Production of a recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor with a collagen binding domain

Collagen Type I Biomaterials as Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Collagen type I is the main organic constituent of the bone extracellular matrix and has been used for decades as scaffolding material in bone tissue engineering approaches when autografts are not feasible. Polymeric collagen can be easily isolated from various animal sources and can be processed in a great number of ways to manufacture biomaterials in the form of sponges, particles, or hydrogels, among others, for different applications. Despite its great biocompatibility and osteoconductivity, collagen type I also has some drawbacks, such as its high biodegradability, low mechanical strength, and lack of osteoinductive activity. Therefore, many attempts have been made to improve the collagen type I-based implants for bone tissue engineering. This review aims to summarize the current status of collagen type I as a biomaterial for bone tissue engineering, as well as to highlight some of the main efforts that have been made recently towards designing and producing collagen implants to improve bone regeneration.

Osteogenic in vitro training of bone marrow mesenquimal cells for application in segmentary bone resections

OBJECTIVE

To achieve bone continuity in an experimental model of segmental resection of femur bone by applying a treatment with committed to osteogenic bone linage mesenchymal stem cells.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, obtained from syngeneic Wistar murine, were committed into osteogenic lineage and embedded within a hydroxipatite block. They were implanted in an experimentally created diaphyseal femur resection model. The diaphysis was synthetized with a 1.5mm thick plate. In order to calculate binomial distributions, we stablished one experimental and 3 control groups of 8 elements each: Group I, filling the gap with allograft; group ii, filling with a hydroxyapatite block without cells; group iii, filling with the hydroxyapatite block embedded with committed cells, and group iv, with the hydroxyapatite embedded with osteoinduced cells in a 3 dimensions TRAP culture. Descriptive analysis was performed by frequency distribution and Fisher statistic test. Level of statistical significance was considered at P<.05.

RESULTS

Group I presented good bone consolidation and no plate breakage. Group II showed fibrous but non-bone tissue, with rupture of all plates. Group III showed bone tissue in all cases, but the plates broke in all of them, while in group iv bone consolidation was achieve without any plate rupture.

CONCLUSION

Cell therapy with mesenchymal stem cells, trained in a 3 dimensions cell culture, produces bone tissue and ensures the permanence of the mechanical stabilization performed in a segmental resection model.

LIMITATIONS

A study with a larger sample size is necessary before planning the human inference.

Highly efficient soluble expression and purification of recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) by fusion with a new collagen-like protein (Scl2) in Escherichia coli

Human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) is involved in a wide range of biological activities that affect the growth, differentiation, and migration. Due to its wound healing effects and therapy, hbFGF has the potential as therapeutic agent. Therefore, large-scale production of biologically active recombinant hbFGF with low cost is highly desirable. However, the complex structure of hbFGF hinders its high-level expression as the soluble and functional form. In the present study, an efficient, cost-effective, and scalable method for producing recombinant hbFGF was developed. The modified collagen-like protein (Scl2-M) from Streptococcus pyogenes was used as the fusion tag for producing recombinant hbFGF for the first time. After optimization, the expression level of Scl2-M-hbFGF reached approximately 0.85 g/L in the shake flask and 7.7 g/L in a high cell-density fermenter using glycerol as a carbon source. Then, the recombinant Scl2-M-hbFGF was readily purified using one-step acid precipitation and the purified Scl2-M-hbFGF was digested with enterokinase. The digested mixture was further subject to ion-exchange chromatography, and the final high-purity (96%) hbFGF product was prepared by freeze-drying. The recovery rate of the whole purification process attained 55.0%. In addition, the biological activity of recombinant hbFGF was confirmed by using L929 and BALB/c3T3 fibroblasts. Overall, this method has the potential for large scale production of recombinant hbFGF.

Polyglycolic acid-collagen tube combined with collagen-binding basic fibroblast growth factor accelerates gait recovery in a rat sciatic nerve critical-size defect model

Several nerve conduits have been investigated for their potential as alternative sources of autografts for bridging neural gaps. However, autologous nerve transplants remain the most effective for nerve repair. We examined clinically approved nerve conduits containing collagen and polyglycolic acid (PGA-c) combined with collagen-binding basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) containing a polycystic kidney disease (PKD) domain and collagen binding domain (CBD) (bFGF-PKD-CBD) in a rat 15-mm sciatic nerve critical-size defect model. The treatment groups were: PGA-c immersed in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (PGA-c/PBS group), bFGF (PGA-c/bFGF group), or bFGF-PKD-CBD (PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD group), and no treatment (Defect group). Gait and histological analyses were performed. Four weeks after treatment, the recovery rate of the paw print area was significantly greater in the PGA-c/bFGFPKD-CBD group than the PGA-c/PBS and PGA-c/bFGF groups. Mean intensity of paw prints was significantly greater in the PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD group than the PGA-c/PBS and Defect groups. Swing time was significantly greater in the PGA-c/PBS, PGA-c/bFGF, and PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD groups than the Defect group. At 8 weeks, all three parameters were significantly greater in the PGA-c/PBS, PGA-c/bFGF, and PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD groups than the Defect group. Regenerated myelinated fibers were observed in 7/8 (87.5%) rats in the PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD group after 8 weeks, and in 1/8 (12.5%) and 3/8 (37.5%) rats in the PGA-c/PBS and PGA-c/bFGF groups, respectively. PGA-c/bFGF-PKD-CBD composites may be promising biomaterials for promoting functional recovery of long-distance peripheral nerve defects in clinical practice.

Intein mediated hyper-production of authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor in Escherichia coli

Human basic fibroblast growth factor is a functionally versatile but very expensive polypeptide. In this communication, employing a novel amplification method for the target gene and genetic optimization of a previously engineered expression construct, pWK3R, together with a refined fed-batch fermentation protocol, we report an achievement of a phenomenal yield of 610 mg/L of the 146 aa authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in Escherichia coli. Construct pWK3R was first modified to form plasmid pWK311ROmpAd, which was devoid of the ompA leader sequence and possessed two copies of a DNA segment encoding a fusion product comprising an intein, Saccharomyces cerevisiae vascular membrane ATPase (VMA), and bFGF. When E. coli transformant JM101 [pWK311ROmpAd] was cultivated using the refined fed-batch fermentation protocol, superb expression resulting in a total yield of 610 mg/L of bFGF was detected. Despite existing in high levels, the bFGF remained to be soluble and highly bioactive.

A revolutionary approach facilitating co-expression of authentic human epidermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor in both cytoplasm and culture medium of Escherichia coli

During secretory or excretory production of heterologous proteins in Escherichia coli, peptidase processing cleaves the signal peptide off from a premature protein, which is then secreted as a mature product. Many proteins have been successfully expressed as secreted/excreted products in E. coli. However, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), despite its suitability for secretory/excretory production in E. coli, has never been successfully expressed using such an approach. In this communication, we report the application of a revolutionary E. coli system to the efficient expression of not only bFGF, but also human epidermal growth factor (EGF) concurrently, as authentic products in the culture supernatant (SN). More interestingly, both polypeptides were also shown to be present at high levels as authentic products in the cell lysate (CL). The manifestation of this unusual phenomenon required a collaborative action between construct pWKW2, an efficient excretion vector engineered by our group to facilitate extracellular production of EGF, and the Sce VMA intein, which enables self-cleavage of protein sequences fused to it. Both bFGF and EGF derived from SN and CL were characterized to be bioactive. Moreover, despite employing only shake-flask cultivation, the total yields of bFGF and EGF recovered from both SN and CL were impressive, amounting to 103 and 74 mg l(-1) of culture, respectively. The novel expression approach introduced herein may prove to be practically useful for the production of a wide range of proteins in the future.

Authentic human basic fibroblast growth factor produced by secretion in Bacillus subtilis

Bacillus subtilis is generally accepted as an inborn host candidate employed for secretory production of heterologous proteins. However, this ideal host system has never been employed for commercial production of medically useful proteins. In this communication, we report for the first time the employment of an engineered B. subtilis system, in conjunction with a facile cell-wall destabilization protocol, to successfully obtain an alluring yield of 40 mg l(-1) of secreted human basic fibroblast growth factor (hbFGF) in the culture supernatant. The product was not only shown to exhibit potent bioactivity but also revealed to possess a protein sequence identical to that of mature native hbFGF (Mat-hbFGF). Our findings may pave way for the development of a cost-effective process for producing Mat-hbFGF, which is currently sold at an unusually expensive price of over US $1 million g(-1), for medical and skin care applications.

Design and synthesis of binding growth factors

Growth factors play important roles in tissue regeneration. However, because of their instability and diffusible nature, improvements in their performance would be desirable for therapeutic applications. Conferring binding affinities would be one way to improve their applicability. Here we review techniques for conjugating growth factors to polypeptides with particular affinities. Conjugation has been designed at the level of gene fusion and of polypeptide ligation. We summarize and discuss the designs and applications of binding growth factors prepared by such conjugation approaches.

Construction of multifunctional proteins for tissue engineering: epidermal growth factor with collagen binding and cell adhesive activities

The development of different techniques based on natural and polymeric scaffolds are useful for the design of different biomimetic materials. These approaches, however, require supplementary steps for the chemical or physical modification of the biomaterial. To avoid such steps, in the present study, we constructed a new multifunctional protein that can be easily immobilized onto hydrophobic surfaces, and at the same time helps enhance specific cell adhesion and proliferation onto collagen substrates. A collagen binding domain was fused to a previously constructed protein, which had an epidermal growth factor fused to a hydrophobic peptide that allows for cell adhesion. The new fusion protein, designated fnCBD-ERE-EGF is produced in Escherichia coli, and its abilities to bind to collagen and promote cell proliferation were investigated. fnCBD-ERE-EGF was shown to keep both collagen binding and cell growth-promoting activities comparable to those of the corresponding unfused proteins. The results obtained in this study also suggest the use of a fnCBD-ERE-EGF as an alternative for the design of multifunctional ECM-bound growth factor based materials.

Temperature, media, and point of induction affect the N-terminal processing of interleukin-1β

The expression of recombinant proteins in bacterial hosts may alter the biophysical properties of the protein of interest as a result of differences in post-translational processing from that observed when produced in the native cell. For example, recombinant human interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) is produced as three isoforms when expressed in the Escherichia coli strain BL-21(DE3). These isoforms are produced by the non-homogeneous processing of the N-terminal methionine residue by the endogenous bacterial aminopeptidase and differ in the first residue (1-met, 1-ala, and 1-pro). Importantly, these isoforms have significantly different binding affinities for the IL receptor protein. Varying the temperature, media composition, and point of induction affects this N-terminal processing to favor one of the three isoforms of IL-1beta. We found changes in media composition and/or point of induction affected the abundance of the isoforms by as much as 15-fold. The 1-pro isoform decreased from 60.9 to 4.7% in Luria broth (LB) and minimal media (MM), respectively, when protein expression was induced at an OD600 of 0.9. Conversely, the abundance of the 1-met isoform is much higher in MM than in LB showing the reverse effect (2.6 and 50.7% in LB and MM, respectively, at an OD600 of 0.9), and the degree to which they are favored depends significantly upon the induction point. Our results show that it is possible to favor the expression of various N-terminal isoforms of IL-1beta by adjusting the environmental growth conditions. Given that the initiator methionine residue is necessary for expression in bacterial hosts and is known to affect the stability of other recombinant proteins our approach may be a useful general method for determining the optimal conditions for expressing and purifying pure, homogenous samples of recombinant proteins for structural and biological studies.

The small leucine-rich proteoglycan biglycan modulates BMP-4-induced osteoblast differentiation

Biglycan (bgn) is a small leucine-rich proteoglycan enriched in extracellular matrices of skeletal tissues. Bgn-deficient mice develop age-related osteopenia with a phenotype that resembles osteoporosis and premature arthritis. In the present study, we have examined the differentiation of bgn-deficient osteoblasts from neonatal murine calvariae and found that the absence of bgn caused less BMP-4 binding, which reduced the sensitivity of osteoblasts to BMP-4 stimulation. The loss of sensitivity resulted in a reduction of Cbfa1 expression, which ultimately led to a defect in the differentiation of osteoblasts. However, the response of bgn-deficient osteoblasts to BMP-4 was completely rescued by reintroduction of biglycan by viral transfection. We propose that biglycan modulates BMP-4-induced signaling to control osteoblast differentiation.