High and compact formation of baculoviral polyhedrin-induced inclusion body by co-expression of baculoviral FP25 in Escherichia coli

Pharmaceutical Formulation Methods for Improving Retinal Drug Delivery

Clinical pharmacology training for clinicians typically focuses on a drug's Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. However, pharmaceutical formulation, the process of optimizing manufacturing methods and excipients to make a final drug product, is a critical process in determining whether a potential drug can become a realistic, routinely used therapeutic agent. This review focuses on the formulation methods used in commonly prescribed retina drug products.

Enhanced Production of Recombinant Protein by Fusion Expression with Ssp DnaB Mini-Intein in the Baculovirus Expression System

The baculovirus expression system (BES) is considered to be a very powerful tool for the expression of numerous difficult to express vertebrate proteins. Ssp DnaB mini-intein is a useful fusion partner for the production of recombinant proteins because it can be self-cleaved by controlling the pH and temperature, without additional treatment. To evaluate the utility of Ssp DnaB mini-intein in the BES, recombinant viruses were generated to express the enhanced green fluorescent protein, the VP2 protein of porcine parvovirus, and the E2 protein of classical swine fever virus fused to a mini-intein. As expected, intracellular self-cleavage of the mini-intein occurred during virus infection, but the cleavage initiation time varied depending on the target protein. Significantly enhanced protein production was observed for all of the target proteins that were fused to the mini-intein. This increase was enough to overcome the decrease in the fusion protein due to intracellular self-cleavage. The mini-intein in all of the recombinant fusion proteins was successfully cleaved by controlling the pH and temperature. These results suggest that the Ssp DnaB mini-intein is a useful fusion partner in the BES for easy purification and enhanced production of target proteins.

A novel recombinant baculovirus overexpressing a Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin enhances insecticidal activity

Baculoviruses have been genetically modified to express foreign genes under powerful promoters in order to accelerate their speed of killing. In this study a truncated form of cry1Ab gene derived from Bacillus thuringinsis (Bt) subsp. aegypti isolate Bt7 was engineered into the genome of the baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nuclearpolyhedrosis wild type virus, in place of the polyhedrin gene by using homologous recombination in Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf) cells between a transfer vector carrying the Bt gene and the wild type virus linearized DNA. Recombinant wild type virus containing the cry1Ab gene was detected as blue occlusion-negative plaques in monolayers of Sf cells grown in the presence of X-Gal. In Sf cells infected with plaque-purified recombinant virus, the cry1Ab gene was expressed to yield a protein of approximately 82-kDa, as determined by immunoblot analysis. The toxicity of the recombinant virus expressing the insecticidal crystal protein (ICP) was compared to that of the wild-type virus. Infected-cell extract was toxic to cotton leaf worm Spodoptera littoralis second instar larvae and the estimated LC50 was 1.7 μg/ml for the recombinant virus compared with that of wild-type virus which was 10 μg/ml.

Hyper-enhanced production of foreign recombinant protein by fusion with the partial polyhedrin of nucleopolyhedrovirus

To enhance the production efficiency of foreign protein in baculovirus expression systems, the effects of polyhedrin fragments were investigated by fusion expressing them with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Recombinant viruses were generated to express EGFP fused with polyhedrin fragments based on the previously reported minimal region for self-assembly and the KRKK nuclear localization signal (NLS). Fusion expressions with polyhedrin amino acids 19 to 110 and 32 to 110 lead to localization of recombinant protein into the nucleus and mediate its assembly. The marked increase of EGFP by these fusion expressions was confirmed through protein and fluorescence intensity analyses. The importance of nuclear localization for enhanced production was shown by the mutation of the NLS within the fused polyhedrin fragment. In addition, when the polyhedrin fragment fused with EGFP was not localized in the nucleus, some fragments increased the production of protein. Among these fragments, some degradation of only the fused polyhedrin was observed in the fusion of amino acids 19 to 85 and 32 to 85. The fusion of amino acids 32 to 85 may be more useful for the enhanced and intact production of recombinant protein. The production of E2 protein, which is a major antigen of classical swine fever virus, was dramatically increased by fusion expression with polyhedrin amino acids 19 to 110, and its preliminary immunogenicity was verified using experimental guinea pigs. This study suggests a new option for higher expression of useful foreign recombinant protein by using the partial polyhedrin in baculovirus.

Production and isotope labeling of antimicrobial peptides in Escherichia coli by means of a novel fusion partner that enables high-yield insoluble expression and fast purification

A method is presented that allows efficient production of antimicrobial peptides in bacteria by means of fusion to the histone fold domain of the human transcription factor TAF12. This small fusion partner drives high-level expression of peptides and leads to their accumulation in an entirely insoluble form, thereby eliminating toxicity to the host. Using the antimicrobial peptide LAH4 as an example, we demonstrate that neither affinity purification of the TAF12 fusion protein nor initial solubilization of inclusion bodies in denaturing buffers is required. Instead, crude insoluble material from bacteria is directly dissolved in formic acid for immediate release of the peptide through chemical cleavage at a unique Asp-Pro site. This is followed by purification to homogeneity in a single chromatographic step. Because of the elevated expression levels of the histone fold domain and its small size (8 kDa), this straightforward purification scheme produces yields in excess of 10 mg active peptide per liter of culture. We demonstrate that TAF12 fusion allows expression of a wide range of antimicrobial peptides as well as efficient isotope labeling for NMR studies.