optimized-production-analysis-recombinant-protein-filled-vesicles

Optimized Production and Analysis of Recombinant Protein-Filled Vesicles from <em>E. coli</em>

This innovative system, using a short peptide tag, that exports multiple recombinant proteins in membrane bound vesicles from E. coli, provides an ...

University of Kent

Amino-terminal acetylation is a ubiquitous protein modification affecting the majority of eukaryote proteins to regulate stability and function. We describe an optimised recombinant expression system for rapid production of amino terminal-acetylated proteins within bacteria. We go on to describe the system's use in a fluorescence based in vivo assay for use in the high-throughput screen to identify drugs that impact amino-terminal acetylation-dependent oligomerisation. These new tools and protocols will allow researchers to enhance routine recombinant protein production and identify new molecules for use in research and clinical applications.

An enhanced recombinant amino-terminal acetylation system and novel in vivo high-throughput screen for molecules affecting α-synuclein oligomerisation.

The majority of proteins in eukaryotic cells are subject to amino-terminal (Nt) acetylation. Recombinant protein expressed using prokaryotic expression systems such as E. coli would not normally be Nt-acetylated as these cells lack the appropriate N-α-terminal acetylation complex. Here we describe a simple protocol that allows the recombinant expression and purification of Nt-acetylated alpha-synuclein (aS) from E. coli.

Recombinant Expression and Purification of N-Acetylated Alpha-Synuclein.

Cytoplasmic viscosity is a crucial parameter in determining rates of diffusion-limited reactions. Changes in viscosity are associated with several diseases, whilst nuclear viscosity determines gene integrity, regulation and expression. Yet how drugs including DNA-damaging agents affect viscosity is unknown. We demonstrate the use of a platinum complex, Pt[L]Cl, that localizes efficiently mostly in the nucleus as a probe for nuclear viscosity. The phosphorescence lifetime of Pt[L]Cl is sensitive to viscosity and provides an excellent tool to investigate the impact of DNA damage. We show using Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM) that the lifetime of both green and red fluorescent proteins (FP) are also sensitive to changes in cellular viscosity and refractive index. However, Pt[L]Cl proved to be a more sensitive viscosity probe, by virtue of microsecond phosphorescence lifetime versus nanosecond fluorescence lifetime of FP, hence greater sensitivity to bimolecular reactions. DNA damage was inflicted by either a two-photon excitation, one-photon excitation microbeam and X-rays. DNA damage of live cells causes significant increase in the lifetime of either Pt[L]Cl (HeLa cells, 12.5-14.1 µs) or intracellularly expressed mCherry (HEK293 cells, 1.54-1.67 ns), but a decrease in fluorescence lifetime of GFP from 2.65 to 2.29 ns (in V15B cells). These values represent a viscosity change from 8.59 to 20.56 cP as well as significant changes in the refractive index (RI), according to independent calibration. Interestingly DNA damage localized to a submicron region following a laser microbeam induction showed a whole cell viscosity change, with those in the nucleus being greater than the cytoplasm. We also found evidence of a by-stander effect, whereby adjacent un-irradiated cells also showed nuclear viscosity change. Finally, an increase in viscosity following DNA damage was also observed in bacterial cells with an over-expressed mNeonGreen FP, evidenced by the change in its lifetime from 2.8 to 2.4 ns.

Fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetime imaging reveals a significant cell nuclear viscosity and refractive index changes upon DNA damage.

We describe an innovative system that exports diverse recombinant proteins in membrane-bound vesicles from . These recombinant vesicles compartmentalize proteins within a micro-environment that enables production of otherwise challenging insoluble, toxic, or disulfide-bond containing proteins from bacteria. The release of vesicle-packaged proteins supports isolation from the culture and allows long-term storage of active protein. This technology results in high yields of vesicle-packaged, functional proteins for efficient downstream processing for a wide range of applications from discovery science to applied biotechnology and medicine.

Article	Year
An enhanced recombinant amino-terminal acetylation system and novel in vivo high-throughput screen for molecules affecting α-synuclein oligomerisation. FEBS letters\| PubMed ID: 28214355	2017
Recombinant Expression and Purification of N-Acetylated Alpha-Synuclein. Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)\| PubMed ID: 30771174	2019
Fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetime imaging reveals a significant cell nuclear viscosity and refractive index changes upon DNA damage. Scientific reports\| PubMed ID: 36624137	2023
High-yield vesicle-packaged recombinant protein production from . Cell reports methods\| PubMed ID: 36936078	2023

Tara A. Eastwood

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