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Karaseva MA, Gramma VA, Safina DR, Lunina NA, Komissarov AA, Kostrov SV, Demidyuk IV. Expression and Purification of His-Tagged Variants of Human Hepatitis A Virus 3C Protease. Protein Pept Lett 2024; 31:305-311. [PMID: 38644721 DOI: 10.2174/0109298665293548240327082821] [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: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Protease 3C (3Cpro) is the only protease encoded in the human hepatitis A virus genome and is considered as a potential target for antiviral drugs due to its critical role in the viral life cycle. Additionally, 3Cpro has been identified as a potent inducer of ferroptosis, a newly described type of cell death. Therefore, studying the molecular mechanism of 3Cpro functioning can provide new insights into viral-host interaction and the biological role of ferroptosis. However, such studies require a reliable technique for producing the functionally active recombinant enzyme. OBJECTIVE Here, we expressed different modified forms of 3Cpro with a hexahistidine tag on the N- or C-terminus to investigate the applicability of immobilized metal Ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) for producing 3Cpro. METHODS We expressed the proteins in Escherichia coli and purified them using IMAC, followed by gel permeation chromatography. The enzymatic activity of the produced proteins was assayed using a specific chromogenic substrate. RESULTS Our findings showed that the introduction and position of the hexahistidine tag did not affect the activity of the enzyme. However, the yield of the target protein was highest for the variant with seven C-terminal residues replaced by a hexahistidine sequence. CONCLUSION We demonstrated the applicability of our approach for producing recombinant, enzymatically active 3Cpro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Karaseva
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
| | - Vladislav A Gramma
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
- HTW Berlin-University of Applied Sciences, Wilhelminenhofstr. 75A, 12459 Berlin, Germany
| | - Dina R Safina
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
| | - Natalia A Lunina
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
| | | | - Sergey V Kostrov
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
| | - Ilya V Demidyuk
- National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow 123182, Russia
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Selina PI, Alekseenko IV, Kurtova AI, Pleshkan VV, Voronezhskaya EE, Demidyuk IV, Kostrov SV. Efficiency of Promoters of Human Genes FAP and CTGF at Organism Level in a Danio rerio Model. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24087192. [PMID: 37108352 PMCID: PMC10138699 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087192] [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: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of tissue-specific promoters for gene therapeutic constructs is one of the aims of complex tumor therapy. The genes encoding the fibroblast activation protein (FAP) and the connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) can function in tumor-associated stromal cells but are practically inactive in normal adult cells. Accordingly, the promoters of these genes can be used to develop vectors targeted to the tumor microenvironment. However, the efficiency of these promoters within genetic constructs remains underexplored, particularly, at the organism level. Here, we used the model of Danio rerio embryos to study the efficiency of transient expression of marker genes under the control of promoters of the FAP, CTGF, and immediate early genes of Human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Within 96 h after the injection of vectors, the CTGF and CMV promoters provided similar equal efficiency of reporter protein accumulation. In the case of the FAP promoter, a high level of reporter protein accumulation was observed only in certain zebrafish individuals that were considered developmentally abnormal. Disturbed embryogenesis was the factor of changes in the exogenous FAP promoter function. The data obtained make a significant contribution to understanding the function of the human CTGF and FAP promoters within vectors to assess their potential in gene therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Polina I Selina
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
| | - Irina V Alekseenko
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Victor V Pleshkan
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
- Shemyakin-Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry RAS, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | | | - Ilya V Demidyuk
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
| | - Sergey V Kostrov
- National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", 123182 Moscow, Russia
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Chen Q, Zhou J, Yang Z, Guo J, Liu Z, Sun X, Jiang Q, Fang L, Wang D, Xiao S. An intermolecular salt bridge linking substrate binding and P1 substrate specificity switch of arterivirus 3C-like proteases. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:3409-3421. [PMID: 35832618 PMCID: PMC9271976 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.06.059] [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: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Equine arteritis virus (EAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) represent two members of the family Arteriviridae and pose a major threat to the equine- and swine-breeding industries throughout the world. Previously, we and others demonstrated that PRRSV 3C-like protease (3CLpro) had very high glutamic acid (Glu)-specificity at the P1 position (P1-Glu). Comparably, EAV 3CLpro exhibited recognition of both Glu and glutamine (Gln) at the P1 position. However, the underlying mechanisms of the P1 substrate specificity shift of arterivirus 3CLpro remain unclear. We systematically screened the specific amino acids in the S1 subsite of arterivirus 3CLpro using a cyclized luciferase-based biosensor and identified Gly116, His133 and Ser136 (using PRRSV 3CLpro numbering) are important for recognition of P1-Glu, whereas Ser136 is nonessential for recognition of P1-Gln. Molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical experiments highlighted that the PRRSV 3CLpro and EAV 3CLpro formed distinct S1 subsites for the P1 substrate specificity switch. Mechanistically, a specific intermolecular salt bridge between PRRSV 3CLpro and substrate P1-Glu (Lys138/P1-Glu) are invaluable for high Glu-specificity at the P1 position, and the exchange of K138T (salt bridge interruption, from PRRSV to EAV) shifted the specificity of PRRSV 3CLpro toward P1-Gln. In turn, the T139K exchange of EAV 3CLpro showed a noticeable shift in substrate specificity, such that substrates containing P1-Glu are likely to be recognized more efficiently. These findings identify an evolutionarily accessible mechanism for disrupting or reorganizing salt bridge with only a single mutation of arterivirus 3CLpro to trigger a substrate specificity switch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Junwei Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zhixiang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Jiahui Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zimin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Xinyi Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Qingshi Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Liurong Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Dang Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Shaobo Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.,Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Wuhan 430070, China
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