Single step protocol to purify recombinant proteins with low endotoxin contents

Endotoxin is an unwanted by product of recombinant proteins purified from Escherichia coli. The inherent toxicity of endotoxins makes their removal an important step for the proteins' application in several biological assays and for safe parenteral administration. The method described in this paper is a one-step protocol which is effective at removing tightly bound endotoxin from over-expressed tagged proteins in E. coli. We combined affinity chromatography with a non-ionic detergent washing step, to remove most of the endotoxin contaminants from the end product. An endotoxin reduction of less than 4 to 0.2 EU mg(-1) was achieved with protein recovery close to a yield 100%. As this new protocol requires only one step to simultaneously purify tagged proteins and eliminate endotoxins, it represents a substantial advantage in time, effort, and expense.     

Endotoxin depletion of recombinant protein preparations through their preferential binding to histidine tags

The presence of endotoxins in preparations of recombinantly produced therapeutic proteins poses serious problems for patients. Endotoxins can cause fever, respiratory distress syndromes, intravascular coagulation, or endotoxic shock. A number of methods have been devised to remove endotoxins from protein preparations using separation procedures based on molecular mass or charge properties. Most of the methods are limited in their endotoxin removal capacities and lack general applicability. We are describing a biotechnological approach for endotoxin removal. This strategy exploits the observation that endotoxins form micelles that expose negative charges on their surface, leading to preferential binding of endotoxins to cationic surfaces, allowing the separation from their resident protein. Endotoxins exhibit high affinity to stretches of histidines, which are widely used tools to facilitate the purification of recombinant proteins. They bind to nickel ions and are the basis for protein purification from cellular extracts by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. We show that the thrombin-mediated cleavage of two histidine tags from the purified recombinant protein and the adsorption of these histidine tags and their associated endotoxins to a nickel affinity column result in an appreciable depletion of the endotoxins in the purified protein fraction.     

Removal of endotoxin in the purification of histone H1.5 from Escherichia coli

Triton X-114 and cation-exchange chromatography, SP-Sepharose FF, removed endotoxins from solutions containing recombinant histone H1.5. Dissociated endotoxins were removed but fractions containing histone H1.5 were enhanced in the elution step. The final concentration of endotoxins, measured by a limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay, was below 0.05 EU mg^–1 histone H1.5. The recovery of protein was above 95%.     

Optimization of the Endotoxin Removal Performance of Solid-Phase Conjugated S3E3 Antimicrobial Peptide Using Response Surface Methodology

S3E3 is a new variant of S3 antimicrobial peptide (AMP) derived from factor C of horseshoe hemolymph and features a high binding affinity for endotoxin. In this research, site-specific conjugated S3E3 AMP onto Sepharose 6% solid phase support (S3E3-S-Sepharose) was applied for endotoxin removal from protein solutions. The bovine serum albumin (BSA) was chosen as a protein model due to its acidic-sticky nature interfering with the endotoxin removal process. The batch process parameters including, endotoxin concentration, pH, and ionic strength of the sample were optimized by response surface methodology to reach maximum endotoxin binding capacity and protein recovery. The predicted optimal conditions for enhanced endotoxin removal performance were as follows: pH 4.5, 25 mM NaCl, and 68,500 EU/ml endotoxin leading to a maximum endotoxin binding capacity of 3.114?×?10⁺⁶ EU/ml of resin and a 95.89% protein recovery. S3E3-S-Sepharose could be applied as an efficient endotoxin removal affinity chromatography matrix at downstream processes of recombinant therapeutics due to its high capacity and protein recovery.

     

Removal of endotoxin during purification of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) from gram-negative bacteria.

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was produced by cultivating several gram-negative bacteria, including Ralstonia eutropha, Alcaligenes latus, and recombinant Escherichia coli. PHB was recovered from these bacteria by two different methods, and the endotoxin levels were determined. When PHB was recovered by the chloroform extraction method, the endotoxin level was less than 10 endotoxin units (EU) per g of PHB irrespective of the bacterial strains employed and the PHB content in the cell. The NaOH digestion method, which was particularly effective for the recovery of PHB from recombinant E. coli, was also examined for endotoxin removal. The endotoxin level present in PHB recovered by 0.2 N NaOH digestion for 1 h at 30 degrees C was higher than 10(4) EU/g of PHB. Increasing the digestion time or NaOH concentration reduced the endotoxin level to less than 1 EU/g of PHB. It was concluded that PHB with a low endotoxin level, which can be used for various biomedical applications, could be produced by chloroform extraction. Furthermore, PHB with a much lower endotoxin level could be produced from recombinant E. coli by simple NaOH digestion.     

艾迪注射液细菌内毒素检查方法探讨

目的:建立艾迪注射液细菌内毒素检查方法。方法:根据《中华人民共和国药典》2005年版Ⅱ部收载的细菌内毒素检查法进行。结果:将艾迪注射液稀释至1/6后可消除干扰因素,用标示灵敏度为0.25 EU/mL的鲎试剂检测细菌内毒素是有效的。结论:细菌内毒素检查法准确、可靠,适用于检测艾迪注射液中的内毒素。     

Purification of cell culture-derived human influenza A virus by size-exclusion and anion-exchange chromatography

A process comprising of size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) and anion-exchange chromatography (AEC) was investigated for downstream processing of cell culture-derived influenza A virus. Human influenza virus A/PR/8/34 (H1N1) was propagated in serum-free medium using MDCK cells as a host. Concentrates of the virus were prepared from clarified and inactivated cell culture supernatants by cross-flow ultrafiltration as described before. SEC on Sepharose 4 FF resulted in average product yields of 85% based on hemagglutination (HA) activity. Productivity was maximized to 0.15 column volumes (cv) of concentrate per hour yielding a reduction in total protein and host cell DNA (hcDNA) to 35 and 34%, respectively. AEC on Sepharose Q XL was used to separate hcDNA from virus at a salt concentration of 0.65 M sodium chloride. Product yields >80% were achieved for loads >160 kHAU/mL of resin. The reduction in hcDNA was 67-fold. Split peak elution and bimodal particle volume distributions suggested aggregation of virions. Co-elution with hcDNA and constant amounts of hcDNA per dose indiciated association of virions to hcDNA. An overall product yield of 52% was achieved. Total protein was reduced more than 19-fold; hcDNA more than 500-fold by the process. Estimation of the dose volume from HA activity predicted a protein content at the limit for human vaccines. Reduction of hcDNA was found insufficient (about 500 ng per dose) requiring further optimization of AEC or additional purification steps. All operations were selected to be scalable and independent of the virus strain rendering the process suitable for vaccine production.     

Removal of Endotoxin during Purification of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) from Gram-Negative Bacteria

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was produced by cultivating several gram-negative bacteria, including Ralstonia eutropha, Alcaligenes latus, and recombinant Escherichia coli. PHB was recovered from these bacteria by two different methods, and the endotoxin levels were determined. When PHB was recovered by the chloroform extraction method, the endotoxin level was less than 10 endotoxin units (EU) per g of PHB irrespective of the bacterial strains employed and the PHB content in the cell. The NaOH digestion method, which was particularly effective for the recovery of PHB from recombinant E. coli, was also examined for endotoxin removal. The endotoxin level present in PHB recovered by 0.2 N NaOH digestion for 1 h at 30°C was higher than 10⁴ EU/g of PHB. Increasing the digestion time or NaOH concentration reduced the endotoxin level to less than 1 EU/g of PHB. It was concluded that PHB with a low endotoxin level, which can be used for various biomedical applications, could be produced by chloroform extraction. Furthermore, PHB with a much lower endotoxin level could be produced from recombinant E. coli by simple NaOH digestion.     

Protein concentration effect on protein-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding and endotoxin removal

It is known some proteins can disaggregate endotoxins and form complexes with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Nevertheless, how protein concentration affects protein-LPS binding and endotoxin removal is unknown. In this study, protein samples at various concentrations were incubated with endotoxin samples at a fixed concentration. The mixtures were filtered by ultrafiltration membranes. As protein concentration increased, the amount of endotoxin detected in the filtrates increased too. This result indicates protein concentration has significant effect on protein-LPS binding and the amount of endotoxin disaggregated.     

Specific binding of endotoxin to human monocytes and mouse macrophages: serum requirement

Specific binding of Bordetella pertussis and Neisseria meningitidis endotoxins to human monocytes and murine macrophages was demonstrated. Binding of B. pertussis endotoxin could be inhibited by endotoxins of Salmonella minnesota, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, the extent of inhibition being dependent on the origin of the lipopolysaccharides and on the origin of the mononuclear phagocytic cells. The binding of B. pertussis and N. meningitidis endotoxins which was mediated by the polysaccharide region of the endotoxins was serum dependent. The results indicated that the binding of endotoxin was promoted neither by natural antibodies directed against the endotoxin nor by proteins known to combine with endotoxins: immunoglobulins, albumin, or fibronectin; we have provided some evidence that complement components may play a role in the specific binding of endotoxins to the monocyte/macrophage membrane.     

LPS removal from an E. coli fermentation broth using aqueous two‐phase micellar system

In biotechnology, endotoxin (LPS) removal from recombinant proteins is a critical and challenging step in the preparation of injectable therapeutics, as endotoxin is a natural component of bacterial expression systems widely used to manufacture therapeutic proteins. The viability of large‐scale industrial production of recombinant biomolecules of pharmaceutical interest significantly depends on the separation and purification techniques used. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of aqueous two‐phase micellar system (ATPMS) for endotoxin removal from preparations containing recombinant proteins of pharmaceutical interest, such as green fluorescent protein (GFPuv). Partition assays were carried out initially using pure LPS, and afterwards in the presence of E. coli cell lysate. The ATPMS technology proved to be effective in GFPuv recovery, preferentially into the micelle‐poor phase (K_GFPuv < 1.00), and LPS removal into the micelle‐rich phase (%REM_LPS > 98.00%). Therefore, this system can be exploited as the first step for purification in biotechnology processes for removal of higher LPS concentrations. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010     

重组人戊型肝炎疫苗细菌内毒素检查方法的建立

确立重组人戊型肝炎疫苗原液的细菌内毒素检查方法。供试品参照《中华人民共和国药典》(2005年版三部)热原检查法进行热原检查,结果符合规定。该供试品同时参照《中华人民共和国药典》(2005年版三部)细菌内毒素检查法要求进行试验。供试品溶液在40μg/m l浓度下,确定内毒素限值为40EU/m l。供试品在该内毒素限值下干扰试验有效,且细菌内毒素检查法符合规定。该疫苗用内毒素检查法代替热原检查法,方法可行。     

Bacterial fermentation of recombinant major wasp allergen Antigen 5 using oxygen limiting growth conditions improves yield and quality of inclusion bodies

A process for bacterial expression and purification of the recombinant major wasp allergen Antigen 5 (Ves v 5) was developed to produce protein for diagnostic and therapeutic applications for type 1 allergic diseases. Special attention was focused on medium selection, fermentation conditions, and efficient refolding procedures. A soy based medium was used for fermentation to avoid peptone from animal origin. Animal-derived peptone required the use of isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) for the induction of expression. In the case of soy peptone, a constitutive expression was observed, suggesting the presence of a component that mimics IPTG. Batch cultivation at reduced stirrer speed caused a reduced biomass due to oxygen limitation. However, subsequent purification and processing of inclusion bodies yielded significantly higher amount of product. Furthermore, the protein composition of the inclusion bodies differed. Inclusion bodies were denatured and subjected to diafiltration. Detailed monitoring of diafiltration enabled the determination of the transition point. Final purification was conducted using cation-exchange and size-exclusion chromatography. Purified recombinant Ves v 5 was analyzed by RP-HPLC, CD-spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, and quantification ELISA. Up to 15 mg highly purified Ves v 5 per litre bioreactor volume were obtained, with endotoxin concentrations less than 20 EU mg(-1) protein and high comparability to the natural counterpart. Analytical results confirm the suitability of the recombinant protein for diagnostic and clinical applications. The results clearly demonstrate that not only biomass, but especially growth conditions play a key role in the production of recombinant Ves v 5. This has an influence on inclusion body formation, which in turn influences the renaturation rate and absolute product yield. This might also be true for other recombinant proteins that accumulate as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli.     

Endotoxin removal using a synthetic adsorbent of crystalline calcium silicate hydrate

A synthetic adsorbent of crystalline calcium silicate hydrate, the product LRA by Advanced Minerals Corp., has been studied for endotoxin removal from aqueous solutions. This adsorbent removes endotoxin effectively, and the removal is greatly enhanced by the presence of an electrolyte such as NaCl, Tris-HCl, or Na2HPO4. It has an endotoxin removal capacity as high as 6 million endotoxin units (EU) per gram. Its endotoxin removal kinetics is fast, and for instance, over 99.9% endotoxin in a 5000 EU/mL solution was removed by mixing for 2 min at an adsorbent usage of 10 g/L. Using the chromatographic column method to treat a 5000 EU/mL solution, an endotoxin log-reduction factor of 6.2 was achieved with a single pass. This adsorbent also demonstrated significantly better performance when compared to many commonly used endotoxin removal agents, such as ActiClean Etox Endotoxin Removal Resin, Affi-Prep Polymyxin Support, Detroxi-Gel Endotoxin Removing Gel, Q Sepharose Fast Flow Media, and Sigma Endotoxin Removal Solution. Furthermore, it demonstrated a high selective removal of endotoxin from a solution of lambda DNA. This adsorbent provides opportunities for developing disposable, scaleable, and cost-effective methods for endotoxin reduction in many biotechnological and pharmaceutical processes.     

High‐throughput ion exchange purification of positively charged recombinant protein in the presence of negatively charged dextran sulfate

Product quality analyses are critical for developing cell line and bioprocess producing therapeutic proteins with desired critical product quality attributes. To facilitate these analyses, a high‐throughput small‐scale protein purification (SSP) is required to quickly purify many samples in parallel. Here we develop an SSP using ion exchange resins to purify a positively charged recombinant growth factor P1 in the presence of negatively charged dextran sulfate supplemented to improve the cell culture performance. The major challenge in this work is that the strong ionic interaction between P1 and dextran sulfate disrupts interaction between P1 and chromatography resins. To solve this problem, we develop a two‐step SSP using Q Sepharose Fast Flow (QFF) and SP Sepharose XL (SPXL) resins to purify P1. The overall yield of this two‐step SSP is 78%. Moreover, the SSP does not affect the critical product quality attributes. The SSP was critical for developing the cell line and process producing P1. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 30:516–520, 2014     

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.     

Electrochemical endotoxin sensors based on TLR4/MD-2 complexes immobilized on gold electrodes

Even low concentrations of endotoxins can be life-threatening. As such, continuous effort has been directed toward the development of sensitive and specific endotoxin detection systems. In this paper, we report the design and fabrication of a new electrochemical endotoxin sensor based on a human recombinant toll-like receptor 4 (rhTLR4) and myeloid differentiation-2 (MD-2) complex. The rhTLR4/MD-2 complex, which specifically binds to endotoxin, was immobilized on gold electrodes through a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) technique involving the use of dithiobis(succinimidyl undecanoate) (DSU). The surface topography of the electrodes at each fabrication stage was characterized with a nanosurface profiler and atomic force microscope (AFM). The electrochemical signals generated from interactions between the rhTLR4/MD-2 complex and the endotoxin were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). A linear relationship between the peak current and endotoxin concentration was obtained in the range of 0.0005 to 5 EU/mL with a correlation coefficient (R(2)) of 0.978. The estimated limit of detection (LOD) was fairly low, 0.0002 EU/mL. The rhTLR4/MD-2 based sensors exhibited no current responses to dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) bearing two lipid chains, which is structurally similar to endotoxin, indicating the high specificity of the sensors to endotoxin.     

A genetically encodable microtag for chemo-enzymatic derivatization and purification of recombinant proteins

Efficient separation of recombinant polypeptides from proteins of the expression host and their subsequent derivatisation with functional chemical groups is essential for the success of many biological applications. Numerous tag systems have been developed to facilitate the purification procedure but only limited progress has been made in development of generic methods for targeted modification of proteins with functional groups. In this work, we present a novel 6 amino acid long C-terminal protein tag that can be selectively modified with functionalized derivatives of farnesyl isoprenoids by protein farnesyltransferase. The reaction could be performed in complex protein mixtures without detectable unspecific labeling. We demonstrate that this modification can be used to purify the target protein by over 800-fold in a single purification step using phase partitioning. Moreover, we show that the fluorescent group could be used to monitor the interaction of the derivatized proteins with other polypeptides.     

Molecular basis of reduced potency of underacylated endotoxins

Potent TLR4-dependent cell activation by gram-negative bacterial endotoxins depends on sequential endotoxin-protein and protein-protein interactions with LPS-binding protein, CD14, myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2), and TLR4. Previous studies have suggested that reduced agonist potency of underacylated endotoxins (i.e., tetra- or penta- vs hexa-acylated) is determined by post-CD14 interactions. To better define the molecular basis of the differences in agonist potency of endotoxins differing in fatty acid acylation, we compared endotoxins (lipooligosaccharides (LOS)) from hexa-acylated wild-type (wt), penta-acylated mutant msbB meningococcal strains as well as tetra-acylated LOS generated by treatment of wt LOS with the deacylating enzyme, acyloxyacylhydrolase. To facilitate assay of endotoxin:protein and endotoxin:cell interactions, the endotoxins were purified after metabolic labeling with [3H]- or [14C]acetate. All LOS species tested formed monomeric complexes with MD-2 in an LPS-binding protein- and CD14-dependent manner with similar efficiency. However, msbB LOS:MD-2 and acyloxyacylhydrolase-treated LOS:MD-2 were at least 10-fold less potent in inducing TLR4-dependent cell activation than wt LOS:MD-2 and partially antagonized the action of wt LOS:MD-2. These findings suggest that underacylated endotoxins produce decreased TLR4-dependent cell activation by altering the interaction of the endotoxin:MD-2 complex with TLR4 in a way that reduces receptor activation. Differences in potency among these endotoxin species is determined not by different aggregate properties, but by different properties of monomeric endotoxin:MD-2 complexes.