恶性疟原虫膜蛋白Pfs25在毕赤酵母中的组成型表达

目的:Pfs25蛋白是传播阻断型恶性疟疾疫苗的侯选抗原,在毕赤酵母中表达Pfs25蛋白,并对表达产物进行鉴定。方法:参照GenBank中公布的pfs25基因序列,通过毕赤酵母喜好密码子分析人工合成目的基因;采取定向克隆策略构建重组表达质粒pfs25/pGAPZαA,经BstXⅠ线性化,电转染法转化酵母菌株GS115,在Zeocin抗性的筛选培养基上获得表达目的基因的pfs25/pGAPZαA/GS115重组酵母菌,SDS-PAGE和Western印迹检测表达产物;通过在YPD培养基上传代培养和目的基因表达,验证重组菌株的遗传稳定性。结果:在毕赤酵母中表达了Pfs25蛋白,且重组菌株遗传性质稳定。结论:为研制基于Pfs25蛋白的传播阻断型恶性疟疾疫苗奠定了基础。     

Algae-produced Pfs25 elicits antibodies that inhibit malaria transmission

Subunit vaccines are significantly more expensive to produce than traditional vaccines because they are based primarily on recombinant proteins that must be purified from the expression system. Despite the increased cost, subunit vaccines are being developed because they are safe, effective, and can elicit antibodies that confer protection against diseases that are not currently vaccine-preventable. Algae are an attractive platform for producing subunit vaccines because they are relatively inexpensive to grow, genetically tractable, easily scaled to large volumes, have a short generation time, and are devoid of inflammatory, viral, or prion contaminants often present in other systems. We tested whether algal chloroplasts can produce malaria transmission blocking vaccine candidates, Plasmodium falciparum surface protein 25 (Pfs25) and 28 (Pfs28). Antibodies that recognize Pfs25 and Pfs28 disrupt the sexual development of parasites within the mosquito midgut, thus preventing transmission of malaria from one human host to the next. These proteins have been difficult to produce in traditional recombinant systems because they contain tandem repeats of structurally complex epidermal growth factor-like domains, which cannot be produced in bacterial systems, and because they are not glycosylated, so they must be modified for production in eukaryotic systems. Production in algal chloroplasts avoids these issues because chloroplasts can fold complex eukaryotic proteins and do not glycosylate proteins. Here we demonstrate that algae are the first recombinant system to successfully produce an unmodified and aglycosylated version of Pfs25 or Pfs28. These antigens are structurally similar to the native proteins and antibodies raised to these recombinant proteins recognize Pfs25 and Pfs28 from P. falciparum. Furthermore, antibodies to algae-produced Pfs25 bind the surface of in-vitro cultured P. falciparum sexual stage parasites and exhibit transmission blocking activity. Thus, algae are promising organisms for producing cysteine-disulfide-containing malaria transmission blocking vaccine candidate proteins.     

Heterologous protein expression in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

During the past 15 years, the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has developed into a highly successful system for the production of a variety of heterologous proteins. The increasing popularity of this particular expression system can be attributed to several factors, most importantly: (1) the simplicity of techniques needed for the molecular genetic manipulation of P. pastoris and their similarity to those of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, one of the most well-characterized experimental systems in modern biology; (2) the ability of P. pastoris to produce foreign proteins at high levels, either intracellularly or extracellularly; (3) the capability of performing many eukaryotic post-translational modifications, such as glycosylation, disulfide bond formation and proteolytic processing; and (4) the availability of the expression system as a commercially available kit. In this paper, we review the P. pastoris expression system: how it was developed, how it works, and what proteins have been produced. We also describe new promoters and auxotrophic marker/host strain combinations which extend the usefulness of the system.     

Production of large quantities of isotopically labeled protein in Pichia pastoris by fermentation

Heterologous expression in Pichia pastoris has many of the advantages of eukaryotic expression, proper folding and disulfide bond formation, glycosylation, and secretion. Contrary to other eukaryotic systems, protein production from P.pastoris occurs in simple minimal defined media making this system attractive for production of labeled proteins for NMR analysis. P.pastoris is therefore the expression system of choice for NMR of proteins that cannot be refolded from inclusion bodies or that require post-translational modifications for proper folding or function. The yield of expressed proteins from P.pastoris depends critically on growth conditions, and attainment of high cell densities by fermentation has been shown to improve protein yields by 10–100-fold. Unfortunately, the cost of the isotopically enriched fermentation media components, particularly 15NH4OH, is prohibitively high. We report fermentation methods that allow for both 15N- labeling from (15NH4)2SO4 and 13C-labeling from 13C-glucose or 13C-glycerol of proteins produced in Pichia pastoris. Expression of an 83 amino acid fragment of thrombomodulin with two N-linked glycosylation sites shows that fermentation is more cost effective than shake flask growth for isotopic enrichment.     

外源基因在毕赤酵母中表达的优化

巴斯德毕赤酵母是近年来成功的外源基因表达系统,已表达出众多外源蛋白。它既能像原核生物一样快速生长高密度发酵,又能进行真核翻译后修饰,并且蛋白分泌量大,因此应用越来越广泛。如果对它的表达载体,转化诱导条件和目的基因内部结构,发酵条件等方面进行优化,能够进一步发挥它的优势,更好地表达需要的外源蛋白。本文就毕赤酵母表达系统表达优化进行总结综述。     

Biochemical properties and cellular localization of Plasmodium falciparum protein disulfide isomerase

We have previously reported the isolation of a 52,000 M(r) protein (Pf52) displaying consensus sequences for thiol:disulfide oxidoreductases. Pf52 therefore represents the plasmodial protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). It has been renamed PfPDI and correlates to MAL8P1.17 in the annotated genome of P. falciparum (3D7 strain). Antibodies were raised against recombinant (His)(6)-tagged forms of PfPDI devoid of its signal peptide sequence, demonstrating a major co-localization of PfPDI with endoplasmic reticulum-resident proteins, PfBIP and PfERC, but not with the Golgi marker PfERD2. Recombinant PfPDI displayed typical biochemical functions of PDIs: oxidase/isomerase and reductase activities, as well as a chaperone-like behavior on the denaturated protein rhodanese. These activities were comparable to those measured for the purified native bovine PDI and the human recombinant PDI. The antiplasmodial compound DS61 does inhibit the recombinant PfPDI oxidase/isomerase activity but not that of the human recombinant PDI, suggesting structural differences between both enzymes. However, a discrepancy between the inhibitory activity of DS61 on the recombinant PfPDI (IC(50) of 430 microM) and its in vitro antiplasmodial activity (IC(50) of 0.1 microM) was observed, suggesting that PfPDI is not the only target of DS61. Taking into account its biochemical properties and its intracellular localization, the involvement of PfPDI in the parasite protein folding is discussed, as well as its potential for the development of alternative antimalarial chemotherapy strategies.     

蛇毒素蛋白毕赤酵母表达进展

蛇毒是许多具有独特生物活性的蛋白质与酶的混合物,在基础科学研究和临床上有重大应用价值,但是通过从蛇毒中分离获取活性组分具有局限性。巴斯德毕赤酵母表达系统是最为常用的真核表达系统之一,其真核加工、折叠、翻译后修饰等能力使得所表达的重组蛋白具有与天然蛋白近似的生物活性,因而该系统在富含二硫键或糖基化的蛇毒素蛋白表达中被广为采用。迄今为止,已经有12个属的25种蛇毒素蛋白(包括蛇毒丝氨酸蛋白酶、金属蛋白酶/去整合素、L-氨基酸氧化 酶、C-型凝集素和神经毒素、血管收缩因子、神经生长因子等家族)在毕赤酵母中获得成功表达,蛇毒富半胱氨酸蛋白、缓激肽增强肽(BPP)等至今尚未见酵母表达的报道。毕赤酵母表达蛇毒素蛋白失败的原因可能在于,有关密码子偏爱性、目的基因转录出的RNA二级结构特征、糖基化程度不均一及糖型差异、所表达毒素对酵母细胞的毒性等方面,并对解决的方法进行了讨论。     

A viral vectored prime-boost immunization regime targeting the malaria Pfs25 antigen induces transmission-blocking activity

The ookinete surface protein Pfs25 is a macrogamete-to-ookinete/ookinete stage antigen of Plasmodium falciparum, capable of exerting high-level anti-malarial transmission-blocking activity following immunization with recombinant protein-in-adjuvant formulations. Here, this antigen was expressed in recombinant chimpanzee adenovirus 63 (ChAd63), human adenovirus serotype 5 (AdHu5) and modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) viral vectored vaccines. Two immunizations were administered to mice in a heterologous prime-boost regime. Immunization of mice with AdHu5 Pfs25 at week 0 and MVA Pfs25 at week 10 (Ad-MVA Pfs25) resulted in high anti-Pfs25 IgG titers, consisting of predominantly isotypes IgG1 and IgG2a. A single priming immunization with ChAd63 Pfs25 was as effective as AdHu5 Pfs25 with respect to ELISA titers at 8 weeks post-immunization. Sera from Ad-MVA Pfs25 immunized mice inhibited the transmission of P. falciparum to the mosquito both ex vivo and in vivo. In a standard membrane-feeding assay using NF54 strain P. falciparum, oocyst intensity in Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes was significantly reduced in an IgG concentration-dependent manner when compared to control feeds (96% reduction of intensity, 78% reduction in prevalence at a 1 in 5 dilution of sera). In addition, an in vivo transmission-blocking effect was also demonstrated by direct feeding of immunized mice infected with Pfs25DR3, a chimeric P. berghei line expressing Pfs25 in place of endogenous Pbs25. In this assay the density of Pfs25DR3 oocysts was significantly reduced when mosquitoes were fed on vaccinated as compared to control mice (67% reduction of intensity, 28% reduction in prevalence) and specific IgG titer correlated with efficacy. These data confirm the utility of the adenovirus-MVA vaccine platform for the induction of antibodies with transmission-blocking activity, and support the continued development of this alternative approach to transmission-blocking malaria subunit vaccines.     

Production of non-glycosylated recombinant proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana plants by co-expressing bacterial PNGase F

Application of tools of molecular biology and genomics is increasingly leading towards the development of recombinant protein-based biologics. As such, it is leading to an increased diversity of targets that have important health applications and require more flexible approaches for expression because of complex post-translational modifications. For example, Plasmodium parasites may have complex post-translationally modified proteins such as Pfs48/45 that do not carry N-linked glycans (Exp. Parasitol. 1998; 90, 165.) but contain potential N-linked glycosylation sites that can be aberrantly glycosylated during expression in mammalian and plant systems. Therefore, it is important to develop strategies for producing non-glycosylated forms of these targets to preserve biological activity and native conformation. In this study, we are describing in vivo deglycosylation of recombinant N-glycosylated proteins as a result of their transient co-expression with bacterial PNGase F (Peptide: N-glycosidase F). In addition, we show that the recognition of an in vivo deglycosylated plant-produced malaria vaccine candidate, Pfs48F1, by monoclonal antibodies I, III and V raised against various epitopes (I, III and V) of native Pfs48/45 of Plasmodium falciparum, was significantly stronger compared to that of the glycosylated form of plant-produced Pfs48F1. To our knowledge, neither in vivo enzymatic protein deglycosylation has been previously achieved in any eukaryotic system, including plants, nor has bacterial PNGase F been expressed in the plant system. Thus, here, we report for the first time the expression in plants of an active bacterial enzyme PNGase F and the production of recombinant proteins of interest in a non-glycosylated form.     

High-level expression of Aliciclobacillus acidocaldarius thioredoxin in Pichia pastoris and Bacillus subtilis

Thioredoxins are ubiquitous proteins which catalyze the reduction of disulfide bridges on target proteins and are involved in many cellular reactions. In a previous work, a thioredoxin from the thermophilic organism Aliciclobacillus acidocaldarius (Alitrx) was purified, characterized, and its gene expressed in Escherichia coli. In order to produce larger quantities of Alitrx, the protein has been expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and in the gram positive bacteria Bacillus subtilis. The growth conditions of strains showing high-level expression of Alitrx were optimized for both systems in shake-flask cultures. Active proteins were secreted in the culture media at a level of approximately 0.9 and 0.5 g/l, respectively, for P. pastoris and B. subtilis. The proteins were purified almost to homogeneity by a thermal precipitation procedure, with a 90-fold and 50-fold higher total yield with respect to that obtained with the same protein expressed in E. coli. The results indicate that either of these two systems could be utilized as a host for large-scale production of recombinant Alitrx.     

Adhesion protein complexes of malaria gametocytes assemble following parasite transmission to the mosquito

During differentiation in the human, the gametocytes of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum display a remarkable number of adhesive proteins on their plasma membrane. These include the PfCCp protein family of six secreted proteins that assemble to multimeric protein complexes (MPCs) within the gametocyte parasitophorous vacuole. We now show that the PfCCp-based MPCs are linked to the gametocyte plasma membrane via interactions with Pfs230, a binding-partner of the GPI-anchored Pfs48/45. Upon onset of gametogenesis, which takes place after gametocyte uptake by blood-feeding mosquitoes, GPI-anchored Pfs25 joins the MPC, providing an additional link of its components to the plasma membrane. Gametogenesis also initiates cleavage of Pfs230 at its N-terminal site, resulting in its increased interaction with the MPC. Either lack of Pfs230 or impaired Pfs230 processing causes proteolysis of the PfCCp proteins and release from the MPC. Our data point to MPC assembly as a crucial step for sexual reproduction.     

X-ray crystallography and mass spectroscopy reveal that the N-lobe of human transferrin expressed in Pichia pastoris is folded correctly but is glycosylated on serine-32

The ferric form of the N-lobe of human serum transferrin (Fe(III)-hTF/2N) has been expressed at high levels in Pichia pastoris. The Fe(III)-hTF/2N was crystallized in the space group P41212, and X-ray crystallography was used to solve the structure of the recombinant protein at 2.5 A resolution. This represents only the second P. pastoris-derived protein structure determined to date, and allows the comparison of the structures of recombinant Fe(III)-hTF/2N expressed in P. pastoris and mammalian cells with serum-derived transferrin. The polypeptide folding pattern is essentially identical in all of the three proteins. Mass spectroscopic analyses of P. pastoris- hTF/2N and proteolytically derived fragments revealed glycosylation of Ser-32 with a single hexose. This represents the first localization of an O-linked glycan in a P. pastoris-derived protein. Because of its distance from the iron-binding site, glycosylation of Ser-32 should not affect the iron-binding properties of hTF/2N expressed in P. pastoris, making this an excellent expression system for the production of hTF/2N.     

A family 2a carbohydrate-binding module suitable as an affinity tag for proteins produced in Pichia pastoris

The family 2a carbohydrate-binding module (CBM), Cel5ACBM2a, from the C-terminus of Cel5A from Cellulomonas fimi, and Xyn10ACBM2a, the family 2a CBM from the C-terminus of Xyn10A from C. fimi, were compared as fusion partners for proteins produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. Gene fusions of murine stem-cell factor (SCF) with both CBMs were expressed in P. pastoris. The secreted SCF-Xyn10ACBM2a polypeptides were highly glycosylated and bound poorly to cellulose. In contrast, fusion of SCF to Cel5ACBM2a, which lacks potential N-linked glycosylation sites, resulted in the production of polypeptides which bound tightly to cellulose. Cloning and expression of these CBM2a in P. pastoris without a fusion partner confirmed that N-linked glycosylation at several sites was responsible for the poor cellulose binding. The nonglycosylated CBMs produced in E. coli had very similar cellulose-binding properties.     

重组毕赤酵母甲醇利用表型与基因拷贝数对外源基因表达的影响

毕赤酵母是目前最优秀的外源蛋白表达系统之一。本文着重对重组毕赤酵母甲醇利用表型（Mut+型、MutS型和Mut-型）、基因剂量对外源蛋白高效表达的影响机理进行综述。MutS型的比生长速率和蛋白产率比Mut+型低、发酵周期长、副产物（如乙醇、乙酸等）形成速率不同。外源基因拷贝数对外源蛋白的影响主要有三种情况：（1）高基因拷贝数对外源蛋白表达水平有明显的正效应作用;（2）基因拷贝数增加反而降低了表达水平,即负效应作用;（3）重组蛋白表达与基因剂正相关,之后则表现负相关关系,这可能与外源蛋白翻译后加工有关（如二硫键形成、折叠等）,而与分子伴侣共表达可促进外源蛋白的高表达。     

Recombinant production of the human aquaporins in the yeast Pichia pastoris (Invited Review)

Abstract

Aquaporins are water facilitating proteins embedded in the cellular membranes. Such channels have been identified in almost every living organism – including humans. These proteins are vital molecules and their malfunction can lead to several severe disorders and diseases. Hence, an increased understanding of their structure, function and regulation is of the utmost importance for developing current and future drugs. Heading towards this goal, the first problem to overcome is to acquire the proteins in sufficient amounts to enable functional and structural characterization. Using a suitable host organism, large amounts of target molecules can possibly be produced, but for membrane proteins limitations are frequently encountered. In the work described here, we have produced the 13 human aquaporins (hAQPs) in one of the most successful hosts for recombinant overproduction of eukaryotic proteins; the yeast Pichia pastoris, in order to explore the underlying bottleneck to a successful membrane protein production experiment. Here we present exceptional yield of hAQP1, whereas some other hAQPs were below the threshold needed for scaled up production. In the overproduction process, we have established methods for efficient production screening as well as for accurate determination of the initial production yield. Furthermore, we have optimized the yield of low producing targets, enabling studies of proteins previously out of reach, exemplified with hAQP4 as well as the homologue PfAQP. Taken together, our results. present insight into factors directing high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins together with suggestions on ways to optimize the recombinant production in the yeast P. pastoris.     

Assistance of maltose binding protein to the in vivo folding of the disulfide-rich C-terminal fragment from Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 expressed in Escherichia coli

The C-terminal fragment of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 1 (F19) is a leading candidate for the development of a malaria vaccine. Successful vaccination trials on primates, immunochemistry, and structural studies have shown the importance of its native conformation for its protective role against infection. F19 is a disulfide-rich protein, and the correct pairing of its 12 half-cystines is required for the native state of the protein. F19 has been produced in the Escherichia coli periplasm, which has an oxidative environment favorable for the formation of disulfide bonds. F19 was either expressed as a fusion with the maltose binding protein (MBP) or directly addressed to the periplasm by fusing it with the MBP signal peptide. Direct expression of F19 in the periplasm led to a misfolded protein with a heterogeneous distribution of disulfide bridges. On the contrary, when produced as a fusion protein with E. coli MBP, the F19 moiety was natively folded. Indeed, after proteolysis of the fusion protein, the resulting F19 possesses the structural characteristics and the immunochemical reactivity of the analogous fragment produced either in baculovirus-infected insect cells or in yeast. These results demonstrate that the positive effect of MBP in assisting the folding of passenger proteins extends to the correct formation of disulfide bridges in vivo. Although proteins or protein fragments fused to MBP have been frequently expressed with success, our comparative study evidences for the first time the helping property of MBP in the oxidative folding of a disulfide-rich protein.     

Expression and analysis of the glycosylation properties of recombinant human erythropoietin expressed in Pichia pastoris

The Pichia pastoris expression system was used to produce recombinant human erythropoietin, a protein synthesized by the adult kidney and responsible for the regulation of red blood cell production. The entire recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) gene was constructed using the Splicing by Overlap Extension by PCR (SOE-PCR) technique, cloned and expressed through the secretory pathway of the Pichia expression system. Recombinant erythropoietin was successfully expressed in P. pastoris. The estimated molecular mass of the expressed protein ranged from 32 kDa to 75 kDa, with the variation in size being attributed to the presence of rhEPO glycosylation analogs. A crude functional analysis of the soluble proteins showed that all of the forms were active in vivo.     

分泌型乙型肝炎病毒包膜M蛋白在毕赤酵母中的表达

将乙肝病毒包膜中蛋白M基因插入酵母整合型表达质粒pAO818的醇氧化酶 (AOX1)启动子下游 ,构建携带 8拷贝M表达盒的重组载体 ,经电穿孔转化SMD116 8菌株和G4 18筛选 ,得到了高效分泌表达M蛋白的毕赤酵母菌株 ,表达量超过 5 0mg L .经初步纯化 ,对表达产物的性质鉴定表明 ,重组蛋白具有preS2和S抗原性 ,可以形成颗粒 ,并具有一定程度的糖基化 .所构建的稳定重组菌株和所得到的重组蛋白颗粒 ,为进一步研究新一代的疫苗提供了必要的材料 .     

Identification and removal of O-linked and non-covalently linked sugars from recombinant protein produced using Pichia pastoris

The use of the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris for large-scale recombinant production of proteins for therapeutic uses and/or biophysical characterisation has been gaining popularity. Here we describe the use of this organism for the production of a von Willebrand factor C domain from procollagen IIA for solution NMR studies. In this research, we specifically identified sites of O-linked glycosylation on the expressed protein, although the native protein is not glycosylated. We demonstrated that it was possible to remove the oligosaccharides by enzymatic digestion, however this approach proved to be prohibitively expensive for the scale of production required for high-resolution structural studies by NMR spectroscopy. After removal of the O-linked glycosylation sites by site-directed mutagenesis, we confirmed that the protein was no longer covalently glycosylated. However, analysis by 1H- and 13C-edited spectroscopy identified the presence of non-covalently associated glycans which were removed by lectin affinity chromatography. We have synthesised methods for the identification and removal of both covalently and non-covalently bound oligosaccharides from heterologous protein expressed in P. pastoris.