Novel affinity purification of monomeric sarcosine oxidase expressed in Escherichia coli

Acute toxic effects of diclofenac exposure on freshwater crayfish (Procambarus clarkii): Insights from hepatopancreatic pathology, molecular regulation and intestinal microbiota

In this study, we exposed adult male crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) to different concentrations of diclofenac (DCF) for 96 h. In the meantime, we investigated the alternations of hepatopancreatic pathology, molecular regulation and intestinal microbiota of P. clarkii exposed to DCF. The results demonstrated DCF led to histological changes including epithelium vacuolization and tubule lumen dilatation in the hepatopancreas. Transcriptome sequencing analysis showed that 642 and 586 genes were differentially expressed in the hepatopancreas of P. clarkii exposed to 1 and 10 mg/L DCF, respectively. DCF could affect the functions of antioxidation, immunity and metabolism of hepatopancreas by inducing the abnormal expressions of immune- and redox-related genes. GO enrichment results demonstrated that 10 mg/L DCF exposure could modulate the processes of molting, amino sugar metabolism, protein hydrolysis and intracellular protein translocation of P. clarkii. Additionally, the abundances of bacterial families including Shewanellaceae, Bacteroidaceae, Vibrionaceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Aeromonadaceae, Moraxellaceae, etc. in the intestine were significantly changed after DCF exposure, and the disruption of intestinal flora might further cause abnormal intestinal metabolism in P. clarkii. This study provides novel mechanistic insights into the toxic effects of anti-inflammatory drugs on aquatic crustaceans.

Enhancement of soluble expression of codon-optimized Thermomicrobium roseum sarcosine oxidase in Escherichia coli via chaperone co-expression

The codon-optimized sarcosine oxidase from Thermomicrobium roseum (TrSOX) was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli and its soluble expression was significantly enhanced via the co-expression of chaperones. With the assistance of whole-genome analysis of T. roseum DSM 5159, the sox gene was predicated and its sequence was optimized based on the codon bias of E. coli. The TrSOX gene was successfully constructed in the pET28a plasmid. After induction with IPTG for 8h, SDS-PAGE analysis of crude enzyme solutions showed a significant 43 kDa protein band, indicating SOX was successfully expressed in E. coli. However, the dark band corresponding to the intracellular insoluble fraction indicated that most of TrSOX enzyme existed in the inactive form in "inclusion bodies" owing to the "hot spots" of TrSOX. Furthermore, the co-expression of five different combinations of chaperones indicated that the soluble expression of TrSOX was greatly improved by the co-expression of molecular chaperones GroES-GroEL and DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE-GroES-GroEL. Additionally, the analysis of intramolecular forces indicated that the hydrophobic amino acids, hydrogen bonds, and ionic bonds were favorable for enhancing the interaction and stability of TrSOX secondary structure. This study provides a novel strategy for enhancing the soluble expression of TrSOX in E. coli.

One step affinity recovery of 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from cloned Escherichia coli

3α-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3α-HSD), from Comamonas Testosterone, catalyze reversibly the oxidoreduction of 3α-hydroxyl groups of the steroid hormones. The gene encoding 3α-HSD (hsdA) from Comamonas Testosterone was expressed in Escherchia coli BL21 (DE3). A protocol for recovering 3α-HSD based on affinity strategy was designed and employed. Deoxycholic acid was chosen as the affinity ligand, and it was linked to Sepharose 4B with the aid of the spacers as cyanuric chloride and ethanediamine. With this specific affinity medium, the enzyme recovery process consisted of only one chromatography step to capture 3α-HSD. The target protein, analyzed on HPLC Agilent SEC-5 column, was of 94% pure among the captured protein, and 98% with SDS-PAGE analysis. The yield of the expressed enzyme was 8.8% of crude extracted proteins; the recovery yield of 3α-HSD was 73.2%. 3α-HSD was revealed as a non-covalent homodimer with molecular mass of ∼56kDa by 15.0% SDS-PAGE analysis and SE-HPLC analysis. The desorption constant Kd and the theoretical maximum absorption Qmax on the affinity medium were 4.5μg/g medium and 21.3mg/g medium, respectively.