1
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DeWinter MA, Wong DA, Fernandez R, Kightlinger W, Thames AH, DeLisa MP, Jewett MC. Establishing a Cell-Free Glycoprotein Synthesis System for Enzymatic N-GlcNAcylation. ACS Chem Biol 2024. [PMID: 38934647 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.4c00228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
N-linked glycosylation plays a key role in the efficacy of many therapeutic proteins. One limitation to the bacterial glycoengineering of human N-linked glycans is the difficulty of installing a single N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), the reducing end sugar of many human-type glycans, onto asparagine in a single step (N-GlcNAcylation). Here, we develop an in vitro method for N-GlcNAcylating proteins using the oligosaccharyltransferase PglB from Campylobacter jejuni. We use cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) to test promiscuous PglB variants previously reported in the literature for the ability to produce N-GlcNAc and successfully determine that PglB with an N311V mutation (PglBN311V) exhibits increased GlcNAc transferase activity relative to the wild-type enzyme. We then improve the transfer efficiency by producing CFPS extracts enriched with PglBN311V and further optimize the reaction conditions, achieving a 98.6 ± 0.5% glycosylation efficiency. We anticipate this method will expand the glycoengineering toolbox for therapeutic research and biomanufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison A DeWinter
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Derek A Wong
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Regina Fernandez
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Weston Kightlinger
- Cell-free Protein Synthesis and Microbial Process Development, National Resilience Inc.,, Oakland, California 94606, United States
| | - Ariel Helms Thames
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
| | - Matthew P DeLisa
- Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
- Cornell Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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2
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Krishna S, Jung ST, Lee EY. Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris: microbial cell-factory platform for -full-length IgG production. Crit Rev Biotechnol 2024:1-23. [PMID: 38797692 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2024.2342969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Owing to the unmet demand, the pharmaceutical industry is investigating an alternative host to mammalian cells to produce antibodies for a variety of therapeutic and research applications. Regardless of some disadvantages, Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris are the preferred microbial hosts for antibody production. Despite the fact that the production of full-length antibodies has been successfully demonstrated in E. coli, which has mostly been used to produce antibody fragments, such as: antigen-binding fragments (Fab), single-chain fragment variable (scFv), and nanobodies. In contrast, Pichia, a eukaryotic microbial host, is mostly used to produce glycosylated full-length antibodies, though hypermannosylated glycan is a major challenge. Advanced strategies, such as the introduction of human-like glycosylation in endotoxin-edited E. coli and cell-free system-based glycosylation, are making progress in creating human-like glycosylation profiles of antibodies in these microbes. This review begins by explaining the structural and functional requirements of antibodies and continues by describing and analyzing the potential of E. coli and P. pastoris as hosts for providing a favorable environment to create a fully functional antibody. In addition, authors compare these microbes on certain features and predict their future in antibody production. Briefly, this review analyzes, compares, and highlights E. coli and P. pastoris as potential hosts for antibody production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyam Krishna
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Taek Jung
- BK21 Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Graduate School, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun Yeol Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering (BK21 FOUR Integrated Engineering Program), Kyung Hee University, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
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3
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Liu WQ, Ji X, Ba F, Zhang Y, Xu H, Huang S, Zheng X, Liu Y, Ling S, Jewett MC, Li J. Cell-free biosynthesis and engineering of ribosomally synthesized lanthipeptides. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4336. [PMID: 38773100 PMCID: PMC11109155 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48726-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are a major class of natural products with diverse chemical structures and potent biological activities. A vast majority of RiPP gene clusters remain unexplored in microbial genomes, which is partially due to the lack of rapid and efficient heterologous expression systems for RiPP characterization and biosynthesis. Here, we report a unified biocatalysis (UniBioCat) system based on cell-free gene expression for rapid biosynthesis and engineering of RiPPs. We demonstrate UniBioCat by reconstituting a full biosynthetic pathway for de novo biosynthesis of salivaricin B, a lanthipeptide RiPP. Next, we delete several protease/peptidase genes from the source strain to enhance the performance of UniBioCat, which then can synthesize and screen salivaricin B variants with enhanced antimicrobial activity. Finally, we show that UniBioCat is generalizable by synthesizing and evaluating the bioactivity of ten uncharacterized lanthipeptides. We expect UniBioCat to accelerate the discovery, characterization, and synthesis of RiPPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Qiu Liu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiangyang Ji
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Ba
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yufei Zhang
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Huiling Xu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shuhui Huang
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao Zheng
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yifan Liu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center, Shanghai, China.
| | - Shengjie Ling
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center, Shanghai, China.
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, US.
| | - Jian Li
- School of Physical Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Advanced Medical Materials and Devices, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China.
- Shanghai Clinical Research and Trial Center, Shanghai, China.
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4
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Schachner LF, Mullen C, Phung W, Hinkle JD, Beardsley MI, Bentley T, Day P, Tsai C, Sukumaran S, Baginski T, DiCara D, Agard NJ, Masureel M, Gober J, ElSohly AM, Melani R, Syka JEP, Huguet R, Marty MT, Sandoval W. Exposing the molecular heterogeneity of glycosylated biotherapeutics. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3259. [PMID: 38627419 PMCID: PMC11021452 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47693-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The heterogeneity inherent in today's biotherapeutics, especially as a result of heavy glycosylation, can affect a molecule's safety and efficacy. Characterizing this heterogeneity is crucial for drug development and quality assessment, but existing methods are limited in their ability to analyze intact glycoproteins or other heterogeneous biotherapeutics. Here, we present an approach to the molecular assessment of biotherapeutics that uses proton-transfer charge-reduction with gas-phase fractionation to analyze intact heterogeneous and/or glycosylated proteins by mass spectrometry. The method provides a detailed landscape of the intact molecular weights present in biotherapeutic protein preparations in a single experiment. For glycoproteins in particular, the method may offer insights into glycan composition when coupled with a suitable bioinformatic strategy. We tested the approach on various biotherapeutic molecules, including Fc-fusion, VHH-fusion, and peptide-bound MHC class II complexes to demonstrate efficacy in measuring the proteoform-level diversity of biotherapeutics. Notably, we inferred the glycoform distribution for hundreds of molecular weights for the eight-times glycosylated fusion drug IL22-Fc, enabling correlations between glycoform sub-populations and the drug's pharmacological properties. Our method is broadly applicable and provides a powerful tool to assess the molecular heterogeneity of emerging biotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis F Schachner
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Christopher Mullen
- Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
| | - Wilson Phung
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua D Hinkle
- Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
| | | | - Tracy Bentley
- Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Peter Day
- Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Christina Tsai
- Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
- Protein Analytical Development, Ascendis Pharma, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Siddharth Sukumaran
- Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
- Translational Pharmacometrics, Janssen, Horsham, PA, USA
| | - Tomasz Baginski
- Pharmaceutical Technical Development, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Danielle DiCara
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Nicholas J Agard
- Department of Antibody Engineering, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Matthieu Masureel
- Department of Structural Biology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua Gober
- Department of Protein Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Adel M ElSohly
- Department of Protein Chemistry, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rafael Melani
- Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
| | - John E P Syka
- Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
| | - Romain Huguet
- Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., San Jose, CA, USA
| | - Michael T Marty
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Wendy Sandoval
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics and Lipidomics, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA.
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5
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Steinkühler J, Peruzzi JA, Krüger A, Villaseñor CG, Jacobs ML, Jewett MC, Kamat NP. Improving Cell-Free Expression of Model Membrane Proteins by Tuning Ribosome Cotranslational Membrane Association and Nascent Chain Aggregation. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:129-140. [PMID: 38150067 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Cell-free gene expression (CFE) systems are powerful tools for transcribing and translating genes outside of a living cell. Synthesis of membrane proteins is of particular interest, but their yield in CFE is substantially lower than that for soluble proteins. In this paper, we study the CFE of membrane proteins and develop a quantitative kinetic model. We identify that ribosome stalling during the translation of membrane proteins is a strong predictor of membrane protein synthesis due to aggregation between the ribosome nascent chains. Synthesis can be improved by the addition of lipid membranes, which incorporate protein nascent chains and, therefore, kinetically compete with aggregation. We show that the balance between peptide-membrane association and peptide aggregation rates determines the yield of the synthesized membrane protein. We define a membrane protein expression score that can be used to rationalize the engineering of lipid composition and the N-terminal domain of a native and computationally designed membrane proteins produced through CFE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Steinkühler
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Bio-Inspired Computation, Kiel University, Kaiserstraße 2, 24143 Kiel, Germany
- Kiel Nano, Surface and Interface Science KiNSIS, Kiel University, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Justin A Peruzzi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Antje Krüger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Citlayi G Villaseñor
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Miranda L Jacobs
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Neha P Kamat
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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6
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Bidstrup EJ, Kwon YH, Kim K, Bandi CK, Aw R, Jewett MC, DeLisa MP. Cell-Free Systems for the Production of Glycoproteins. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2762:309-328. [PMID: 38315374 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3666-4_19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), whereby cell lysates are used to produce proteins from a genetic template, has matured as an attractive alternative to standard biomanufacturing modalities due to its high volumetric productivity contained within a distributable platform. Initially, cell-free lysates produced from Escherichia coli, which are both simple to produce and cost-effective for the production of a wide variety of proteins, were unable to produce glycosylated proteins as E. coli lacks native glycosylation machinery. With many important therapeutic proteins possessing asparagine-linked glycans that are critical for structure and function, this gap in CFPS production capabilities was addressed with the development of cell-free expression of glycoproteins (glycoCFE), which uses the supplementation of extracted lipid-linked oligosaccharides and purified oligosaccharyltransferases to enable glycoprotein production in the CFPS reaction environment. In this chapter, we highlight the basic methods for the preparation of reagents for glycoCFE and the protocol for expression and glycosylation of a model protein using a more productive, yet simplified, glycoCFE setup. Beyond this initial protocol, we also highlight how this protocol can be extended to a wide range of alternative glycan structures, oligosaccharyltransferases, and acceptor proteins as well as to a one-pot cell-free glycoprotein synthesis reaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik J Bidstrup
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Yong Hyun Kwon
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Keehun Kim
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Chandra Kanth Bandi
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Rochelle Aw
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Matthew P DeLisa
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
- Cornell Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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7
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Clarke EC. Considerations for Glycoprotein Production. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2762:329-351. [PMID: 38315375 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3666-4_20] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
This chapter is intended to provide insights for researchers aiming to choose an appropriate expression system for the production of recombinant glycoproteins. Producing glycoproteins is complex, as glycosylation patterns are determined by the availability and abundance of specific enzymes rather than a direct genetic blueprint. Furthermore, the cell systems often employed for protein production are evolutionarily distinct, leading to significantly different glycosylation when utilized for glycoprotein production. The selection of an appropriate production system depends on the intended applications and desired characteristics of the protein. Whether the goal is to produce glycoproteins mimicking native conditions or to intentionally alter glycan structures for specific purposes, such as enhancing immunogenicity in vaccines, understanding glycosylation present in the different systems and in different growth conditions is essential. This chapter will cover Escherichia coli, baculovirus/insect cell systems, Pichia pastoris, as well as different mammalian cell culture systems including Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, human endothelial kidney (HEK) cell lines, and baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth C Clarke
- Center for Global Health, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
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8
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Nam H, Kim T, Moon S, Ji Y, Lee JB. Self-assembly of a multimeric genomic hydrogel via multi-primed chain reaction of dual single-stranded circular plasmids for cell-free protein production. iScience 2023; 26:107089. [PMID: 37416467 PMCID: PMC10319821 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent technical advances in cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) offer several advantages over cell-based expression systems, including the application of cellular machinery, such as transcription and translation, in the test tube. Inspired by the advantages of CFPS, we have fabricated a multimeric genomic DNA hydrogel (mGD-gel) via rolling circle chain amplification (RCCA) using dual single-stranded circular plasmids with multiple primers. The mGD-gel exhibited significantly enhanced protein yield. In addition, mGD-gel can be reused at least five times, and the shape of the mGD-gel can be easily manipulated without losing the feasibility of protein expression. The mGD-gel platform based on the self-assembly of multimeric genomic DNA strands (mGD strands) has the potential to be used in CFPS systems for a variety of biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyangsu Nam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Taehyeon Kim
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Sunghyun Moon
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Yoonbin Ji
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong Bum Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea
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9
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Manzer ZA, Selivanovitch E, Ostwalt AR, Daniel S. Membrane protein synthesis: no cells required. Trends Biochem Sci 2023; 48:642-654. [PMID: 37087310 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2023.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/24/2023]
Abstract
Despite advances in membrane protein (MP) structural biology and a growing interest in their applications, these proteins remain challenging to study. Progress has been hindered by the complex nature of MPs and innovative methods will be required to circumvent technical hurdles. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) is a burgeoning technique for synthesizing MPs directly into a membrane environment using reconstituted components of the cellular transcription and translation machinery in vitro. We provide an overview of CFPS and how this technique can be applied to the synthesis and study of MPs. We highlight numerous strategies including synthesis methods and folding environments, each with advantages and limitations, to provide a survey of how CFPS techniques can advance the study of MPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary A Manzer
- R.F. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Ekaterina Selivanovitch
- R.F. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Alexis R Ostwalt
- R.F. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Susan Daniel
- R.F. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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10
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Stark JC, Jaroentomeechai T, Warfel KF, Hershewe JM, DeLisa MP, Jewett MC. Rapid biosynthesis of glycoprotein therapeutics and vaccines from freeze-dried bacterial cell lysates. Nat Protoc 2023:10.1038/s41596-022-00799-z. [PMID: 37328605 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-022-00799-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The advent of distributed biomanufacturing platforms promises to increase agility in biologic production and expand access by reducing reliance on refrigerated supply chains. However, such platforms are not capable of robustly producing glycoproteins, which represent the majority of biologics approved or in development. To address this limitation, we developed cell-free technologies that enable rapid, modular production of glycoprotein therapeutics and vaccines from freeze-dried Escherichia coli cell lysates. Here, we describe a protocol for generation of cell-free lysates and freeze-dried reactions for on-demand synthesis of desired glycoproteins. The protocol includes construction and culture of the bacterial chassis strain, cell-free lysate production, assembly of freeze-dried reactions, cell-free glycoprotein synthesis, and glycoprotein characterization, all of which can be completed in one week or less. We anticipate that cell-free technologies, along with this comprehensive user manual, will help accelerate development and distribution of glycoprotein therapeutics and vaccines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica C Stark
- Department of Chemistry & Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
| | - Thapakorn Jaroentomeechai
- Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Departments of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Katherine F Warfel
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Jasmine M Hershewe
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Matthew P DeLisa
- Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Simpson-Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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11
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Wagner L, Jules M, Borkowski O. What remains from living cells in bacterial lysate-based cell-free systems. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2023; 21:3173-3182. [PMID: 37333859 PMCID: PMC10275740 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Because they mimic cells while offering an accessible and controllable environment, lysate-based cell-free systems (CFS) have emerged as valuable biotechnology tools for synthetic biology. Historically used to uncover fundamental mechanisms of life, CFS are nowadays used for a multitude of purposes, including protein production and prototyping of synthetic circuits. Despite the conservation of fundamental functions in CFS like transcription and translation, RNAs and certain membrane-embedded or membrane-bound proteins of the host cell are lost when preparing the lysate. As a result, CFS largely lack some essential properties of living cells, such as the ability to adapt to changing conditions, to maintain homeostasis and spatial organization. Regardless of the application, shedding light on the black-box of the bacterial lysate is necessary to fully exploit the potential of CFS. Most measurements of the activity of synthetic circuits in CFS and in vivo show significant correlations because these only require processes that are preserved in CFS, like transcription and translation. However, prototyping circuits of higher complexity that require functions that are lost in CFS (cell adaptation, homeostasis, spatial organization) will not show such a good correlation with in vivo conditions. Both for prototyping circuits of higher complexity and for building artificial cells, the cell-free community has developed devices to reconstruct cellular functions. This mini-review compares bacterial CFS to living cells, focusing on functional and cellular process differences and the latest developments in restoring lost functions through complementation of the lysate or device engineering.
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12
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Toul M, Slonkova V, Mican J, Urminsky A, Tomkova M, Sedlak E, Bednar D, Damborsky J, Hernychova L, Prokop Z. Identification, characterization, and engineering of glycosylation in thrombolyticsa. Biotechnol Adv 2023; 66:108174. [PMID: 37182613 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases, such as myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and pulmonary embolism, are the most common causes of disability and death worldwide. Blood clot hydrolysis by thrombolytic enzymes and thrombectomy are key clinical interventions. The most widely used thrombolytic enzyme is alteplase, which has been used in clinical practice since 1986. Another clinically used thrombolytic protein is tenecteplase, which has modified epitopes and engineered glycosylation sites, suggesting that carbohydrate modification in thrombolytic enzymes is a viable strategy for their improvement. This comprehensive review summarizes current knowledge on computational and experimental identification of glycosylation sites and glycan identity, together with methods used for their reengineering. Practical examples from previous studies focus on modification of glycosylations in thrombolytics, e.g., alteplase, tenecteplase, reteplase, urokinase, saruplase, and desmoteplase. Collected clinical data on these glycoproteins demonstrate the great potential of this engineering strategy. Outstanding combinatorics originating from multiple glycosylation sites and the vast variety of covalently attached glycan species can be addressed by directed evolution or rational design. Directed evolution pipelines would benefit from more efficient cell-free expression and high-throughput screening assays, while rational design must employ structure prediction by machine learning and in silico characterization by supercomputing. Perspectives on challenges and opportunities for improvement of thrombolytic enzymes by engineering and evolution of protein glycosylation are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Toul
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Veronika Slonkova
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Mican
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Adam Urminsky
- Research Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Zluty kopec 7, 656 53 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Maria Tomkova
- Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, P. J. Safarik University in Kosice, Jesenna 5, 04154 Kosice, Slovakia
| | - Erik Sedlak
- Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, P. J. Safarik University in Kosice, Jesenna 5, 04154 Kosice, Slovakia
| | - David Bednar
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Damborsky
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Lenka Hernychova
- Research Centre for Applied Molecular Oncology, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Zluty kopec 7, 656 53 Brno, Czech Republic.
| | - Zbynek Prokop
- Loschmidt Laboratories, Department of Experimental Biology and RECETOX, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5/C13, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic; International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Pekarska 53, 656 91 Brno, Czech Republic.
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13
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Peruzzi JA, Galvez NR, Kamat NP. Engineering transmembrane signal transduction in synthetic membranes using two-component systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218610120. [PMID: 37126679 PMCID: PMC10175788 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218610120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Cells use signal transduction across their membranes to sense and respond to a wide array of chemical and physical signals. Creating synthetic systems which can harness cellular signaling modalities promises to provide a powerful platform for biosensing and therapeutic applications. As a first step toward this goal, we investigated how bacterial two-component systems (TCSs) can be leveraged to enable transmembrane-signaling with synthetic membranes. Specifically, we demonstrate that a bacterial two-component nitrate-sensing system (NarX-NarL) can be reproduced outside of a cell using synthetic membranes and cell-free protein expression systems. We find that performance and sensitivity of the TCS can be tuned by altering the biophysical properties of the membrane in which the histidine kinase (NarX) is integrated. Through protein engineering efforts, we modify the sensing domain of NarX to generate sensors capable of detecting an array of ligands. Finally, we demonstrate that these systems can sense ligands in relevant sample environments. By leveraging membrane and protein design, this work helps reveal how transmembrane sensing can be recapitulated outside of the cell, adding to the arsenal of deployable cell-free systems primed for real world biosensing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin A. Peruzzi
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
| | - Nina R. Galvez
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
| | - Neha P. Kamat
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208
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14
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Thames AH, Moons SJ, Wong DA, Boltje TJ, Bochner BS, Jewett MC. GlycoCAP: A Cell-Free, Bacterial Glycosylation Platform for Building Clickable Azido-Sialoglycoproteins. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:1264-1274. [PMID: 37040463 PMCID: PMC10758250 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Glycan-binding receptors known as lectins represent a class of potential therapeutic targets. Yet, the therapeutic potential of targeting lectins remains largely untapped due in part to limitations in tools for building glycan-based drugs. One group of desirable structures is proteins with noncanonical glycans. Cell-free protein synthesis systems have matured as a promising approach for making glycoproteins that may overcome current limitations and enable new glycoprotein medicines. Yet, this approach has not been applied to the construction of proteins with noncanonical glycans. To address this limitation, we develop a cell-free glycoprotein synthesis platform for building noncanonical glycans and, specifically, clickable azido-sialoglycoproteins (called GlycoCAP). The GlycoCAP platform uses an Escherichia coli-based cell-free protein synthesis system for the site-specific installation of noncanonical glycans onto proteins with a high degree of homogeneity and efficiency. As a model, we construct four noncanonical glycans onto a dust mite allergen (Der p 2): α2,3 C5-azido-sialyllactose, α2,3 C9-azido-sialyllactose, α2,6 C5-azido-sialyllactose, and α2,6 C9-azido-sialyllactose. Through a series of optimizations, we achieve more than 60% sialylation efficiency with a noncanonical azido-sialic acid. We then show that the azide click handle can be conjugated with a model fluorophore using both strain-promoted and copper-catalyzed click chemistry. We anticipate that GlycoCAP will facilitate the development and discovery of glycan-based drugs by granting access to a wider variety of possible noncanonical glycan structures and also provide an approach for functionalizing glycoproteins by click chemistry conjugation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Helms Thames
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Tech B486, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
| | - Sam J Moons
- Synvenio B.V., Mercator 3, Nijmegen 6525ED, The Netherlands
| | - Derek A Wong
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Tech B486, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Thomas J Boltje
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen 6525AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Bruce S Bochner
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Tech B486, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
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15
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DeWinter MA, Thames AH, Guerrero L, Kightlinger W, Karim AS, Jewett MC. Point-of-Care Peptide Hormone Production Enabled by Cell-Free Protein Synthesis. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:1216-1226. [PMID: 36940255 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/22/2023]
Abstract
In resource-limited settings, it can be difficult to safely deliver sensitive biologic medicines to patients due to cold chain and infrastructure constraints. Point-of-care drug manufacturing could circumvent these challenges since medicines could be produced locally and used on-demand. Toward this vision, we combine cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) and a 2-in-1 affinity purification and enzymatic cleavage scheme to develop a platform for point-of-care drug manufacturing. As a model, we use this platform to synthesize a panel of peptide hormones, an important class of medications that can be used to treat a wide variety of diseases including diabetes, osteoporosis, and growth disorders. With this approach, temperature-stable lyophilized CFPS reaction components can be rehydrated with DNA encoding a SUMOylated peptide hormone of interest when needed. Strep-Tactin affinity purification and on-bead SUMO protease cleavage yield peptide hormones in their native form that are recognized by ELISA antibodies and that can bind their respective receptors. With further development to ensure proper biologic activity and patient safety, we envision that this platform could be used to manufacture valuable peptide hormone drugs in a decentralized way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison A DeWinter
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Ariel Helms Thames
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
| | - Laura Guerrero
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Weston Kightlinger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Ashty S Karim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
- Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
- Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
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16
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Wang T, Lin X, Li Y, Lu Y. Artificial Lipid Biomembranes for Full-Length SARS-CoV-2 Receptor. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023:e2300575. [PMID: 36932971 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202300575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), as a functional receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is essential for assessing potential hosts and treatments. However, many studies are based on its truncated version but not full-length structure. Indeed, a single transmembrane (TM) helix presents in the full-length ACE2, influencing its interaction with SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, synthesis of the full-length ACE2 is an urgent requirement. Here, cell-free membrane protein synthesis systems (CFMPSs) are constructed for full-length membrane proteins. MscL is screened as a model among ten membrane proteins based on their expression and solubility. Next, CFMPSs are constructed and optimized based on natural vesicles, vesicles with four membrane proteins removed or two chaperonins added, and 37 types of nanodiscs. They all increase membrane protein solubility to over 50%. Finally, the full-length ACE2 of 21 species are successfully expressed with yields between 0.4 and 0.9 mg mL-1 . The definite functional differences from the truncated version suggest that the TM region affects ACE2's structure and function. CFMPSs can be extended to more membrane proteins, paving the way for further applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Wang
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiaomei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yuting Li
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yuan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
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17
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Rasor BJ, Chirania P, Rybnicky GA, Giannone RJ, Engle NL, Tschaplinski TJ, Karim AS, Hettich RL, Jewett MC. Mechanistic Insights into Cell-Free Gene Expression through an Integrated -Omics Analysis of Extract Processing Methods. ACS Synth Biol 2023; 12:405-418. [PMID: 36700560 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Cell-free systems derived from crude cell extracts have developed into tools for gene expression, with applications in prototyping, biosensing, and protein production. Key to the development of these systems is optimization of cell extract preparation methods. However, the applied nature of these optimizations often limits investigation into the complex nature of the extracts themselves, which contain thousands of proteins and reaction networks with hundreds of metabolites. Here, we sought to uncover the black box of proteins and metabolites in Escherichia coli cell-free reactions based on different extract preparation methods. We assess changes in transcription and translation activity from σ70 promoters in extracts prepared with acetate or glutamate buffer and the common post-lysis processing steps of a runoff incubation and dialysis. We then utilize proteomic and metabolomic analyses to uncover potential mechanisms behind these changes in gene expression, highlighting the impact of cold shock-like proteins and the role of buffer composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake J Rasor
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Payal Chirania
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States.,Graduate School of Genome Science and Technology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States
| | - Grant A Rybnicky
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Richard J Giannone
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Nancy L Engle
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Timothy J Tschaplinski
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Ashty S Karim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Robert L Hettich
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States.,Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States.,Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States
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18
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Cell-free protein synthesis systems for vaccine design and production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2023; 79:102888. [PMID: 36641905 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Vaccines are vital for protection against existing and emergent diseases. Current vaccine production strategies are limited by long production times, risky viral material, weak immunogenicity, and poor stability, ultimately restricting the safe or rapid production of vaccines for widespread utilization. Cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) systems, which use extracted transcriptional and translational machinery from cells, are promising tools for vaccine production because they can rapidly produce proteins without the constraints of living cells, have a highly optimizable open system, and can be used for on-demand biomanufacturing. Here, we review how CFPS systems have been explored for the production of subunit, conjugate, virus-like particle (VLP), and membrane-augmented vaccines and as a tool in vaccine design. We also discuss efforts to address potential limitations with CFPS such as the presence of endotoxins, poor protein folding, reaction stability, and glycosylation to enable promising future vaccine design and production.
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19
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Ouadhi S, López DMV, Mohideen FI, Kwan DH. Engineering the enzyme toolbox to tailor glycosylation in small molecule natural products and protein biologics. Protein Eng Des Sel 2023; 36:gzac010. [PMID: 36444941 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzac010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Many glycosylated small molecule natural products and glycoprotein biologics are important in a broad range of therapeutic and industrial applications. The sugar moieties that decorate these compounds often show a profound impact on their biological functions, thus biocatalytic methods for controlling their glycosylation are valuable. Enzymes from nature are useful tools to tailor bioproduct glycosylation but these sometimes have limitations in their catalytic efficiency, substrate specificity, regiospecificity, stereospecificity, or stability. Enzyme engineering strategies such as directed evolution or semi-rational and rational design have addressed some of the challenges presented by these limitations. In this review, we highlight some of the recent research on engineering enzymes to tailor the glycosylation of small molecule natural products (including alkaloids, terpenoids, polyketides, and peptides), as well as the glycosylation of protein biologics (including hormones, enzyme-replacement therapies, enzyme inhibitors, vaccines, and antibodies).
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Ouadhi
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 2A6, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Structure, and Engineering, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Dulce María Valdez López
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 2A6, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Structure, and Engineering, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - F Ifthiha Mohideen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G2, Canada
| | - David H Kwan
- Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology, Concordia University, Montreal, QC H4B 2A6, Canada
- PROTEO, Quebec Network for Research on Protein Function, Structure, and Engineering, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
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20
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Williams AJ, Warfel KF, Desai P, Li J, Lee JJ, Wong DA, Nguyen PM, Qin Y, Sobol SE, Jewett MC, Chang YF, DeLisa MP. A low-cost recombinant glycoconjugate vaccine confers immunogenicity and protection against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infections in mice. Front Mol Biosci 2023; 10:1085887. [PMID: 36936989 PMCID: PMC10018396 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1085887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is the primary etiologic agent of traveler's diarrhea and a major cause of diarrheal disease and death worldwide, especially in infants and young children. Despite significant efforts over the past several decades, an affordable vaccine that appreciably decreases mortality and morbidity associated with ETEC infection among children under the age of 5 years remains an unmet aspirational goal. Here, we describe robust, cost-effective biosynthetic routes that leverage glycoengineered strains of non-pathogenic E. coli or their cell-free extracts for producing conjugate vaccine candidates against two of the most prevalent O serogroups of ETEC, O148 and O78. Specifically, we demonstrate site-specific installation of O-antigen polysaccharides (O-PS) corresponding to these serogroups onto licensed carrier proteins using the oligosaccharyltransferase PglB from Campylobacter jejuni. The resulting conjugates stimulate strong O-PS-specific humoral responses in mice and elicit IgG antibodies that possess bactericidal activity against the cognate pathogens. We also show that one of the prototype conjugates decorated with serogroup O148 O-PS reduces ETEC colonization in mice, providing evidence of vaccine-induced mucosal protection. We anticipate that our bacterial cell-based and cell-free platforms will enable creation of multivalent formulations with the potential for broad ETEC serogroup protection and increased access through low-cost biomanufacturing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asher J. Williams
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Katherine F. Warfel
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Primit Desai
- Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Jen-Jie Lee
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Derek A. Wong
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Phuong M. Nguyen
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Yufan Qin
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Sarah E. Sobol
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Technological Institute, Evanston, IL, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Yung-Fu Chang
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
| | - Matthew P. DeLisa
- Robert F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
- Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
- Cornell Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Matthew P. DeLisa,
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21
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Warfel K, Williams A, Wong DA, Sobol SE, Desai P, Li J, Chang YF, DeLisa MP, Karim AS, Jewett MC. A Low-Cost, Thermostable, Cell-Free Protein Synthesis Platform for On-Demand Production of Conjugate Vaccines. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 12:95-107. [PMID: 36548479 PMCID: PMC9872175 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis systems that can be lyophilized for long-term, non-refrigerated storage and transportation have the potential to enable decentralized biomanufacturing. However, increased thermostability and decreased reaction cost are necessary for further technology adoption. Here, we identify maltodextrin as an additive to cell-free reactions that can act as both a lyoprotectant to increase thermostability and a low-cost energy substrate. As a model, we apply optimized formulations to produce conjugate vaccines for ∼$0.50 per dose after storage at room temperature (∼22 °C) or 37 °C for up to 4 weeks, and ∼$1.00 per dose after storage at 50 °C for up to 4 weeks, with costs based on raw materials purchased at the laboratory scale. We show that these conjugate vaccines generate bactericidal antibodies against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) O78 O-polysaccharide, a pathogen responsible for diarrheal disease, in immunized mice. We anticipate that our low-cost, thermostable cell-free glycoprotein synthesis system will enable new models of medicine biosynthesis and distribution that bypass cold-chain requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine
F. Warfel
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Asher Williams
- Robert
Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 United States
| | - Derek A. Wong
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Sarah E. Sobol
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Primit Desai
- Biochemistry,
Molecular & Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 United States
| | - Jie Li
- Department
of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary
Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Yung-Fu Chang
- Department
of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary
Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Matthew P. DeLisa
- Robert
Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 United States,Biochemistry,
Molecular & Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 United States,Cornell
Institute of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 United States
| | - Ashty S. Karim
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States,Robert
H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern
University, 676 North
Saint Clair Street, Suite 1200, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States,Simpson
Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, 303 East Superior Street, Suite
11-131, Chicago, Illinois 60611, United States,. Phone: 1-847-497-5007
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22
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Koo CW, Hershewe JM, Jewett MC, Rosenzweig AC. Cell-Free Protein Synthesis of Particulate Methane Monooxygenase into Nanodiscs. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:4009-4017. [PMID: 36417751 PMCID: PMC9910172 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) is a multi-subunit membrane metalloenzyme used by methanotrophic bacteria to convert methane to methanol. A major hurdle to studying pMMO is the lack of a recombinant expression system, precluding investigation of individual residues by mutagenesis and hampering a complete understanding of its mechanism. Here, we developed an Escherichia coli lysate-based cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS) system that can be used to express pMMO in vitro in the presence of nanodiscs. We used a SUMO fusion construct to generate the native PmoB subunit and showed that the SUMO protease (Ulp1) cleaves the protein in the reaction mixture. Using an affinity tag to isolate the complete pMMO complex, we demonstrated that the complex forms without the need for exogenous translocon machinery or chaperones, confirmed by negative stain electron microscopy. This work demonstrates the potential for using CFPS to express multi-subunit membrane-bound metalloenzymes directly into lipid bilayers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher W. Koo
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Jasmine M. Hershewe
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
| | - Amy C. Rosenzweig
- Department of Molecular Biosciences and of Chemistry and Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, United States
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23
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Chung SS, Bidstrup EJ, Hershewe JM, Warfel KF, Jewett MC, DeLisa MP. Ribosome Stalling of N-Linked Glycoproteins in Cell-Free Extracts. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:3892-3899. [PMID: 36399685 PMCID: PMC9764415 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Ribosome display is a powerful in vitro method for selection and directed evolution of proteins expressed from combinatorial libraries. However, the ability to display proteins with complex post-translational modifications such as glycosylation is limited. To address this gap, we developed a set of complementary methods for producing stalled ribosome complexes that displayed asparagine-linked (N-linked) glycoproteins in conformations amenable to downstream functional and glycostructural interrogation. The ability to generate glycosylated ribosome-nascent chain (glycoRNC) complexes was enabled by integrating SecM-mediated translation arrest with methods for cell-free N-glycoprotein synthesis. This integration enabled a first-in-kind method for ribosome stalling of target proteins modified efficiently and site-specifically with different N-glycan structures. Moreover, the observation that encoding mRNAs remained stably attached to ribosomes provides evidence of a genotype-glycophenotype link between an arrested glycoprotein and its RNA message. We anticipate that our method will enable selection and evolution of N-glycoproteins with advantageous biological and biophysical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean S. Chung
- Biochemistry,
Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Erik J. Bidstrup
- Robert
F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
| | - Jasmine M. Hershewe
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Katherine F. Warfel
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department
of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Center
for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road Technological
Institute E136, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Chemistry
of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern
University, 2170 Campus
Drive, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Matthew P. DeLisa
- Biochemistry,
Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
- Robert
F. Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
- Cornell
Institute
of Biotechnology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, United States
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24
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Konietzny PB, Freytag J, Feldhof MI, Müller JC, Ohl D, Stehle T, Hartmann L. Synthesis of Homo- and Heteromultivalent Fucosylated and Sialylated Oligosaccharide Conjugates via Preactivated N-Methyloxyamine Precision Macromolecules and Their Binding to Polyomavirus Capsid Proteins. Biomacromolecules 2022; 23:5273-5284. [PMID: 36398945 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biomac.2c01092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Glycoconjugates are a versatile class of bioactive molecules that have found application as vaccines and antivirals and in cancer therapy. Their synthesis typically involves elaborate functionalization and use of protecting groups on the carbohydrate component in order to ensure efficient and selective conjugation. Alternatively, non-functionalized, non-protected carbohydrates isolated from biological sources or derived through biotechnological methods can be directly conjugated via N-methyloxyamine groups. In this study, we introduce such N-methyloxyamine groups into a variety of multivalent scaffolds─from small to oligomeric to polymeric scaffolds─making use of solid-phase polymer synthesis to assemble monodisperse sequence-defined macromolecules. These scaffolds are then successfully functionalized with different types of human milk oligosaccharides deriving a library of homo- and heteromultivalent glycoconjugates. Glycomacromolecules presenting oligosaccharide side chains with either α2,3- or α2,6-linked terminal sialic acid are used in a binding study with two types of polyomavirus capsid proteins showing that the multivalent presentation through the N-methyloxyamine-derived scaffolds increases the number of contacts with the protein. Overall, a straightforward route to derive glycoconjugates from complex oligosaccharides with high variability yet control in the multivalent scaffold is presented, and applicability of the derived structures is demonstrated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick B Konietzny
- Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Jasmin Freytag
- Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 34, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Melina I Feldhof
- Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Joshua C Müller
- Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 34, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Daniel Ohl
- Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
| | - Thilo Stehle
- Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 34, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Laura Hartmann
- Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry, Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Universitätsstraße 1, Düsseldorf 40225, Germany
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25
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Piorino F, Styczynski MP. Harnessing Escherichia coli's Native Machinery for Detection of Vitamin C (Ascorbate) Deficiency. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:3592-3600. [PMID: 36300901 PMCID: PMC9807260 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Vitamin C (l-ascorbate) deficiency is a global public health issue most prevalent in resource-limited regions, creating a need for an inexpensive detection platform. Here, we describe efforts to engineer whole-cell and cell-free ascorbate biosensors. Both sensors used the protein UlaR, which binds to a metabolite of ascorbate and regulates transcription. The whole-cell sensor could detect lower, physiologically relevant concentrations of ascorbate, which we attributed to intact functionality of a phosphotransferase system (PTS) that transports ascorbate across the cell membrane and phosphorylates it to form UlaR's ligand. We used multiple strategies to enhance cell-free PTS functionality (which has received little previous attention), improving the cell-free sensor's performance, but the whole-cell sensor remained more sensitive. These efforts demonstrated an advantage of whole-cell sensors for detection of molecules─like ascorbate─transformed by a PTS, but also proof of principle for cell-free sensors requiring membrane-bound components like the PTS. In addition, the cell-free sensor was functional in plasma, setting the stage for future implementation of ascorbate sensors for clinically relevant biofluids in field-deployable formats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Piorino
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0100, United States
| | - Mark P. Styczynski
- School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0100, United States
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26
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Jugniot N, Dahl JJ, Paulmurugan R. Immunotheranostic microbubbles (iMBs) - a modular platform for dendritic cell vaccine delivery applied to breast cancer immunotherapy. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2022; 41:299. [PMID: 36224614 PMCID: PMC9555090 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-022-02501-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Therapeutic strategies engaging the immune system against malignant cells have revolutionized the field of oncology. Proficiency of dendritic cells (DCs) for antigen presentation and immune response has spurred interest on DC-based vaccines for anti-cancer therapy. However, despite favorable safety profiles in patients, current DC-vaccines have not yet presented significant outcome due to technical barriers in active DC delivery, tumor progression, and immune dysfunction. To maximize the therapeutic response, we present here a unique cell-free DC-based vaccine capable of lymphoid organ targeting and eliciting T-cell-mediated anti-tumor effect. METHODS We developed this novel immunotheranostic platform using plasma membranes derived from activated DCs incorporated into ultrasound contrast microbubbles (MBs), thereby offering real-time visualization of MBs' trafficking and homing in vivo. Human PBMC-derived DCs were cultured ex vivo for controlled maturation and activation using cell membrane antigens from breast cancer cells. Following DC membrane isolation, immunotheranostic microbubbles, called DC-iMBs, were formed for triple negative breast cancer treatment in a mouse model harboring a human reconstituted immune system. RESULTS Our results demonstrated that DC-iMBs can accumulate in lymphoid organs and induce anti-tumor immune response, which significantly reduced tumor growth via apoptosis while increasing survival length of the treated animals. The phenotypic changes in immune cell populations upon DC-iMBs delivery further confirmed the T-cell-mediated anti-tumor effect. CONCLUSION These early findings strongly support the potential of DC-iMBs as a novel immunotherapeutic cell-free vaccine for anti-cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natacha Jugniot
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA USA ,grid.168010.e0000000419368956Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, 3155 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA
| | - Jeremy J. Dahl
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA USA
| | - Ramasamy Paulmurugan
- grid.168010.e0000000419368956Department of Radiology, Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford, Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA USA ,grid.168010.e0000000419368956Molecular Imaging Program at Stanford (MIPS), Canary Center for Cancer Early Detection at Stanford, Stanford University School of Medicine, 3155 Porter Drive, Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA
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27
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Zawada JF, Burgenson D, Yin G, Hallam TJ, Swartz JR, Kiss RD. Cell-free technologies for biopharmaceutical research and production. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2022; 76:102719. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2022.102719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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28
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GAN R, Cabezas MD, Pan M, Zhang H, Hu G, Clark LG, Jewett MC, Nicol R. High-Throughput Regulatory Part Prototyping and Analysis by Cell-Free Protein Synthesis and Droplet Microfluidics. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:2108-2120. [PMID: 35549070 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.2c00050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Engineering regulatory parts for improved performance in genetic programs has played a pivotal role in the development of the synthetic biology cell programming toolbox. Here, we report the development of a novel high-throughput platform for regulatory part prototyping and analysis that leverages the advantages of engineered DNA libraries, cell-free protein synthesis (CFPS), high-throughput emulsion droplet microfluidics, standard flow sorting adapted to screen droplet reactions, and next-generation sequencing (NGS). With this integrated platform, we screened the activity of millions of genetic parts within hours, followed by NGS retrieval of the improved designs. This in vitro platform is particularly valuable for engineering regulatory parts of nonmodel organisms, where in vivo high-throughput screening methods are not readily available. The platform can be extended to multipart screening of complete genetic programs to optimize yield and stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui GAN
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Maria D. Cabezas
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Ming Pan
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Huaibin Zhang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Gang Hu
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
| | - Lauren G. Clark
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Michael C. Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Program, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
- Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60208-3120, United States
| | - Robert Nicol
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, United States
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29
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Rasor BJ, Vögeli B, Jewett MC, Karim AS. Cell-Free Protein Synthesis for High-Throughput Biosynthetic Pathway Prototyping. METHODS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (CLIFTON, N.J.) 2022; 2433:199-215. [PMID: 34985746 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1998-8_12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Biological systems provide a sustainable and complimentary approach to synthesizing useful chemical products. Metabolic engineers seeking to establish economically viable biosynthesis platforms strive to increase product titers, rates, and yields. Despite continued advances in genetic tools and metabolic engineering techniques, cellular workflows remain limited in throughput. It may take months to test dozens of unique pathway designs even in a robust model organism, such as Escherichia coli. In contrast, cell-free protein synthesis enables the rapid generation of enzyme libraries that can be combined to reconstitute metabolic pathways in vitro for biochemical synthesis in days rather than weeks. Cell-free reactions thereby enable comparison of hundreds to thousands of unique combinations of enzyme homologs and concentrations, which can quickly identify the most productive pathway variants to test in vivo or further characterize in vitro. This cell-free pathway prototyping strategy provides a complementary approach to accelerate cellular metabolic engineering efforts toward highly productive strains for metabolite production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake J Rasor
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Bastian Vögeli
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.,Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.,Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Michael C Jewett
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Center for Synthetic Biology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Simpson Querrey Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
| | - Ashty S Karim
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, and Center for Synthetic Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
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30
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Zhao J, Zhang Y, Zhang X, Li C, Du H, Sønderskov SM, Mu W, Dong M, Han X. Mimicking Cellular Metabolism in Artificial Cells: Universal Molecule Transport across the Membrane through Vesicle Fusion. Anal Chem 2022; 94:3811-3818. [PMID: 35189059 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c04696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Mass transport across cell membranes is a primary process for cellular metabolism. For this purpose, electrostatically mediated membrane fusion is exploited to transport various small molecules including glucose-6-phosphate, isopropyl β-D-thiogalactoside, and macromolecules such as DNA plasmids from negatively charged large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) to positively charged giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). After membrane fusion between these oppositely charged vesicles, molecules are transported into GUVs to trigger the NAD+ involved enzyme reaction, bacterial gene expression, and in vitro gene expression of green fluorescent protein from a DNA plasmid. The optimized charged lipid percentages are 10% for both positively charged GUVs and negatively charged LUVs to ensure the fusion process. The experimental results demonstrate a universal way for mass transport into the artificial cells through vesicle fusions, which paves a crucial step for the investigation of complicated cellular metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingjing Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Heilongjiang Institute of Technology, 999 Hongqi Street, Harbin 150050, China
| | - Xiangxiang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Chao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Hang Du
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
| | | | - Wei Mu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
| | - Mingdong Dong
- Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Aarhus DK-8000, Denmark
| | - Xiaojun Han
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 92 West Da-Zhi Street, Harbin 150001, China
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31
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Danchin A. In vivo, in vitro and in silico: an open space for the development of microbe-based applications of synthetic biology. Microb Biotechnol 2022; 15:42-64. [PMID: 34570957 PMCID: PMC8719824 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Living systems are studied using three complementary approaches: living cells, cell-free systems and computer-mediated modelling. Progresses in understanding, allowing researchers to create novel chassis and industrial processes rest on a cycle that combines in vivo, in vitro and in silico studies. This design-build-test-learn iteration loop cycle between experiments and analyses combines together physiology, genetics, biochemistry and bioinformatics in a way that keeps going forward. Because computer-aided approaches are not directly constrained by the material nature of the entities of interest, we illustrate here how this virtuous cycle allows researchers to explore chemistry which is foreign to that present in extant life, from whole chassis to novel metabolic cycles. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Danchin
- Kodikos LabsInstitut Cochin24 rue du Faubourg Saint‐JacquesParis75014France
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32
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Constantin C, Pisani A, Bardi G, Neagu M. Nano-carriers of COVID-19 vaccines: the main pillars of efficacy. Nanomedicine (Lond) 2021; 16:2377-2387. [PMID: 34632802 PMCID: PMC8544481 DOI: 10.2217/nnm-2021-0250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
As the current COVID-19 pandemic illustrates, vaccination is the most powerful method of disease prevention and public confidence in vaccines depends on their safety and efficacy. The information gathered in the current pandemic is growing at an accelerated pace. Both the key vital protein DNA/RNA messengers and the delivery carriers are the elements of a puzzle including their interactions with the immune system to suppress SARS-CoV-2 infection. A new nano-era is beginning in the vaccine development field and an array of side applications for diagnostic and antiviral tools will likely emerge. This review focuses on the evolution of vaccine carriers up to COVID-19-aimed nanoparticles and the immune-related adverse effects imposed by these nanocarriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolina Constantin
- “Victor Babeş” National Institute of Pathology, 99-101 Spl Independentei, Bucharest, 050096, Romania
- Colentina Clinical Hospital, 19-21, Sos. Stefan cel Mare, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Anissa Pisani
- Nanobiointeractions & Nanodiagnostics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova, 16163, Italy
- Department of Chemistry & Industrial Chemistry, University of Genova, Via Dodecaneso 31, Genova, 16146, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Bardi
- Nanobiointeractions & Nanodiagnostics, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Via Morego 30, Genova, 16163, Italy
| | - Monica Neagu
- “Victor Babeş” National Institute of Pathology, 99-101 Spl Independentei, Bucharest, 050096, Romania
- Colentina Clinical Hospital, 19-21, Sos. Stefan cel Mare, Bucharest, Romania
- University of Bucharest, 93–95 Spl Independentei, Bucharest, Romania
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33
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Bhattacharya A, Cho CJ, Brea RJ, Devaraj NK. Expression of Fatty Acyl-CoA Ligase Drives One-Pot De Novo Synthesis of Membrane-Bound Vesicles in a Cell-Free Transcription-Translation System. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:11235-11242. [PMID: 34260248 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Despite the central importance of lipid membranes in cellular organization, it is challenging to reconstitute their formation de novo from minimal chemical and biological elements. Here, we describe a chemoenzymatic route to membrane-forming noncanonical phospholipids in which cysteine-modified lysolipids undergo spontaneous coupling with fatty acyl-CoA thioesters generated enzymatically by a fatty acyl-CoA ligase. Due to the high efficiency of the reaction, we were able to optimize phospholipid formation in a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system. Combining DNA encoding the fatty acyl-CoA ligase with suitable lipid precursors enabled one-pot de novo synthesis of membrane-bound vesicles. Noncanonical sphingolipid synthesis was also possible by using a cysteine-modified lysosphingomyelin as a precursor. When the sphingomyelin-interacting protein lysenin was coexpressed alongside the acyl-CoA ligase, the in situ assembled membranes were spontaneously decorated with protein. Our strategy of coupling gene expression with membrane lipid synthesis in a one-pot fashion could facilitate the generation of proteoliposomes and brings us closer to the bottom-up generation of synthetic cells using recombinant synthetic biology platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahanjit Bhattacharya
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Christy J Cho
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Roberto J Brea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
| | - Neal K Devaraj
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, United States
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