Structural analysis of fibroin heavy chain signal peptide of silkworm Bombyx mori

To study the minimal length required for the secretion of recombinant proteins and silkproteins in posterior silk gland,the signal peptide(SP)of the fibroin heavy chain(FibH)of silkwormBombyx mori was systematically shortened from the C-terminal.Its effect on the secretion of protein wasobserved using enhanced green fluorescent protein(EGFP)as a reporter.Secretion of EGFP fusion proteinswas examined under fluorescence microscope.FibH SPs with lengths of 20,18,16 and 12 a.a.can directthe secretion of the reporter,yet those with lengths of 11, 10, 9, 8 and 1 a.a. can not. When the FibH SP wasshortened to 12a.a., the secretion efficiency was decreased slightly and cleavage occurred within EGFP.When 16a.a.of the FibH SP were used,the secretion of fusion protein was normal and the cleavage sitewas between the Gly-Ser linker and Met,the starting amino acid of EGFP. These findings are applicable forthe expression of foreign proteins in silkworm silk gland.The cleavage site of the SP is discussed andcompared with the predictive results of the SignalP 3.0 online prediction program.     

家蚕丝素重链启动子驱动DsRed的瞬时分泌表达

根据家蚕丝蛋白基因的启动子活性高、丝蛋白具有高效分泌的特性,克隆了家蚕丝素重链基因(Fib-H)启动子及其下游的信号肽序列(FibHS),将DsRed基因与信号肽序列融合构建了分泌型瞬时表达载体;转染细胞实验显示,该载体能在家蚕BmN细胞中瞬时表达DsRed;家蚕注射载体后,可在丝腺腔中检测到红色荧光,表明瞬时表达的DsRed分泌到丝腺腔,推测所克隆的序列具有信号肽的功能。此外,本研究为家蚕丝腺生物反应器分泌表达外源基因的研究奠定了基础。     

Structural study of irregular amino acid sequences in the heavy chain of Bombyx mori silk fibroin

Recently, genetic studies have revealed the entire amino acid sequence of Bombyx mori silk fibroin. It is known from X-ray diffraction studies that the beta-sheet crystalline structure (silk II) of fibroin is composed of hexaamino acid sequences of GAGAGS. However, in the heavy chain of B. mori silk fibroin, there are also present 11 irregular sequences, with about 31 amino acid residues (irregular GT approximately GT sequences). The structure and role of these irregular sequences have remained unknown. One of the most frequently appearing irregular sequences was synthesized and its 3-D solution structure was studied by high-resolution 2-D NMR techniques. The 3-D structure determined for this peptide shows that it makes a loop structure (distorted omega shape), which implies that the preceding backbone direction is changed by 180 degrees, i.e., reversed, by this sequence. This may facilitate the beta-sheet formation between the crystal-forming building blocks, GAGAGS/GY approximately GY sequences, in the fibroin heavy chain.     

Structure of the Bombyx mori fibroin light-chain-encoding gene: upstream sequence elements common to the light and heavy chain.

Two overlapping genomic clones containing the fibroin light-chain (Fib-L)-encoding gene (Fib-L) were obtained from the cosmid library of the silkworm, Bombyx mori J-139, by hybridization with the Fib-L cDNA clone. Sequencing of the 14.6-kb region revealed that Fib-L was 13472 bp long containing seven exons, and that the gene contained a large first intron which occupied about 60% of the gene. Comparison of restriction patterns of the J-139 Fib-L with those of eight other B. mori breeds producing normal-level fibroin demonstrated that considerable restriction-fragment length polymorphisms were present in regions containing the first intron and the 3′-flanking sequence. However, sizes of the Fib-L mRNA and the Fib-L polypeptide were very similar among the nine breeds tested, suggesting that the exon sequences and the splice signals were all well conserved. 5′-Flanking regions of Fib-L and the fibroin heavy-chain (Fib-H)-encoding gene (Fib-H) compared in this study contained three 18-30-bp sequences of high similarity and many 8-10-bp common elements, six of which coincided with the binding sites of homeodomain proteins. Gel retardation assays with the nuclear extracts of the posterior and middle silk glands suggested that protein factors present in the posterior silk-gland nuclei could bind to a set of those common upstream elements.     

In vivo analysis of fibroin heavy chain signal peptide of silkworm Bombyx mori using recombinant baculovirus as vector

In order to investigate the functional signal peptide of silkworm fibroin heavy chain (FibH) and the effect of N- and C-terminal parts of FibH on the secretion of FibH in vivo, N- and C-terminal segments of fibh gene were fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) gene. The fused gene was then introduced into silkworm larvae and expressed in silk gland using recombinant AcMNPV (Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus) as vector. The fluorescence of EGFP was observed with fluorescence microscope. FibH-EGFP fusion proteins extracted from silk gland were analyzed by Western blot. Results showed that the two alpha helices within N-terminal 163 amino acid residues and the C-terminal 61 amino acid residues were not necessary for cleavage of signal peptide and secretion of the fusion protein into silk gland. Then the C-terminal 61 amino acid residues were substituted with a His-tag in the fusion protein to facilitate the purification. N-terminal sequencing of the purified protein showed that the signal cleavage site is between position 21 and 22 amino acid residues.     

Study on fibroin heavy chain of the silkworm Bombyx mori by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

The sericulture industry plays a very important role in our national economy. Silkworm (Bombyx mori) is always regarded as a model animal and biological reactor. There have been detailed studies on the structure, expression and control and molecular evolution of silk genes. However, few, if any, reports are available on the localization of structural genes in silkworm by molecular cytogenetics. The present experiment has tentatively localized the Fib-H gene at the distal end of the 25th linkage group, namely at the 25-0.0 position, and verified that Fib-H has only one locus, thus providing a temporary solution to the problem about its localization.     

Materials fabrication from Bombyx mori silk fibroin

Silk fibroin, derived from Bombyx mori cocoons, is a widely used and studied protein polymer for biomaterial applications. Silk fibroin has remarkable mechanical properties when formed into different materials, demonstrates biocompatibility, has controllable degradation rates from hours to years and can be chemically modified to alter surface properties or to immobilize growth factors. A variety of aqueous or organic solvent-processing methods can be used to generate silk biomaterials for a range of applications. In this protocol, we include methods to extract silk from B. mori cocoons to fabricate hydrogels, tubes, sponges, composites, fibers, microspheres and thin films. These materials can be used directly as biomaterials for implants, as scaffolding in tissue engineering and in vitro disease models, as well as for drug delivery.     

Bmo-miR-375-3p对家蚕丝素蛋白轻链基因BmFib-L表达的调控作用

【目的】探究家蚕Bombyx mori miRNAs对丝素蛋白轻链基因(fibroin light chain gene,Bm FibL)和P25蛋白基因Bm P25表达的调控作用。【方法】分别以Bm Fib-L和Bm P25 mRNA 3'UTR为靶序列,应用在线预测软件RNAhybrid从前期家蚕4和5龄幼虫后部丝腺(posterior silk gland)sRNA高通量测序获得的29个差异表达bmo-miRNAs中,筛选对Bm Fib-L和Bm P25具有调控作用的候选bmo-miRNAs;采用半定量RT-PCR方法在mRNA水平分析候选bmo-miRNAs及其靶基因Bm Fib-L和Bm P25在4和5龄幼虫期以及5龄第3天幼虫不同组织的表达水平;利用双荧光报告基因检测系统在家蚕细胞Bm N中验证候选bmo-miRNAs对Bm Fib-L和Bm P25表达的调控作用。【结果】筛选到一个在Bm Fib-L和Bm P25 mRNA 3'UTR上都有靶位点的bmo-miR-375-3p(曾称bmo-miR-375*)。在后部丝腺中bmo-miR-375-3p和其预测靶基因Bm Fib-L和Bm P25都有较高的表达水平,提示bmo-miR-375-3p具备调控Bm Fib-L和Bm P25表达的时空条件。miR-375-3p重组表达载体与融合了Bm Fib-L 3'UTR的萤火虫荧光素酶(luciferase)报告基因(luc)表达载体共转染Bm N细胞,报告基因luc的表达水平显著下降;而在miR-375-3p重组表达载体与融合了Bm P25 3'UTR的luc表达载体共转染Bm N细胞中报告基因luc的表达水平下降不显著。【结论】miR-375-3p显著下调Bm Fib-L基因的表达,而对Bm P25基因的表达无明显调控作用。     

The genes for silk fibroin in Bombyx mori

The genes for the protein silk fibroin were quantitated by hybridizaton of purified fibroin messenger RNA with the DNA from several tissues of the silk-worm Bombyx mori.     

Studies on silk fibroin of the silkworm Bombyx mori

A procedure has been developed to obtain native fibroin in a pure state from the reservoir part of the silk gland. The purified protein has a sedimentation coefficient of 10 S as determined on sucrose density gradients and the amino acid composition is similar to that reported for fibroin from the cocoons. The effects of various solvents has been studied; lithium thiocyanate was found to be the solvent of choice. By in vivo labeling of fibroin with [³H]glycine and [¹⁴C]alanine it was demonstrated that fibroin synthesized in the posterior part of the gland and that stored in the reservoir part are identical.     

Intrinsic bent DNA colocalizes with the sequence involved in the Nd-sD mutation in the Bombyx mori fibroin light chain gene

Multiple sequence alignments of the Bombyx mori fibroin light chain gene (fib-L) from hybrids and from Chinese and Japanese strains demonstrated that 51.6% of the fib-L third intron is conserved. One of these conserved segments, 41 bp long, contains the sequence CGTTATTATACATATT, which is duplicated in the B. mori Nd-s(D) mutant. In the present work, electrophoretic mobility assays and computational analyses revealed a major peak of intrinsic bent DNA within the segment that undergoes breakage in the previously-described Nd-s(D) mutation. This result suggested that this intrinsically-curved region might mediate DNA cleavage and enhance recombination events in the third intron of the Bombyx mori fib-L gene.     

Fractionation of the chymotryptic precipitate of Bombyx mori silk fibroin

1. A solution of Bombyx mori silk fibroin was digested with chymotrypsin. Amino acid analyses of the chymotryptic precipitate showed in addition to the main constituents Gly, Ala, Ser and Tyr, very small amounts of Lys, His, Arg, Asp, Thr, Glu, Pro, Cys, Val, Met, Ile, Leu, Phe and Trp. 2. A stable solution of the chymotryptic precipitate in 6m-urea was obtained by dialysing a solution in 50% (w/v) lithium thiocyanate against 6m-urea. 3. The dinitrophenylated chymotryptic precipitate in 6m-urea was fractionated by gel filtration and by ion-exchange chromatography. On Dowex 1 (X2), a main fraction I_d and three further fractions with different amino acid compositions and molecular weights were obtained. 4. Specific rearrangement and fission of the bonds involving the serine nitrogen atoms of fraction I_d and fractionation of the resulting mixture by gel filtration yielded five fractions. Two of these fractions had the compositions DNP-Ser-(Gly₆,Ala₄,Ser) and DNP-Ser-(Gly₄,Ala₂ or Ala₃,Ser) and are presumably double repeating units according to the proposed formula of Lucas, Shaw & Smith (1957), namely [Ser-Gly-(Ala-Gly)_n]₂, for n values of 2 and 1 respectively.     

X-ray structural study of noncrystalline regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin

X-ray diffraction measurements of regenerated Bombyx mori silk fibroin were carried out to determine its structural characteristic from an analysis of differential radial distribution functions (DRDFs). The temperature dependence of X-ray diffraction patterns from noncrystalline and crystal structures of regenerated silk fibroin was investigated using a high temperature furnace. Time resolved X-ray diffraction profiles were also obtained to construct kinematical models of structural changes caused by the addition of water. DRDFs, calculated from the experimental data, were compared with the DRDFs simulated on the basis of the Monte Carlo method. In order to model the noncrystalline structures, structural units were assumed to be parts of the crystalline structure of silk and those with appropriate structural defects reported previously. From the comparison of experimental and simulated DRDFs, it was determined that noncrystalline regenerated silk consisted of locally ordered atomic sheets similar to the atomic arrangement in the silk I crystal (Type-I sheets), and the final state of the structural change was noncrystalline, consisting of small crystallites, the structure of which is similar to that of silk II (Type-II crystallites). Time resolved DRDFs were also qualitatively interpreted by both the ordering of Type-I sheets and structural changes from Type-I to Type-II. The formation of the small Type-II crystallites obtained in this study was consistent with the nucleation of silk II by birefringence measurements of silk glands and the spinneret of Bombyx mori silkworm reported previously. X-ray diffraction should be a useful technique to understand the structural characteristics of noncrystalline organic materials.