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Saikia C, Ben-Nissan G, Reuveny E, Karbat I. Production of recombinant venom peptides as tools for ion channel research. Methods Enzymol 2021; 654:169-201. [PMID: 34120712 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2021.01.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Animal venom is a rich source for peptide toxins that bind and modulate the function of ion channels. Owing to their ability to bind receptor sites on the channel protein with high affinity and specificity, peptide neurotoxins have become an indispensable tool for ion channel research. Recent breakthroughs in structural biology and advances in computer simulations of biomolecules have sparked a new interest in animal toxins as probes of channel protein structure and function. Here, we focus on methods used to produce animal toxins for research purposes using recombinant expression. The specific challenges associated with heterologous production of venom peptides are discussed, and several methods targeting these issues are presented with an emphasis on E. coli based systems. An efficient protocol for the bacterial expression, folding, and purification of recombinant venom peptides is described.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandamita Saikia
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Gili Ben-Nissan
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Eitan Reuveny
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Izhar Karbat
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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Zhang L, Wei X, Zhang R, Mozdziak PE, Si D, Ahmad B, Cheng Q, Tong Y. Design and Immunological Evaluation of a Hybrid Peptide as a Potent TLR2 Agonist by Structure-Based Virtual Screening. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:620370. [PMID: 33644058 PMCID: PMC7905067 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.620370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Immunity is a versatile defensive response that is involved in protecting against disease by identifying and destroying self and non-self harmful substances. As a state of temporary or permanent immune dysfunction, immunosuppression can make an organism more susceptible to infection, organ injury, and cancer due to damage to the immune system. It has taken a long time to develop new immunomodulatory agents to prevent and treat immunosuppressive diseases. In recent years, Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) agonists have been reported to have profound effects on the immune system, and they are regarded as potent immunomodulatory candidates. TP5 and LL-37, the potent immunomodulatory agents, have been reported to produce a robust innate immune response by binding to TLR2. However, their development has been weakened by several concerns, such as potential cytotoxicity, weak physiological stability and poor immunomodulatory activity. To overcome these challenges, hybridization has been proposed. Therefore, six hybrid peptides (LTPa, LTPb, LTPc, TPLa, TPLb, and TPLc) were designed by combining the full-length TP5 with a characteristic fragment of LL-37 that included LL-37 (13-36), LL-37 (17-29), and LL-37 (13-31). LTPa, the most potent TLR2 agonist, was simply and effectively screened by molecular docking and in vitro experiments. Furthermore, the immunomodulatory effects of LTPa were confirmed by a CTX-immunosuppressed murine model, which demonstrated that LTPa successfully inhibit immunosuppression, increased immune organ indices, enhanced DC maturation, regulated T lymphocyte subsets, and increased cytokine and Ig contents. Our study also revealed that the immunomodulatory effects of LTPa are associated with binding to TLR2, forming TLR2 clusters, and activating the NF-κB signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lulu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Xubiao Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.,School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Prestage Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Rijun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Paul E Mozdziak
- Prestage Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Dayong Si
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Baseer Ahmad
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Qiang Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Yucui Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
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Strategies for Optimizing the Production of Proteins and Peptides with Multiple Disulfide Bonds. Antibiotics (Basel) 2020; 9:antibiotics9090541. [PMID: 32858882 PMCID: PMC7558204 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9090541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 08/22/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bacteria can produce recombinant proteins quickly and cost effectively. However, their physiological properties limit their use for the production of proteins in their native form, especially polypeptides that are subjected to major post-translational modifications. Proteins that rely on disulfide bridges for their stability are difficult to produce in Escherichia coli. The bacterium offers the least costly, simplest, and fastest method for protein production. However, it is difficult to produce proteins with a very large size. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris are the most commonly used yeast species for protein production. At a low expense, yeasts can offer high protein yields, generate proteins with a molecular weight greater than 50 kDa, extract signal sequences, and glycosylate proteins. Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic species maintain reducing conditions in the cytoplasm. Hence, the formation of disulfide bonds is inhibited. These bonds are formed in eukaryotic cells during the export cycle, under the oxidizing conditions of the endoplasmic reticulum. Bacteria do not have an advanced subcellular space, but in the oxidizing periplasm, they exhibit both export systems and enzymatic activities directed at the formation and quality of disulfide bonds. Here, we discuss current techniques used to target eukaryotic and prokaryotic species for the generation of correctly folded proteins with disulfide bonds.
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Development of a Highly Efficient Hybrid Peptide That Increases Immunomodulatory Activity Via the TLR4-Mediated Nuclear Factor-κB Signaling Pathway. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:ijms20246161. [PMID: 31817671 PMCID: PMC6940896 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20246161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunity is a defensive response that fights disease by identifying and destroying harmful substances or microbiological toxins. Several factors, including work-related stress, pollution, and immunosuppressive agents, contribute to low immunity and poor health. Native peptides, a new class of immunoregulatory agents, have the potential for treating immunodeficiencies, malignancies, and infections. However, the potential cytotoxicity and low immunoregulatory activity and stability of native peptides have prevented their development. Therefore, we designed three hybrid peptides (LTAa, LTAb, and LTAc) by combining a characteristic fragment of LL-37 with an active Tα1 center that included Tα1 (17-24), Tα1 (20-25), and Tα1 (20-27). The best hybrid peptide (LTAa), according to molecule docking and in vitro experiments, had improved immunoregulatory activity and stability with minimal cytotoxicity. We investigated the immunoregulatory effects and mechanisms of LTAa using a cyclophosphamide-immunosuppressed murine model. LTAa effectively reversed immunosuppression by enhancing immune organ development, activating peritoneal macrophage phagocytosis, regulating T lymphocyte subsets, and increasing cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-6, and interleukin-1β) and immunoglobulin (IgA, IgG, and IgM) contents. The immunomodulatory effects of LTAa may be associated with binding to the TLR4/MD-2 complex and activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway. Therefore, LTAa could be an effective therapeutic agent for improving immune function.
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Zhang C, Zhou J, Cai K, Zhang W, Liao C, Wang C. Gene cloning, expression and immune adjuvant properties of the recombinant fusion peptide Tα1-BLP on avian influenza inactivate virus vaccine. Microb Pathog 2018; 120:147-154. [DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2018.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2017] [Revised: 04/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/02/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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Hosseini ES, Moniri R, Goli YD, Kashani HH. Purification of Antibacterial CHAP K Protein Using a Self-Cleaving Fusion Tag and Its Activity Against Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2018; 8:202-210. [PMID: 27797005 DOI: 10.1007/s12602-016-9236-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Therapeutic LysK-CHAP is a potent anti-staphylococcal protein that could be utilized as an antibiotic substitute. Intein-mediated protein purification is a reasonable and cost-effective method that is most recently used for recombinant therapeutic protein production. Intein (INT) is the internal parts of the protein that can be separated from the immature protein during protein splicing process. This sequence requires no specific enzyme or cofactor for separation. INT sequence and their characteristic of self-cleavage by thiol induction, temperature, and pH changes are used for protein purification. The current study presents the expression of CHAPK262 domain of LysK gene that is fused with INT/chitin-binding sequence while evaluating its purification procedure and antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The coding gene sequence of LysK-CHAP (CHAPK262) in pET22-b was amplified with polymerase chain reaction (PCR); the digested product was then cloned into the pTXB1 vector. Electrophoresis confirmed the cloning accuracy of the gene. The pTXB1-CHAPK262 plasmid was transformed to the Escherichia coli ER2566 (E. coli ER2566) expression strain and analyzed for expression of the recombinant protein by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting methods. Finally, CHAPK262 was purified by chitin affinity column using INT tag technology and confirmed by SDS-PAGE. Lytic activity of the purified protein was investigated by disk diffusion method. Cloning of CHAPK262 into the pTXB1 vector, which comprised INT/chitin-binding sequence, was successfully achieved. The SDS-PAGE data also revealed successful expression of the CHAPK262-INT fusion protein and Western blotting method validated the accuracy of the protein. Moreover, purification of CHAPK262 protein was induced by dithiothreitol (DTT) and confirmed by SDS-PAGE. Finally, inhibition zone in MRAS culture medium confirmed antibacterial activity of the protein. Application of intein-mediated antibacterial protein is an appropriate and streamlined method for one-step purification of CHAPK262 as a therapeutic and antibacterial protein. Self-cleaving tags like intein are cost-effective and could be used as a proper purification method for industrial purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Seyed Hosseini
- Anatomical Sciences Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Rezvan Moniri
- Anatomical Sciences Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | | | - Hamed Haddad Kashani
- Anatomical Sciences Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
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Li J, Cheng Y, Zhang X, Zheng L, Han Z, Li P, Xiao Y, Zhang Q, Wang F. The in vivo immunomodulatory and synergistic anti-tumor activity of thymosin α1-thymopentin fusion peptide and its binding to TLR2. Cancer Lett 2013; 337:237-47. [PMID: 23684552 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2013.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2013] [Revised: 05/01/2013] [Accepted: 05/04/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In the present study, the immunomodulatory and synergistic anti-tumor activity of thymosin α1-thymopentin fusion peptide (Tα1-TP5) was investigated in vivo. In addition, the potential receptor of Tα1-TP5 was investigated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding studies. It was found that Tα1-TP5 (305 μg/kg) alleviated immunosuppression induced by hydrocortisone (HC). Tα1-TP5 (305 μg/kg) combined with cyclophosphamide (CY) had a better tumor growth inhibitory effect than CY alone. Furthermore, Tα1-TP5 had a higher affinity (KD=6.84 μmol/L) to toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) than Tα1 (K(D)=35.4 μmol/L), but its affinity was not significantly different from that of TP5. The results of our present work indicate that Tα1-TP5 can possibly be developed as a new immunomodulatory agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Li
- Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Natural Products, Ministry of Education, Institute of Biochemical and Biotechnological Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China
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