Efficient Expression and Purification of Fc-fragment-binding Domain and Its Application to Immunoglobulin G Purification

The number of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies used in clinical trials has recently increased dramatically, leading to the development of optimized downstream purification processes[1]. Staphylococcal protein A （SPA）, a cell-wall protein of Staphylococcus aureus, has been developed as a universal ligand for immunoglobulin G （IgG） purification because it binds specifically to the Fc portion of the IgG molecule of many mammals[2]. However, certain characteristics of SPA severely restrict the advancement of the antibody industry.

Expression and Characterization of Human Heart Type Fatty Acid Binding Protein in Pichia Pastoris

H-FABP is regarded as a tissue-specific protein existing only in myocardial cells. It is released from the cardiac tissue and gets into the plasma when a heart attack occurs; the myocardial infarction is a good case in point. As a resuit, the detection of H-FABP will be an early and important biomarker for the disease concerned. The objective of the study is to prepare the recombinant H-FABP by aeukaryotic expression system, pichia, to produce the protein mimicking natural H-FABP, as an immunogen for the production of the specific antibody. A gene fragment encoding H-FABP was cloned in the expressing vector pPICZα, after sequencing. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into the competent cells of the X-33 strain by means of electroporation. The expression of the target peptide induced by methanol was screened by means of Western hlotting, with the available MAb（Clone 6B6）. Highly expressive engineer strains were obtained. The production of recombinant H-FABP under induction was about 0.7 g/L, with an Mr of 14.5 kDa and recognized by a commercially available MAb （Clone 6B6）. The recombinant vector was successfully constructed. Following this, H-FABP was expressed in X-33, and it would become the source of the preparation of specific antibodies, to develop diagnostic kits.

Efficient and Soluble Expression of N Protein of Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus and Development of Indirect ELISA

[ Objective] The paper was to get effective soluble N protein to establish indirect ELISA method for Peste des petits ruminants （PPR）. [ Method] Soluble N protein with high expression was obtained from Escherichia coli expression system through codon optimization and optimization of expression conditions, and indirect ELISA detection method based on N protein was further established. [ Result] The assay had no cross reaction with other sheep pathogens. The intra- and inter-batch variation coefficients were less than 9%, indicating the method had good repeatability. Furthermore, totally 480 clinical serum samples were detec- ted by the assay, and the agreement rate with commercial ELISA kit （IDVET） was 98.33%. [ Conclusion] The study laid a foundation for further development of mature PPRV antibody detection kits.

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.

Establishment of Double-antigen Sandwich Time-resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay for Detection of Pest des Petits Ruminants Virus

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore rapid and large-scale screening and detection of peste des petits ruminants(PPR),so as to provide important technical means for prevention,control and purification of PPR.[Methods]Soluble N protein and NH fusion protein were successfully obtained in an Escherichia coli expression system by optimizing E.coli codon and expression conditions.Furthermore,based on purified soluble N protein and NH fusion protein,a double-antigen sandwich time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay method for detection of peste des petits ruminants virus(PPRV)was established.[Results]The method has high sensitivity and specificity and can specifically detect the antibody against PPRV in sheep serum,and it has no cross reaction with other related diseases.The method was used to detect 292 clinical samples,and compared with French IDVET competition ELISA kit.The coincidence rates of positive samples and negative samples from the two kinds of test kits were 92.47%and 97.26%,respectively,and the overall coincidence rate was 94.86%.The intra-group and inter-group coefficients of variation in the repeatability test were less than 10%.[Conclusions]Compared with the traditional ELISA method,the double-antigen sandwich time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay for detection of PPRV has equivalent sensitivity and specificity,and simple and rapid operation,and thus high application and popularization value.