The silk gland of silkworm is the organ of silk protein synthesis and secretion. According to the morphological and functional differences, silk gland can be divided into anterior silk gland (ASG), middle silk gland (MSG) and posterior silk gland (PSG). ASG is the place for silk proteins conformation changes although it cannot synthetize silk proteins. ASG has narrow luminal structures and rigid wall which consists of chitin and cuticle proteins so that it can provide the shearing force which plays an important role in the silk protein conformation changes. The objective of this study is to identify the new chitin binding proteins in ASG of silkworm (Bombyx mori), and to analyze their expression patterns in different tissues. We identified a cuticle protein with chitin binding domain Bml1721 (GenBank Accession No. NM-001173285.1) by chitin affinity chromatography column. We also expressed the recombinant protein as inclusion body using the prokaryotic expression system, and then successfully purified the recombinant protein by nickel affinity chromatography column to generate the polyclonal antibodies. The expression patterns analysis in various tissues showed that both in transcriptional and protein levels Bm11721 was specifically expressed in ASG. Furthermore, the expression level of Bm 11721 protein was unchanged during the 5th instar. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that Bm1 1721 was located in the ASG inner membrane. It is proposed that Bm11721 is a component of inner membrane and probably provides the shearing force for conformational changes.
Animals ; Bombyx ; genetics ; metabolism ; Chitin ; metabolism ; Insect Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Silk ; biosynthesis

Limulus Factor C, a serine protease zymogen from the amoebocytes of the limulus, has high affinity for endotoxin. When Factor C is activated by endotoxin, it hydrolyses artificial tripeptide substrate and measurable products are released, so it can be used as an alternative reagent for endotoxin analysis. Factor C gene of Tachypleus tridentatus was obtained through RT-PCR and the recombinant protein was expressed by Bac-to-Bac/BmNPV baculovirus expression system in silkworm larvae. The activity of Factor C was detected with diluted serum of silkworm larvae, and the sensitivity of endotoxin detected was 0.2 EU/mL when the serum was diluted at 1:500. The silkworm larvae expressed limulus Factor C could be used to develop a new low-cost endotoxin test reagent.
Animals ; Arthropod Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Baculoviridae ; Bombyx ; metabolism ; Enzyme Precursors ; biosynthesis ; Genetic Vectors ; Larva ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Serine Endopeptidases ; biosynthesis

The coding sequence for the mature peptide of porcine lactoferrin (Plf) was synthesized according to the codon usage of lactobacillus, to establish optimized porcine lactoferrin Lactobacillus expression system. The gene was ligated into the Xho I/BamH I site of Lactobacillus expression vector pPG612.1 and the recombinant plasmid pPG612.1-plf was transformed individually into Lactobacillus casei ATCC393, Lactobacillus pentosus KLDS1.0413, Lactobacillus plantarum KLDS1.0344 or Lactobacillus paracasei KLDS1.0652 by electroporation. After induction with xylose, expression of the recombinant proteins was detected by Western blotting and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Secretion of recombinant Plf proteins from four recombinant species was determined quantitatively by ELISA. The antibacterial activities of recombinant proteins were measured by agar diffusion method. The result shows that Plf was correctly expressed in four species of recombinant lactobacillus, with molecular weight of about 73 kDa. The expression levels in recombinant Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei were 9.6 μg/mL, 10.8 μg/mL, 12.5 μg/mL and 9.9 μg/mL, respectively. Antimicrobial activity experiment shows that the recombinant proteins were active against E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria, Pasteurella. The recombinant Plf expressed by recombinant Lactobacillus plantarum showed the best antibacterial activity among all recombinant lactobacillus species. These data represent a basis for the development and application of porcine lactoferrin from recombinant lactobacillus.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; biosynthesis ; Lactobacillus ; metabolism ; Lactoferrin ; biosynthesis ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Swine

To seek the reason of heterogeneity of recombinant HWTX-I (rHWTX-I) expressed in Pichia pastoris. We expressed HWTX-I gene of interest in Pichia pastoris GS115/HWTX-I. The heterogenous product expressed was separated, purified and identified by using Ion exchange HPLC, reverse HPLC, Tricine SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry and then sequenced in both N-terminus and C-terminus. These results show that the heterogeneity of rHWTX-I results from the incomplete processing of signal peptide of N-terminus and the internal degradation of C-terminus. Biological activity assay shows that the activity of the heterogenous rHWTX-I only showed 30% activity compared with the native HWTX-I. The Solutions to how to avoid the heterogeneity are also discussed.
Animals ; Neurotoxins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Reptilian Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Spider Venoms ; biosynthesis ; genetics

To express Pleurocidin in Escherichia coli and to enhance the secretory efficiency of the fusion protein, the gene encoding Pleurocidin was ligated with Cherry DNA sequence via blunt-end ligation. Then this fusion gene was cloned into pET22b (+) vector and the recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3). Lactose was used to induce expression of fusion protein. The recombinant plasmid pET22b (+) -CP was successfully constructed and high-level expression of fusion protein was induced with lactose. Statistics showed that addition of glycine after 16 h of induction significantly enhanced the secretory efficiency of the fusion protein. After hydrolysis of the fusion protein by diluted hydrochloric acid and some further purification steps, r-Pleurocidin was obtained with antibacterial activity against E. coli DH5α and Bacillus subtilis BS168. In conclusion, the fusion protein was expressed in E. coli and biologically active r-Pleurocidin was obtained after hydrochloric acid cleavage and purification.
Animals ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Fish Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Flounder ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis

BmK AngM1 is a long-chain scorpion toxin purified from the venom of Buthus martensii Karsch. It has been reported to exhibit evident analgesic effect and low toxicity, and has the potential to be a novel analgesic drug. The BmKAngM1 gene was transformed into Pichiapastoris GS115. Mut+ and Mut(s) recombinant strains were screened by phenotype and Mut+ recombinant strains were used to detect BmK AngMl gene copy number in the real-time PCR. Expression of BmK AngM1 in the Mut+ recombinant strain was compared with that of the Mut(s) recombinant strain with the same single copy of BmK AngM1 gene under the same condition. The results indicated that the transcription level of BmK AngM1 gene in the Mut(s) recombinant strain was 2.7 fold of that in the Mut recombinant strain in the real-time PCR, and the expression of BmK AngM 1 in the Mut(s) recombinant strain was 1.5 fold of that in the Mut+ recombinant strain. Therefore, Mut(s) recombinant strain showed better ability to express BmK AngM1 than Mut+ recombinant strain.
Animals ; Arthropod Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Gene Dosage ; Pichia ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Scorpion Venoms ; chemistry

According to the amino acid sequence of des-pGlu1-Brazzein, 4 pairs of oligonucleotide with cosmic site were synthesized by using yeasty biased codons. After linkage and PCR, the 179 bp code area of des-pGlu1-Brazzein was obtained and inserted into pPIC9K, which resulted in the recombinant expression vector pPIC9K-Bra. By digestion with Sal I, the lined pPIC9K-Bra was transformed into Pichia pastoris GS115 by electric shock. The results of expression indicted that the secreted target protein accounted for 51.6% of total protein in the supernatant and showed biological activity after purification.
Codon ; Pichia ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; Sweetening Agents

According to the amino acid sequence of monellin, a single chain 294bp monellin gene was synthesized and inserted into vector pET-22b to yield the recombinant secretion plasmid pETMO. The single-chain monellin gene was designed based on the biased codons of E. coli so that its expression would be then optimized. Under the expressing conditions, monellin was produced accounting for 44.8% of total soluble proteins. The E. coli-expressed single-chain monellin is 3000 times sweeter than sucrose. The thermal-stability and acid-resistance of the protein are higher than the natural monellin.
Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; Protein Engineering ; methods ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics

Sorting nexins (SNXs) are a large group of proteins that contain Phox (PX) domain and involve in regulating endocytosis and endosome sorting. SNX7, a member of SNXs family, contains a PX domain and a BAR domain. In zebrafish, SNX7 is a liver-enriched anti-apoptotic protein and indispensible for the liver development. A fragment of SNX7 cDNA ((px-bar)snx7), encoding the PX domain and the BAR domain, was inserted into the expressing vector p28a, transformed into E. coli Rosseta 2 (DE3), and then induced by isopropyl β-D-1-Thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). After affinity, ion exchange and gel filtration purification, the purity of (PX-BAR)SNX7 reached over 95%. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiment indicated that (PX-BAR)SNX7 was homogeneous in solution. Lipid overlay assay showed that (PX-BAR)SNX7 can bind to PtdIns(5)P, PtdIns(4,5)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3.
Escherichia coli ; metabolism ; Genetic Vectors ; Humans ; Phosphatidylinositols ; metabolism ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; Sorting Nexins ; biosynthesis ; Substrate Specificity

Pif1 subfamily helicase is conserved from yeast to humans with a lot of cellular functions. In order to elucidate the function of human PIF1 helicase from biochemical level, we cloned human PIF1 gene by PCR from HeLa cell cDNA library. We co-transformed a pMStRNA1 plasmid encoding rare tRNA codons and a plasmid encoding molecular chaperon to greatly enhance the overexpression of human PIF1 protein. Finally we purified full-length PIF1 helicase by column chromatograph carried out at 4 degrees C using fast protein liquid chromatograph (FPLC) system. The human PIF1 protein was purified in enough quantity for detailed biochemical analysis. Biochemical assay showed that PIF1 had ATPase activity and helicase activity. The purification and biochemical properties analysis of human PIF1 helicase will allow us to understand how, at the molecular and mechanistic level, this conserved helicase operates in the cell.
DNA Helicases ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism ; HeLa Cells ; Humans ; RNA, Transfer ; genetics ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; metabolism