The authors would like to acknowledge The University of Akron for the funding that supported this work.

1. Designing of Target Protein
<ol>
	<li>Using the National Center for Biotechnology Information website (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) obtain an amino sequence for the target protein taking into account the species of interest and any splice variants. Select the amino acid sequence that corresponds to the active region of interest of the protein. 
	Note: For Sema3A, amino acids 21-747 were chosen. A fusion protein was designed with NGF where the sequence of barstar, amino acid 1-90, was added to NGF amino...

Recombinant protein engineering is a very powerful technique that spans many disciplines. It is cost-effective, tunable and a relatively simple procedure, allowing the production of high yields of custom-designed proteins. It is important to note that designing and expressing target proteins is not always straightforward. Basal expression and recombinant protein stability depend on specific choices of vector, E. coli cell strains, peptide tag additions and cultivation parameters. Our specific design criterion ut...

Proteins cover a wide-range of biomolecules that are responsible for many biological functions, ultimately leading to proper tissue formation and organization. These molecules initiate thousands of signaling pathways that control up-regulation and/or down-regulation of genes and other proteins, maintaining equilibrium within the human body. Disruption of a single protein affects this entire web of signals, which can lead to the onset of devastating disorders or diseases. Engineering individual proteins in the lab offers one solution for combating these adverse effects and offers an alternative to small molecule drugs. In 1977, a gene encoding the 14 amino acid somatostatin sequence was one of the first engineered polypeptides created using E. coli1. Soon after in 1979, insulin was cloned in plasmid pBR322, transformed, expressed, and purified2. Since then, recombinant proteins have expanded their influence to multiple fields of research such as biomaterials, drug delivery, tissue engineering, biopharmaceuticals, farming, industrial enzymes, biofuels, etc. (for reviews see references3-8). This is largely due to the versatility that the technique offers via the addition of application specific chemical moieties or protein sequences for purposes including, but not limited to, target protein identification, stabilization and purification.

Via recombinant DNA technology, recombinant proteins can be expressed in a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic host systems including mammalian, plant, insect, yeast, fungus, or bacteria. Each host offers different advantages and typically the best system is determined based on protein function, yield, stability, overall cost, and scalability. Bacteria cells often lack the post-translational modification mechanisms that eukaryotic hosts provide (i.e.&#160;glycosylation, disulfide bridging, etc.)5. As a result, mammalian and insect systems usually result in better compatibility and expression of eukaryotic proteins; however these hosts are typically more expensive and time-consuming9. Therefore, E. coli is the favored host for our expression system because cells expand rapidly in inexpensive growth conditions and the genetic expression mechanisms are well understood5,9. Additionally, this system is easy to scale-up for production purposes and results in functional proteins despite the lack of post-translational modifications10. The E. coli K12 strain is chosen in this protocol for cloning because this strain offers excellent plasmid yields based on high transformation efficiencies. Additionally, an E. coli BL21 strain is utilized for expression because this host strain contains the T7 RNA polymerase gene which provides controlled protein expression and stability11.
After host selection, further care must be taken in selecting the ideal expression vector to facilitate selected and controlled protein expression. Synthesizing recombinant proteins begins with a target DNA sequence that is cloned under the direction of bacteriophage T7 transcription and translation signals, and expression is induced in host cells containing chromosomal copies of the T7 RNA polymerase gene12. These vectors, derived from plasmid vector pBR322 (for review see reference13), are tightly controlled by the T7 promoter initially developed by Studier and colleagues14 and provide additional control through inclusion of the lac operator and lac repressor (lac1)15,16. For recombinant protein engineering, this expression system offers the ability to tailor a specific amino acid sequence of a desired protein by inserting different target DNA sequences or to create fusion proteins made up of combined domains from single proteins. Additionally, some vector series include peptide tag modifications to be placed on the N or C terminus. For our design purposes, a histidine (His) tag was added to the DNA target sequence for purification and a 15 amino acid biotinylatable sequence was included for biotinylation17,18. In this protocol a plasmid containing an ampicillin resistance gene, was chosen to carry our biotinylatable fusion protein sequences. Expression is controlled in this vector via the T7 lac promoter and is easily induced with isopropyl &#946;-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG).
Test expressions (small-scale cultures) are used to determine the presence and solubility of the target protein, which can be expressed in either a soluble or insoluble form to formulate purification procedures. A soluble protein expressed within the bacteria cell will undergo spontaneous folding to maintain its native structure19. Typically the native structure is thermodynamically favorable. In many cases the metabolic activity of the host is not conducive to the target protein, placing stress on the system that leads to insoluble protein production and the formation of inclusion bodies composed of insoluble protein aggregates. Thus the target protein denatures, rendering them generally biologically inactive20. Both test expressions are scaled-up, and isolation procedures are determined by the solubility of the target protein. An additional renaturation or refolding step is required for insoluble proteins. The resulting recombinant proteins can be further purified using size exclusion chromatography.
In house recombinant protein production offers cost advantages over commercial products since milligrams of target protein can be isolated per liter of main culture. Most of the required equipment is available in a typical biological or chemical laboratory. Protein engineering allows for creation of custom fusion proteins with added functionalities which are not always commercially available. Figure 1 depicts the main procedures involved in engineering recombinant proteins. With this expression system we have created many biotinylatable proteins, such as interferon-gamma, platelet-derived growth factor, and bone-morphogenetic protein21-23, but we will focus on two proteins that we designed for axon guidance, NGF (29 kDa) and Sema3A (91 kDa)10 (for review see reference24). Biotinylation is a common technique for identification, immobilization and isolation of labeled proteins utilizing the well-known biotin-streptavidin interaction25-27. Biophysical probes28,29, biosensors30, and quantum dots31 are some examples of systems that utilize the high affinity of biotin-streptavidin conjugation with a Kd on the order of 10-15 M&#160;27. The E. coli biotin ligase, BirA, aids in the covalent attachment of biotin to the lysine side chain found within the biotin tagged sequence18,32. Tethering biotin to materials and biomolecules has produced sustained delivery of growth factors to cell for multiple tissue engineering applications21,33-35. Therefore, engineering these custom-designed biotinylatable proteins is a powerful tool that can transcend multiple research interests.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="849">
	<colgroup>
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
		<col />
	</colgroup>
	<tbody>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:299px;">1,4-dithio--DL-threitol, DTT, 99.5%</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">127</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">100 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:299px;">2-Hydroxyethylmercaptan &#946;-Mercaptoethanol</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>642</td>
			<td>250 ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Acetic acid, glacial</td>
			<td>EMD</td>
			<td>AX0073-9</td>
			<td>2.5 L</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Agar</td>
			<td>Bioshop</td>
			<td>AGR001.500</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Ampicillin sodium salt&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A9518</td>
			<td>25 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Antifoam 204</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A6426</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Barstar-NGF pET-21a(+)</td>
			<td>GenScript USA Inc.</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>4 &#181;g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">BL21(DE3) Competent Cells</td>
			<td>Novagen</td>
			<td>69450</td>
			<td>1 ml; Expression Host</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Bradford reagent</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>B6916</td>
			<td>500 ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">BugBuster</td>
			<td>Novagen</td>
			<td>70922-3</td>
			<td>100 ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Gel filtration standard</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>151-1901</td>
			<td>6 vials</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Glycerol</td>
			<td>Bioshop</td>
			<td>GLY001.1</td>
			<td>1 L</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:299px;">Guanidine hydrodioride amioformamidine hydrochloride</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>152</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:299px;">His-Pur Ni-NTA Resin</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>88222</td>
			<td>100 ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Hydrochloric acid</td>
			<td>EMD&#160;</td>
			<td>HX0603-3</td>
			<td>2.5 L</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Imidazole&#160;</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>418</td>
			<td>250 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">IPTG</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>194</td>
			<td>100 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Laemmli sample buffer</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>161-0737</td>
			<td>30 ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="40">
			<td height="40" style="height:40px;width:299px;">Lauryl sulfate sodium salt, Sodium dodecyl surface</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>270</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">LB Broth&#160;&#160;</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>L3022</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">NovaBlue Competent Cells</td>
			<td>Novagen</td>
			<td>69825</td>
			<td>1 ml; Cloning Host</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Phosphate buffered saline</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P5368-10PAK</td>
			<td>10 pack</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Potassium Chloride</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>01247</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Sema3A-pET-21a(+)</td>
			<td>GenScript USA Inc.</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>4 &#181;g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">SimplyBlue SafeStain</td>
			<td>Invitrogen</td>
			<td>LC6060</td>
			<td>1 L</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Sodium chloride</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5886-1KG</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Sodium hydroxide</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific</td>
			<td>S318-500</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Sodium phosphate diabasic</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5136-500G</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Sodium phosphate monobasic</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5011</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Terrific Broth</td>
			<td>Bioshop</td>
			<td>TER409.5</td>
			<td>5 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Tetracycline hydrochloride</td>
			<td>Chem-Impex International</td>
			<td>667</td>
			<td>25 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Tris/Glycine/SDS Buffer, 10X</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>1610732</td>
			<td>1 L</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Trizma Base</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>T1503</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Tryptone, pancreatic</td>
			<td>EMD</td>
			<td>1.07213.1000</td>
			<td>1 kg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Yeast extract, granulated</td>
			<td>EMD</td>
			<td>1.03753.0500</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;"></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="56">
			<td height="56" style="height:56px;width:299px;">Name of Kits/ Equipment</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Company</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">Catalog Number</td>
			<td>Comments/Description</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">&#160;&#196;KTApurifier10</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">28-4062-64&#160;</td>
			<td>Includes kits and accessories</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Benchtop Orbital Shaker</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">SHKE4000</td>
			<td>MAXQ 4000</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:299px;">BirA500</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Avidity</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">BirA500</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Enzyme comes with reaction buffers and biotin solution</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Dialysis Casette</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">66380</td>
			<td>Slide-A-Lyzer (Extra Strength)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Dialysis Tubing</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Spectrum Laboratories&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">132127, 132129</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">MWCO: 25,000 and 50,000</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Flow Diversion Valve FV-923</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">11-0011-70</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:299px;">FluoReporter Biotin Quantification Assay Kit</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Invitrogen</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">1094598</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Frac-950 Tube Racks, Rack C</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">18-6083-13</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Fraction Collector Frac-950</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">18-6083-00</td>
			<td>Includes kits and accessories</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Heated/Refrigerated Circulator&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">VWR</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">13271-102</td>
			<td>Model 1156D</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Heating Oven FD Series</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Binder</td>
			<td style="width:121px;"></td>
			<td>Model FD 115</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="63">
			<td height="63" style="height:63px;">HiLoad 16/60 Superdex 200 pg</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GE Healthcare</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">17-1069-01</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Discontinued--Replacement Product: HiLoad 16/600 Superdex 200 pg</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">J-26 XPI Avanti Centrifuge</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">393126</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">JA 25.50 Rotor</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">363055</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">JLA 8.1 Rotor</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">969329</td>
			<td>Includes 1 L polyporpylene bottles</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">JS 5.3 Rotor</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">368690</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Laminar Flow Hood</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Themo Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">1849</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Forma 1800 Series Clean Bench</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Microplate Reader</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">TECAN</td>
			<td style="width:121px;"></td>
			<td>infinite M200</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:299px;">Mini-PROTEAN Tetra Cell</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Bio-Rad</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">165-8004</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">4-gel vertical electrophoresis system</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Mini-PROTEAN TGX Precast Gels</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Bio-Rad</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">456-9036</td>
			<td style="width:239px;">Any kDa, 15-well comb</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Ni-NTA Column</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td>737-2512</td>
			<td>49 ml&#160;volume ECONO-Column</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Plasmid Miniprep Kit</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">OMEGA bio-tek</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">D6943-01</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">PowerPac HC Power Supply</td>
			<td>Bio-Rad</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">164-5052</td>
			<td>250 V, 3 A, 300 W</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:299px;">Round Bottom Polypropylene Copolymer Tubes</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">VWR</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">3119-0050</td>
			<td>50 ml&#160;tubes for JA 25.50 rotor</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Spin-X UF Concentrators</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Corning</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">431488, 431483</td>
			<td>&#160;20 and 6 ml; MWCO: 10,000 Da</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Subcloning Service</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">GenScript USA Inc.</td>
			<td style="width:121px;"></td>
			<td>Protein Services</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Ultrasonic Processor&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Cole-Parmer</td>
			<td style="width:121px;">18910445A</td>
			<td>Model CV18</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:299px;">Vortex-Genie 2</td>
			<td style="width:191px;">Scientific Industries</td>
			<td>SI-0236</td>
			<td>Model G560</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

expression, isolation, and purification of soluble and insoluble biotinylated proteins for nerve tissue regeneration

Recombinant protein engineering has utilized Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression systems for nearly 4 decades, and today E. coli is still the most widely used host organism. The flexibility of the system allows for the addition of moieties such as a biotin tag (for streptavidin interactions) and larger functional proteins like green fluorescent protein or cherry red protein. Also, the integration of unnatural amino acids like metal ion chelators, uniquely reactive functional groups, spectroscopic probes, and molecules imparting post-translational modifications has enabled better manipulation of protein properties and functionalities. As a result this technique creates customizable fusion proteins that offer significant utility for various fields of research. More specifically, the biotinylatable protein sequence has been incorporated into many target proteins because of the high affinity interaction between biotin with avidin and streptavidin. This addition has aided in enhancing detection and purification of tagged proteins as well as opening the way for secondary applications such as cell sorting. Thus, biotin-labeled molecules show an increasing and widespread influence in bioindustrial and biomedical fields. For the purpose of our research we have engineered recombinant biotinylated fusion proteins containing nerve growth factor (NGF) and semaphorin3A (Sema3A) functional regions. We have reported previously how these biotinylated fusion proteins, along with other active protein sequences, can be tethered to biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative purposes. This protocol outlines the basics of engineering biotinylatable proteins at the milligram scale, utilizing&#160; a T7 lac inducible vector and E. coli expression hosts, starting from transformation to scale-up and purification.

Cloning and Test Expression
When plating is performed properly, single isolated colonies should form to increase the chances of plucking clonal transformed bacteria cells (Figure 2A). However, if too many cells are plated, plates are incubated too long at 37 &#176;C or transformation is questionable, colonies may cover the agar plate or form bigger aggregates of cells (Figures 2B and 2C). During test expression, NGF and Sema3A...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Expression, Isolation, and Purification of Soluble and Insoluble Biotinylated Proteins for Nerve Tissue Regeneration at JoVE.com

Expression, Isolation, and Purification of Soluble and Insoluble Biotinylated Proteins for Nerve Tissue Regeneration

Developing biotinylatable fusion proteins has many potential applications in various fields of research. Recombinant protein engineering is a straight forward procedure that is cost-effective, providing high yields of custom-designed proteins.

Recombinant protein engineering has utilized Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression systems for nearly 4 decades, and today E. coli is still the most ...

expression-isolation-purification-soluble-insoluble-biotinylated

Research

JoVE Journal

Bioengineering

33.3K vistas.  University of Akron.  El desarrollo de las proteínas de fusión biotinylatable tiene muchas aplicaciones potenciales en diversos campos de la investigación. La ingeniería de proteínas recombinantes es un procedimiento recta hacia adelante que es rentable, proporcionando altos rendimientos de proteínas de diseño personalizado. 