TLR2 recognizes a bacterial lipopeptide through direct binding

The TLRs play an important role in the initiation of cellular innate immune responses to a wide range of bacterial products, including LPS and lipoproteins. Although rapid progress has been made on signaling functions of activated TLRs, the molecular mechanisms that lead to TLR activation are still poorly understood. We report in this study that the extracellular domain of TLR2 interacts directly with synthetic bacterial lipopeptide (sBLP), a potent analog of bacterial lipoproteins. Using fluorescently labeled sBLP complexed to soluble recombinant CD14 (rsCD14), we observed specific binding of sBLP to the surface of cells expressing TLR2 transgenes and to a recombinant soluble form of the TLR2 ectodomain. TLR2-mediated binding of sBLP at the cell surface did not require prior induction of intracellular signals. In addition, using a chimeric TLR2/TLR4 construct, we showed that the leucine-rich region of TLR2 carries the specificity for binding of the agonist and for initiating signaling. Specific binding of fluorescent sBLP to purified sTLR2 required sCD14. However, sCD14 was not part of the complex formed by soluble TLR2 and sBLP. Together, these data provide evidence that TLR2 recognizes sBLP through direct binding.     

人可溶性CD14基因克隆表达及功能研究

利用反转录PCR技术,从U937细胞总RNA中,扩增编码人可溶性CD14的基因序列,构建了重组表达质粒pEF1/HisC/sCD14^348aa;用脂质体转染法,实现了在真核细胞中的高效表达;用免疫亲和层析纯化表达产物,纯度达90％以上;PLS刺激U937细胞产生CD14的变化,证明了表达产物具有结合LPS的功能。     

Pulmonary surfactant protein A modulates the cellular response to smooth and rough lipopolysaccharides by interaction with CD14.

Pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A) plays an important part in Ab-independent host defense mechanisms of the lung. In this study we investigated how SP-A interacts with distinct serotypes of bacterial LPS and modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses. SP-A bound to rough forms but not to smooth forms of LPS. In the macrophage-like cell line U937, SP-A inhibited mRNA expression and secretion of TNF-alpha induced by smooth LPS, but rough LPS-induced TNF-alpha expression was unaffected by SP-A. When U937 cells and rat alveolar macrophages were preincubated with SP-A, smooth LPS failed to induce TNF-alpha secretion, whereas rough LPS-induced TNF-alpha secretion was modestly increased. To clarify the mechanism by which SP-A modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses, we further examined the interaction of SP-A with CD14, which is known as a major LPS receptor. Western blot analysis revealed that CD14 was one of the SP-A binding proteins isolated from solubilized U937 cells. In addition, SP-A directly bound to recombinant soluble CD14 (rsCD14). When rsCD14 was preincubated with SP-A, the binding of rsCD14 to smooth LPS was significantly reduced but the association of rsCD14 with rough LPS was augmented. These results demonstrate the different actions of SP-A upon distinct serotypes of LPS and indicate that the direct interaction of SP-A with CD14 constitutes a likely mechanism by which SP-A modulates LPS-elicited cellular responses.     

人骨保护素在毕赤酵母中的分泌表达及表达产物的生物活性分析(英文)

为了在毕赤酵母表达系统中分泌表达人骨保护素 (osteoprotegerin ,OPG) ,以人骨肉瘤细胞系MG6 3的mRNA为模板 ,采用RT PCR法得到人OPG编码区cDNA ,克隆入毕赤酵母表达载体pPICZ B ,电转化毕赤酵母GS115 (Mut+) ,经 3%甲醇诱导分泌表达人OPG与组氨酸的融合蛋白 .SDS PAGE及Western印迹分析表明 ,有分子量约 6 6kD的目的蛋白表达 .纯化后的表达产物加入体外培养的小鼠骨髓细胞培养基中 ,当浓度为 10 0ng ml时 ,象牙片上骨吸收陷窝的数量及玻片上的TRAP阳性多核细胞的数量均减少 (P <0 0 5 ) .而同时加入人OPG的多克隆抗体后 ,这一抑制作用可被拮抗 ,在浓度为 5 0ng ml时则无此作用 .人OPG蛋白在酵母系统的成功表达 ,为该蛋白的进一步应用研究提供了依据 .     

Soluble CD14 mediates efflux of phospholipids from cells

Soluble CD14 (sCD14), a 55-kDa glycoprotein found in plasma, has been shown to act as a shuttle for bacterial LPS and phospholipids, transporting LPS and phospholipid monomers from LPS aggregates or liposomes to high density lipoprotein particles. sCD14 has also been shown to mediate the transport of LPS and phosphatidylinositol into cells. Here we show that sCD14 mediates not only the influx but also the efflux of cellular phospholipids. Addition of sCD14 enhanced efflux of cellular phospholipids labeled with [(3)H]palmitic acid, [(3)H]oleic acid, or [(3)H]choline chloride from differentiated THP-1 monocytic cells. Efflux was dependent on the concentration of sCD14 added and was essentially complete in 30 min. The role of membrane-bound CD14 (mCD14) in lipid efflux was assessed using matched pairs of cell lines that express or fail to express this protein. While efflux was very dependent on mCD14 in U373 cells, it was not dependent on mCD14 in Chinese hamster ovary cells, suggesting a role for additional cellular proteins in determining the pathway of phospholipid efflux. A deletion mutant of sCD14 lacking the LPS binding site had less ability to efflux phospholipids than intact sCD14, suggesting that this site is needed for CD14 to serve in phospholipid transport. [(3)H]Palmitate-labeled lipids released by sCD14 were precipitated with anti-CD14 then analyzed by HPLC. Phosphatidylcholine was the dominant phospholipid exported and bound to sCD14. These results demonstrate that sCD14 mediates efflux of phospholipids from cells and suggest that sCD14 contributes to phospholipid transport in blood.     

重组巴曲酶在毕赤酵母中的高效表达

以毕赤酵母为表达系统,建立生产重组巴曲酶的技术工艺路线。通过递归式PCR的方法,人工合成了巴曲酶基因,将其插入pPIC9表达质粒中,转化至毕赤酵母GS115(his4),筛选出的表达株经甲醇诱导,表达了重组巴曲酶,并得以纯化。从每升发酵液中可纯化得到10mg重组巴曲酶,其比活为238NIHunits/mg,分子量为30.55kD。重组巴曲酶在体外可使纤维蛋白凝固,在体内缩短小鼠出血时间。为开发重组的蛇毒类凝血酶止血剂打下了基础。     

人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体的发酵生产研究

为了适应工业生产的需要,利用fed—batch方法,重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体酵母工程菌在30L发酵罐中进行了高密度发酵,发酵最适温度30℃,pH值范围5．0～5．3,溶氧范围20％～30％。发酵液OD600值达到300时开始诱导,甲醇最佳诱导浓度为10mL／L。重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体经离子交换层析纯化,纯化产品经SDS-PAGE、Western blot进行分析和ELISA方法进行活性测定。结果显示,重组Fab抗体在Fed-batch发酵系统中可高效表达,经过192h的发酵生产,重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体的表达量可达412mg／L。发酵上清经过离子交换层析纯化,获得纯度为95％的重组Fab抗体,该Fab抗体经ELISA分析具有较高的HBsAg抗原亲和力和特异性。结果证实可以通过高密度发酵毕赤酵母工程菌来高效生产重组人源性抗HBsAg Fab抗体,为后续的工业化生产应用奠定了基础。     

Varying importance of soluble and membrane CD14 in endothelial detection of lipopolysaccharide

The endothelial response to LPS is critical in the recruitment of leukocytes, thereby allowing the host to survive Gram-negative infection. Herein, we investigated the roles of soluble CD14 (sCD14) and membrane CD14 (mCD14) in the endothelial response to low level LPS (0.1 ng/ml), intermediate level LPS (10 ng/ml), and high level LPS (1000 ng/ml). Removal of sCD14 from serum and sCD14-negative serum prevented low level LPS detection and subsequent response. Addition of recombinant sCD14 back into the endothelial system rescued the endothelial response. GPI-linked mCD14 removal from endothelium or endothelial treatment with a CD14 mAb prevented responses to low-level LPS even in the presence of sCD14. This demonstrates essential nonoverlapping roles for both mCD14 and sCD14 in the detection of low-level LPS. At intermediate levels of LPS, sCD14 was not required, but blocking mCD14 still prevented endothelial LPS detection and E-selectin expression, even in the presence of sCD14, suggesting that sCD14 cannot substitute for mCD14. At very high levels of LPS, the absence of mCD14 and sCD14 did not abrogate TLR4-dependent, E-selectin synthesis in response to LPS. The MyD88 independent pathway was detected in endothelium (presence of TRIF-related adaptor molecule TRAM). The MyD88-independent response (IFN-beta) in endothelium required mCD14 even at the highest LPS dose tested. Our results demonstrate an essential role for endothelial mCD14 that cannot be replaced by sCD14. Furthermore, we have provided evidence for a TRAM pathway in endothelium that is dependent on mCD14 even when other responses are no longer mCD14 dependent.     

重组毕赤酵母产青蛤Mytimacin抗菌肽的表达研究

Mytimacin是主要在无脊椎动物中表达的Macin抗菌肽家族中的一员,具有较强的抗病原微生物活性,是利用重组DNA技术开发天然抗菌剂的良好候选者。通过RT-PCR从青蛤(Cyclina sinensis)闭壳肌中克隆编码Mytimacin成熟肽的基因,经3次PCR在该基因的5’端添加Xho I限制性酶切位点和信号肽酶识别位点、3’端添加Xba I限制性酶切位点和6×His,获得目的基因"CsMm";以pPICZαA为表达载体、毕赤酵母(Pichia pastoris)X-33为工程菌,构建重组毕赤酵母X-33/pPICZαA-CsMm。通过高浓度博来霉素筛选高拷贝酵母转化子,在28℃、250 r/min条件下,使用1.5%的甲醇诱导表达72 h;使用固化金属离子亲和层析(IMAC)对表达产物进行纯化,并通过MALDI-TOF-TOF质谱分析对纯化产物进行鉴定。另外,通过涂布法和浊度法考察重组CsMm的抑菌活性。结果表明:基于X-33/pPICZαA-CsMm重组毕赤酵母的外源表达获得了表达量为25.6 mg/L的重组蛋白,经MALDI-TOF-TOF质谱鉴定其为分子量约7.8 kD的预期重组CsMm。抑菌试验证明重组CsMm对金黄色葡萄球菌(Staphylococcus aureus)、枯草芽孢杆菌(Bacillus subtilis)、大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)和副溶血性弧菌(Vibrio Parahemolyticus)具有明显的抑菌活性。构建的重组毕赤酵母X-33/pPICZαA-CsMm能有效合成具有生物学活性的重组青蛤Mytimacin,旨为贝类来源天然小分子抗菌剂的开发提供可资参考的技术途径。     

人β-分泌酶 (BACE1) 在毕赤酵母中分泌表达及纯化

为了获得活性良好的重组人β-分泌酶 (β-secreatase, BACE1),用于研究其与抑制剂的作用模式,构建了携带β-分泌酶proBACE1和BACE1编码序列的重组表达质粒pPIC9K-MetBACE22和pPIC9K-MetBACE46,通过电击法转入毕赤酵母GS115中,分别得到重组子9k-B22和9k-B46。重组菌株在诱导表达培养基中诱导外源基因表达,结果显示9k-B22的上清活性明显高于9k-B46的上清活性。9k-B22表达上清浓缩后经HisTrap亲和柱纯化得到的蛋白具有良好的BACE1活性, SDS-PAGE/高碘酸-希夫试剂染色发现其为糖蛋白,并且其糖基侧链可以被Endo Hf完全切除,得到50 kDa左右的两条蛋白带。肽质量指纹图谱鉴定发现,这两个蛋白分别与proBACE1和BACE1匹配。活性检测发现糖基化BACE1和去糖基化BACE1的活性均低于HEK-293细胞表达的商品BACE1,这说明糖基化及其类型对BACE1的活性非常重要。然而已知的BACE1抑制剂对三者的抑制率无显著差异,这说明糖基化并不影响与抑制剂的相互作用。经过一系列培养条件优化BACE1纯化产量提高到1 mg/L,这为发现并优化BACE1新型抑制剂的相关研究奠定了物质基础。     

Secretory expression and purification of the recombinant duck interleukin-2 in Pichia pastoris

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a vital cytokine secreted by activated T lymphocytes, and plays an important role in the regulation of cellular functions and immunity of animals. In this study, the recombinant duck IL-2 (rduIL-2) was secretory expressed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris). The recombinant P. pastoris strain was cultured in shake flasks and then scaled up in a 5.0-l bioreactor. The result showed that the maximal fresh-cell-weight of 594.1 g/l and the maximal OD600 of 408 were achieved in the bioreactor. The rduIL-2 was purified by two steps of purification procedures, and approximately 311 mg of rduIL-2/L fermentation supernatant was obtained. SDS-PAGE showed that the purified rduIL-2 constituted a homogeneous band of ~16 kDa or ~14 kDa corresponding to the glycosylated or non-glycosylated duIL-2 protein in size, respectively. The bioactivity of rduIL-2 was determined by lymphocyte proliferation assay. The result indicated that the rduIL-2 greatly promoted the proliferation of ConA-stimulated lymphocytes in vitro. The P. pastoris expression system described here could provide promising, inexpensive, and large-scale production of the rduIL-2, which lays the foundation for development of novel immunoadjuvants to enhance both the immunity of ducks against various infectious pathogens and vaccine efficacy.     

结核杆菌热休克蛋白70在毕赤酵母中的分泌表达与鉴定

获得结核杆菌热休克蛋白70在毕赤酵母中的分泌表达。构建了酵母表达质粒pPIC9K-hsp70,并将其线性化后用电穿孔法导入Pichia pastoris GS115,经PCR方法筛选出阳性菌落,在0.5%甲醇诱导下分泌表达。所得产物经离心收集上清、超滤浓缩脱盐、亲和层析后,分别用 SDSPAGE、Western blot和动物免疫实验对上清中的重组Hsp70进行鉴定,并考察产物对DC的作用。经SDSPAGE、Western blot分析表明表达的Hsp70表观分子量为70kD并能特异性地与抗Mt.Hsp70单抗结合,动物实验表明重组的Hsp70能在体诱导免疫应答。重组Hsp70能够诱导DC成熟并释放Th1型细胞因子。摇瓶发酵表达量达120mg/L,占培养上清30%以上。这为研究结核杆菌热休克蛋白70的生理功能提供了必要的物质条件。     

High-level expression of active recombinant ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase of Drosophila melanogaster in Pichia pastoris

Ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolases (UCHs) are implicated in the proteolytic processing of polymeric ubiquitin. The high specificity for the recognition site makes UCHs useful enzymes for in vitro cleavage of ubiquitin fusion proteins. In this work, an active C-terminal His-tagged UCH from Drosophila melanogaster (DmUCH) was produced as a secretory form in a recombinant strain of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The production of recombinant DmUCH by Mut(s) strain was much higher than that by Mut(+) strain, which was confirmed by Western blot analysis. When expression was induced at pH 6.0 in a BMMY/methanol medium, the concentration of recombinant DmUCH reached 210 mg l(-1). With the (His)(6)-tag, the recombinant DmUCH was easily purified by Ni-NTA chromatography and 18 mg pure active DmUCH were obtained from 100ml culture broth supernatant. Ubiquitin-magainin fusion protein was efficiently cleaved by DmUCH, yielding recombinant magainin with high antimicrobial activity. After removing the contaminants by Ni-NTA chromatography, recombinant magainin was purified to homogeneity easily by reversed-phase HPLC. Analysis of the recombinant magainin by ESI-MS showed that the molecular weight of the purified recombinant magainin was 2465 Da, which perfectly matches the mass calculated from the amino acid sequence. The result of mass spectrometry confirmed that the purified His-tagged DmUCH can recognize the ubiquitin-magainin fusion protein and cleave it at the carboxyl terminus of ubiquitin precisely. Our results showed that P. pastoris is a robust system to express the secreted form of DmUCH.     

重组人GALNT3-sol蛋白在毕赤酵母中的高效表达和活性鉴定

目的:为了获得有催化活性的人乙酰半乳糖胺转移酶3(GALNT3),构建了GALNT3可溶性区域(GALNT3-sol)的真核分泌表达载体,在巴斯德毕赤酵母中表达并纯化GALNT3-sol蛋白,体外检测其转糖基活性。方法:以构建好的pET15b/GALNT3-sol为模板进行PCR,扩增编码人GALNT3-sol的cDNA片段(1 755 bp),将其克隆至真核表达载体pPIC9K,载体线性化后采用电击法转化毕赤酵母GS115。通过MD平板和G418平板筛选出阳性高拷贝重组菌株。阳性菌株经过甲醇诱导表达人GALNT3-sol重组蛋白,表达上清进行Ni-NAT分离纯化。分别采用SDS-PAGE和Western blot鉴定纯化的重组蛋白,并使用HPLC和MALDI-TOF/MS分析其转糖基化反应的活性。结果:成功构建了能够分泌表达GALNT3-sol的毕赤酵母菌株。阳性表达菌株在BMMY培养基(pH 6.0)中20℃培养,经0.5%甲醇诱导表达96 h,摇瓶表达量可达5mg/L。SDS-PAGE和Western blot结果显示表达重组蛋白为糖基化形式。活性检测显示表达的重组蛋白具有转糖基活性。结论:成功获得可以高效分泌表达具有活性的人GALNT3-sol蛋白的毕赤酵母菌株,为进一步研究人GALNT3的性质及其应用提供了基础。     

A factor of inducing IgE from a filarial parasite is an agonist of human CD40

Immune responses to parasitic helminth are usually characterized by quite mysterious phenomena: dominance of Th2-like immunity and antigen-nonspecific IgE secretion. We previously purified a factor from Dirofilaria immitis that induces antigen-nonspecific IgE in rats and named it DiAg. In the presence of IL-4, DiAg induces mouse B cells to secrete IgE, which is antigen-nonspecific polyclonal antibody. We investigated the biochemical characteristics of DiAg as a factor of inducing IgE in this study. Recombinant DiAg (rDiAg) with interleukin (IL)-4 induced IgE synthesis in highly purified human normal B cells in vitro cell culture systems. The addition of recombinant human soluble CD40 IgG fusion protein (rsCD40-Ig) inhibited induction of IgE synthesis by rDiAg with IL-4. Monocyte cells were stimulated with rDiAg and recombinant human soluble CD40L (rsCD40L); IL-12 and TNF-alpha were induced. The addition of rsCD40-Ig to THP-1 cells activated with rDiAg and rsCD40L inhibited the production of IL-12. rDiAg bound to the monocyte cell membrane fraction and recombinant human soluble CD40; this binding of rDiAg was competitively inhibited by addition of rsCD40L. Moreover, in CD40-deficient mice, IgE production and MLN-B cell proliferation by rDiAg were completely absent. Based on these results, we concluded that DiAg is an agonist of CD40.     

Expression and purification of stable 33-kDa soluble human CD23 using the Drosophila S2 expression system.

CD23, a 45-kDa type II membrane glycoprotein present on B cells, monocytes, and other human immune cells, is a low-affinity receptor for IgE. The extracellular region of the membrane-bound human CD23 is processed into at least four soluble (s) CD23 forms, with apparent molecular masses of 37, 33, 29, and 25 kDa. High levels of sCD23 are found in patients with allergy, certain autoimmune diseases, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Therefore, inhibition of the processing of membrane-bound CD23 to control the cytokine-like effects of sCD23 offers a novel therapeutic opportunity. While the 37-, 29-, and 25-kDa forms of sCD23 have been expressed previously as recombinant proteins, the 33-kDa form has not been purified and characterized. To further investigate the multiple roles of sCD23 fragments and to devise assays to identify potent small-molecule inhibitors of CD23 processing, we have produced the 33-kDa form of sCD23 using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and Drosophila S2 cells. The CHO-expressed 33-kDa protein was found to undergo proteolytic degradation during cell growth and during storage of purified protein, resulting in accumulation of a 25-kDa form. The Drosophila system expressed the 33-kDa sCD23 in a stable form that was purified and demonstrated to be more active than the CHO-derived 25-kDa form in a monocyte TNFalpha release assay.     

Recombinant expression of Ole e 6, a Cys-enriched pollen allergen, in Pichia pastoris yeast: detection of partial oxidation of methionine by NMR

Olive pollen is one of the main causes of allergy in Mediterranean countries. Ole e 6, an olive pollen allergen, is a small (5.8 kDa) and acidic protein (pI 4.2) and no homologous proteins have been isolated or characterized so far. Ole e 6 has been efficiently expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. The cDNA encoding Ole e 6 was inserted into the plasmid vector pPIC9 and overexpressed in GS115 yeast cells. The recombinant product was purified by size-exclusion chromatography followed by reverse-phase HPLC. N-terminal sequencing, amino acid composition analysis, CD, NMR, and IgG-binding experiments were employed to characterize the purified protein. NMR data revealed the oxidation of the methionine at position 28 in approximately 50% of the recombinant protein but, although this alters its electrophoretic behavior, it did not affect folding or IgG-binding properties of rOle e 6. The recombinant form of Ole e 6 expressed in P. pastoris can be employed for structural and biochemical studies.     

石斑鱼-防御素的酵母表达及其产物抗菌活性分析

防御素是一类阳离子抗菌肽。研究从石斑鱼垂体SMART cDNA 文库中扩增出129 bp 石斑鱼-防御素成熟肽序列, 将其克隆到毕赤酵母表达载体pPCIZA 中, 构建了石斑鱼-防御素的真核表达载体, 电击转化毕赤酵母GS115。Western Blot 分析表明石斑鱼-防御素在酵母菌中获得了表达。体外抗菌实验表明纯化的重组蛋白具有抑制大肠杆菌以及嗜水气单胞菌的作用, 但是对革兰氏阳性菌, 如金黄色葡萄球菌和藤黄微球菌的生长没有抑制作用。实验结果表明酵母表达的石斑鱼-防御素能够特异地抑制革兰氏阴性菌的生长。