Controlling trisulfide modification in recombinant monoclonal antibody produced in fed-batch cell culture

Molecular heterogeneity was detected in a recombinant monoclonal antibody (IgG1 mAb) due to the presence of a trisulfide linkage generated by the post‐translational insertion of a sulfur atom into disulfide bonds at the heavy–heavy and heavy–light junctions. This molecular heterogeneity had no observable effect on antibody function. Nevertheless, to minimize the heterogeneity of the IgG1 mAb from run‐to‐run, an understanding of the impact of cell culture process conditions on trisulfide versus disulfide linkage formation was desirable. To investigate variables that might impact trisulfide formation, cell culture parameters were varied in bench‐scale bioreactor studies. Trisulfide analysis of the samples from these runs revealed that the trisulfide content in the bond between heavy and light chains varied considerably from <1% to 39%. Optimizing the culture duration and feeding strategy resulted in more consistent trisulfide levels. Cysteine concentration in the feed medium had a direct correlation with the trisulfide level in the product. Systematic studies revealed that cysteine in the feed and the bioreactor media was contributing hydrogen sulfide which reacted with the IgG1 mAb in the supernatant leading to the insertion of sulfur atom and formation of a trisulfide bond. Cysteine feed strategies were developed to control the trisulfide modification in the recombinant monoclonal antibody. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109: 2523–2532. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

1-Deoxysphinganine initiates adaptive responses to serine and glycine starvation in cancer cells via proteolysis of sphingosine kinase

Cancer cells may depend on exogenous serine, depletion of which results in slower growth and activation of adaptive metabolic changes. We previously demonstrated that serine and glycine (SG) deprivation causes loss of sphingosine kinase 1 (SK1) in cancer cells, thereby increasing the levels of its lipid substrate, sphingosine (Sph), which mediates several adaptive biological responses. However, the signaling molecules regulating SK1 and Sph levels in response to SG deprivation have yet to be defined. Here, we identify 1-deoxysphinganine (dSA), a noncanonical sphingoid base generated in the absence of serine from the alternative condensation of alanine and palmitoyl CoA by serine palmitoyl transferase, as a proximal mediator of SG deprivation in SK1 loss and Sph level elevation upon SG deprivation in cancer cells. SG starvation increased dSA levels in vitro and in vivo and in turn induced SK1 degradation through a serine palmitoyl transferase-dependent mechanism, thereby increasing Sph levels. Addition of exogenous dSA caused a moderate increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species, which in turn decreased pyruvate kinase PKM2 activity while increasing phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase levels, and thereby promoted serine synthesis. We further showed that increased dSA induces the adaptive cellular and metabolic functions in the response of cells to decreased availability of serine likely by increasing Sph levels. Thus, we conclude that dSA functions as an initial sensor of serine loss, SK1 functions as its direct target, and Sph functions as a downstream effector of cellular and metabolic adaptations. These studies define a previously unrecognized “physiological” nontoxic function for dSA.     

装载RNA"病毒样"纳米颗粒表面巯基化表达载体的构建及荧光修饰

以本实验室构建的能够装载外源RNA片段的MS2噬菌体“病毒样”颗粒表达载体为基础,利用定点突变技术将衣壳蛋白基因的第15位密码子由编码苏氨酸突变为胱氨酸。表达产物在35％蔗糖密度梯度处有一目的产物,目的产物在透射电镜下呈球形,直径大小约为27nm。用马来酰亚胺-5’-荧光素对表达产物进行化学修饰,经光谱分析、SDS-PAGE分析和MALDI-TOF MS鉴定,证明巯基在表达产物的外表面,并能与马来酰亚胺-5＇-荧光素进行反应。这种携带外源RNA片段的荧光修饰的天然纳米颗粒为制备各种功能性纳米材料提供了新途径。     

ALLOCATION OF CYSTEINE FOR GLUTATHIONE PRODUCTION IN CATERPILLARS WITH DIFFERENT ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE STRATEGIES: A COMPARISON OF Lymantria dispar AND Malacosoma disstria

Sulfur amino acids [cysteine (Cys) and methionine (Met)] play two major roles during animal development: protein synthesis for growth and glutathione synthesis for defense. For caterpillars, the levels of sulfur amino acids found in foliar protein can be especially low relative to their nutritional needs. Previous work has measured concentrations of glutathione (GSH; containing Cys) in specific animal tissues, but has not examined whole‐body levels to ascertain the costliness of this defense in terms of Cys allocation. This study examined whether the production of GSH varies between species and within individuals in accordance with an insect's need for antioxidant defense. Secondly, we quantified the allocation of total Cys (peptide‐bound plus free Cys) to GSH in caterpillars as an estimate of its cost. Two contrasting species were compared: Lymantria dispar (Lymantriidae), a species that is highly defended, and Malacosoma disstria (Lasiocampidae), a species that is less defended. As expected, GSH levels were significantly higher in L. dispar than in M. disstria. Consistent with the function of the midgut as a first line of defense against ingested toxins, GSH levels were significantly higher in these tissues than in the whole bodies of both species. A major finding in this study was that a large fraction of total Cys is used to produce GSH: GSH in the midguts of L. dispar and M. disstria contained 23 and 21%, respectively, of the total Cys in these tissues, and the GSH in their remaining body tissues contained 19 and 17% of the total Cys in these tissues. Levels of total Cys in caterpillar tissues followed the same pattern of distribution as did GSH, producing a strong association between GSH and total Cys (R² = 0.794). We conclude that GSH is a costly defense, especially in generalist tree‐feeding species such as L. dispar. These results further suggest that the large allocation of Cys to GSH in highly defended species might produce a tradeoff by limiting the amount of Cys available for rapid growth.     

大肠杆菌胞内半胱氨酸响应型启动子的筛选表征

【目的】半胱氨酸是一种重要的含硫氨基酸,广泛应用于化妆品、药品、食品等行业,微生物发酵法合成半胱氨酸已成为当前研究的热点。基于比较转录组学分析等技术,筛选并表征大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)胞内对半胱氨酸浓度变化显著响应的启动子。【方法】在Escherichia coli W3110培养基中外源添加不同终浓度的半胱氨酸,通过比较转录组学分析筛选转录水平显著响应半胱氨酸浓度变化的基因,融合目标基因的启动子片段与荧光报告基因egfp构建启动子文库,进一步测定不同半胱氨酸浓度条件下,含有不同启动子重组菌的绿色荧光蛋白(greenfluorescent protein, GFP)荧光强度。【结果】筛选并挖掘了随着半胱氨酸浓度提高而转录水平显著提升的27个基因,并将基因的潜在启动子片段与荧光报告基因egfp融合构建启动子文库,筛选获得对半胱氨酸变化具备特异性响应的启动子P_E2。最后,对P_E2启动子-35区间隔区域AAAT进行随机突变,最终获得在1-7g/L半胱氨酸浓度范围内特异性响应性能显著提高的启动子P_E2-33。...     

核因子相关因子2调节大鼠气道上皮细胞γ-谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶表达

红系衍生的核因子相关因子2(Nrf2)是调节抗氧化基因表达的关键转录因子.γ-谷氨酰半胱氨酸合成酶(γ-GCS)是肺内主要的抗氧化基因,但Nrf2如何调节γ-GCS表达目前仍不清楚.该文采用香烟烟雾提取物(CSE)诱导大鼠气道上皮细胞为研究对象,探索Nrf2调节γ-GCS基因表达机制.细胞免疫荧光显示,Nrf2蛋白质在CSE处理1、3和6h组,主要在胞核中表达.细胞免疫化学与Western印迹显示,γ-GCS蛋白质在CSE1、3、6h组表达明显增强,其中Western印迹结果高于对照组(P0.05);Nrf2胞核蛋白质表达增强.p-aPKCι/ζ蛋白质在CSE1、3h组表达增强,与对照组相比差异显著(P0.05).RT-PCR结果表明,γ-GCSmRNA在CSE1、3、6h组表达明显高于对照组(P0.05).γ-GCS活性在CSE1、3、6h组增高并高于对照组(P0.05).GSH含量在CSE3、6h组明显高于对照组(P0.05).预先加入aPKCι/ζ抑制剂RO813220,Nrf2胞浆蛋白质表达增强,GSH含量、p-aPKCι/ζ蛋白质、γ-GCS蛋白质与其mRNA和活性均明显低于CSE3h组(P0.05).相关性分析显示Nrf2与γ-GCS、γ-GCS活性、p-aPKCι/ζ呈正相关,p-aPKCι/ζ与Nrf2、γ-GCS、γ-GCS活性呈正相关(P0.05).以上结果表明,CSE可能通过aPKCι/ζ-Nrf2信号通路调节γ-GCS的表达水平和活性.     

Increased activity of aminopeptidase in the cotyledons of red light-promoted lettuce seeds is controlled by the axis

The first major reserves to be mobilized following germination of light-promoted lettuce seeds ( Lactuca saliva L. cv. Grand Rapids) are the carbohydrates, largely mannans, located within the cell walls of the endosperm. When these have been depleted, the cotyledonary reserves are hydrolysed; the first of these to decline is protein. Water-, salt- and ethanol-soluble proteins are mobilized simultaneously, and coincident with their loss from the cotyledons there is an increase in aminopeptidase activity. The level of enzyme activity increases appreciably in irradiated seeds after about 30 h from the start of imbibition. Essential for this increase, at least initially, is the presence of the axis - first to perceive the light stimulus, and then to produce and/or release a chemical promoter which diffuses into the cotyledons and effects the rise in enzyme activity. Protein synthesis in the cotyledons is a prerequisite for both development and maintenance of the increased aminopeptidase activity.     

大鼠丝氨酸或半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂B2的表达、纯化及抗体制备

目的:原核表达、纯化大鼠丝氨酸或半胱氨酸蛋白酶抑制剂B2(SERPINB2),并制备其多克隆抗体.方法:设计扩增大鼠Serpinb2全长基因的特异引物,通过PCR扩增出该基因片段,测序正确后插入含GST基因的原核表达载体pGEX-KG中,以IPTG诱导表达,并经谷胱甘肽琼脂糖珠纯化融合蛋白;用纯化的蛋白免疫小鼠制备多克...     

Anti-oxidative effect of ribonuclease inhibitor by site-directed mutagenesis and expression in Pichia pastoris

Human placental ribonuclease inhibitor (hRI) is an acidic protein of Mr∼50kDa with unusually high contents of leucine and cysteine residues. It is a cytosolic protein that protects cells from the adventitious invasion of pancreatic-type ribonuclease. hRI has 32 cysteine residues, and the oxidative formation of disulfide bonds from those cysteine residues is a rapid cooperative process that inactivates hRI. The most proximal cysteine residues in native hRI are two pairs that are adjacent in sequence. In the present aork, two molecules of alanine substituting for Cys328 and Cys329 were performed by site-directed mutagenesis. The site-mutated RI cDNA was constructed into plasmid pPIC9K and then transformed Pichia pastoris GS115 by electroporation. After colony screening, the bacterium was cultured and the product was purified with affinity chromatography. The affinity of the recombinant human RI with double site mutation was examined for RNase A and its anti-oxidative effect. Results indicated that there were not many changes in the affinity for RNase A detected when compared with the wild type of RI. But the capacity of anti-oxidative effect increased by 7∼9 times. The enhancement in anti-oxidative effect might be attributed to preventing the formation of disulfide bond between Cys328 and Cys329 and the three dimensional structure of RI was thereby maintained. __________ Translated from HEREDITAS, 2005, 27(2) [译自: 遗传,2005,27(2)]