High Throughput Quantitative Expression Screening and Purification Applied to Recombinant Disulfide-rich Venom Proteins Produced in E. coli

Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the most widely used expression system for the production of recombinant proteins for structural and functional studies. However, purifying proteins is sometimes challenging since many proteins are expressed in an insoluble form. When working with difficult or multiple targets it is therefore recommended to use high throughput (HTP) protein expression screening on a small scale (1-4 ml cultures) to quickly identify conditions for soluble expression. To cope with the various structural genomics programs of the lab, a quantitative (within a range of 0.1-100 mg/L culture of recombinant protein) and HTP protein expression screening protocol was implemented and validated on thousands of proteins. The protocols were automated with the use of a liquid handling robot but can also be performed manually without specialized equipment.Disulfide-rich venom proteins are gaining increasing recognition for their potential as therapeutic drug leads. They can be highly potent and selective, but their complex disulfide bond networks make them challenging to produce. As a member of the FP7 European Venomics project (www.venomics.eu), our challenge is to develop successful production strategies with the aim of producing thousands of novel venom proteins for functional characterization. Aided by the redox properties of disulfide bond isomerase DsbC, we adapted our HTP production pipeline for the expression of oxidized, functional venom peptides in the E. coli cytoplasm. The protocols are also applicable to the production of diverse disulfide-rich proteins. Here we demonstrate our pipeline applied to the production of animal venom proteins. With the protocols described herein it is likely that soluble disulfide-rich proteins will be obtained in as little as a week. Even from a small scale, there is the potential to use the purified proteins for validating the oxidation state by mass spectrometry, for characterization in pilot studies, or for sensitive micro-assays.     

稀有糖的生物转化生产策略：Izumoring方法

稀有糖是在自然界中存在但含量极少的一类单糖及衍生物,其在膳食、保健、医药等领域中发挥着重要的功能。本文综述了一种稀有糖的生物转化生产策略----Izumoring方法,即利用D-塔格糖3-差向异构酶、醛糖异构酶和多元醇脱氢酶等进行所有单糖及糖醇之间的相互转化;利用该原则,分别构建了己糖类、戊糖类和丁糖类的Izumoring转化策略,并可获得所有稀有糖的酶反应和生物转化生产途径。同时,展望了稀有糖生物转化生产的研究趋势。     

Q20L及G247D定点突变对葡萄糖异构酶酶活和最适pH的改善

用双引物法对GI基因进行体外定点突变,构建了突变体Q20L和G247D。含突变基因的重组表达质粒pTKD-GIQ20L及pTKDGIG247D在E.coli K38菌株中表达。纯化的突变酶与野生型酶相比：(1) GIQ20L的最适反应温度下降5℃,热稳定性为野生型酶的78%,对底物的亲和性增强;(2) GIG247D的酶活提高约33%,最适pH下降0.6个单位,但热稳定性降低。初步分析认为,Gln 20位于α0～α1螺旋之间,其亲水侧链被Leu的疏水侧链取代后,分子表面增强的疏水作用,反而不利于蛋白质的稳定,使GIQ20L的热稳定性降低。Gly247是酶活性中心β折叠(242～247aa)的最后一个残基。引入电负性极强的Asp后,可能改变分子的静电场分布,影响了活性部位的电荷传递过程,使GIG247D酶活提高。引入的电荷,可能改变活性中心可解离基团的pKa,使其最适pH下降。另外Asp247的侧链在周围空间结构中显得过于拥挤,易与其他侧链产生排斥,由此影响到β-折叠的稳定性,接近亚基结合面的Asp247,可能进一步影响到亚基间相互作用的稳定性,最终导致酶热稳定性的降低。GI酶活和最适pH的改善更利于工业生产。     

地芽孢杆菌Y565-5分离鉴定及其木糖异构酶基因xylA的克隆表达和酶学性质

从甘肃玉门油田地表土中分离到一株嗜热木糖利用菌,地芽孢杆菌Y565-5。利用PCR方法从该菌株中克隆得到一个木糖异构酶基因,xylA。该基因开放阅读框长1182 bp,编码394个氨基酸,XylA氨基酸序列与Geobacillus sp.Y412MC52相似性达到99%。将xylA基因克隆到原核表达载体pET-28a(+)上,得到重组质粒pET-28a(+)-xylA,然后将此重组质粒转化至BL21(DE3)中,经IPTG诱导后,通过SDS-PAGE电泳检测出明显的45 kD(相对分子质量)特异性蛋白质条带,并且通过半胱氨酸咔唑法检测出表达产物具有木糖异构酶的活性。对其酶学性质的研究发现,XylA最适温度为90°C,最适pH值为8.0。     

酶法生产共轭亚油酸的研究进展

共轭亚油酸(Conjugated linoleic acid,CLA)具有抗癌、抗动脉粥样硬化、减肥和免疫调节等生理活性。共轭亚油酸可以通过酶法异构化获得,将底物亚油酸异构形成具有生物活性物质-共轭亚油酸的异构酶称为亚油酸异构酶。因此,通过介绍亚油酸异构酶的来源、作用机制、酶学性质和基因工程菌生产等方面的研究进展,结合不断发展的基因工程技术,旨在提高亚油酸异构酶的活性、产量和异构化效率,以扩大反应底物范围,降低生产成本,从而推进共轭亚油酸的规模化、可持续性的工业生产。     

Reduction of protein disulfide isomerase results in open conformations and stimulates dynamic exchange between structural ensembles

Human protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) is an essential redox-regulated enzyme required for oxidative protein folding. It comprises four thioredoxin domains, two catalytically active (a, a’) and two inactive (b, b’), organized to form a flexible abb’a’ U-shape. Snapshots of unbound oxidized and reduced PDI have been obtained by X-ray crystallography. Yet, how PDI’s structure changes in response to the redox environment and inhibitor binding remains controversial. Here, we used multiparameter confocal single-molecule FRET to track the movements of the two catalytic domains with high temporal resolution. We found that at equilibrium, PDI visits three structurally distinct conformational ensembles, two “open” (O₁ and O₂) and one “closed” (C). We show that the redox environment dictates the time spent in each ensemble and the rate at which they exchange. While oxidized PDI samples O₁, O₂, and C more evenly and in a slower fashion, reduced PDI predominantly populates O₁ and O₂ and exchanges between them more rapidly, on the submillisecond timescale. These findings were not expected based on crystallographic data. Using mutational analyses, we further demonstrate that the R300-W396 cation-π interaction and active site cysteines dictate, in unexpected ways, how the catalytic domains relocate. Finally, we show that irreversible inhibitors targeting the active sites of reduced PDI did not abolish these protein dynamics but rather shifted the equilibrium toward the closed ensemble. This work introduces a new structural framework that challenges current views of PDI dynamics, helps rationalize its multifaceted role in biology, and should be considered when designing PDI-targeted therapeutics.     

In-depth Profiling and Quantification of the Lysine Acetylome in Hepatocellular Carcinoma with a Trapped Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide with limited therapeutic options. Comprehensive investigation of protein posttranslational modifications in HCC is still limited. Lysine acetylation is one of the most common types of posttranslational modification involved in many cellular processes and plays crucial roles in the regulation of cancer. In this study, we analyzed the proteome and K-acetylome in eight pairs of HCC tumors and normal adjacent tissues using a timsTOF Pro instrument. As a result, we identified 9219 K-acetylation sites in 2625 proteins, of which 1003 sites exhibited differential acetylation levels between tumors and normal adjacent tissues. Interestingly, many novel tumor-specific K-acetylation sites were characterized, for example, filamin A (K865), filamin B (K697), and cofilin (K19), suggesting altered activities of these cytoskeleton-modulating molecules, which may contribute to tumor metastasis. In addition, we observed an overall suppression of protein K-acetylation in HCC tumors, especially for enzymes from various metabolic pathways, for example, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and fatty acid metabolism. Moreover, the expression of deacetylase sirtuin 2 (SIRT2) was upregulated in HCC tumors, and its role of deacetylation in HCC cells was further explored by examining the impact of SIRT2 overexpression on the proteome and K-acetylome in Huh7 HCC cells. SIRT2 overexpression reduced K-acetylation of proteins involved in a wide range of cellular processes, including energy metabolism. Furthermore, cellular assays showed that overexpression of SIRT2 in HCC cells inhibited both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. Taken together, our findings provide valuable information to better understand the roles of K-acetylation in HCC and to treat this disease by correcting the aberrant acetylation patterns.     

Plant selection principle based on xylose isomerase

Summary The xylose isomerase genes (xylA) from Thermoanaerobacterium thermosulfurogenes and Streptomyces rubiginosus were introduced and expressed in three plant species (potato, tobacco and tomato) and transgenic plants were selected on xylose-containing medium. The xylose isomerase genes were transferred to explants of the target plant by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The xylose isomerase genes were expressed under the control of the enhanced cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter and the Ω′ translation enhancer sequence from tobacco mosaic virus. In potato and tomato, xylose isomerase selection was more efficient than the established kanamycin selection. The level of enzyme activity in the regenerated transgenic plants selected on xylose was 5–25-fold higher than the enzyme activity in control plants selected on kanamycin. The xylose isomerase system enables transgenic cells to utilize xylose as a carbohydrate source. In contrast to antibiotic or herbicide resistance-based system where transgenic cells survive on a selective medium but nontransgenic cells are killed, the xylose system is an example of a positive selection system where transgenic cells proliferate while non-transgenic cells are starved but still survive. The results show that a new selection method, is established. The xylose system is devoid of the disadvantages of antibiotic or herbicide selection, and depends on an enzyme which is already being widely utilized in specific food processes and that is generally recognized as safe for use in the starch industry.     

Regulation of resynthesis of the CO2-acceptor in photosynthesis. Feedback inhibition of transketolase

The presence of ribulose-5-phosphate epimerase (EC 5.1.3.1, epimerase) in samples of ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.6, isomerase) obtained from spinach ( Spinacea aleracea L. cv. Bloomsdale Long Standing) was determined using (i) a sampling procedure which measured the quantity of xylulose-5-phosphate formed in the reaction mixture and (ii) a coupled enzyme assay in which the rate of oxidation of NADH was measured after establishing steady-state concentrations of xylulose-5-phosphate, dihydroxacetonephosphate and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate by the action of epimerase, transketolase (EC 2.2.1.1), triosephosphate isomerase (EC 5.3.1.1) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.8). In preparations where the ratio of isomerase to epimerase activities was less than 100, both assay procedures yielded valid indications of epimerase activity. The steady-state assay system was found, however, to seriously underestimate epimerase activity in enzyme preparations which were enriched in isomerase. Cross plots of epimerase activity determined by the sampling and steady-state procedures demonstrated that an inhibitor of the coupling enzyme mixture was formed in the presence of high relative concentrations of the isomerase. The inhibited coupling enzyme mixture was fully active with glycer-aldehyde-3-phosphate. Inhibition of the coupling enzyme mixture was attributed to transketolase. Feedback inhibition of transketolase is proposed to be of physiological significance in the photosynthesis cycle, operating to restrict resynthesis of CO₂-acceptor under conditions where high steady-state concentrations of the intermediates of the photosynthesis cycle are maintained.