Expression and purification of truncated,non-glycosylated turkey beta-adrenergic receptors for crystallization

In order to purify milligram quantities of turkey beta-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) for structural analysis, we have expressed mutant betaARs using the baculovirus system. The initial betaAR construct was truncated at both N- and C-termini thus removing an N-glycosylation site. Cys 116 was mutated to leucine and a histidine tag was added at the C-terminus resulting in the betaAR construct 20-424/His6. Expression of this construct in Sf9 cells produced 0.5 mg of unpurified receptor per liter of culture which necessitated the use of a fermenter for large-scale production. The yield was improved more than 2-fold to 1.2 mg/l culture by using Tni cells which facilitated the production of receptor on a 4 litre scale in shake cultures. The receptor was purified to homogeneity with 35% recovery giving a yield of 2 mg receptor. A further deletion at the N-terminus (betaAR 34-424/His6) eliminated proteolysis which had been observed with the original construct and also increased expression more than 5-fold to 360 pmol/mg solubilized membrane protein. This expression level is one of the highest reported for a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and has enabled us to purify 10 mg betaAR for large-scale crystallization experiments.     

人口腔癌症缺失相关蛋白（DOC-1R）的表达、纯化和晶体生长

口腔癌缺失(DeletedinOralCancer-1,DOC-1)基因是近年来被证实的口腔癌中具有抑癌作用的基因。1999年,研究人员通过酵母双杂交实验又发现了与DOC-1相关的另一候选抑癌基因DOC-1R(DOC-1related)。以往的很多实验表明,这两个蛋白无论序列还是功能上都非常相似。然而,其三维结构以及与其他重要蛋白相互作用的机制一直还不清楚,PDB库中也未见其相关同源结构的报道。作者将人DOC-1R基因的cDNA片段克隆至原核表达载体pET-22b( )中,通过IPTG诱导获得高效表达,再经过Ni-NTA亲和层析和Superdex75层析柱纯化,获得了纯度达到96%以上的蛋白。质谱分子量测定显示DOC-1R的分子量为14091.23Da,与理论分子量基本一致;动态光散射实验显示蛋白均一性高达99.0%,可用于晶体生长;采用悬滴气相扩散法筛选,在多个条件下得到了DOC-1R的微晶。为DOC-1R的三维结构解析奠定了坚实的基础。     

HIV-1型核衣壳蛋白P24截短体在大肠杆菌中的表达,纯化和鉴定

用聚合酶链式反应（ＰＣＲ）从ＨＩＶ １ｇａｇ基因中扩增出衣壳蛋白Ｐ２４截短体（ｔＰ２４）基因,插入质粒ｐＧＥＸ ４Ｔ３中构成重组表达质粒ｐＧＥＸ ｔｐ２４,将ｐＧＥＸ ｔｐ２４转化大肠杆菌ＢＬ２１后获得了高效表达,表达量占菌体总蛋白量的３４３８％。经Ｇｌｕｔａｔｈｉｏｎｅ－Ｓｅｐｈａｒｏｓｅ４Ｂ亲和层析纯化的截短体Ｐ２４纯度为９２７７％。纯化的截短体Ｐ２４在间接ＥＬＩＳＡ和免疫印迹检测ＨＩＶ抗体阳性血清和正常人血清中,具有很高的抗原特异性和免疫反应性。     

Docosahexaenoic acid facilitates cell maturation and beta-adrenergic transmission in astrocytes

The effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6 n-3), a major omega-3 PUFA in the mammalian brain, on the structure and function of astrocytes were studied using primary cultures from rat cerebra. Gas-liquid chromatography of methyl esters of FAs isolated from cultures exposed to individual FAs, namely, stearic acid, linoleic acid, arachidonic acid, and DHA, showed alterations in the lipid profiles of the membranes, with a preferential incorporation of the FA to which the cells were exposed. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that unlike treatment with other FAs, after which the astrocytes remained as immature radial forms, DHA-treated astrocytes showed distinct differentiation, having morphology comparable to those grown in normal serum-containing medium. Receptor binding studies to determine the concentration of various neurotransmitter receptors showed that DHA selectively increased the number of beta-adrenergic receptors (beta-ARs) compared with FA-untreated controls, suggesting a greater role of DHA on beta-AR expression in membranes. This was also reflected by an increase in downstream events of the beta-AR pathways, such as the induction of protein kinase A and glycogen turnover by isoproterenol (ISP), a beta-AR agonist in DHA-treated cells. Moreover, ISP completely transformed DHA-treated cells into mature astrocytes bearing long processes, as in cells grown under normal conditions. Together, our observations suggest that DHA plays a unique role in facilitating some of the vital functions of astrocytes in the developing brain.     

Development and crystallization of a minimal thermostabilised G protein-coupled receptor

Structure determination of G protein-coupled receptors is still in its infancy and many factors affect whether crystals are obtained and whether the diffraction is of sufficient quality for structure determination. We recently solved the structure of a thermostabilised turkey β₁-adrenergic receptor by crystallization in the presence of the detergent octylthioglucoside. Three factors were essential for this success. Firstly, truncations were required at the N-terminus to give optimal expression. Secondly, 6 thermostabilising point mutations were incorporated to make the receptor sufficiently stable in short-chain detergents to allow crystallization. Thirdly, truncations at the C-terminus and within cytoplasmic loop 3, in combination with the removal of the palmitoylation site, were required to obtain well-diffracting crystals in octylthioglucoside. Here, we describe the strategy employed and the utility of thermostability assays in assessing how point mutations, truncations, detergents and ligands combine to develop a construct that forms diffraction-grade crystals.     

Expression and purification of two lipases from Yarrowia lipolytica AS 2.1216

We isolated two lipase genes LIPY7, LIPY8 from Yarrowia lipolytica CGMCC (China general microbiological culture collection center) AS 2.1216. The LIPY7 and LIPY8 genes encode a 366 and a 371-amino acid protein, respectively. The lipase genes with 6 x His tag sequence were cloned into expression vector pPIC9K and successfully integrated into a heterologous fungal host Pichia pastoris KM71, respectively. The recombinants were induced by methanol to secrete active lipases into cultural medium. The recombinant lipases were also purified and characterized.     

人神经生长因子基因在大肠杆菌中的克隆、表达及产物纯化

从人胎盘组织中提取总DNA, 经PCR扩增编码人β神经生长因子（β-NGF）成熟肽的基因,并克隆到大肠杆菌表达载体pET15b中。重组质粒pET15b-NGF经测序与报道的完全一致。重组质粒转化大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)pLysS,经IPTG诱导表达得到16kD的目的蛋白带,与预期的大小一致,NGF表达量约占全菌总蛋白的25%.经过亲和层析柱（Ni2+-charged IDA his-bind column）纯化后得到了单一的NGF蛋白条带,蛋白纯度可达90%以上,从每升表达菌液中可以得到4.56mgNGF。表达产物的Western 印迹鉴定结果显示：重组人神经生长因子能与兔抗人β-NGF的多克隆抗体发生特异性结合反应,在16kD处出现单一的条带,表明诱导表达的重组NGF具有免疫学活性。鸡胚背根神经节感觉神经元鉴定试验表明,本实验表达的重组NGF具有良好的生物学活性。     

Expression, purification, and characterization of recombinant human interleukin 24 in Escherichia coli

Interleukin-24 (IL-24) can induce apoptosis of a broad range of tumor cells, and this function of IL-24 is independent of classic tumor suppressor genes, such as p53, Rb and p16. Here, we report the expression, purification and preparation of a recombinant IL-24 protein (rIL-24) without post-translational modifications, which may selectively induce apoptosis of tumor cells in vitro. We found that non-fusion rIL-24 was not able to be expressed by vectors pET11c, 28a, and 22b in Escherichia coli. To obtain recombinant non-fusion IL-24 protein, the encoding region for IL-24 was cloned between KpnI and BamHI in pET32a. The Trx (Thioredoxin)/IL-24 fusion proteins were expressed in the form of inclusion bodies in E. coli host strain BL21 (DE21). The expression level was more than 30% of total cell lysate. Inclusion bodies were disrupted, washed, and isolated at pH 9.0, and were completely dissolved in a buffer containing 2M urea at pH 9.0. After nickel ion metal affinity chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and renaturation, the refolded fusion proteins with a purity of >96% were obtained. Trx/IL-24 proteins were digested by enterokinase (EK) to both Trx and rIL-24 fragments which then were separated by cation exchange chromatography. Cell proliferation experiments proved that the rIL-24 (98% purity) retains its cancer-selective apoptosis-inducing properties. This result suggested that the rIL-24 may have cancer therapeutic applications.     

中国明对虾过氧化物还原酶基因在大肠杆菌中的重组表达、产物纯化及活性测定

过氧化物还原酶（Prx）是生物体内广泛存在的一类酶,在消除过氧化氢和抗氧化胁迫中起着重要的作用。本研究采用PCR扩增编码中国明对虾Prx成熟肽的基因,并克隆到大肠杆菌表达载体pCR®T7/NT TOPO® TA中进行体外重组表达。重组质粒转化大肠杆菌BL21 (DE3) pLysS后,经IPTG诱导表达产生包涵体形式的目的蛋白。对重组蛋白进行LC–ESI–MS分析,结果表明融合蛋白的四个肽段与中国明对虾Prx相应肽段完全一致。将重组蛋白通过金属螯合柱进行纯化,进而透析、复性,最后获得了具有较高过氧化物酶活性的重组Prx。中国明对虾Prx的成功表达,为深入研究其在中国明对虾免疫反应和抗氧化胁迫中的作用奠定了基础。     

内毒素结合肽的改良、原核表达及纯化

目的：对人内毒素结合肽(endotoxin binding peptide,EBP)进行改良,获得突变体mEBP(mutate of endotoxin binding peptide,mEBP)基因并进行原核表达,纯化获得高纯度的mEBP。方法：应用PCR定点诱变方法获得mEBP基因,构建PinpointXa-3/mEBP融合表达载体,在BL21(DE3) pLysS宿主菌进行表达,溶菌酶裂解法提取包涵体,融合蛋白经PinpointTM Xa 纯化后,由factorXa酶切,获得目的肽,RP-HPLC纯化获得高纯度的mEBP。结果 应用PCR定点诱变技术完成了EBP第5.18位谷氨酰胺 赖氨酸的定点突变,且通过原核表达,色谱纯化获得了高纯度的mEBP。结论 成功获得高纯度的mEBP,为下一步的抗内毒素功能检测奠定基础。     

Decreased number of beta-adrenergic receptors in hypertensive vessels

Responsiveness to inotropic agents is altered in hypertension and may contribute to its initiation and maintenance. A biochemical basis for this change was provided by the observation that the number of β-adrenergic receptors, as reflected in specific [³H]dihydroalprenolol binding, was diminished in both arteries and veins of spontaneously hypertensive rats. There was no change in the affinity of dihydroalprenolol for the binding sites or in the capacity of isoproterenol to displace dihydroalprenolol. The decline in β-adrenergic receptor numbers is not secondary to blood pressure elevation but may, instead, contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension.     

Expression and purification of human respiratory syncytial virus recombinant fusion protein

The Human Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) fusion protein (F) was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21A using the pET28a vector at 37 °C. The protein was purified from the soluble fraction using affinity resin. The structural quality of the recombinant fusion protein and the estimation of its secondary structure were obtained by circular dichroism. Structural models of the fusion protein presented 46% of the helices in agreement with the spectra by circular dichroism analysis. There are only few studies that succeeded in expressing the HRSV fusion protein in bacteria. This is a report on human fusion protein expression in E. coli and structure analysis, representing a step forward in the development of fusion protein F inhibitors and the production of antibodies.     

Construction of covalently coupled,concatameric dimers of 7TM receptors

7TM receptors are easily fused to proteins such as G proteins and arrestin but because of the fact that their terminals are found on each side of the membrane they cannot be joined directly in covalent dimers. Here, we use an artificial connector comprising a transmembrane helix composed of Leu-Ala repeats flanked by flexible spacers and positively charged residues to ensure correct inside-out orientation plus an extracellular HA-tag to construct covalently coupled dimers of 7TM receptors. Such 15 TM concatameric homo- and heterodimers of the β₂-adrenergic and the NK₁ receptors, which normally do not dimerize with each other, were expressed surprisingly well at the cell surface, where they bound ligands and activated signal transduction in a manner rather similar to the corresponding wild-type receptors. The concatameric heterodimers internalized upon stimulation with agonists for either of the protomers, which was not observed upon simple coexpression of the two receptors. It is concluded that covalently joined 7TM receptor dimers with surprisingly normal receptor properties can be constructed with use of an artificial transmembrane connector, which perhaps can be used to fuse other membrane proteins.     

Yersinia enterocolitica type III secretion chaperone SycH. Recombinant expression, purification, characterisation, and crystallisation

All pathogenic Yersinia species (Y. enterocolitica, Y. pestis, and Y. pseudotuberculosis) share a type three secretion system (TTSS) that allows translocation of effector proteins into host cells. Yersinia enterocolitica SycH is a chaperone assisting the transport of the effector YopH and two regulatory components of the TTSS, YscM1 and YscM2. We have recombinantly expressed SycH in Escherichia coli. Purification of tag-free SycH to near homogeneity was achieved by combining ammonium sulfate precipitation, anion exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. Functionality of purified SycH was proven by demonstrating binding to YopH. SycH crystals were grown that diffracted to 2.94A resolution. Preliminary crystallographic data and biochemical findings suggest that SycH forms homotetramers. SycH may therefore represent a novel class of TTSS chaperones. In addition, we found that YopH was enzymatically active in the presence of SycH. This implies that the function of the secretion chaperone SycH is not to keep YopH in a globally unfolded state prior to secretion.     

Production, purification, and characterization of human scFv antibodies expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, and Escherichia coli

Single chain (scFv) antibodies are used as affinity reagents for diagnostics, therapeutics, and proteomic analyses. The antibody discovery platform we use to identify novel antigen binders involves discovery, characterization, and production. The discovery and characterization components have previously been characterized but in order to fully utilize the capabilities of affinity reagents from our yeast surface display library, efforts were focused on developing a production component to obtain purified, soluble, and active scFvs. Instead of optimizing conditions to achieve maximum yield, efforts were focused on using a system that could quickly and easily produce and process hundreds of scFv antibodies. Heterologous protein expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Pichia pastoris, and Escherichia coli were evaluated for their ability to rapidly, efficaciously, and consistently produce scFv antibodies for use in downstream proteomic applications. Following purification, the binding activity of several scFv antibodies were quantified using a novel Biacore assay. All three systems produced soluble scFv antibodies which ranged in activity from 0 to 99%. scFv antibody yields from Saccharomyces, Pichia, and E. coli were 1.5-4.2, 0.4-7.3, and 0.63-16.4 mgL(-1) culture, respectively. For our purposes, expression in E. coli proved to be the quickest and most consistent way to obtain and characterize purified scFv for downstream applications. The E. coli expression system was subsequently used to study three scFv variants engineered to determine structure-function relationships.     

A simple two step procedure for purification of the catalytic domain of chicken tryptophan hydroxylase 1 in a form suitable for crystallization

Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) [EC 1.14.16.4] catalyzes the conversion of tryptophan to 5-hydroxytryptophan, which is the first and rate-determining step in the biosynthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin. We have expressed the catalytic domain of chicken (Gallus gallus) TPH isoform 1 in Escherichia coli in high yield. The enzyme was highly purified using only one anion exchange and one gel filtration, with a yield of 11 mg/L culture and a specific activity of 0.60 micromol/min/mg. The K(m) values were determined to K(m, tryptophan)=7.7+/-0.7 microM, K(m, BH4)=324+/-10 microM and K(m, O2)=39+/-2 microM. Substrate inhibition by tryptophan was observed at concentrations above 15 microM. Furthermore, the purified enzyme has been crystallized without 7,8-dihydro-L-biopterin and a data set to 3A resolution has been collected.     

Expression of Aspergillus niger N5-5 in E. coli and purification and identification of products

Due to the feature of high hydrolysis, tannase is widely used in food, beverage, brewing and other fields. However, high cost in producing natural tannase makes it difficult to apply tannase to industry in a large-scale. Microbial expression systems can be used for preparing numerous amount of enzyme at low cost, so in this paper Aspergillus niger N5-5 was expressed using E. coli system. Specific primers were designed based on the Aspergillus niger N5-5 sequence N3 (GenBank, No.: KP677552), and tannase gene tan was promoted to carry 6 His tag and enzyme cutting site which contains NdeI/HindIII using PCR amplification. Then, tannase gene tan was connected to expression vector by NdeI/HindIII enzyme cutting. In this way, recombinant expression vector tan-pET43.1a was formed. Then, the expression vector pET43.1a by NdeI/HindIII enzyme cutting was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3) to induce expression of Aspergillus niger N5-5. When the induced fungi were disrupted by the ultrasonic wave, the crude enzyme was extracted and purified by using the IMAC, and then the activity of the crude enzyme and pure enzyme was determined. According to the results of determination of the tannase activity, the tannase activity of the crude enzyme was greatly improved after the crude enzyme was purified, and the specific activity of the pure enzyme was about 8 times of that of the crude enzyme. The results of SDS-PAGE of the pure enzyme showed that the molecular mass of the pure enzyme was about 65 kDa/64–65 kDa, which was consistent with the expected result (64.2 kDa), It can be concluded that the crude enzyme solution was purified successfully. The results of pure enzyme’s protein identification by Western Blotting showed that clear protein bands pro-3 were observed. Molecular mass of clear protein bands pro-3 was about 65 kDa, which was in line with the expected results (64.2 kDa). It can be seen that the aforementioned expression protein could be specifically combined with His tag. It proved expression protein to be a recombinant fusion protein with 6 His tag.     

Expression and purification of non-glycosylated Trypanosoma brucei transferrin receptor in insect cells

The transferrin receptor of the parasite Trypanosoma brucei is a heterodimeric protein complex encoded by the 2 expression site-associated genes (ESAGs) 6 and 7. ESAG6 is a heterogeneously glycosylated protein of 50-60 kDa modified by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor at the C-terminus, while ESAG7 is a 40-42 kDa glycoprotein carrying an unmodified C-terminus. In order to determine whether glycosylation is necessary for dimer formation and ligand binding, the receptor was expressed in insect cells in the presence of tunicamycin. When insect cells were infected with recombinant ESAG6/ESAG7 double expressor baculovirus and grown in the presence of tunicamycin, non-glycosylated forms of ESAG6 and ESAG7 of 46 and 36 kDa, respectively, were synthesized. The non-glycosylated ESAG6 and ESAG7 were capable of forming a heterodimer and of binding transferrin. This results shows that glycosylation is not necessary for synthesis of a functional T. brucei transferrin receptor.     

HaSNPV几丁质酶重组蛋白的表达、纯化和复性

棉铃虫单核衣壳核型多角体病毒（HaSNPV）是我国第一个商品病毒杀虫剂,具有使用安全、害虫不产生抗药性等优点,是一种很有发展潜力的生物农药。幼虫虫体受病毒感染后,HaSNPV几丁质酶在其液化过程中起了很大的作用,因此可以作为增效剂以显著提高细菌、病毒、真菌等微生物杀虫剂的毒力,并具有更高的安全性。将HaSNPV几丁质酶基因构建到原核表达载体pET28a中,经测序检验后转化至大肠杆菌Rosetta,然后以IPTG作为诱导剂,目标蛋白以包涵体的形式得以成功表达。在变性条件下,包涵体经镍 次氮基三乙酸(Ni-NTA)柱层析纯化,并以两种不同的方法进行复性,均可获得具有活性的HaSNPV几丁质酶。     

嗜酸氧化亚铁硫杆菌ATP硫酸化酶的表达、纯化及性质鉴定

ATP硫酸化酶是一种催化ATP和SO42-反应生成腺嘌呤-5’-磷酸硫酸(APS)和焦磷酸盐(PPi)的酶,它是硫酸根同化反应第一步的关键酶。以嗜酸氧化亚铁硫杆菌(A.ferrooxidansATCC 23270)基因组为模板,用PCR扩增得到ATPS基因,并克隆到表达载体pLM1上。加入IPTG的诱导表达,用AKTA蛋白纯化仪的镍柱亲和层析纯化得到浓度和纯度都较高的ATPS蛋白。SDS-PAGE分析,证实其分子量大小为33 kD,并成功的测出了其活性,比活达3.0×103U/mg。