Expression and purification of recombinant human neuritin from Pichia pastoris and a partial analysis of its neurobiological activity in vitro

Preparation of recombinant neuritin protein

Neuritin plays an important role in promoting nerve injury repair and maintaining synaptic plasticity, making it a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of nerve injury and neurodegenerative diseases. The present study aimed to obtain an active, unlabeled neuritin protein. Initially, a neuritin protein expression system with an enterokinase site was constructed in Escherichia coli. After optimizing induction conditions and screening for high expression, a neuritin recombinant protein with purity exceeding 85 % was obtained through Ni-affinity chromatography. Subsequently, unlabeled neuritin with a molecular weight of 11 kDa was obtained through the enzymatic cleavage of the His label using an enterokinase. Furthermore, a neuritin recombinant protein with purity exceeding 95 % was obtained using gel chromatography. Functional investigations revealed that neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells was stimulated by the isolated neuritin. This study establishes a method to obtain active and unlabeled neuritin protein, providing a foundation for subsequent research on its biological functions.

Exogenous neuritin restores auditory following cochlear spiral ganglion neuron denervation of gerbils

Spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) transmit sound signals received by hair cells to the auditory center to produce hearing. The quantity and function are important for maintaining normal hearing function. Limited by the regenerative capacity, SGNs are unable to regenerate spontaneously after injury. Various neurotrophic factors play an important role in the regeneration process. Neuritin is a neurite growth factor that plays an important role in neural plasticity and nerve injury repair. In this study, we used bioinformatics analysis to show that neuritin was negatively correlated with cochlear damage. Then, we aimed to establish a cochlear spiral ganglion-specific sensorineural deafness model in gerbils using ouabain and determine the effects of exogenous neuritin protein in protecting damaged cochlear SGNs and repairing damaged auditory nerve function. The provides a new research strategy and scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of sensorineural deafness caused by the loss of SGNs. We were discovered that neuritin is expressed throughout the development of the gerbil cochlea, primarily in the SGNs and Corti regions. The expression of neuritin was negatively correlated with the sensorineural deafness induced by ouabain. In vitro and in vivo revealed that neuritin significantly maintained the number and arrangement of SGNs and nerve fibers in the damaged cochlea and effectively protected the high-frequency listening function of gerbils.

Neuritin Alleviates Diabetic Retinopathy by Regulating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Rats

BACKGROUND

Neuritin, a small-molecule neurotrophic factor, maintains neuronal cell activity, inhibits apoptosis, promotes process growth, and regulates neural progenitor cell differentiation, migration, and synaptic maturation. Neuritin helps retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) survive optic nerve injury in rats and regenerate axons. However, the role of Neuritin in Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study is intended to investigate the effect and mechanism of Neuritin in DR. For this purpose, we established DR rat models and injected Neuritin into them. This study provides a potential treatment for diabetic retinopathy.

METHODS

The rat model of DR was established by streptozotocin (STZ) injection, and the effect of Neuritin on DR was detected by intravitreal injection. Histological analysis was performed by H&E and TUNEL methods. The mRNA and protein expressions of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) pathway-related transcription factors were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. The blood-retinal barrier (BRB) function was assessed using the patch-clamp technique and Evans blue leakage assay.

RESULTS

Neuritin significantly improved the retinal structure, restrained the apoptosis of retinal cells, and protected the normal function of BRB in DR model rats. Mechanistically, Neuritin may function by inhibiting the expression of GRP78, ASK1, Caspase-12, VEGF, and so on.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that Neuritin alleviates retinal damage in DR rats via the inactive endoplasmic reticulum pathway. Our study provides a potential treatment for DR.

Fusion with CTP increases the stability of recombinant neuritin

Neuritin is a vital neurotrophin that plays an essential role in recovery from nerve injury and neurodegenerative diseases and may become a new target for treating these conditions. However, improving neuritin protein stability is an urgent problem. In this study, to obtain active and stable neuritin proteins, we added a carboxyl-terminal peptide (CTP) sequence containing four O-linked glycosylation sites to the C-terminus of neuritin and cloned it into the Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) expression system. The neuritin-CTP protein was purified using a His-Tag purification strategy after G418 screening of stable high-expression cell lines. Ultimately, we obtained neuritin-CTP protein with a purity >90%. Functional analyses showed that the purified neuritin-CTP protein promoted the neurite outgrowth of PC12 cells, and stability experiments showed that neuritin stability was increased by adding CTP. These results indicate that neuritin protein-CTP fusion effectively increases stability without affecting secretion and activity. This study offers a sound strategy for improving the stability of neuritin protein and provides material conditions for further study of the function of neuritin.

Neuritin affects the activity of neuralized-like 1 by promoting degradation and weakening its affinity for substrate

Neuritin plays a key role in neural development and regeneration by promoting neurite outgrowth and synapse maturation. Our previous research revealed the mechanism by which neuritin inhibits Notch signaling through interaction with neuralized-like 1 (Neurl1) to promote neurite growth. However, how neuritin regulates Notch signaling through Neurl1 has not been elucidated. Here, we first confirm that neuritin is an upstream regulator of Neurl1 and inhibits Notch signaling through Neurl1. Neurl1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that can promote ubiquitination and endocytosis of the Notch1 ligand Jagged1. Therefore, we observe the effect of neuritin on the ligase activity of Neurl1. The results indicate that neuritin inhibits Neurl1 activity by reducing the ubiquitination level and endocytosis of the target protein Jagged1. Moreover, we find that decreased activity of Neurl1 results in reduced expression of Notch receptor Notch intracellular domain (NICD) and downstream target gene hairy and enhancer of split-1 ( HES1). Furthermore, we investigate how neuritin affects Neurl1 enzyme activity. The results show that neuritin not only weakens the affinity between Neurl1 and Jagged1 but also promotes the degradation of Neurl1 by the 26S proteasome pathway. Taken together, our results suggest that neuritin negatively regulates Notch signaling by inhibiting the activity of Neurl1, promoting the degradation of Neurl1 and weakening the affinity of Neurl1 for Jagged1. Our study clarifies the molecular mechanisms of neuritin in regulating the Notch signaling pathway and provides new clues about how neuritin mediates neural regeneration and plasticity.

Enzymatically prepared alginate oligosaccharides improve broiler chicken growth performance by modulating the gut microbiota and growth hormone signals

BACKGROUND

Alginate oligosaccharide (AOS) holds great potential as a novel feed supplement in farm animals. However, the effects of AOS on chicken health and the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This study aimed to optimize the enzymatic preparation of AOS by using bacterial alginate lyases expressed in yeast, investigate the effects of the prepared AOS on the growth performance and gut health of broiler chickens, and reveal the underlying mechanisms.

RESULTS

Five alginate lyases from bacteria were cloned into Pichia pastoris GS115 and the alginate lyase PDE9 was expressed at relatively high yield, activity and stability in P. pastoris. Animal trials were carried out using 320 1-day-old male Arbor Acres broilers (four groups; 8 replicates/group × 10 chicks/replicate) receiving either a basal diet or the same diet supplemented with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg PDE9-prepared AOS for 42 d. The results showed that dietary supplementation of 200 mg/kg AOS displayed the highest activity in promoting the birds' ADG and ADFI (P < 0.05). AOS ameliorated the intestinal morphology, absorption function and barrier function, as indicated by the enhanced (P < 0.05) intestinal villus height, maltase activity, and the expression of PEPT, SGLT1, ZNT1, and occludin. AOS also increased serum insulin-like growth factor-1, ghrelin (P < 0.05), and growth hormone (P < 0.1). Moreover, the concentrations of acetate, isobutyrate, isovalerate, valerate, and total SCFAs in cecum of birds fed AOS were significantly higher than the control birds (P < 0.05). Metagenomic analysis indicated that AOS modulated the chicken gut microbiota structure, function, and microbial interactions and promoted the growth of SCFAs-producing bacteria, for example, Dorea sp. 002160985; SCFAs, especially acetate, were found positively correlated with the chicken growth performance and growth-related hormone signals (P < 0.05). We further verified that AOS can be utilized by Dorea sp. to grow and to produce acetate in vitro.

CONCLUSIONS

We demonstrated that the enzymatically produced AOS effectively promoted broiler chicken growth performance by modulating the chicken gut microbiota structure and function. For the first time, we established the connections among AOS, chicken gut microbiota/SCFAs, growth hormone signals and chicken growth performance.

Expression and purification of asprosin in Pichia pastoris and investigation of its increase glucose uptake activity in skeletal muscle through activation of AMPK

Asprosin is a new hormone released from white adipose tissue (WAT) that not only promotes glucose release in the liver but also activates orexigenic neurons in the hypothalamus to promote appetite and weight gain. Its effect on skeletal muscle glucose uptake is unclear. This research, a stable asprosin expression system was formed by first constructing a eukaryotic expression vector pPIC9K-8His-Asprosin, and then transforming it into the Pichia pastoris strain GS115. Pichia pastoris methanol induction combined with Nickel-NTA magnetic beads purification strategy was used to express and purify asprosin protein. Purified asprosin can promote the phosphorylation of PKA substrate, and intraperitoneal injection of asprosin can increase blood glucose. After proteolysis and detection by mass spectrometry, asprosin was found to have 3 glycosylation sites and multiple glycosyl types. Asprosin up-regulated glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression in myotubes, including mRNA and protein levels. In addition, asprosin enhanced AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation, but it had no effect on AKT phosphorylation with or without insulin treatment. Treatment with an AMPK inhibitor (compound C) reduced the asprosin-mediated glucose uptake effect. These results show that purified asprosin activated AMPK signaling in skeletal muscle and further promoted glucose uptake. From the perspective of skeletal muscle uptake of glucose, asprosin may have beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes.

Neuritin-overexpressing transgenic mice demonstrate enhanced neuroregeneration capacity and improved spatial learning and memory recovery after ischemia-reperfusion injury

Acute ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced brain injury is further exacerbated by a series of slower secondary pathogenic events, including delayed apoptosis due to neurotrophic factor deficiency. Neuritin, a neurotrophic factor regulating nervous system development and plasticity, is a potential therapeutic target for treatment of IR injury. In this study, Neuritin-overexpressing transgenic (Tg) mice were produced by pronuclear injection and offspring with high overexpression used to generate a line with stable inheritance for testing the neuroprotective capacity of Neuritin against transient global ischemia (TGI). Compared to wild-type mice, transgenic mice demonstrated reduced degradation of the DNA repair factor poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP 1) in the hippocampus, indicating decreased hippocampal apoptosis rate, and a greater number of surviving hippocampal neurons during the first week post-TGI. In addition, Tg mice showed increased expression of the regeneration markers NF-200, synaptophysin, and GAP-43, and improved recovery of spatial learning and memory. Our findings exhibited that the window of opportunity of neural recovery in Neuritin transgenic mice group had a tendency to move ahead after TGI, which indicated that Neuritin can be used as a potential new therapeutic strategy for improving the outcome of cerebral ischemia injury.

In vitro Impact of Yeast Expressed Hybrid Peptide CATH-2TP5 as a Prophylactic Measure Toward Sepsis and Inflammation

CATH-2TP5 is a linear cationic hybrid peptide, consequent from naturally occurring antimicrobial peptide (AMPs) Cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2) and Immunomodulatory peptide Thymopentin (TP5) having dynamic and potent anti-inflammatory activities without hemolytic effect. The biocompatible mechanism of CATH-2TP5 is favored to explore new methodologies in the direction of biomedical applications. In this retrospectively study, an antiendotoxin and anti-inflammatory hybrid peptide CATH-2TP5 was emulated into pPICZα-A and successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris). The recombinant CATH-2TP5 was purified through the Ni-affinity column and reversed-phase HPLC. The purified CATH-2TP5 peptide exhibited robust anti-endotoxin activity and significantly (p < 0.05) neutralized the effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Furthermore, the down-regulated effect of CATH-2TP was more pronounced (p < 0.05) on LPS-induced cytotoxic effects, nitric oxide secretion and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) in murine RAW264.7 macrophages. As associated to control and parental peptide the number of apoptotic cells was also contracted with the treatment of CATH-2TP5. Thus, we concluded that CATH-2TP5 peptide may be used in various biomedical applications as a therapeutic drug.

miR‑199a decreases Neuritin expression involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease in APP/PS1 mice

Neuritin plays an important role in neural development and plasticity. A recent study demonstrated that increasing Neuritin levels attenuated synaptic damage in mice with Alzheimer's disease (AD), which exhibit a decreased Neuritin expression. However, it remains unclear as to whether Neuritin expression is regulated by microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) in AD. In the present study, it was found that miR-199a decreased Neuritin expression and was therefore involved in the development of AD. Subsequently, differentially expressed miRNAs in AD from datasets and the literature were recruited, and those that could bind Neuritin were predicted using bioinformatics analysis. The present study then focused on the candidate miRNAs that were highly associated with Neuritin and were upregulated in AD. The expression patterns of the candidate miRNAs and Neuritin in the hippocampus and cortex of APP/PS1 (AD model) mice at different stages were then detected and analyzed. It was found that miR-199a expression was significantly increased in the early stages of AD and was negatively associated with Neuritin expression. Furthermore, it was revealed that the decreased Neuritin expression was due to the direct targeting of the Neuritin 3′-UTR by miR-199a. Finally, the association between the spatial memory capacity of APP/PS1 mice and the changes in miR-199a and Neuritin expression protein was investigated. On the whole, the data of the present study suggest that miR-199a is involved in the development of AD by regulating Neuritin expression.

Expression and Purification of Hybrid LL-37Tα1 Peptide in Pichia pastoris and Evaluation of Its Immunomodulatory and Anti-inflammatory Activities by LPS Neutralization

This study pertains to the new approach for the development of hybrid peptide LL-37Tα1 and its biomedical applications. A linear cationic hybrid peptide, LL-37Tα1 was derived from two parental peptides (LL-37 and Tα1) recognized as potent anti-endotoxin without any hemolytic or cytotoxic activity. We successfully cloned the gene of hybrid peptide LL-37Tα1 in PpICZαA vector and expressed in the Pichia pastoris. The recombinant peptide was purified by Ni-affinity column and reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with an estimated molecular mass of 3.9 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE and mass spectrometry. We analyzed the LPS neutralization by limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) activity and the results indicate that the hybrid peptide LL-37Tα1 directly binds endotoxin and significantly (p < 0.05) neutralizes the effect of LPS in a dose-dependent manner. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay revealed that LL-37Tα1 successfully reduces the LPS-induced cytotoxicity in mouse RAW264.7 macrophages. Moreover, it significantly (p < 0.05) decreased the levels of nitric oxide, proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and diminished the number of apoptotic cells in LPS-stimulated mouse RAW264.7 macrophages. Our results suggest that the P. pastoris expression system is cost-effective for commercial production of the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory hybrid peptide (IAHP) LL-37Tα1 and the peptide may serve as effective anti-endotoxin/anti-inflammatory agent with minimal cytotoxicity.

Production of polyclonal antibody against human Neuritin and its application of immunodetection

OBJECTIVE

To date, a commercial antibody to human Neuritin for immunoprecipitation is still limited. In this study, we aimed to develop a specific antibody for further research on the potential function of Neuritin.

METHODS AND RESULTS

By epitope prediction of recombinant human Neuritin, the active fragment of human Neuritin that could be used as an excellent immunogen. Soluble His-tagged Neuritin was expressed and purified from Pichia pastoris. Polyclonal antibody against Neuritin was obtained by immunizing Sprague-Dawley rats with purified recombinant human Neuritin. Affinity-purified polyclonal antibody against Neuritin was characterized with indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunofluorescence. The results demonstrated that the polyclonal antibody against Neuritin had been prepared successfully. The prepared antibody bound to both exogenous and endogenous Neuritin. Importantly, the anti-Neuritin polyclonal antibody could be used in immunoprecipitation assays.

CONCLUSIONS

The prepared polyclonal antibody could be used in immunoprecipitation and provide researchers with a useful tool for further investigating the function and mechanism of Neuritin.

Expression of hNeuritin protein in a baculovirus expression system and the analysis of its activity

Neuritin plays an important role in the development and regeneration of the nervous system, and shows good prospects in the treatment and protection of the nervous system. To characterize neuritin function, we constructed a baculovirus expression system of neuritin, and identified the biological activity of the neuritin protein. The results and showed that the expression product could promote the neurite growth of dorsal root ganglion in chicken embryos. The neuritin open reading frame was amplified and cloned into the plasmid pFastBac™HTA. The pFastBac™HTA-neuritin was confirmed to be correct by PCR and DNA sequencing, and then transformed into Escherichia coli DH10Bac. The high purity recombinant Bacmid-neuritin (shuttle vectors) was obtained from DH10Bac through screening and identification. Recombinant virus, including the neuritin gene (virus-neuritin), was produced by transfection of SF9 cells using the bacmid-neuritin, and then amplified repeatedly to express the neuritin fusion protein. Finally, we identified the fusion protein with SDS-PAGE and western blotting, and optimized the best expression time of the neuritin fusion protein. We also analyzed the activity of the expressed protein by dorsal root ganglion from chicken embryos.

Characterization of human S-adenosyl-homocysteine hydrolase in vitro and identification of its potential inhibitors

Human S-adenosyl-homocysteine hydrolase (SAHH, E.C.3.3.1.1) has been considered to be an attractive target for the design of medicines to treat human disease, because of its important role in regulating biological methylation reactions to catalyse the reversible hydrolysis of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) to adenosine (Ado) and l-homocysteine (Hcy). In this study, SAHH protein was successfully cloned and purified with optimized, Pichia pastoris (P. pastoris) expression system. The biological activity results revealed that, among the tested compounds screened by ChemMapper and SciFinder Scholar, 4-(3-hydroxyprop-1-en-1-yl)-2-methoxyphenol (coniferyl alcohol, CAS: 458-35-5, ZINC: 12359045) exhibited the highest inhibition against rSAHH (IC₅₀= 34 nM). Molecular docking studies showed that coniferyl alcohol was well docked into the active cavity of SAHH. And several H-bonds formed between them, which stabilized coniferyl alcohol in the active site of rSAHH with a proper conformation.

Characterization of Full-Length and Truncated Recombinant κ-Carrageenase Expressed in Pichia pastoris

κ-Carrageenase belongs to glycoside hydrolase family 16 and cleaves the β-(1→4) linkages of κ-carrageenan. In this study, genes encoding the full-length (cgkZ), Por secretion tail-truncated (cgkZΔPst) and carbohydrate binding domain-truncated (cgkZΔCBM) κ-carrageenase proteins were expressed in Pichia pastoris. The copy numbers of gene cgkZ, cgkZΔPst and cgkZΔCBM were 7, 7 and 6, respectively. The enzymatic activities of recombinant enzymes cgkZ, cgkZΔPst and cgkZΔCBM reached 4.68, 5.70, and 3.02 U/mL, respectively, after 120 h of shake flask fermentation at 22°C and pH 6 in the presence of 1 % (v/v) methanol. The molecular weights of recombinant cgkZ, cgkZΔPst, and cgkZΔCBM were approximately 65, 45, and 40 kDa; their K_m values were 2.07, 1.85, and 1.04 mg/mL; and they exhibited optimal activity at 45-50°C and pH 6-7. All the recombinant enzymes were stimulated by Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and dithiothreitol. The end-products of enzymatic hydrolysis were mainly composed of κ-carrageenan tetrasaccharide and hexasaccharide. The removal of the Por secretion tail of κ-carrageenase promoted the transcription of κ-carrageenase gene, enhancing the specific activity of κ-carrageenase without significantly changing its catalytic properties. Although the transcription level of κ-carrageenase gene after the removal of the carbohydrate binding domain was relatively high, the specific activity of the recombinant enzyme significantly decreased. The comprehensive application of the P. pastoris expression system combined with the rational modification of genes may provide a novel approach for the heterologous expression of various marine enzymes with high activities.

Effects of neuritin on the differentiation of bone marrow‑derived mesenchymal stem cells into neuron‑like cells

While the neurotrophic factor neuritin is known to be involved in neurodevelopment, the effects of this compound on cell differentiation remain unclear. The present study demonstrated that neuritin treatment induced the differentiation of rat bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (rBM-MSCs) into neuron-like (NL) cells. For these analyses, rBM-MSCs were incubated with 0.5 µg/ml neuritin for 24 h. Following induction, 27% of the rBM-MSCs exhibited typical NL cell morphologies. Subsequently, NL cells were characterized by examining the expression of neuronal markers and by analysis of cell functions. The findings demonstrated that the NL cells produced by neuritin treatment expressed the neuronal markers neuron-specific enolase and microtubule associate protein 2, and secreted the neurotransmitter 5-hydroxytryptamine. Furthermore, the NL cells exhibited certain partial neural-electrophysiological functions. In conclusion, neuritin treatment may be an effective method for inducing the differentiation of BM-MSCs towards NL cells. This may provide an alternative, potentially complementary tool for disease modeling and the development of cell-based therapies.

Recombinant hNeuritin Promotes Structural and Functional Recovery of Sciatic Nerve Injury in Rats

Neuritin is a new neurotropic factor implicated in nervous system development and plasticity. Studies have shown that Neuritin is upregulated in injured nerves, suggesting that it is involved in nerve repair. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether recombinant human Neuritin could restore nerve structure and function in a rat model of sciatic nerve injury. Neuritin treatment had a dose-dependent effect on functional recovery 4 weeks after injury, as determined by the walking-track test. Similar trends were observed for gastrocnemius muscular strength and nerve conduction velocity. Additionally, sciatic nerve fiber density and organization as well as degree of remyelination were increased, while growth-associated protein 43 and neurofilament 200 expression was upregulated upon treatment with Neuritin. These findings demonstrate that Neuritin stimulates nerve regeneration and functional recovery and thus promotes the repair of injured sciatic nerves.