiogenesis. HGF promotes cell proliferation, survival, motility, and morphogenesis through binding to its receptor, a transmembrane tyrosine kinase encoded by the MET proto-oncogene (c-met). Structurally speaking, HGF is a polypeptide related to the enzymes of the blood coagulation cascade. Thus, it comprises kringle domains that in some other proteins have been shown to be responsible for the anti-angiogenic activity. To check whether the isolated kringles of HGF were able to inhibit angiogenesis, we produced them as recombinant proteins and compared their biological activity with that of the recombinant HGF N-terminal domain (N). We showed that (i) none of the isolated HGF kringle exhibits an anti-angiogenic activity; (ii) N is a new anti-angiogenic polypeptide; (iii) the inhibitory action of N is not specific toward HGF, because it antagonized the angiogenic activity of other growth factors, such as fibroblast growth factor-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor; and (iv) in contrast with full-length HGF, N does not bind to the c-met receptor in vitro, but fully retains its heparin-binding capacity. Our results suggest that N inhibits angiogenesis not by disrupting the HGF/c-met interaction but rather by interfering with the endothelial glycosaminoglycans, which are the secondary binding sites of HGF.     

Expression of recombinant kringle 1-5 domains of human plasminogen by a prokaryote expression system

Kringle1-5 (K1-5), a proteolytic fragment containing five kringle domains of human plasminogen generated by plasmin-mediated proteolysis, has been already identified by Cao et al. with relation to anti-angiogenesis and proliferation of endothelial cells. To investigate anti-angiogenesis activity of recombinant human K1-5 (rhK1-5) expressed in Escherichia coli BL21, the cDNA of human K1-5 obtained from cloning vector pUC57-K1-5 by PCR, was inserted into an expression vector pET30(+) to construct a prokaryotic expression vector pET-K1-5. Recombinant K1-5 efficiently expressed in E. coli BL21 after IPTG induction was monitored by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting with an anti-angiostatin monoclonal antibody and an anti-hexahistidine tag antibody. The expressed K1-5 accounted for approximately 32% of the total bacterial proteins as estimated by densitometry, and existed mainly as inclusion bodies. The inclusion bodies were washed, lysed, purified, and refolded to a purity of 96% as estimated by capillary electrophoresis and the final purification yield of K1-5 in E. coli system was approximately 5.8 mg/L. Purified K1-5 protein was tested on chicken embryo chorioallantoic membranes (CAMs), and a large number of newly formed blood vessels were significantly regressed. In the present study, we demonstrated that bacterial-expressed K1-5 effectively inhibited angiogenesis of the chicken embryo in a dose-dependent manner through CAM assay. In addition, the rhK1-5 potently inhibited endothelial cell proliferation but not non-endothelial cells. For the first time, these findings demonstrate that the rhK1-5 produced by a prokaryote expression system effectively inhibited angiogenesis of the chicken embryo in a dose-dependent manner and specially suppressed in vitro the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. This fact derived from the present study further suggests the rhK1-5 can be used for anti-angiogenesis therapy of cancer.     

家蚕抗菌肽CD高效表达及其抗BmNPV感染作用

通过大肠杆菌JM109诱导家蚕,提取其脂肪体总mRNA后,通过RT-PCR得到cDNA,根据GenBank上家蚕抗菌肽CecropinD的cDNA序列,设计并合成引物,然后PCR扩增得到CecropinD肽基因并克隆到pGEM-T载体中,经过EcoRΙ和XhoI酶切,连接并将CecropinD肽基因插入pET32a表达载体中。用重组质粒pET32a-ecropinD转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3),在IPTG诱导下,融合蛋白Trx-CecropinD以可溶形式得到高效表达,经SDS-PAGE检测显示分子量为23kDa与预期大小相符,表达量约为总蛋白的30%。融合蛋白经Ni2 柱纯化后通过肠激酶切割后释放为Trx(18kDa)和CecropinD(5kDa),最后通过超滤管分离得到重组抗菌肽。通过抑菌实验测得重组CecropinD对于革兰氏阴性及阳性菌均有抑菌活性。并将重组CecropinD与家蚕病毒BmNPV作用混合4h后,一起投喂家蚕,发现病毒感染力有明显降低,说明其有抗病毒感染作用。     

Generation of biologically active angiostatin kringle 1-3 by activated human neutrophils

The contribution of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) to host defense and natural immunity extends well beyond their traditional role as professional phagocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that upon stimulation with proinflammatory stimuli, human PMN release enzymatic activities that, in vitro, generate bioactive angiostatin fragments from purified plasminogen. We also provide evidence that these angiostatin-like fragments, comprising kringle domain 1 to kringle domain 3 (kringle 1-3) of plasminogen, are generated as a byproduct of the selective proteolytic activity of neutrophil-secreted elastase. Remarkably, affinity-purified angiostatin kringle 1-3 fragments generated by neutrophils inhibited basic fibroblast growth factor plus vascular endothelial growth factor-induced endothelial cell proliferation in vitro, and both vascular endothelial growth factor-induced angiogenesis in the matrigel plug assay and fibroblast growth factor-induced angiogenesis in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane assay, in vivo. These results represent the first demonstration that biologically active angiostatin-like fragments can be generated by inflammatory human neutrophils. Because angiostatin is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis, tumor growth, and metastasis, the data suggest that activated PMN not only act as potent effectors of inflammation, but might also play a critical role in the inhibition of angiogenesis in inflammatory diseases and tumors, by generation of a potent anti-angiogenic molecule.     

重组人VEGF165的表达纯化及单抗的初步筛选

血管内皮细胞生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor, VEGF)是抑制肿瘤生长和转移的重要靶点。为获得抗VEGF单抗细胞株,构建了rhVEGF₁₆₅工程菌,并利用复合自动诱导获得高效表达。经纯化获得高纯度rhVEGF₁₆₅蛋白,经检测具有促人脐静脉内皮细胞(human umbilical vein endothelial cells, HUVECs)增殖活性,其EC₅₀为2.4ng/ml。免疫小鼠,获得了3株能稳定分泌抗VEGF单抗的杂交瘤细胞株,为开发VEGF治疗性单抗提供了重要基础。