5
|
Lee HH, Cherni I, Yu H, Fromme R, Doran JD, Grotjohann I, Mittman M, Basu S, Deb A, Dörner K, Aquila A, Barty A, Boutet S, Chapman HN, Doak RB, Hunter MS, James D, Kirian RA, Kupitz C, Lawrence RM, Liu H, Nass K, Schlichting I, Schmidt KE, Seibert MM, Shoeman RL, Spence JCH, Stellato F, Weierstall U, Williams GJ, Yoon C, Wang D, Zatsepin NA, Hogue BG, Matoba N, Fromme P, Mor TS. Expression, purification and crystallization of CTB-MPR, a candidate mucosal vaccine component against HIV-1. IUCRJ 2014; 1:305-17. [PMID: 25295172 PMCID: PMC4174873 DOI: 10.1107/s2052252514014900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 06/24/2014] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
CTB-MPR is a fusion protein between the B subunit of cholera toxin (CTB) and the membrane-proximal region of gp41 (MPR), the transmembrane envelope protein of Human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1), and has previously been shown to induce the production of anti-HIV-1 antibodies with antiviral functions. To further improve the design of this candidate vaccine, X-ray crystallography experiments were performed to obtain structural information about this fusion protein. Several variants of CTB-MPR were designed, constructed and recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli. The first variant contained a flexible GPGP linker between CTB and MPR, and yielded crystals that diffracted to a resolution of 2.3 Å, but only the CTB region was detected in the electron-density map. A second variant, in which the CTB was directly attached to MPR, was shown to destabilize pentamer formation. A third construct containing a polyalanine linker between CTB and MPR proved to stabilize the pentameric form of the protein during purification. The purification procedure was shown to produce a homogeneously pure and monodisperse sample for crystallization. Initial crystallization experiments led to pseudo-crystals which were ordered in only two dimensions and were disordered in the third dimension. Nanocrystals obtained using the same precipitant showed promising X-ray diffraction to 5 Å resolution in femtosecond nanocrystallography experiments at the Linac Coherent Light Source at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. The results demonstrate the utility of femtosecond X-ray crystallography to enable structural analysis based on nano/microcrystals of a protein for which no macroscopic crystals ordered in three dimensions have been observed before.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ho-Hsien Lee
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Irene Cherni
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - HongQi Yu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Raimund Fromme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Jeffrey D. Doran
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Ingo Grotjohann
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Michele Mittman
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Shibom Basu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Arpan Deb
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Katerina Dörner
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Andrew Aquila
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anton Barty
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sébastien Boutet
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Henry N. Chapman
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - R. Bruce Doak
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Mark S. Hunter
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Daniel James
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Richard A. Kirian
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Christopher Kupitz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Robert M. Lawrence
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Haiguang Liu
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Karol Nass
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- University of Hamburg, Luruper Chaussee 149, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ilme Schlichting
- Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kevin E. Schmidt
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - M. Marvin Seibert
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Robert L. Shoeman
- Max-Planck-Institut für medizinische Forschung, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - John C. H. Spence
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Francesco Stellato
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Weierstall
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Garth J. Williams
- Linac Coherent Light Source, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Chunhong Yoon
- Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
- European XFEL GmbH, Albert-Einstein-Ring 19, 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dingjie Wang
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Nadia A. Zatsepin
- Department of Physics, Arizona State University, PO Box 871504, Tempe, AZ 85287-1504, USA
| | - Brenda G. Hogue
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Nobuyuki Matoba
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| | - Petra Fromme
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, PO Box 871604, Tempe, AZ 85287-1604, USA
| | - Tsafrir S. Mor
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-4501, USA
- Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, AZ 85287-5401, USA
| |
Collapse
|