1
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Spears RJ, Chudasama V. Recent advances in N- and C-terminus cysteine protein bioconjugation. Curr Opin Chem Biol 2023; 75:102306. [PMID: 37236135 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.102306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Advances in the site-specific chemical modification of proteins, also referred to as protein bioconjugation, have proved instrumental in revolutionary approaches to designing new protein-based therapeutics. Of the sites available for protein modification, cysteine residues or the termini of proteins have proved especially popular owing to their favorable properties for site-specific modification. Strategies that, therefore, specifically target cysteine at the termini offer a combination of these favorable properties of cysteine and termini bioconjugation. In this review, we discuss these strategies with a particular focus on those reported recently and provide our opinion on the future direction of the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Spears
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, UK
| | - Vijay Chudasama
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, UK.
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2
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Hempfling JP, Sekera ER, Sarkar A, Hummon AB, Pei D. Generation of Proteins with Free N-Terminal Cysteine by Aminopeptidases. J Am Chem Soc 2022; 144:21763-21771. [PMID: 36378906 PMCID: PMC9923720 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c10194] [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: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Efficient, site-specific, and bio-orthogonal conjugation of chemical functionalities to proteins is of great utility in fundamental research as well as industrial processes (e.g., the production of antibody-drug conjugates and immobilization of enzymes for biocatalysis). A popular approach involves reacting a free N-terminal cysteine with a variety of electrophilic reagents. However, current methods for generating proteins with N-terminal cysteines have significant limitations. Herein we report a novel, efficient, and convenient method for producing recombinant proteins with free N-terminal cysteines by genetically fusing a Met-Pro-Cys sequence to the N-terminus of a protein of interest and subjecting the recombinant protein to the sequential action of methionine and proline aminopeptidases. The resulting protein was site-specifically labeled at the N-terminus with fluorescein and a cyclic cell-penetrating peptide through native chemical ligation and a 2-cyanobenzothiazole moiety, respectively. In addition, the optimal recognition sequence of Aeromonas sobria proline aminopeptidase was determined by screening a combinatorial peptide library and incorporated into the N-terminus of a protein of interest for most efficient N-terminal processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan P. Hempfling
- Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Emily R. Sekera
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12 Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Amar Sarkar
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12 Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Amanda B. Hummon
- Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12 Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
- Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
| | - Dehua Pei
- Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, 484 West 12 Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210, United States
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3
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Boral S, Maiti S, Basak AJ, Lee W, De S. Structural, Dynamic, and Functional Characterization of a DnaX Mini-intein Derived from Spirulina platensis Provides Important Insights into Intein-Mediated Catalysis of Protein Splicing. Biochemistry 2020; 59:4711-4724. [PMID: 33289560 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Protein splicing is a self-catalyzed post-translational modification in which the intein enzyme excises itself from a precursor protein and ligates the flanking sequences to produce a mature protein. We report the solution structure of a 136-residue DnaX mini-intein enzyme derived from the cyanobacterium Spirulina platensis. This sequence adopts a well-defined globular structure and forms a horseshoe-shaped fold commonly found in the HINT (hedgehog intein) topology. Backbone dynamics and hydrogen exchange experiments revealed conserved motions on various time scales, which is proposed to be a characteristic of the intein fold. Interestingly, several dynamic motions were found in symmetrically equivalent positions within the protein structure, which might be a consequence of the symmetrical intein fold. In cell splicing activity showed that Spl DnaX mini-intein is a highly active enzyme. The precursor protein was not detected at any timepoint of the assay. Apart from the splicing reaction, catalytic cleavage at the N- and C-termini of the precursor protein was also observed. To determine the roles of the catalytic residues in splicing and cleavage reactions, all combinations of alanine mutations of these residues were generated and functionally characterized. This in-depth analysis revealed cooperativity between these catalytic residues, which suppresses the N- and C-terminal cleavage reactions and enhances the yield of the spliced product. Overall, this study provides a thorough structural, dynamic, and functional characterization of a new intein sequence and adds to the collection of these unique enzymes that have found tremendous applications in biochemistry and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soumendu Boral
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Snigdha Maiti
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Aditya J Basak
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
| | - Woonghee Lee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado 80217, United States
| | - Soumya De
- School of Bioscience, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India
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4
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Liu J, Ekanayake O, Santoleri D, Walker K, Rozovsky S. Efficient Generation of Hydrazides in Proteins by RadA Split Intein. Chembiochem 2020; 21:346-352. [PMID: 31265209 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.201900160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Revised: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Protein C-terminal hydrazides are useful for bioconjugation and construction of proteins from multiple fragments through native chemical ligation. To generate C-terminal hydrazides in proteins, an efficient intein-based preparation method has been developed by using thiols and hydrazine to accelerate the formation of the transient thioester intermediate and subsequent hydrazinolysis. This approach not only increases the yield, but also improves biocompatibility. The scope of the method has been expanded by employing Pyrococcus horikoshii RadA split intein, which can accommodate a broad range of extein residues before the site of cleavage. The use of split RadA minimizes premature intein N cleavage in vivo and offers control over the initiation of the intein N cleavage reaction. It is expected that this versatile preparation method will expand the utilization of protein C-terminal hydrazides in protein preparation and modification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Liu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.,Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, 555 Mission Bay Boulevard South, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Oshini Ekanayake
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Dominic Santoleri
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kelsi Walker
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Sharon Rozovsky
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
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5
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Nasr ML. Large nanodiscs going viral. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2020; 60:150-156. [PMID: 32066086 PMCID: PMC10712563 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2020.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Revised: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Covalently circularized and DNA-corralled nanodisc technologies have enabled engineering of large-sized bilayer nanodiscs up to 90nm. These large nanodiscs have the potential to extend the applicability of nanodisc technology from studying small and medium-sized membrane proteins to acting as surrogate membranes to investigate functional and structural aspects of viral entry. Here, we discuss the recent technical developments leading to construction of large circularized and DNA-corralled nanodiscs and examine their application in viral entry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahmoud L Nasr
- Division of Renal Medicine, Division of Engineering in Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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6
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Hosseini ES, Zeinoddini M, Saeedinia AR, Babaeipour V. Optimization and One-Step Purification of Recombinant V Antigen Production from Yersinia pestis. Mol Biotechnol 2020; 62:177-184. [PMID: 31894514 PMCID: PMC7222043 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-019-00234-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to develop an efficient and inexpensive method for the useful production of recombinant protein V antigen, an important virulence factor for Yersinia pestis. To this end, the synthetic gene encoding the V antigen was subcloned into the downstream of the intein (INT) and chitin-binding domain (CBD) from the pTXB1 vector using specific primers. In the following, the produced new plasmid, pTX-V, was transformed into E. coli ER2566 strain, and the expression accuracy was confirmed using electrophoresis and Western blotting. In addition, the effects of medium, inducer, and temperature on the enhancement of protein production were studied using the Taguchi method. Finally, the V antigen was purified by a chitin affinity column using INT and CBD tag. The expression was induced by 0.05 mM IPTG at 25 °C under optimal conditions including TB medium. It was observed that the expression of the V-INT–CBD fusion protein was successfully increased to more than 40% of the total protein. The purity of V antigen was as high as 90%. This result indicates that V antigen can be produced at low cost and subjected to one-step purification using a self-cleaving INT tag.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Seyed Hosseini
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.,Gametogenesis Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Mehdi Zeinoddini
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. .,Gametogenesis Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
| | - Ali Reza Saeedinia
- Gametogenesis Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Valiollah Babaeipour
- Gametogenesis Research Center, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
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7
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Bowen CH, Reed TJ, Sargent CJ, Mpamo B, Galazka JM, Zhang F. Seeded Chain-Growth Polymerization of Proteins in Living Bacterial Cells. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:2651-2658. [PMID: 31742389 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.9b00362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Microbially produced protein-based materials (PBMs) are appealing due to use of renewable feedstock, low energy requirements, tunable side-chain chemistry, and biodegradability. However, high-strength PBMs typically have high molecular weights (HMW) and repetitive sequences that are difficult to microbially produce due to genetic instability and metabolic burden. We report the development of a biosynthetic strategy termed seeded chain-growth polymerization (SCP) for synthesis of HMW PBMs in living bacterial cells. SCP uses split intein (SI) chemistry to cotranslationally polymerize relatively small, genetically stable material protein subunits, effectively preventing intramolecular cyclization. We apply SCP to bioproduction of spider silk in Escherichia coli, generating HMW spider silk proteins (spidroins) up to 300 kDa, resulting in spidroin fibers of high strength, modulus, and toughness. SCP provides a modular strategy to synthesize HMW, repetitive material proteins, and may facilitate bioproduction of a variety of high-performance PBMs for broad applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jonathan M. Galazka
- Space Biosciences Division, Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Moffett Field, California 94035, United States
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8
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Abstract
A biomimetic one-step ligase-catalyzed cyclo-oligomerization mediated by butelase 1, an Asn/Asp-specific ligase, is introduced that is time-, concentration-, length-, and sequence-dependent. This reaction yields cyclic mono-, di-, tri-, and tetramers from peptide precursors containing 3-15 amino acids ended with Asn and a His-Val tail. The cyclomonomers were favored when the peptide lengths were >9 amino acids. A turn-forming Pro residue at the P2 position favored the formation of higher-order cyclo-oligomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinya Hemu
- School of Biological Sciences , Nanyang Technological University , 60 Nanyang Drive , Singapore 637551
| | - Xiaohong Zhang
- School of Biological Sciences , Nanyang Technological University , 60 Nanyang Drive , Singapore 637551
| | - James P Tam
- School of Biological Sciences , Nanyang Technological University , 60 Nanyang Drive , Singapore 637551
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9
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Ye B, Shen W, Shi M, Zhang Y, Xu C, Zhao Z. Intein-mediated backbone cyclization of entolimod confers enhanced radioprotective activity in mouse models. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5043. [PMID: 29938138 PMCID: PMC6011820 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5043] [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: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Entolimod is a Salmonella enterica flagellin derivate. Previous work has demonstrated that entolimod effectively protects mice and non-human primates from ionizing radiation. However, it caused a “flu-like” syndrome after radioprotective and anticancer clinical application, indicating some type of immunogenicity and toxicity. Cyclization is commonly used to improve the in vivo stability and activity of peptides and proteins. Methods We designed and constructed cyclic entolimod using split Nostoc punctiforme DnaE intein with almost 100% cyclization efficiency. We adopted different strategies to purify the linear and circular entolimod due to their different topologies. Both of linear and circular entolimod were first purified by Ni-chelating affinity chromatography, and then the linear and circular entolimod were purified by size-exclusion and ion-exchange chromatography, respectively. Results The circular entolimod showed significantly increased both the in vitro NF-κB signaling and in vivo radioprotective activity in mice. Conclusion Our data indicates that circular entolimod might be a good candidate for further clinical investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingyu Ye
- College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China.,State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Cell Differentiation Regulation, College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China.,Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Wenlong Shen
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Minglei Shi
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
| | - Cunshuan Xu
- College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China.,State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Cell Differentiation Regulation, College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Zhihu Zhao
- Beijing Institute of Biotechnology, Beijing, China
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10
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Covalently circularized nanodiscs; challenges and applications. Curr Opin Struct Biol 2018; 51:129-134. [PMID: 29677570 DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2018.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2017] [Revised: 03/11/2018] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Covalently circularized nanodiscs (cNDs) represent a significant advance in the durability and applicability of nanodisc technology. The new cNDs demonstrate higher size homogeneity and improved stability compared with that of non-circularized forms. Moreover, cNDs can be prepared at various defined sizes up to 80-nm diameter. The large cNDs can house much larger membrane proteins and their complexes than was previously possible with the conventional nanodiscs. In order to experience the full advantages of covalent circularization, high quality circularized scaffold protein and nanodisc samples are needed. Here, we give a concise overview and discuss the technical challenges that needed to be overcome in order to obtain high quality preparations. Furthermore, we review some potential new applications for the cNDs.
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11
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Zwarycz AS, Fossat M, Akanyeti O, Lin Z, Rosenman DJ, Garcia AE, Royer CA, Mills KV, Wang C. V67L Mutation Fills an Internal Cavity To Stabilize RecA Mtu Intein. Biochemistry 2017; 56:2715-2722. [PMID: 28488863 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.6b01264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Inteins mediate protein splicing, which has found extensive applications in protein science and biotechnology. In the Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA mini-mini intein (ΔΔIhh), a single valine to leucine substitution at position 67 (V67L) dramatically increases intein stability and activity. However, crystal structures show that the V67L mutation causes minimal structural rearrangements, with a root-mean-square deviation of 0.2 Å between ΔΔIhh-V67 and ΔΔIhh-L67. Thus, the structural mechanisms for V67L stabilization and activation remain poorly understood. In this study, we used intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, high-pressure nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to probe the structural basis of V67L stabilization of the intein fold. Guanidine hydrochloride denaturation monitored by fluorescence yielded free energy changes (ΔGf°) of -4.4 and -6.9 kcal mol-1 for ΔΔIhh-V67 and ΔΔIhh-L67, respectively. High-pressure NMR showed that ΔΔIhh-L67 is more resistant to pressure-induced unfolding than ΔΔIhh-V67 is. The change in the volume of folding (ΔVf) was significantly larger for V67 (71 ± 2 mL mol-1) than for L67 (58 ± 3 mL mol-1) inteins. The measured difference in ΔVf (13 ± 3 mL mol-1) roughly corresponds to the volume of the additional methylene group for Leu, supporting the notion that the V67L mutation fills a nearby cavity to enhance intein stability. In addition, we performed MD simulations to show that V67L decreases side chain dynamics and conformational entropy at the active site. It is plausible that changes in cavities in V67L can also mediate allosteric effects to change active site dynamics and enhance intein activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison S Zwarycz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Martin Fossat
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Otar Akanyeti
- Department of Computer Science, Aberystwyth University , Ceredigion SY23 3FL, Wales, U.K
| | - Zhongqian Lin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - David J Rosenman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Angel E Garcia
- Center of Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory , Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States
| | - Catherine A Royer
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Kenneth V Mills
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross , Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, United States
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York 12180, United States
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12
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Li X, Shi CH, Tang CL, Cai YM, Meng Q. The correlation between the length of repetitive domain and mechanical properties of the recombinant flagelliform spidroin. Biol Open 2017; 6:333-339. [PMID: 28126711 PMCID: PMC5374401 DOI: 10.1242/bio.022665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Spider silk is an attractive biopolymer with numerous potential applications due to its remarkable characteristics. Among the six categories of spider silks, flagelliform (Flag) spider silk possesses longer and more repetitive core domains than others, therefore performing the highest extensibility. To investigate the correlation between the recombinant spidroin size and the synthetic fiber properties, four recombinant proteins with different sizes [N-Scn-C (n=1-4)] were constructed and expressed using IMPACT system. Subsequently, different recombinant spidroins were spun into fibers through wet-spinning via a custom-made continuous post-drawing device. Mechanical tests of the synthetic fibers with four parameters (maximum stress, maximum extension, Young's modulus and toughness) demonstrated that the extensibility of the fibers showed a positive correlation with spidroin size, consequently resulting in the extensibility of N-Sc4-C fiber ranked the highest (58.76%) among four fibers. Raman data revealed the relationship between secondary structure content and mechanical properties. The data here provide a deeper insight into the relationship between the function and structure of Flag silk for future design of artificial fibers. Summary: A study of the relationship between the structure and property of synthetic spider silk-like fibers, which aims to aid with the designing of functional artificial fibers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China.,Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Chang-Hua Shi
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuan-Long Tang
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Yu-Ming Cai
- Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
| | - Qing Meng
- College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China .,Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People's Republic of China
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13
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Qi X, Xiong S. Intein-mediated backbone cyclization of VP1 protein enhanced protection of CVB3-induced viral myocarditis. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41485. [PMID: 28148910 PMCID: PMC5288654 DOI: 10.1038/srep41485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
CVB3 is a common human pathogen to be highly lethal to newborns and causes viral myocarditis and pancreatitis in adults. However, there is no vaccine available for clinical use. CVB3 capsid protein VP1 is an immunodominant structural protein, containing several B- and T-cell epitopes. However, immunization of mice with VP1 protein is ineffective. Cyclization of peptide is commonly used to improve their in vivo stability and biological activity. Here, we designed and synthesizd cyclic VP1 protein by using engineered split Rma DnaB intein and the cyclization efficiency was 100% in E. coli. As a result, the cyclic VP1 was significantly more stable against irreversible aggregation upon heating and against carboxypeptidase in vitro and the degradation rate was more slowly in vivo. Compared with linear VP1, immunization mice with circular VP1 significantly increased CVB3-specific serum IgG level and augmented CVB3-specific cellular immune responses, consequently afforded better protection against CVB3-induced viral myocarditis. The cyclic VP1 may be a novel candidate protein vaccine for preventing CVB3 infection and similar approaches could be employed to a variety of protein vaccines to enhance their protection effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingmei Qi
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
| | - Sidong Xiong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
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14
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Abstract
Segmental isotopic labeling of samples for NMR studies is attractive for large complex biomacromolecular systems, especially for studies of function-related protein-ligand interactions and protein dynamics (Goto and Kay, Curr Opin Struct Biol 10:585-592, 2000; Rosa et al., Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) 18:440, 2013; Hiroaki, Expert Opin Drug Discovery 8:523-536, 2013). Advantages of segmental isotopic labeling include selective examination of specific segment(s) within a protein by NMR, significantly reducing the spectral complexity for large proteins, and allowing for the application of a variety of solution-based NMR strategies. By utilizing intein techniques (Wood and Camarero, J Biol Chem 289:14512-14519, 2014; Paulus, Annu Rev Biochem 69:447-496, 2000), two related approaches can generally be used in the segmental isotopic labeling of proteins: expressed protein ligation (Muir, Annu Rev Biochem 72:249-289, 2003) and protein trans-splicing (Shah et al., J Am Chem Soc 134:11338-11341, 2012). Here, we describe general implementation and latest improvements of expressed protein ligation method for the production of segmental isotopic labeled NMR samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongsheng Liu
- iHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University, 99 Haike Road, Pudong, Shanghai, 201203, China
| | - David Cowburn
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA.
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15
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Peng CA, Russo J, Gravgaard C, McCartney H, Gaines W, Marcotte WR. Spider silk-like proteins derived from transgenic Nicotiana tabacum. Transgenic Res 2016; 25:517-26. [PMID: 27026165 DOI: 10.1007/s11248-016-9949-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2015] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The high tensile strength and biocompatibility of spider dragline silk makes it a desirable material in many engineering and tissue regeneration applications. Here, we present the feasibility to produce recombinant proteins in transgenic tobacco Nicotiana tabacum with sequences representing spider silk protein building blocks . Recombinant mini-spidroins contain native N- and C-terminal domains of major ampullate spidroin 1 (rMaSp1) or rMaSp2 flanking an abbreviated number (8, 16 or 32) of consensus repeat domains. Two different expression plasmid vectors were tested and a downstream chitin binding domain and self-cleavable intein were included to facilitate protein purification. We confirmed gene insertion and RNA transcription by PCR and reverse-transcriptase PCR, respectively. Mini-spidroin production was detected by N-terminus specific antibodies. Purification of mini-spidroins was performed through chitin affinity chromatography and subsequent intein activation with reducing reagent. Mini-spidroins, when dialyzed and freeze-dried, formed viscous gelatin-like fluids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Congyue Annie Peng
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Julia Russo
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - Charlene Gravgaard
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
- College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Heather McCartney
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA
| | - William Gaines
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA
| | - William R Marcotte
- Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, 130 McGinty Court, 153 Robert F. Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA.
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16
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Li Y. Split-inteins and their bioapplications. Biotechnol Lett 2015; 37:2121-37. [DOI: 10.1007/s10529-015-1905-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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17
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Schumann FH, Varadan R, Tayakuniyil PP, Grossman JH, Camarero JA, Fushman D. Changing the topology of protein backbone: the effect of backbone cyclization on the structure and dynamics of a SH3 domain. Front Chem 2015; 3:26. [PMID: 25905098 PMCID: PMC4389572 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2015.00026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding of the effects of the backbone cyclization on the structure and dynamics of a protein is essential for using protein topology engineering to alter protein stability and function. Here we have determined, for the first time, the structure and dynamics of the linear and various circular constructs of the N-SH3 domain from protein c-Crk. These constructs differ in the length and amino acid composition of the cyclization region. The backbone cyclization was carried out using intein-mediated intramolecular chemical ligation between the juxtaposed N- and the C-termini. The structure and backbone dynamics studies were performed using solution NMR. Our data suggest that the backbone cyclization has little effect on the overall three-dimensional structure of the SH3 domain: besides the termini, only minor structural changes were found in the proximity of the cyclization region. In contrast to the structure, backbone dynamics are significantly affected by the cyclization. On the subnanosecond time scale, the backbone of all circular constructs on average appears more rigid than that of the linear SH3 domain; this effect is observed over the entire backbone and is not limited to the cyclization site. The backbone mobility of the circular constructs becomes less restricted with increasing length of the circularization loop. In addition, significant conformational exchange motions (on the sub-millisecond time scale) were found in the N-Src loop and in the adjacent β-strands in all circular constructs studied in this work. These effects of backbone cyclization on protein dynamics have potential implications for the stability of the protein fold and for ligand binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank H Schumann
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
| | - Ranjani Varadan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
| | - Praveen P Tayakuniyil
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
| | - Jennifer H Grossman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
| | - Julio A Camarero
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - David Fushman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for Biomolecular Structure and Organization, University of Maryland College Park, MD, USA
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18
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Cronin M, Coolbaugh MJ, Nellis D, Zhu J, Wood DW, Nussinov R, Ma B. Dynamics differentiate between active and inactive inteins. Eur J Med Chem 2015; 91:51-62. [PMID: 25087201 PMCID: PMC4308580 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2014.07.094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Revised: 07/21/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The balance between stability and dynamics for active enzymes can be somewhat quantified by studies of intein splicing and cleaving reactions. Inteins catalyze the ligation of flanking host exteins while excising themselves. The potential for applications led to engineering of a mini-intein splicing domain, where the homing endonuclease domain of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA (Mtu recA) intein was removed. The remaining domains were linked by several short peptides, but splicing activity in all was substantially lower than the full-length intein. Native splicing activity was restored in some cases by a V67L mutation. Using computations and experiments, we examine the impact of this mutation on the stability and conformational dynamics of the mini-intein splicing domain. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to delineate the factors that determine the active state, including the V67L mini-intein mutant, and peptide linker. We found that (1) the V67L mutation lowers the global fluctuations in all modeled mini-inteins, stabilizing the mini-intein constructs; (2) the connecting linker length affects intein dynamics; and (3) the flexibilities of the linker and intein core are higher in the active structure. We have observed that the interaction of the linker region and a turn region around residues 35-41 provides the pathway for the allostery interaction. Our experiments reveal that intein catalysis is characterized by non-linear Arrhenius plot, confirming the significant contribution of protein conformational dynamics to intein function. We conclude that while the V67L mutation stabilizes the global structure, cooperative dynamics of all intein regions appear more important for intein function than high stability. Our studies suggest that effectively quenching the conformational dynamics of an intein through engineered allosteric interactions could deactivate intein splicing or cleaving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Cronin
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Michael J Coolbaugh
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - David Nellis
- Biopharmaceutical Development Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
| | - Jianwei Zhu
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 DongChuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - David W Wood
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA; Sackler Inst. of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA.
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19
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Rodríguez V, Lascani J, Asenjo JA, Andrews BA. Production of Cell-Penetrating Peptides in Escherichia coli Using an Intein-Mediated System. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 2015; 175:3025-37. [DOI: 10.1007/s12010-015-1484-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2014] [Accepted: 01/05/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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20
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Michel E, Allain FHT. Selective Amino Acid Segmental Labeling of Multi-Domain Proteins. Methods Enzymol 2015; 565:389-422. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.mie.2015.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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21
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Nabeshima Y, Mizuguchi M, Kajiyama A, Okazawa H. Segmental isotope-labeling of the intrinsically disordered protein PQBP1. FEBS Lett 2014; 588:4583-9. [PMID: 25447530 DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.10.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2014] [Revised: 10/22/2014] [Accepted: 10/27/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Polyglutamine tract-binding protein 1 (PQBP1) is an intrinsically disordered protein abundantly expressed in the brain. Mutations in the PQBP1 gene are causative for X-linked mental retardation disorders. Here, we investigated the structure of the C-terminal segment within the context of full-length PQBP1. We produced a segmentally isotope-labeled PQBP1 composed of a non-labeled segment (residues 1-219; N-segment) and a (13)C/(15)N-labeled segment (residues 220-265; C-segment). Our results demonstrate that the segmental isotope-labeling combined with NMR spectroscopy is useful for detecting a very weak intra-molecular interaction in an intrinsically disordered protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Nabeshima
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan; Graduate School of Innovative Life Science, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Mineyuki Mizuguchi
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan; Graduate School of Innovative Life Science, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan.
| | - Asagi Kajiyama
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Toyama, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
| | - Hitoshi Okazawa
- Department of Neuropathology, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan; Center for Brain Integration Research, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
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22
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Tarasava K, Freisinger E. An optimized intein-mediated protein ligation approach for the efficient cyclization of cysteine-rich proteins. Protein Eng Des Sel 2014; 27:481-8. [PMID: 25335928 DOI: 10.1093/protein/gzu048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Head-to-tail backbone cyclization of proteins is a widely used approach for the improvement of protein stability. One way to obtain cyclic proteins via recombinant expression makes use of engineered Intein tags, which are self-cleaving protein domains. In this approach, pH-induced self-cleavage of the N-terminal Intein tag generates an N-terminal cysteine residue at the target protein, which then attacks in an intramolecular reaction the C-terminal thioester formed by the second C-terminal Intein tag resulting in the release of the cyclic target protein. In the current work we aimed to produce a cyclic analog of the small γ-Ec-1 domain of the wheat metallothionein, which contains six cysteine residues. During the purification process we faced several challenges, among them premature cleavage of one or the other Intein tag resulting in decreasing yields and contamination with linear species. To improve efficiency of the system we applied a number of optimizations such as the introduction of a Tobacco etch virus cleavage site and an additional poly-histidine tag. Our efforts resulted in the production of a cyclic protein in moderate yields without any contamination with linear protein species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katsiaryna Tarasava
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Eva Freisinger
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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23
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Reif A, Siebenhaar S, Tröster A, Schmälzlein M, Lechner C, Velisetty P, Gottwald K, Pöhner C, Boos I, Schubert V, Rose-John S, Unverzagt C. Semisynthesis of biologically active glycoforms of the human cytokine interleukin 6. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014; 53:12125-31. [PMID: 25243720 DOI: 10.1002/anie.201407160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Human interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a potent cytokine with immunomodulatory properties. As the influence of N-glycosylation on the in vivo activities of IL-6 could not be elucidated so far, a semisynthesis of homogeneous glycoforms of IL-6 was established by sequential native chemical ligation. The four cysteines of IL-6 are convenient for ligations and require only the short synthetic glycopeptide 43-48. The Cys-peptide 49-183 could be obtained recombinantly by cleavage of a SUMO tag. The fragment 1-42 was accessible by the simultaneous cleavage of two inteins, leading to the 1-42 thioester with the native N-terminus. Ligation and refolding studies showed that the inherently labile Asp-Pro bond 139-140 was detrimental for the sequential C- to N-terminal ligation. A reversed ligation sequence using glycopeptide hydrazides gave full-length IL-6 glycoproteins, which showed full bioactivity after efficient refolding and purification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Reif
- Bioorganic Chemistry, Gebaeude NWI, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth (Germany)
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24
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Reif A, Siebenhaar S, Tröster A, Schmälzlein M, Lechner C, Velisetty P, Gottwald K, Pöhner C, Boos I, Schubert V, Rose-John S, Unverzagt C. Semisynthesis of Biologically Active Glycoforms of the Human Cytokine Interleukin 6. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2014. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.201407160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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25
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Abstract
Expressed protein ligation (EPL) combines two methods to ligate a synthetic peptide to a recombinant protein. Native chemical ligation (NCL) is a process in which two synthesized peptides are ligated by reaction of a C-terminal thioester on one peptide with an N-terminal cysteine residue of another protein. The chemistry of inteins, self-excising protein fragments that ligate the surrounding protein back together, creates isolatable intermediates with the two chemical groups necessary for NCL, a C-terminal thioester and an N-terminal cysteine residue. This technique allows for the incorporation of synthetic amino acids, radiolabeled amino acids, and fluorescent moieties at specific locations in a protein. It has the advantage of allowing attachment of such synthetic peptides to the termini of a recombinant protein, allowing for the synthesis of large proteins with modified amino acids. This technique utilizes the IMPACT(TM)-System created by New England Biolabs, who provide a variety of vectors in which the multicloning site is directly upstream of an intein sequence fused to a chitin-binding domain (CBD). The CBD binds tightly and specifically to chitin beads, allowing for an efficient one-step purification. This step can be used to obtain highly purified proteins (see Protein Affinity Purification using Intein/Chitin Binding Protein Tags). After purification of the recombinant protein, cleavage from the intein is achieved through the addition of a reactive thiol compound, usually sodium 2-mercaptoethanesulfonate (MESNA) (see also Proteolytic affinity tag cleavage). This reaction creates a protein with a C-terminal thioester that can then react with a peptide containing an N-terminal cysteine residue, ligating the two proteins via a peptide bond.
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26
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Ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate: an attractive solvent for native chemical ligation of peptides. Tetrahedron Lett 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2014.04.102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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27
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Topilina NI, Mills KV. Recent advances in in vivo applications of intein-mediated protein splicing. Mob DNA 2014; 5:5. [PMID: 24490831 PMCID: PMC3922620 DOI: 10.1186/1759-8753-5-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 01/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Intein-mediated protein splicing has become an essential tool in modern biotechnology. Fundamental progress in the structure and catalytic strategies of cis- and trans-splicing inteins has led to the development of modified inteins that promote efficient protein purification, ligation, modification and cyclization. Recent work has extended these in vitro applications to the cell or to whole organisms. We review recent advances in intein-mediated protein expression and modification, post-translational processing and labeling, protein regulation by conditional protein splicing, biosensors, and expression of trans-genes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kenneth V Mills
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA 01610, USA.
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28
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Nguyen HD, Phan TTP, Carraz M, Brunsveld L. Estrogen receptor α/β-cofactor motif interactions; interplay of tyrosine 537/488 phosphorylation and LXXLL motifs. MOLECULAR BIOSYSTEMS 2013; 8:3134-41. [PMID: 22930062 DOI: 10.1039/c2mb25257k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The Estrogen Receptors ERα and ERβ bind cofactor proteins via short LXXLL motifs. The exact regulation and selectivity of these interactions remains an open question and the role of post-translational modifications (PTMs) is virtually unexplored. Here, we designed an X(7)-LXXLL-X(7) T7 phage display library and screened this against four ER protein constructs: the 'naked' ERα and ERβ Ligand Binding Domains (LBDs) and the tyrosine phosphorylated ERα (pY537) and ERβ (pY488) LBDs. The site-selective tyrosine phosphorylated protein constructs were obtained via a protein semi-synthesis approach. Phage display screening yielded preferential sets of peptides. LXXLL peptides with a low pI/acidic C-terminus prefer binding to the naked ERβ over the phosphorylated ERβ analogue and ERα constructs. Peptides with a high pI/basic C-terminus show the opposite behaviour. These findings not only show regulation of the ERβ-cofactor interaction via tyrosine phosphorylation, but also suggest that ERβ and its tyrosine 488 phosphorylation play crucial roles in modulating interactions of coactivators to ERα since the natural Steroid Receptor Coactivators (SRCs) feature LXXLL motifs with acidic C-termini, while the repressor protein RIP140 features LXXLL motifs with basic C-termini. This insight provides explanation for ER transcriptional activity and can lead to more focussed targeting of the ER-coactivator interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hoang D Nguyen
- Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Den Dolech 2, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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29
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Sakamoto S, Terauchi M, Hugo A, Kim T, Araki Y, Wada T. Creation of a caspase-3 sensing system using a combination of split-GFP and split-intein. Chem Commun (Camb) 2013; 49:10323-5. [DOI: 10.1039/c3cc43389g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
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30
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Akochy PM, Lapointe J, Roy PH. Natural insertion of the bro-1 β-lactamase gene into the gatCAB operon affects Moraxella catarrhalis aspartyl-tRNAAsn amidotransferase activity. Microbiology (Reading) 2012; 158:2363-2371. [DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.060095-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Marie Akochy
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie, CHUQ Pavillon CHUL, 2705 boul. Laurier, RC-709, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
- Institut Pasteur de Côte d’Ivoire, 01 BP 490 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
- Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-informatique, Université Laval, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Jacques Lapointe
- Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes (IBIS), Pavillon Charles-Eugène-Marchand, G1V 0A6, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-informatique, Université Laval, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Paul H. Roy
- Centre de Recherche en Infectiologie, CHUQ Pavillon CHUL, 2705 boul. Laurier, RC-709, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
- Département de Biochimie, de Microbiologie et de Bio-informatique, Université Laval, QC G1V 0A6, Canada
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31
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Minato Y, Ueda T, Machiyama A, Shimada I, Iwaï H. Segmental isotopic labeling of a 140 kDa dimeric multi-domain protein CheA from Escherichia coli by expressed protein ligation and protein trans-splicing. JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR NMR 2012; 53:191-207. [PMID: 22740268 PMCID: PMC3405243 DOI: 10.1007/s10858-012-9628-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2011] [Accepted: 04/04/2012] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Segmental isotopic labeling is a powerful labeling tool to facilitate NMR studies of larger proteins by not only alleviating the signal overlap problem but also retaining features of uniform isotopic labeling. Although two approaches, expressed protein ligation (EPL) and protein trans-splicing (PTS), have been mainly used for segmental isotopic labeling, there has been no single example in which both approaches have been directly used with an identical protein. Here we applied both EPL and PTS methods to a 140 kDa dimeric multi-domain protein E. coli CheA, and successfully produced the ligated CheA dimer by both approaches. In EPL approach, extensive optimization of the ligation sites and the conditions were required to obtain sufficient amount for an NMR sample of CheA, because CheA contains a dimer forming domain and it was not possible to achieve high reactant concentrations (1-5 mM) of CheA fragments for the ideal EPL condition, thereby resulting in the low yield of segmentally labelled CheA dimer. PTS approach sufficiently produced segmentally labeled ligated CheA in vivo as well as in vitro without extensive optimizations. This is presumably because CheA has self-contained domains connected with long linkers, accommodating a seven-residue mutation without loss of the function, which was introduced by PTS to achieve the high yield. PTS approach was less laborious than EPL approach for the routine preparation of segmentally-isotope labeled CheA dimer. Both approaches remain to be further developed for facilitating preparations of segmental isotope-labelled samples without extensive optimizations for ligation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuichi Minato
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Takumi Ueda
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Asako Machiyama
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
| | - Ichio Shimada
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033 Japan
- Biomedicinal Information Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-0064 Japan
| | - Hideo Iwaï
- Research Program in Structural Biology and Biophysics, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
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32
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Garcia AE, Tai KP, Puttamadappa SS, Shekhtman A, Ouellette AJ, Camarero JA. Biosynthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of backbone-cyclized α-defensins. Biochemistry 2011; 50:10508-19. [PMID: 22040603 DOI: 10.1021/bi201430f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Defensins are antimicrobial peptides that are important in the innate immune defense of mammals. Upon stimulation by bacterial antigens, enteric α-defensins are secreted into the intestinal lumen where they have potent microbicidal activities. Cryptdin-4 (Crp4) is an α-defensin expressed in Paneth cells of the mouse small intestine and the most bactericidal of the known cryptdin isoforms. The structure of Crp4 consists of a triple-stranded antiparallel β-sheet but lacks three amino acids between the fourth and fifth cysteine residues, making them distinct from other α-defensins. The structure also reveals that the α-amino and C-terminal carboxylic groups are in the proximity of each other (d ≈ 3 Å) in the folded structure. We present here the biosynthesis of backbone-cyclized Crp4 using a modified protein splicing unit or intein. Our data show that cyclized Crp4 can be biosynthesized by using this approach both in vitro and in vivo, although the expression yield was significantly lower when the protein was produced inside the cell. The resulting cyclic defensins retained the native α-defensin fold and showed equivalent or better microbicidal activities against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria when compared to native Crp4. No detectable hemolytic activity against human red blood cells was observed for either native Crp4 or its cyclized variants. Moreover, both forms of Crp4 also showed high stability to degradation when incubated with human serum. Altogether, these results indicate the potential for backbone-cyclized defensins in the development of novel peptide-based antimicrobial compounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angie E Garcia
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calofornia 90033, USA
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33
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Du Z, Liu J, Albracht CD, Hsu A, Chen W, Marieni MD, Colelli KM, Williams JE, Reitter JN, Mills KV, Wang C. Structural and mutational studies of a hyperthermophilic intein from DNA polymerase II of Pyrococcus abyssi. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:38638-38648. [PMID: 21914805 PMCID: PMC3207444 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.290569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2011] [Revised: 09/09/2011] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein splicing is a precise self-catalyzed process in which an intein excises itself from a precursor with the concomitant ligation of the flanking polypeptides (exteins). Protein splicing proceeds through a four-step reaction but the catalytic mechanism is not fully understood at the atomic level. We report the solution NMR structures of the hyperthermophilic Pyrococcus abyssi PolII intein, which has a noncanonical C-terminal glutamine instead of an asparagine. The NMR structures were determined to a backbone root mean square deviation of 0.46 Å and a heavy atom root mean square deviation of 0.93 Å. The Pab PolII intein has a common HINT (hedgehog intein) fold but contains an extra β-hairpin that is unique in the structures of thermophilic inteins. The NMR structures also show that the Pab PolII intein has a long and disordered loop in place of an endonuclease domain. The N-terminal Cys-1 amide is hydrogen bonded to the Thr-90 hydroxyl in the conserved block-B TXXH motif and the Cys-1 thiol forms a hydrogen bond with the block F Ser-166. Mutating Thr-90 to Ala dramatically slows N-terminal cleavage, supporting its pivotal role in promoting the N-S acyl shift. Mutagenesis also showed that Thr-90 and His-93 are synergistic in catalyzing the N-S acyl shift. The block F Ser-166 plays an important role in coordinating the steps of protein splicing. NMR spin relaxation indicates that the Pab PolII intein is significantly more rigid than mesophilic inteins, which may contribute to the higher optimal temperature for protein splicing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenming Du
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
| | - Jiajing Liu
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
| | - Clayton D Albracht
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
| | - Alice Hsu
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
| | - Wen Chen
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180
| | - Michelle D Marieni
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
| | - Kathryn M Colelli
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
| | - Jennie E Williams
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
| | - Julie N Reitter
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610
| | - Kenneth V Mills
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610.
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Department of Biology, Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180.
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Katoh T, Goto Y, Reza MS, Suga H. Ribosomal synthesis of backbone macrocyclic peptides. Chem Commun (Camb) 2011; 47:9946-58. [PMID: 21766105 DOI: 10.1039/c1cc12647d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
A wealth of knowledge has been accumulated on ribosomal synthesis of macrocyclic peptides in the past decade. In nature, backbone cyclization of the translated linear peptides is generally catalyzed by specific enzymes, giving them peptidase resistance, thermodynamic stability and various other physiological activities. Due to these biochemical traits, backbone cyclic peptides have become an attractive resource for the discovery of drug leads. Recently, various new methodologies have also been established to generate man-made cyclic peptides. Here, we describe the biosynthetic mechanisms of naturally occurring backbone macrocyclic peptides focusing on cyclotides, sunflower trypsin inhibitors (SFTIs) and cyanobactins as well as several new emerging methodologies, such as sortase mediated ligation, protein splicing method and genetic code reprogramming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takayuki Katoh
- Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
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Collier JH, Segura T. Evolving the use of peptides as components of biomaterials. Biomaterials 2011; 32:4198-204. [PMID: 21515167 PMCID: PMC3389831 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2011.02.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2011] [Accepted: 02/12/2011] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
This manuscript is part of a debate on the statement that "the use of short synthetic adhesion peptides, like RGD, is the best approach in the design of biomaterials that guide cell behavior for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering". We take the position that although there are some acknowledged disadvantages of using short peptide ligands within biomaterials, it is not necessary to discard the notion of using peptides within biomaterials entirely, but rather to reinvent and evolve their use. Peptides possess advantageous chemical definition, access to non-native chemistries, amenability to de novo design, and applicability within parallel approaches. Biomaterials development programs that require such aspects may benefit from a peptide-based strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel H. Collier
- Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., Mail Code 5032, Chicago, IL 60637, (773) 834-4161, (773) 834-4546 (fax)
| | - Tatiana Segura
- Assistant Professor, 420 Westwood Plaza, 5531 Boelter Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, (310) 206 3980
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36
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Abstract
Heterologously expressed proteins in Escherichia coli may undergo unwanted N-terminal processing by methionine and proline aminopeptidases. To overcome this problem, we present a system where the gene of interest is cloned as a fusion to a self-splicing mini-intein. This fusion construct is expressed in an engineered E. coli strain from which the pepP gene coding for aminopeptidase P has been deleted. We describe a protocol using human cationic trypsinogen as an example to demonstrate that recombinant proteins produced in this expression system contain homogeneous, unprocessed N-termini.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orsolya Király
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
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37
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Andersen AS, Palmqvist E, Bang S, Shaw AC, Hubalek F, Ribel U, Hoeg-Jensen T. Backbone cyclic insulin. J Pept Sci 2010; 16:473-9. [PMID: 20641002 DOI: 10.1002/psc.1264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Backbone cyclic insulin was designed and prepared by reverse proteolysis in partial organic solvent of a single-chain precursor expressed in yeast. The precursor contains two loops to bridge the two chains of native insulin. The cyclisation method uses Achromobacter lyticus protease and should be generally applicable to proteins with C-terminal lysine and proximal N-terminal. The presence of the ring-closing bond and the native insulin disulfide patterns were documented by LC-MS peptide maps. The cyclic insulin was shown to be inert towards degradation by CPY, but was somewhat labile towards chymotrypsin. Intravenous administration of the cyclic insulin to Wistar rats showed the compounds to be equipotent to HI despite much lower insulin receptor affinity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asser S Andersen
- Protein Expression, Novo Nordisk A/S, Novo Nordisk Park, DK-2760 Maaloev, Denmark
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38
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Ozawa T, Umezawa Y. Peptide Assemblies in Living Cells. Methods for Detecting Protein-Protein Interactions†. Supramol Chem 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/10610270290026185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Takeaki Ozawa
- a Department of Chemistry, School of Science , The University of Tokyo , Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo , 113-0033 , Japan
- b Japan Science and Technology Corporation , Tokyo , Japan
| | - Yoshio Umezawa
- a Department of Chemistry, School of Science , The University of Tokyo , Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo , 113-0033 , Japan
- b Japan Science and Technology Corporation , Tokyo , Japan
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In situ growth of a PEG-like polymer from the C terminus of an intein fusion protein improves pharmacokinetics and tumor accumulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:16432-7. [PMID: 20810920 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1006044107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper reports a general in situ method to grow a polymer conjugate solely from the C terminus of a recombinant protein. GFP was fused at its C terminus with an intein; cleavage of the intein provided a unique thioester moiety at the C terminus of GFP that was used to install an atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator. Subsequent in situ ATRP of oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (OEGMA) yielded a site-specific (C-terminal) and stoichiometric conjugate with high yield and good retention of protein activity. A GFP-C-poly(OEGMA) conjugate (hydrodynamic radius (R(h)): 21 nm) showed a 15-fold increase in its blood exposure compared to the protein (R(h): 3.0 nm) after intravenous administration to mice. This conjugate also showed a 50-fold increase in tumor accumulation, 24 h after intravenous administration to tumor-bearing mice, compared to the unmodified protein. This approach for in situ C-terminal polymer modification of a recombinant protein is applicable to a large subset of recombinant protein and peptide drugs and provides a general methodology for improvement of their pharmacological profiles.
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40
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Deschuyteneer G, Garcia S, Michiels B, Baudoux B, Degand H, Morsomme P, Soumillion P. Intein-mediated cyclization of randomized peptides in the periplasm of Escherichia coli and their extracellular secretion. ACS Chem Biol 2010; 5:691-700. [PMID: 20527881 DOI: 10.1021/cb100072u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Split-inteins can be used to generate backbone cyclized peptide as a source of new bioactive molecules. In this work we show that cysteine-mediated splicing can be performed in the oxidative environment of the periplasm of Escherichia coli. Cyclization of the TEM-1 beta-lactamase and of small randomized peptides was demonstrated using an artificially permuted version of the DnaB mini-intein from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 strain fused to a signal sequence. For small peptides, a signal sequence that promotes cotranslational translocation had to be used. Efficient backbone cyclization was observed for more than 50% of combinatorial peptides featuring a fully randomized sequence inserted between a serine and glycine that are necessary for fast splicing. Furthermore, by coexpressing a mutant of the pIV outer membrane pore protein of fd bacteriophage, we showed that peptides can diffuse in the extracellular medium. These results open new routes for searching compounds acting on new targets such as exported and membrane proteins or pathogen microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Hervé Degand
- Physiologie Moléculaire, Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 4-5, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Pierre Morsomme
- Physiologie Moléculaire, Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Croix du Sud 4-5, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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41
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Elleuche S, Pöggeler S. Inteins, valuable genetic elements in molecular biology and biotechnology. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2010; 87:479-89. [PMID: 20449740 PMCID: PMC2874743 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-010-2628-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2010] [Revised: 04/14/2010] [Accepted: 04/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Inteins are internal protein elements that self-excise from their host protein and catalyze ligation of the flanking sequences (exteins) with a peptide bond. They are found in organisms in all three domains of life, and in viral proteins. Intein excision is a posttranslational process that does not require auxiliary enzymes or cofactors. This self-excision process is called protein splicing, by analogy to the splicing of RNA introns from pre-mRNA. Protein splicing involves only four intramolecular reactions, and a small number of key catalytic residues in the intein and exteins. Protein-splicing can also occur in trans. In this case, the intein is separated into N- and C-terminal domains, which are synthesized as separate components, each joined to an extein. The intein domains reassemble and link the joined exteins into a single functional protein. Understanding the cis- and trans-protein splicing mechanisms led to the development of intein-mediated protein-engineering applications, such as protein purification, ligation, cyclization, and selenoprotein production. This review summarizes the catalytic activities and structures of inteins, and focuses on the advantages of some recent intein applications in molecular biology and biotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Skander Elleuche
- Institute of Technical Microbiology, Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Kasernenstr. 12, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefanie Pöggeler
- Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Department Genetics of Eukaryotic Microorganisms, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 8, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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42
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Du Z, Liu Y, Ban D, Lopez MM, Belfort M, Wang C. Backbone dynamics and global effects of an activating mutation in minimized Mtu RecA inteins. J Mol Biol 2010; 400:755-67. [PMID: 20562025 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2010.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2009] [Revised: 05/11/2010] [Accepted: 05/18/2010] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Inteins mediate protein splicing, which has found many applications in biotechnology and protein engineering. A single valine-to-leucine mutation (V67L) can globally enhance splicing and related cleavage reactions in minimized Mycobacterium tuberculosis RecA inteins. However, V67L mutation causes little change in crystal structures. To test whether protein dynamics contribute to activity enhancement in the V67L mutation, we have studied the conformations and dynamics of the minimized and engineered intein DeltaDeltaIhh-V67CM and a single V67L mutant, DeltaDeltaIhh-L67CM, by solution NMR. Chemical shift perturbations established that the V67L mutation causes global changes, including changes at the N-terminus and C-terminus of the intein, which are active sites for protein splicing. The single V67L mutation significantly slows hydrogen-exchange rates globally, indicating a shift to more stable conformations and reduction in ensemble distribution. Whereas the V67L mutation causes little change for motions on the picosecond-to-nanosecond timescale, motions on the microsecond-to-millisecond timescale affect a region involving the conserved F-block histidine and C-terminal asparagine, which are residues important for C-terminal cleavage. The V67L mutation is proposed to activate splicing by reducing the ensemble distribution of the intein structure and by modifying the active sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenming Du
- Department of Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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43
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Zhang S, Wang ZH, Chen GQ. Microbial polyhydroxyalkanote synthesis repression protein PhaR as an affinity tag for recombinant protein purification. Microb Cell Fact 2010; 9:28. [PMID: 20459707 PMCID: PMC2873406 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2859-9-28] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2010] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background PhaR which is a repressor protein for microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) biosynthesis, is able to attach to bacterial PHA granules in vivo, was developed as an affinity tag for in vitro protein purification. Fusion of PhaR-tagged self-cleavable Ssp DnaB intein to the N-terminus of a target protein allowed protein purification with a pH and temperature shift. During the process, the target protein was released to the supernatant while PhaR-tagged intein was still immobilized on the PHA nanoparticles which were then separated by centrifugation. Results Fusion protein PhaR-intein-target protein was expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli. The cell lysates after sonication and centrifugation were collected and then incubated with PHA nanoparticles to allow sufficient absorption onto the PHA nanoparticles. After several washing processes, self-cleavage of intein was triggered by pH and temperature shift. As a result, the target protein was released from the particles and purified after centrifugation. As target proteins, enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), maltose binding protein (MBP) and β-galactosidase (lacZ), were successfully purified using the PhaR based protein purification method. Conclusion The successful purification of EGFP, MBP and LacZ indicated the feasibility of this PhaR based in vitro purification system. Moreover, the elements used in this system can be easily obtained and prepared by users themselves, so they can set up a simple protein purification strategy by themselves according to the PhaR method, which provides another choice instead of expensive commercial protein purification systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Zhang
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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44
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Volkmann G, Sun W, Liu XQ. Controllable protein cleavages through intein fragment complementation. Protein Sci 2010; 18:2393-402. [PMID: 19768808 DOI: 10.1002/pro.249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Intein-based protein cleavages, if carried out in a controllable way, can be useful tools of recombinant protein purification, ligation, and cyclization. However, existing methods using contiguous inteins were often complicated by spontaneous cleavages, which could severely reduce the yield of the desired protein product. Here we demonstrate a new method of controllable cleavages without any spontaneous cleavage, using an artificial S1 split-intein consisting of an 11-aa N-intein (I(N)) and a 144-aa C-intein (I(C)). In a C-cleavage design, the I(C) sequence was embedded in a recombinant precursor protein, and the small I(N) was used as a synthetic peptide to trigger a cleavage at the C-terminus of I(C). In an N-cleavage design, the short I(N) sequence was embedded in a recombinant precursor protein, and the separately produced I(C) protein was used to catalyze a cleavage at the N-terminus of I(N). These N- and C-cleavages showed >95% efficiency, and both successfully avoided any spontaneous cleavage during expression and purification of the precursor proteins. The N-cleavage design also revealed an unexpected and interesting structural flexibility of the I(C) protein. These findings significantly expand the effectiveness of intein-based protein cleavages, and they also reveal important insights of intein structural flexibility and fragment complementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerrit Volkmann
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
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45
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Zhao M, Zhang NY, Zurawel A, Hansen KC, Liu CW. Degradation of some polyubiquitinated proteins requires an intrinsic proteasomal binding element in the substrates. J Biol Chem 2009; 285:4771-80. [PMID: 20007692 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m109.060095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Lysine 48-linked polyubiquitin chains usually target proteins for 26 S proteasomal degradation; however, this modification is not a warrant for destruction. Here, we found that efficient degradation of a physiological substrate UbcH10 requires not only an exogenous polyubiquitin chain modification but also its unstructured N-terminal region. Interestingly, the unstructured N-terminal region of UbcH10 directly binds the 19 S regulatory complex of the 26 S proteasome, and it mediates the initiation of substrate translocation. To promote ubiquitin-dependent degradation of the folded domains of UbcH10, its N-terminal region can be displaced by exogenous proteasomal binding elements. Moreover, the unstructured N-terminal region can initiate substrate translocation even when UbcH10 is artificially cyclized without a free terminus. Polyubiquitinated circular UbcH10 is completely degraded by the 26 S proteasome. Accordingly, we propose that degradation of some polyubiquitinated proteins requires two binding interactions: a polyubiquitin chain and an intrinsic proteasomal binding element in the substrates (likely an unstructured region); moreover, the intrinsic proteasomal binding element initiates substrate translocation regardless of its location in the substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minglian Zhao
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA
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46
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Berrade L, Camarero JA. Expressed protein ligation: a resourceful tool to study protein structure and function. Cell Mol Life Sci 2009; 66:3909-22. [PMID: 19685006 PMCID: PMC3806878 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-009-0122-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2009] [Revised: 07/23/2009] [Accepted: 07/28/2009] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
This review outlines the use of expressed protein ligation (EPL) to study protein structure, function and stability. EPL is a chemoselective ligation method that allows the selective ligation of unprotected polypeptides from synthetic and recombinant origin for the production of semi-synthetic protein samples of well-defined and homogeneous chemical composition. This method has been extensively used for the site-specific introduction of biophysical probes, unnatural amino acids, and increasingly complex post-translational modifications. Since it was introduced 10 years ago, EPL applications have grown increasingly more sophisticated in order to address even more complex biological questions. In this review, we highlight how this powerful technology combined with standard biochemical analysis techniques has been used to improve our ability to understand protein structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Berrade
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, PSC 616, Los Angeles, CA 90033 USA
| | - Julio A. Camarero
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, 1985 Zonal Avenue, PSC 616, Los Angeles, CA 90033 USA
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47
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Sancheti H, Camarero JA. "Splicing up" drug discovery. Cell-based expression and screening of genetically-encoded libraries of backbone-cyclized polypeptides. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2009; 61:908-17. [PMID: 19628015 PMCID: PMC3329944 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2009.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2009] [Revised: 07/02/2009] [Accepted: 07/08/2009] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
The present paper reviews the use of protein splicing for the biosynthesis of backbone cyclic polypeptides. This general method allows the in vivo and in vitro biosynthesis of cyclic polypeptides using recombinant DNA expression techniques. Biosynthetic access to backbone cyclic peptides opens the possibility to generate cell-based combinatorial libraries that can be screened inside living cells for their ability to attenuate or inhibit cellular processes thus providing a new way for finding therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harshkumar Sancheti
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033
| | - Julio A. Camarero
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033
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48
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Piontek C, Ring P, Harjes O, Heinlein C, Mezzato S, Lombana N, Pöhner C, Püttner M, Varón Silva D, Martin A, Schmid F, Unverzagt C. Semisynthesis of a Homogeneous Glycoprotein Enzyme: Ribonuclease C: Part 1. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2009; 48:1936-40. [DOI: 10.1002/anie.200804734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
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49
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Piontek C, Ring P, Harjes O, Heinlein C, Mezzato S, Lombana N, Pöhner C, Püttner M, Varón Silva D, Martin A, Schmid F, Unverzagt C. Semisynthese eines homogenen Glycoprotein-Enzyms: Ribonuclease C (Teil 1). Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2009. [DOI: 10.1002/ange.200804734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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50
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Jeltsch A, Rathert P. Putting the pieces together: histone H2B ubiquitylation directly stimulates histone H3K79 methylation. Chembiochem 2009; 9:2193-5. [PMID: 18712750 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.200800414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Employing an in vitro reconstitution approach, McGinty et al. studied the mechanism of stimulation of the Dot1-catalysed histone H3 methylation at Lys79 by histone H2B ubiquitylation at Lys120. To generate nucleosome particles that carry the ubiquitylation at Lys120, they chemically connected three polypeptides-the main parts of histone H3 and ubiquitin expressed in bacteria and a branched synthetic peptide. Using the semisynthetically produced nucleosome substrates and purified Dot1 enzyme, they showed that Dot1 is directly stimulated by the ubiquitylation, thus ruling out the need for further protein factors to mediate the effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Albert Jeltsch
- Biochemistry Laboratory, School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany.
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