A general approach to renaturation of recombinant proteins produced as inclusion bodies

Human neuromodulator SLURP-1: bacterial expression, binding to muscle-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, secondary structure, and conformational heterogeneity in solution

Human protein SLURP-1 is an endogenous neuromodulator belonging to the Ly-6/uPAR family and acting on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. In the present work, the gene of SLURP-1 was expressed in E. coli. The bacterial systems engineered for SLURP-1 expression as fused with thioredoxin and secretion with leader peptide STII failed in the production of milligram quantities of the protein. The SLURP-1 was produced with high-yield in the form of inclusion bodies, and different methods of the protein refolding were tested. Milligram quantities of recombinant SLURP-1 and its (15)N-labeled analog were obtained. The recombinant SLURP-1 competed with (125)I-α-bungarotoxin for binding to muscle-type Torpedo californica nAChR at micromolar concentrations, indicating a partial overlap in the binding sites for SLURP-1 and α-neurotoxins on the receptor surface. NMR study revealed conformational heterogeneity of SLURP-1 in aqueous solution, which was associated with cis-trans isomerization of the Tyr39-Pro40 peptide bond. The two structural forms of the protein have almost equal population in aqueous solution, and exchange process between them takes place with characteristic time of about 4 ms. Almost complete (1)H and (15)N resonance assignment was obtained for both structural forms of SLURP-1. The secondary structure of SLURP-1 involves two antiparallel β-sheets formed from five β-strands and closely resembles those of three-finger snake neurotoxins.

Receptor-binding domain of ephrin-A1: production in bacterial expression system and activity

Eph receptor tyrosine kinases and their ligands, the ephrins, perform an important regulatory function in tissue organization, as well as participate in malignant transformation of cells. Ephrin-A1, a ligand of A class Eph receptors, is a modulator of tumor growth and progression, and the mechanism of its action needs detailed investigation. Here we report on the development of a system for bacterial expression of an ephrin-A1 receptor-binding domain (eA1), a procedure for its purification, and its renaturation with final yield of 50 mg/liter of culture. Functional activity of eA1 was confirmed by immunoblotting, laser scanning confocal microscopy, and flow cytometry. It is shown that monomeric non-glycosylated receptor-binding domain of ephrin-A1 is able to activate cellular EphA2 receptors, stimulating their phosphorylation. Ligand eA1 can be used to study the features of ephrin-A1 interactions with different A class Eph receptors. The created expression cassette is suitable for the development of ligands with increased activity and selectivity and experimental systems for the delivery of cytotoxins into tumor cells that overexpress EphA2 or other class A Eph receptors.

Recombinant human insulin IX. Investigation of factors, influencing the folding of fusion protein-S-sulfonates, biotechnological precursors of human insulin

The peculiarities of molecular structures and the influence of reaction conditions on the folding efficiency of fusion proteins-biotechnological precursors of human insulin, expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies have been investigated. The fusion proteins contained proinsulin sequence with various leader peptides connected by an Arg residue to the insulin B-chain. The kind and the size of leader peptide do not have essential influence on folding efficiency. However, the efficiency of protein folding depends on the location of the (His)6 site, which is used for metal-chelating affinity chromatography. In our study the protein folding depends on the reaction medium composition (including additives), the presence of accompanied cell components, pH, temperature, concentrations of protein, and redox agents. A negative influence of nucleic acid and heavy metal ions on folding has been found. S-sulfonated fusion protein has proinsulin-like secondary structure (by CD-spectroscopy data) that is the key point for 95% efficient folding proceeding. Folded fusion proteins are transformed into insulin by enzymatic cleavage.