Extraction, Purification and Identification of Bone Morphogenetic Protein in Conditioned Medium of Osteosarcoma Cell (MG-63)

Objective: To find out a method of extraction and purification of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) from osteosarcoma cell conditioned medium, and evaluate the biological activity of BMP.Methods: Conditioned medium of osteosarcoma cell lines (MG-63) was collected, concentrated and dialyzed. The concentrated protein was purified through gel chromatography on Sephcryl-S-100. The purified protein was tested by BMP monoclonal antibody (McAb), its molecular weight (MW) was determined by SDS-PAGE and its biological activity was demonstrated by heterotopic ossification.Results: The purified protein was proved to be BMP by BMP McAb, had a satisfactory heterotopic ossification, and its MW was about 21 kD.Conclusion: BMP existed in the conditioned medium of osteosarcoma cell and had a satisfactory biological activity after purification. Because osteosarcoma cell can be cultured and grew for a long timein vitro, this method will be helpful to a vast extraction of BMP and clinical application. Key words osteosarcoma cell - conditioned medium - bone morphogenetic protein - protein purification This project was a key scientific and technological program of Hubei Provicial Scientific and Technological Committee (No. 002p1503).

Expression and Purification of SARS Coronavirus Membrane Protein

To construct a recombinant plasmid Pet23a-M, the gene encoding severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus membrane protein was amplified by RT-PCR and cloned into the expression plasmid Pet23a. Results of restriction endonuclease analysis, PCR detection and DNA sequencing analysis revealed that the cloned DNA sequence was the same as that reported. The recombinants were transformed into Escherichia coli (E.Coli) BL21 (DE3) and induced by Isopropyl-β-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The expression of 27 kD (1 kD=0.9921 ku) protein was detected by SDS-PAGE and pured by metal chelated chromatography. Results of Western-blot showed that this expressed protein could react with antibodies in sera of SARS patients during convalescence. This provided the basis for the further study on SARS virus vaccine and diagnostic agents.

Purification of Moringa oleifera Leaves Protease by Three-Phase Partitioning and Investigation of Its Potential Antibacterial Activity

One of plant-based products for dental care is plant-based proteolytic enzymes which are principally proteases. In order not to damage the protein and bioactive content, an efficient method should be employed for their purifications. As such, three-phase partitioning (TPP) was used to purify protease from moringa (Moringa oleifera). TPP is an emerging, promising, non-chromatographic and economical technology which is simple, quick, efficient and often one-step process for the separation and purification of bioactive molecules from natural sources. It involves the addition of salt (ammonium sulphate) to the crude extract followed by the addition of an organic solvent (butanol). The protein appears as an interfacial precipitate between upper organic solvent and lower aqueous phases. The various conditions such as ammonium sulphate, ratio of crude extract to t-butanol and pH which are required for attaining efficient purification of the protease fractions were optimized. Under optimized conditions, it was seen that, 35% of ammonium sulphate saturation with 1:0.75 ratio of crude extract to t-butanol at pH 7 gave 4.94-fold purification with 96.20% activity yield of protease in the middle phase of the TPP system. The purified enzyme from Moringa oleifera has no antimicrobial effect on the pathogenic bacteria tested. However, this purified enzyme, can be considered as a promising agent, cheap, and safe source which is suitable for using in various industries.

Purification and identification of simian parvovirus protein Vp2 expressed in E.coli

To purify and identify the simian parvovirus （SPV） protein Vp2 expressed in E. coli, fusion protein of SPV Vp2 was expressed in E. coli DHSα competent cells transformed with vector pThioHis AVp2, and the new bacterial protein extraction reagent was used to extract the protein. Detergents with different characteristics were used to solubilize the fusion protein, and metal chelating resin （ProBond） with a continuous elusion polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis procedure was employed to purify the fusion protein. SDS-PAGE gel stained with coomassie blue and Western-blotting probed with anti-thio and anti-SPV Vp2 antibodies were used to identify the specificity of the expressed and purified fusion proteins. It was found that the SPV Vp2 protein expressed in E. coli was highly insoluble, and could not be solublized by the commonly used detergent. However, 6 M urea could solubilize the fusion proteins and was then employed for the further purification procedure, but metal chelating resin could not be used for this procedure, because of the loss of the tertiary structure of HP-thiaoredoxin and the metal-binding domain. The technique with continuous elusion polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis yielded a homogenous protein with a single band on the gel stained with coomassie blue and retained reactivity with anti-thio or anti-SPV Vp2 antibodies. It is evident that this technique with successful purification of SPV Vp2 protein has practical significance for the further investigation on the simian parvovirus infection.

Expression,Purification and Activity Detection of Structural Protein VP1 of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype A

The paper was to obtain the VP1 protein of FMDV serotype A with high activity. With recombinant plasmid pMD19A-T-vp1 as the tem- plate, vpl gene fragment amplified by PCR was connected into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a to construct recombinant plasmid pET-A-vpl. The E. coli BL21 （DE3） strain containing recombinant plasmid pET-A-vpl were induced by IPTG. SDS-PAGE showed that VP1 protein was ex- pressed in the form of inclusion body, and its molecular weight was about 29 ku. Based on the optimizing IPTG concentration and expression time, the largest expression of VP1 protein was induced by 0.3 mmol/L IPTG for 6 h at 37 ℃. Western-Blot analysis indicated that the expression of VP1 protein could be specifically recognized by positive serum of FMDV serotype A. ELISA test showed that VP1 inclusion body protein had high activity after purification by washing and renaturation by urea concentration gradient dialysis.

Purification of the Drosophila melanogaster Proteins Inscuteable and Staufen Expressed in Escherichia coli

The proteins Inscuteable and Staufen are key components during asymmetric cell division of neuroblasts for the development of Drosophila melanogaster. Expression and purification of both proteins has been a difficult task for structure-function studies. Based on codon optimization for protein expression in Escherichia coli, we have been able to produce, in soluble form, the C-terminal domains of Inscuteable and Staufen as chimeras with N-terminal maltose binding protein tag that contains a rigid linker between them for feasible crystallization. In addition, using an optimized synthetic gene, corresponding to the amino acid region 250 - 623 of Inscuteable fused to glutathione-S-transferase, low-scale expression experiments showed production of soluble protein. Finally, eukaryotic expression of Inscuteable in the methylothropic yeast Pichia pastoris failed to produce the Drosophila protein at detectable amounts, reinforcing the fact that E. coli still was the microorganism of choice for high-yield protein expression.

Purification and Characteristics of Mn-containing Nitrogenase Component Ⅰ

A mutant UW 3, which is unable to fix N 2 in the presence of Mo (Nif -) but undergo phenotypic reversal to Nif + under Mo deficiency, was able to grow in Mo- and NH 3-deficient medium containing Mn, and the growth was accelerated by Mn at low concentration. A partly purified nitrogenase component Ⅰ protein separated from UW 3 grown in the Mn-containing medium was shown to contain Fe and Mn atoms (ratio of Fe/Mo/Mn: 10.41/0.19/1.00) with C 2H 2- and H +-reducing activity which almost equal to half of that of MoFe protein purified from wild-type mutant of Azotobacter vinelandii Lipmann. This protein was obviously different from MoFe protein in both absorption spectrum and circular dichroism, and the molecular weight of subunits in Mn-containing protein was close to that of α subunit in MoFe protein. The preliminary results indicated that the protein containing Mn might be a nitrogenase component Ⅰ protein.

Molecular Cloning, and Characterization of an Adenylyl Cyclase-Associated Protein from Gossypium arboreum L.

The aim of this study was to clone CAP （adenylyl cyclase-associated protein） gene from Gossypium arboreum L. and develop a platform for expressing and purifying CAP protein, which is a base for the construction and function researches of CAP. In this work, a CAP homolog from cotton （DPL971） ovule was identified and cloned. And the cDNA sequence consisted of an open reading frame of 1 416 nucleotides encoding a protein of 471 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 50.6 kDa. To gain insight on the CAP role in cotton fiber development, the cloned CAP cDNA was expressed. A significant higher yield pure protein was obtained with the chromatographic method. Further experiments showed that the purified protein can bind with the actin in vitro indicating that the recombinant cotton CAP is functional. The procedure described here produced high yield pure protein through one chromatographic step, suitable for further structure-function studies.

Expression and Characterization of a Recombinant Truncated Capsid Protein of Hepatitis E Virus in Pichia pastoris

Hepatitis E is an enterically transmitted viral disease caused by infection with hepatitis E virus（HEV）. HEV is a nonenveloped virus that bas been classified in the family of Caliciviridae. The virus appears to be a polya-denylated, positive-stranded RNA virus with three major open reading frames（ORFs）. The capsid protein of HEV is encoded by the open reading frame 2（ORF2）. We attempted to produce a truncated capsid protein, designed p293, in Pichia pastoris. The p293 gene encoding amino acids（aa） 382-674 of HEV ORF2 was designed based on the full length of HEV ORF2, cloned into the yeast vector pPIC9K, and expressed in P. pastoris strain GS 115. SDS-PAGE and Western blotting demonstrated that the recombinant protein p293 could well be expressed in P pastoris. Under optimized conditions （culture medium pH, 6.0-6.5; methanol concentration added daily, 3.0%; inoculum density, OD600=60; induction time point, 72-96 h）, the yield of soluble p293 was approximately 80 mg/L. We also observed p293 secretory expressed in P. pastoris to be 30 nm viral like particles by using electron microscopy. These results show that the p293 may has utility in the analysis of cell specific factors in the protein processing and assembly of HEV, and serve as a useful antigen for both diagnostic and vaccine purposes.

Carboxyl Terminus Truncated Human Papillomavirus Type 58 L1 Protein Maintains Its Bioactivity and Ability to Form Virus-like Particles

Summary: To prepare carboxyl terminus truncated human papillomavirus type 58 L1(HPV58L1) protein and evaluate its ability to form virus-like particles, the baculovirus and Sf-9 insect cells was used to express HPV58L1 protein, and pFastBac-Htb containing HPV58L1 gene sequence of carboxyl terminus truncation was generated. Then Sf-9 cells were infected with recombinant baculovirus. After being cultured, the post-infected cells expressing-HPV58L1 protein-were harvested and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The ProBond~TM purification system was used for protein purification. The bio-activity of purified protein was identified by mouse erythrocyte hemagglutination assay, and the VLP formation was examined with transmission electron microscope. Our results showed that the recombinant baculovirus was generated and the Sf-9 cells was infected with the recombinant baculovirus, and after collecting, total cellular proteins were extracted. Truncated HPV58L1 protein with MW 58KD was revealed by SDS-PAGE and confirmed by Western blot. The purified L1 proteins under native condition could cause mouse erythrocytes to agglutinate and form VLP. It is concluded that HPV58L1 protein with carboxyl terminus truncation could be efficiently expressed. In baculovirus Sf-9 cells expression system, the purified protein could self-assemble into virions in vitro, and induce agglutination of mouse erythrocytes, indicating that carboxyl terminus truncation does not interfere with the bioactivity of HPV58L1 protein.

Optimization of DsbA Purification from Recombinant Escherichia coli Broth Using Box-Behnken Design Methodolog

Disulfide bond formation protein A （DsbA） is one of the important helper proteins for folding in protein synthesis in vivo. In this study, purification of recombinant DsbA was investigated by examining four important factors with Box-Behnken design method, a statistic-based design of experiments. The optimal operation conditions were obtained by adopting the effectiveness coefficient method on the multi-objective problem, which takes the protein recovery, purification efficiency and throughput of ion-exchange chromatography into account. After the optimization, protein recovery of 96.8% and purity higher than 95% DsbA was achieved, and the productivity was （377.9±1.7） mg soluble DsbA per liter broth. The purified protein was identified by peptide mass fingerprinting matching the record of gil2624856, a mutant of DsbA. The DsbA was preliminarily applied to the refolding of denatured lysozyme in vitro.

SOLID MATRICES FOR EXPANDED BED ADSORPTION OF PROTEINS

Expanded bed adsorption (EBA) has been introduced as a primary recovery step for protein purification from a whole fermentation broth or unclarified cell homogenates. It can also be integrated with a fermentation or cell disruption process. Solid matrix is the principal pillar supporting the successful application of the EBA technology. This article summarizes the solid matrices employed in and developed for the EBA process to date. Further development of solid matrices for the expanded bed technique in the recovery of various biological substances from different sources has been addressed.

Prokaryotic Expression and Purification of HIV-1 Vif and hAPOBEC3G, Preparation of Polyclonal Antibodies

To prepare HIV-1 Vif and hAPOBEC3G and to produce their antibodies, the full length gene fragment of HIV-1 vif was amplified by PCR from a plasmid of HIV-1 NL4.3 cDNA, and the APOBEC3G gene was obtained by RT-PCR from the total RNA of H9 cells. The resulting DNA construct was cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector (pET-32a). Recombinant pET-vif and pET-APOBEC3G were expressed respectively in Eserichia coli BL21 (DE3) as an insoluble protein. The vector also contained a six-histidine tag at the C-terminus for convenient purification and detection. To express and purify the HIV-1 Vif and hAPOBEC3G in E.coli cells, the accuracy of inserted gene and specificity of proteins were detected by the two enzyme digestion method, SDS-PAGE, and Western blotting. Rabbits were then immunized by Vif or APOBEC3G protein and serum samples were tested by indirect ELISA to determine the level of antibodies. Immunoenzyme and immunofluorescence assays were performed to identify the specificity of polyclonal antibodies. The titer of the anti-Vif antibodies was 1:204800, and that of the anti-APOBEC3G antibodies was 1:102400. Thus the antibodies could detect the antigen expression in the cells, demonstrating that fusion proteins with high purity and their corresponding polyclonal antibodies with high titer and specificity were achieved.

Expression and Purification of Zinc Finger Domain and Central Domain of MDMD2

[ Objective] This study aimed to construct the His-tagged prokaryotic expression vectors harboring zinc finger domain （ZF） and central domain （ acidic domain ＆ zinc finger domain, CT） of MDM2, respectively, and preliminarily identified biologic activity of the purified fusion proteins. [ Method ] ZF and CT cod- ing regions were amplified from MDM2 cDNA library by PCR and separately inserted into prokaryotie expression vector pET28b to construct the recombinant plas- mids. After verification by enzyme digestion, the recombinant plasmids were separately transformed into E. coli DH5c~ competent cells. The expressed recombinant plasmids were purified using Ni-NTA magnetic beads and identified by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. [ Result] The molecular weight of His-ZF and His-CT fu- sion proteins was 21 and 31 kD, respectively. E Conclusion] Recombinant fusion proteins containing ZF and CT of MDM2 were obtained successfully, which laid the foundation for subsequent protein crystallization and three-dimensional structure analysis.

Expression and Purification of Serine/Arginine-Rich Splicing Factor 1 from Escherichia coli Expression System

Serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1(SRSF1), as a prototype member of the highly conserved serine/arginine family of RNA binding proteins, plays an important role in mRNA alternative splicing, stabilization, nuclear export, and translation. Here, the expression system was established to purify full-length human SRSF1 from Escherichia coli(E. coli). The SRSF1 coding sequence was amplified by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and inserted into the pET-28 a-ppSUMO vector with His-tag to construct a recombinant plasmid His-SUMO-SRSF1. Then the plasmid was transformed into BL21(DE3) competent cells for expression. After purification by affinity chromatography and cleavage of His-SUMO moiety, a highly purified SRSF1 with a molecular weight of around 28 kg/mol was obtained. The protein was analyzed by sizing chromatography and it was found that SRSF1 would form a polymer structure in the solution. According to Expasy bioinformatics analysis, SRSF1 is extremely unstable. Purification of full-length SRSF1 protein provides an opportunity to study mRNA splicing in vitro.

Inteins--A Focus on the Biotechnological Applications of Splicing-Promoting Proteins

The main aim of this mini-review is to illustrate strategies and industrial applications based on inteins (INTErnal proteINS), which belong to a class of autocatalytic enzymes that are able to perform a catalytic reaction on a single substrate. However, since practical applications of inteins are strongly guided by a detailed understanding of their biological mechanisms and functions, the first part of this review will thus briefly discuss the physiological roles of inteins, describing what is currently known about their mechanisms of action. In the second part, specific biotechnological applications of inteins will be outlined (i.e. their use for (i) the purification of recombinant proteins, (ii) the cyclization of proteins and (iii) the production of seleno-proteins), paying attention to both potential strengths and weaknesses of this technology.

Purification and Biochemical Characterization of a Protease Inhibitor Ⅱ Family from Jalapeno Pepper(Capsicum annuum L.)

Capsicum annuum L. was initially domesticated in Mexico and northern Central America, and represented an ancient Neotropical plant food complex. The purpose of this paper is to report the isolation and purification of a novo-member of a protease inhibitor from jalape&ntildeo pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) (PIJP). The molecular weight of PIJP inhibitor is 5.95 kDa with 56 amino acids and 6 Cys residues with high inhibitory activity to trypsin with a Ki value of 95 nM. This inhibitor according to the alignment with homologous from NCBI and Pfam databases is a member of proteinase inhibitors II. It is worthwhile to mention a major compositional difference between the proteinase inhibitor II families which have 8 Cys residues. PIJP is the first purified proteinase inhibitor, member of this family with only 6 Cys residues.

Expression and purification of Ctomp2aa167-aa434 and preparation of its mAb

Chlamydia trachomatis outer membrane protein 2 （Ctomp2） is a major immunogen in chlamydial infections and a highly genus-conserved structural protein of all Chlamydia species. To purify the protein and to prepare monoclonal antibodies （mAbs） against it, the recombinant protein was induced by IPTG, which was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and purified by means of a Ni^2＋ -charged resin colunm. The denatured protein was refolded in the GSH-GSSH buffer gradually and identified by Westem blotting. Then the BALB/c mice were immunized with the recombinant protein to prepare the mAb against Ctomp2. The obtained mAbs were characterized. Genital specimens were tested with indirect ELISA mostly made of the mAb and cell culture in 84 patients with genital symptoms. The results showed that high-level expression of the recombinant protein was achieved, which existed as inclusion body and amounted to 38 % of total bacterium protein. A mAb against Ctomp2 was obtained. It belongs to IgG 2b. The titers were as high as 1：40 000. The Western blotting showed that the mAb only reacted with the recombinant protein. It had no crossing reactions against E. coli, N. gonorhoea, M. hominis, U. urealyticum and M. penetrans. It had high specifity. In comparison with gold standard test-ceil culture, the sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive values and negative predictive values of indirect ELISA were 95.24%, 100%, 100% and 98.44%, respectively. The above-mentioned research work contributed not only to the further study of the structure and function of this protein, but also to the establishment of the method for its clinical application, for it had not been reported before.

Establishment of an Indirect ELISA with the Major Epitope Domain of ApxⅡ of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae Expressed in Prokaryotic Cells

[Objective] This study aimed to develop an indirect ELISA to detect the antibodies against Actinobacil us pleuropneumoniae （APP） using the recombinant ApxⅡA1 protein expressed in prokaryotic cells as the antigen. [Method] The major epi-tope domain of ApxⅡ was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a （＋） to obtain the recombinant plasmid pET-ApxⅡA1, which was then transformed into E. coli BL21 （DE3） for expression. The immunogenicity of the recombinant pro-tein was analyzed by western-blotting. After that, the purified recombinant protein was used as the coating antigen in the indirect ELISA for detecting the antibodies against APP. Final y, the concentration of coated antigen and the dilution of serum were optimized. [Result] Proved by enzyme digestion and sequencing, the recombi-nant plasmid pET-ApxⅡA1 was constructed successful y. The recombinant protein was highly expressed in prokaryotic cells, and Western-blotting analysis showed that it was recognized specifical y by positive serum of APP. The indirect ELISA could detect the antibody against APP with the purified recombinant protein as the coating antigen. The optimal concentration of coated antigen was 1.23 μg/ml and the opti-mal dilution of serum was 1：100. Compared with a commercial ELISA kit detecting antibody against ApxⅣ, the coincidence rate of the indirect ELISA was 90.4%. [Conclusion] Our results indicated that the indirect ELISA is sensitive and specific, and suitable for evaluating the effect of APP vaccine and epidemiological surveys.

Selective Affinity Separation of Yeast Alcohol Dehydrogenase by Reverse Micelles with Unbound Triazine Dye

The reversed micelles were formed with cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant and n-hexanol as cosolvent in the CTAB (50mmol.L-1)/hexanol (15% by volume)/hexane system. Cibacron Blue 3GA (CB) as an affinity ligand in the aqueous phase was directly introduced to the reversed micelles with electrostatic interaction between anionic CB and cationic surfactant. High molecular weight (Mr) protein, yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH, Mr = 141000) from baker's yeast, has been purified using the affinity reversed micelles by the phase transfer method. Various parameters, such as CB concentration, pH and ionic strength, on YADH forward and backward transfer were studied. YADH can be transferred into and out from the reversed micelles under mild conditions (only by regulation of solution pH and salt concentration) with the successful recovery of most YADH activity. Both forward and backward extractions occurred when the aqueous phase pH＞pI with electrostatic attraction between YADH and CTAB. The recovery of YADH activity and purification factor have been improved with addition of a small amount of affinity CB. The recovery of YADH activity obtained was ～99% and the purification factor was about 4.0-fold after one cycle of full forward and backward extraction. The low ionic strength in the initial aqueous phase might be responsible for the YADH transfer into the reversed micellar phase.