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Lamer T, Vederas JC. Simplified cloning and isolation of peptides from "sandwiched" SUMO-peptide-intein fusion proteins. BMC Biotechnol 2023; 23:11. [PMID: 37020212 PMCID: PMC10074672 DOI: 10.1186/s12896-023-00779-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 04/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Some peptides are targets for degradation when heterologously expressed as fusion proteins in E. coli, which can limit yields after isolation and purification. We recently reported that peptide degradation may be prevented by production of a "sandwiched" SUMO-peptide-intein (SPI) fusion protein, which protects the target peptide sequence from truncation and improves yield. This initial system required cloning with two commercially available vectors. It used an N-terminal polyhistidine tagged small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) protein and a C-terminal engineered Mycobacterium xenopii DNA Gyrase A intein with an inserted chitin binding domain (CBD) to create "sandwiched" fusion proteins of the form: His6-SUMO-peptide-intein-CBD. However, the major drawback of this previously reported fusion protein "sandwich" approach is the increased time and number of steps required to complete the cloning and isolation procedures, relative to the simple procedures to produce recombinant peptides in E. coli from a single (non-"sandwiched") fusion protein system. RESULTS In this work we generate the plasmid pSPIH6, which improves upon the previous system by encoding both the SUMO and intein proteins and allows facile construction of a SPI protein in a single cloning step. Additionally, the Mxe GyrA intein encoded in pSPIH6 contains a C-terminal polyhistidine tag, resulting in SPI fusion proteins of the form: His6-SUMO-peptide-intein-CBD-His6. The dual polyhistidine tags greatly simplify isolation procedures compared to the original SPI system, which we have here demonstrated with two linear bacteriocin peptides: leucocin A and lactococcin A. The yields obtained for both peptides after purification were also improved compared to the previous SPI system as a result of this streamlined protocol. CONCLUSIONS This modified SPI system and its simplified cloning and purification procedures described here may be generally useful as a heterologous E. coli expression system to obtain pure peptides in high yield, especially when degradation of the target peptide is an issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess Lamer
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - John C Vederas
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2G2, Canada.
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A Novel Tandem-Tag Purification Strategy for Challenging Disordered Proteins. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12111566. [DOI: 10.3390/biom12111566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) lack well-defined 3D structures and can only be described as ensembles of different conformations. This high degree of flexibility allows them to interact promiscuously and makes them capable of fulfilling unique and versatile regulatory roles in cellular processes. These functional benefits make IDPs widespread in nature, existing in every living organism from bacteria and fungi to plants and animals. Due to their open and exposed structural state, IDPs are much more prone to proteolytic degradation than their globular counterparts. Therefore, the purification of recombinant IDPs requires extra care and caution, such as maintaining low temperature throughout the purification, the use of protease inhibitor cocktails and fast workflow. Even so, in the case of long IDP targets, the appearance of truncated by-products often seems unavoidable. The separation of these unwanted proteins can be very challenging due to their similarity to the parent target protein. Here, we describe a tandem-tag purification method that offers a remedy to this problem. It contains only common affinity-chromatography steps (HisTrap and Heparin) to ensure low cost, easy access and scaling-up for possible industrial use. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated with four examples, Tau-441 and two of its fragments and the transactivation domain (AF1) of androgen receptor.
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Qian K, Bao X, Li Y, Wang P, Guo Q, Yang P, Xu S, Yu F, Meng R, Cheng Y, Sheng D, Cao J, Xu M, Wu J, Wang T, Wang Y, Xie Q, Lu W, Zhang Q. Cholinergic Neuron Targeting Nanosystem Delivering Hybrid Peptide for Combinatorial Mitochondrial Therapy in Alzheimer's Disease. ACS NANO 2022; 16:11455-11472. [PMID: 35839463 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c05795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Mitochondrial dysfunction in neurons has recently become a promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Regulation of dysfunctional mitochondria through multiple pathways rather than antioxidation monotherapy indicates synergistic therapeutic effects. Therefore, we developed a multifunctional hybrid peptide HNSS composed of antioxidant peptide SS31 and neuroprotective peptide S14G-Humanin. However, suitable peptide delivery systems with excellent loading capacity and effective at-site delivery are still absent. Herein, the nanoparticles made of citraconylation-modified poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(trimethylene carbonate) polymer (PEG-PTMC(Cit)) exhibited desirable loading of HNSS peptide through electrostatic interactions. Meanwhile, based on fibroblast growth factor receptor 1(FGFR1) overexpression in both the blood-brain barrier and cholinergic neuron, an FGFR1 ligand-FGL peptide was modified on the nanosystem (FGL-NP(Cit)/HNSS) to achieve 4.8-fold enhanced accumulation in brain with preferred distribution into cholinergic neurons in the diseased region. The acid-sensitive property of the nanosystem facilitated lysosomal escape and intracellular drug release by charge switching, resulting in HNSS enrichment in mitochondria through directing of the SS31 part. FGL-NP(Cit)/HNSS effectively rescued mitochondria dysfunction via the PGC-1α and STAT3 pathways, inhibited Aβ deposition and tau hyperphosphorylation, and ameliorated memory defects and cholinergic neuronal damage in 3xTg-AD mice. The work provides a potential platform for targeted cationic peptide delivery, harboring utility for peptide therapy in other neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Qian
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoyan Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Collaborative Innovation Center of Polymers and Polymer Composite Materials, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Yixian Li
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Pengzhen Wang
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Qian Guo
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Peng Yang
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuting Xu
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Fazhi Yu
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Ran Meng
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunlong Cheng
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongyu Sheng
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinxu Cao
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Minjun Xu
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Jing Wu
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianying Wang
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Yonghui Wang
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Qiong Xie
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, 826 Zhangheng Road, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Wei Lu
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
| | - Qizhi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery, Ministry of Education, & State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, People's Republic of China
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Huang L, Qu X, Chen Y, Xu W, Huang C. Sandwiched-fusion strategy facilitates recombinant production of small labile proteins. Protein Sci 2021; 30:650-662. [PMID: 33433908 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Efficient production of large quantities of soluble, properly folded proteins is of high demand in modern structural and functional genomics. Despite much advancement toward improving recombinant protein expression, many eukaryotic proteins especially small peptides often fail to be recovered due to rapid proteolytic degradation. Here we show that the sandwiched-fusion strategy, which is based on two protein tags incorporated both at the amino- and carboxyl-terminus of target protein, could be employed to overcome this obstacle. We have exploited this strategy on heterologous expression in Escherichia coli of eight small degradation-prone eukaryotic proteins, whose successful recombinant productions have yet to be achieved. These include seven mitochondria-derived peptides (MDPS), a class of unique metabolic regulators of human body, and a labile mosquito transcription factor, Guy1. We show here that the sandwiched-fusion strategy, which provides robust protection against proteolysis, affords an economical method to obtain large quantities of pure five MDPs and the transcription factor Guy1, in sharp contrast to otherwise unsuccessful recovery using the traditional amino-fusion method. Further biophysical characterization and interaction studies by NMR spectroscopy confirmed that the proteins produced by this novel approach are properly folded into their biologically active structures. We anticipate this strategy could be widely utilized in production of other labile protein systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membrane-less Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Xiaozhan Qu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membrane-less Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Yao Chen
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membrane-less Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Weiya Xu
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membrane-less Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Chengdong Huang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Membrane-less Organelles and Cellular Dynamics, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
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