Controlled oxidative protein refolding using an ion-exchange column

Column-based refolding of complex and highly disulfide-bonded proteins simplifies protein renaturation at both preparative and process scale by integrating and automating a number of operations commonly used in dilution refolding. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein for refolding and oxido-shuffling on an ion-exchange column to give a refolding yield of 55% after 40 h incubation. Successful on-column refolding was conducted at protein concentrations of up to 10 mg/ml and refolded protein, purified from misfolded forms, was eluted directly from the column at a concentration of 3 mg/ml. This technique integrates the dithiothreitol removal, refolding, concentration and purification steps, achieving a high level of process simplification and automation, and a significant saving in reagent costs when scaled. Importantly, the current result suggests that it is possible to controllably refold disulfide-bonded proteins using common and inexpensive matrices, and that it is not always necessary to control protein-surface interactions using affinity tags and expensive chromatographic matrices. Moreover, it is possible to strictly control the oxidative refolding environment once denatured protein is bound to the ion-exchange column, thus allowing precisely controlled oxido-shuffling.     

用于蛋白同时复性及纯化的制备型装置中流动相用量的优化研究

 在生物大分子的高效液相色谱分离中 ,由计量置换保留模型可得出生物大分子在色谱柱上的保留行为取决于流动相中置换剂的浓度的结论。据此提出了用于蛋白同时复性及纯化的制备型装置 (USRPP)中最小流动相用量的估算公式 ,并进一步得出在保持最小流动相用量不变的条件下 ,改变流动相流速和线性梯度时间几乎不影响制备型USRPP分离蛋白的分离度和复性效率的结论。该结论与实验结果一致。     

溶液中变性剂浓度对蛋白溶菌酶复性的影响

Based on three-state renaturation process of denatured proteins, an equation describing the effect of denaturant concentration on renaturation yield of denatured proteins was presented. By this equation, two parameters n（m1 -m2） and Ka can be obtained. The former indicates the difference in the number of denaturant molecules between the renaturation process of n number of refolding intermediates from refolding intermediate state to native state and their aggregate process from refolding intermediate state to aggregate state, the latter denotes the apparent aggregate equilibrium constant for protein molecules aggregated from native state to aggregate state, and from them, the characteristics of the renaturation process of denatured proteins in denaturant solution can be identified. This equation was tested by the renaturation processes of denatured egg white lysozyme in guanidine hydrochloride and urea solutions, with the results to show that when guanidine hydrochloride and urea concentrations were separately higher than 1.25 and 3.00 mol/L or separately lower than 1.00 and 3.00 mol/L, the refolding intermediates of egg white lysozymes were more easily aggregated to aggregate state or more easily renatured to native state, respectively. Under different initial total egg white lysozyme concentrations in urea solution, the refolding egg white lysozyme intermediates could be deduced to have a tendency to form a bimolecular intermediate aggregate, and this inference was further confirmed by their nonreducing SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography.     

源于大肠杆菌蛋白的表达、液相色谱复性与纯化新进展

对近两年来源于大肠杆菌（Escherichia coli,E．coli）的蛋白表达和用蛋白折叠液相色谱（protein folding liquid chromatography,PFLC）法对所形成的包涵体目标蛋白的复性并同时纯化的新近发展做了简要的介绍和评述．PFLC法用于包涵体蛋白分离、纯化很广,其特点是除了在色谱柱上将目标蛋白与其他组分分开,还同时要在色谱柱上进行包涵体蛋白折叠．可以说,现代生物技术中所用的大多数有价值蛋白产品的制备仍然有赖于不同机理的液相色谱（Lc）法．而用PFLC法对源于E．coli的蛋白的制备方法更具可塑性和容易达到规模化,其生成本可以成倍地降低．该文主要内容包括了E．coli蛋白的表达及样品前处理、PFLC的实用范围、PFLC的优化、PFLC中的新技术、新设备和新方法、PFLC的分子学机理、应用事例及对未来的展望．     

Renaturation with simultaneous purification of rhG-CSF from Escherichia coli by ion exchange chromatography

Protein refolding is a key step for the production of recombinant proteins, especially at large scales, and usually their yields are very low. Application of liquid chromatography to protein refolding is an exciting step forward for this field. In this work, recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) expressed in Escherichia coli was renatured with simultaneous purification by ion exchange chromatography (IEC) with a Q Sepharose FF column. Several chromatographic parameters affecting the refolding yield of the denatured/reduced rhG-CSF, such as the urea concentration, pH value, concentration and ratio of reduced/oxidized glutathione in the mobile phase, as well as the flow rate of the mobile phase, were investigated in detail and indicated that the urea concentration and the pH value were of great importance. At the optimal conditions, the renatured and purified rhG-CSF was found to have a specific bioactivity of 3.0 x 10(8) IU/mg, a purity of 96%, and a mass recovery of 49%. Compared with the usual dilution method, the IEC method developed here is more effective for rhG-CSF refolding in terms of specific bioactivity and mass recovery.     

盐酸胍诱导的变性卵清溶菌酶分子重折叠过程及其各稳定构象态的分布和过渡

采用变性和非变性电泳、 高效凝胶排阻色谱、 内源荧光发射光谱和荧光相图以及生物活性测定等方法, 研究了盐酸胍诱导的变性卵清溶菌酶分子的重折叠过程及此过程中卵清溶菌酶分子各稳定构象态的分布和过渡. 结果表明, 当复性液中盐酸胍浓度分别约为5.0和2.4 mol/L时, 变性卵清溶菌酶分子的重折叠过程各存在1个稳定折叠中间态, 重折叠过程符合"四态模型". 在卵清溶菌酶分子四态重折叠过程基础上, 结合盐酸胍与卵清溶菌酶分子之间的缔合-解离平衡, 给出了一个定量描述变性剂诱导的蛋白质分子复性过程中蛋白质分子复性率随溶液中变性剂浓度变化的方程. 该方程包含2个特征折叠参数, 一个是蛋白质分子从一个稳定构象态过渡到另一个稳定构象态的热力学过渡平衡常数k; 另一个是在此过程中平均每个蛋白质分子所结合的变性剂分子数目m. 通过这2个特征折叠参数能够定量描述盐酸胍诱导的变性卵清溶菌酶完全去折叠态、 折叠中间态和天然态分子随复性液中盐酸胍浓度变化的分布和过渡情况.     

One‐step refolding and purification of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor‐α (rhTNF‐α) using ion‐exchange chromatography

Protein refolding is a key step for the production of recombinant proteins, especially at large scales, and usually their yields are very low. Chromatographic‐based protein refolding techniques have proven to be superior to conventional dilution refolding methods. High refolding yield can be achieved using these methods compared with dilution refolding of proteins. In this work, recombinant human tumor necrosis factor‐α (rhTNF‐α) from inclusion bodies expressed in Escherichia coli was renatured with simultaneous purification by ion exchange chromatography with a DEAE Sepharose FF column. Several chromatographic parameters influencing the refolding yield of the denatured/reduced rhTNF‐α, such as the urea concentration, pH value and concentration ratio of glutathione/oxidized glutathione in the mobile phase, were investigated in detail. Under optimal conditions, rhTNF‐α can be renatured and purified simultaneously within 30 min by one step. Specific bioactivity of 2.18 × 10⁸ IU/mg, purity of 95.2% and mass recovery of 76.8% of refolded rhTNF‐α were achieved. Compared with the usual dilution method, the ion exchange chromatography method developed here is simple and more effective for rhTNF‐α refolding in terms of specific bioactivity and mass recovery. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Studies on the Renaturation with Simultaneous Purification of Recombinant Human Proinsulin with Unit of Simultaneous Renaturation and Purification of Protein in Semi－preparative Scale

The recombinant human proinsulin (rh-proinsulin) is the precursor of insulin, which is connected with C- peptide between the carboxyl-terminal of chain A and NH2-terminal of chain B of insulin. In the presences of trypsin and carboxypeptides B (CPB), the C-peptide can be cleaved from the special two peptides of rh-proinsulin and the recombinant human insulin (rh-insulin) can be, thus, obtained1,2. The rh-proinsulin expressed in E. coli exists as inclusion body, hardly dissolves in water,…     

Zwitterionic Polymer Design that Inhibits Aggregation and Facilitates Insulin Refolding: Mechanistic Insights and Importance of Hydrophobicity

The synthesis of a zwitterionic polymer, poly‐sulfobetaine (poly‐SPB), which shows remarkable efficiency in the suppression of insulin aggregation is described. Hydrophobic modification of the polymer results in almost complete inhibition at very low polymer concentrations. Further studies reveal that these polymers facilitate the complete retention of insulin's secondary structure, which is otherwise lost after incubation. Refolding studies show that addition of polymers to preaggregated insulin sample leads to the refolding of denatured insulin, indicating their potential to facilitate the refolding of the denatured proteins. In addition, 2D NMR studies show that the presence of hydrophobic poly‐SPB alters the hydrophobic environment of insulin, which may suppress hydrophobic interactions that lead to aggregation. These results indicate the enormous potential of these polymers for suppressing insulin aggregation and provide significant insight into the complex mechanism of insulin protection by zwitterionic polymers.     

Refolding human lysozyme produced as an inclusion body by urea concentration and pH gradient ion exchange chromatography

Summary A new dual-gradient ion exchange chromatographic method was developed to improve the refolding yield of human lysozyme produced inEscherichia coli as an inclusion body. The dissolved and stretched polypeptide chain in a concentrated non-ionic denaturant was adsorbed onto an ion exchange column and induced to refold by gradually decreasing the denaturant concentration and increasing pH in the flowing buffer. The dual gradients of denaturant concentration and pH provided a gradual change of the solution environment along the chromatographic column for the protein to refold, resulting in enhanced activity yield and purity. A post-separation was also studied using size-exclusion chromatography to remove protein aggregates and mis-folded proteins after the refolding step.     

Molecular dynamics for surfactant-assisted protein refolding

Surfactants are widely used to refold recombinant proteins that are produced as inclusion bodies in E. Coli. However, the microscopic details of the surfactant-assisted protein refolding processes are yet to be uncovered. In the present work, the authors aim to provide insights into the effect of hydrophobic interactions of a denatured protein with surfactant molecules on the refolding kinetics and equilibrium by using the Langevin dynamics for coarse-grained models. The authors have investigated the folding behavior of a beta-barrel protein in the presence of surfactants of different hydrophobicities and concentrations. It is shown that the protein folding process follows a "collapse-rearrangement" mechanism, i.e., the denatured protein first falls into a collapsed state before acquiring the native conformation. In comparison with the protein folding without surfactants, the protein-surfactant hydrophobic interactions promote the collapse of a denatured protein and, consequently, the formation of a hydrophobic core. However, the surfactants must be released from the hydrophobic core during the rearrangement step, in which the native conformation is formed. The simulation results can be qualitatively reproduced by experiments.     

Continuous chromatographic protein refolding

Column-based protein refolding requires a continuous processing capability if reasonable quantities of protein are to be produced. A popular column-based method, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) refolding, employs size-exclusion matrices to separate unfolded protein from denaturant, thus refolding the protein. In this work, we conduct a comparison of SEC refolding with refolding by batch dilution, using lysozyme as a model protein. Lysozyme refolding yield was found to be extremely sensitive to the chemical composition of the refolding buffer and particularly the concentration of dithiothreitol (DTT) introduced from the denatured protein mixture. SEC refolding was not adversely affected by DTT carry-over as small contaminants in the denatured solution are separated from protein during the refolding operation. We also find that, contrary to previous reports, size-exclusion refolding on batch columns leads to refolding yields slightly better than batch dilution refolding yields at low protein concentrations but this advantage disappears at higher protein concentrations. As batch-mode chromatography would be the limiting step in a column based refolding downstream process, the batch column refolding method was translated to a continuously operating chromatography system (preparative continuous annular chromatography, P-CAC). It was shown that the P-CAC elution profile is similar to that of a stationary column, making scale-up and translation to P-CAC relatively simple. Moreover, it was shown that high refolding yields (72%) at high protein concentration (>1 mg ml(-1)) could be obtained.     

Effect of ligand structure of stationary phase of high per-formance hydrophobic interaction chromatography on re-naturation efficiency of GuHCl-denatured α-chymotrypsin

The renaturation of the denatured α-chymotrypsin (α-Chy) with 1.7 mol · L-1 guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCI) by three kinds of stationary phase of high performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography (STHIC) with a comparable hydrophobicity but different ligand structures was investigated. The obtained result indicates that the ligand structures of the three STHIC contribute to the renaturation efficiency of α-Chy in the order of the end ligands PEG-600＜ phenyl group ＜ tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA).     

Refolding and purification of rhNTA protein by chromatography

RhNTA protein is a new thrombolytic agent which has potential medicinal and commercial value. Protein refolding is a bottleneck for large‐scale production of valuable proteins expressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. The denatured rhNTA protein was refolded by an improved size‐exclusion chromatography refolding process achieved by combining an increasing arginine gradient and a decreasing urea gradient (two gradients) with a size‐exclusion chromatography refolding system. The refolding of denatured rhNTA protein showed that this method could significantly increase the activity recovery of protein at high protein concentration. The activity recovery of 37% was obtained from the initial rhNTA protein concentration up to 20 mg/mL. After refolding by two‐gradient size‐exclusion chromatography refolding processes, the refolded rhNTA was purified by ion‐exchange and affinity chromatography. The purified rhNTA protein showed one band in SDS‐PAGE and the specific activity of purified rhNTA protein was 110,000 U/mg. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel column-based protein refolding strategy using dye-ligand affinity chromatography based on macroporous biomaterial

A novel column-based chromatographic protein refolding strategy was developed using dye-ligand affinity chromatography (DLAC) based on macroporous biomaterial. Chitosan–silica (CS–silica) biomaterial with macroporous surface was used as the supporting matrix for the preparation of the DLAC material. The dye-ligand Cibacron Blue F3GA (CBF) was selected as affinity handle and could be covalently immobilized to form dye-ligand affinity adsorbent (CBF–CS–silica) using the reactivity of NH₂ on CS–silica biomaterial. After the model protein catalase was denatured with 6 mol/L urea, the denaturant could be rapidly removed and catalase could be successfully refolded as facilitated by the adsorption of CBF–CS–silica. The urea denaturation process and the elute condition for the chromatographic refolding were optimized by measuring tryptophan fluorescence and activity of catalase. The refolding performance of the proposed DLAC was compared with dilution refolding. The protein concentration during the proposed chromatographic refolding increased by a factor of 20 without reducing the yield achieved as compared to dilution refolding. The column-based protein refolding strategy based on dye-ligand affinity chromatography with porous biomaterial being matrix possessed potential in chromatographic refolding of protein.     

Refolding and purification of histidine-tagged protein by artificial chaperone-assisted metal affinity chromatography

This article has proposed an artificial chaperone-assisted immobilized metal affinity chromatography (AC-IMAC) for on-column refolding and purification of histidine-tagged proteins. Hexahistidine-tagged enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, and refolded and purified from urea-solubilized inclusion bodies by the strategy. The artificial chaperone system was composed of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). In the refolding process, denatured protein was mixed with CTAB to form a protein–CTAB complex. The mixture was then loaded to IMAC column and the complex was bound via metal chelating to the histidine tag. This was followed by washing with a refolding buffer containing β-CD that removed CTAB from the bound protein and initiated on-column refolding. The effect of the washing time (i.e., on-column refolding time) on mass and fluorescence recoveries was examined. Extensive studies by comparison with other related refolding techniques have proved the advantages of AC-IMAC. In the on-column refolding, the artificial chaperone system suppressed protein interactions and facilitated protein folding to its native structure. So, the on-column refolding by AC-IMAC led to 99% pure EGFP with a fluorescence recovery of 80%. By comparison at a similar final EGFP concentration (0.6–0.8 mg/mL), this fluorescence recovery value was not only much higher than direct dilution (14%) and AC-assisted refolding (26%) in bulk solutions, but also superior to its partner, IMAC (60%). The operating conditions would be further optimized to improve the refolding efficiency.     

Purification of a crystallin domain of Yersinia crystallin from inclusion bodies and its comparison to native protein from the soluble fraction

It has been established that many heterologously produced proteins in E. coli accumulate as insoluble inclusion bodies. Methods for protein recovery from inclusion bodies involve solubilization using chemical denaturants such as urea and guanidine hydrochloride, followed by removal of denaturant from the solution to allow the protein to refold. In this work, we applied on-column refolding and purification to the second crystallin domain D2 of Yersinia crystallin isolated from inclusion bodies. We also purified the protein from the soluble fraction (without using any denaturant) to compare the biophysical properties and conformation, although the yield was poor. On-column refolding method allows rapid removal of denaturant and refolding at high protein concentration, which is a limitation in traditionally used methods of dialysis or dilution. We were also able to develop methods to remove the co-eluting nucleic acids during chromatography from the protein preparation. Using this protocol, we were able to rapidly refold and purify the crystallin domain using a two-step process with high yield. We used biophysical techniques to compare the conformation and calcium-binding properties of the protein isolated from the soluble fraction and inclusion bodies.     

用于变性蛋白质复性及同时纯化的简易型色谱柱的研制及其应用

研制出一种简易型色谱柱并通过装填大颗粒的疏水色谱填料对色谱柱的性能进行了考察,该柱的外形和操作如同传统的液相色谱柱,但它却在生物大分子分离方面有着和高效液相色谱相似的分辨率。另外,只要给该柱装填合适的固定相,比如疏水相互作用色谱固定相,便可用于蛋白质的复性及同时纯化。实验考察了该色谱柱的结构、操作和性能,包括柱压、柱寿命及对蛋白质的分辨率等。以溶菌酶为模型蛋白质,实验测得其在初始浓度为50.0 g/L时的质量回收率和活性回收率分别为(96.6±1.3)%和(101.1±6.0)%。这种简易型色谱柱价格低廉     

重组人干扰素-γ的制备与鉴定

用聚乙二醇200疏水相互作用色谱固定相(PEG200-STHIC)分别在色谱柱和色谱饼上完成了一步复性并同时纯化来源于大肠杆菌(E.coli)表达的重组人干扰素-γ(rhIFN-γ)。为了能使色谱分离方法用于不同来源的rhIFN-γ的纯化,对rhIFN-γ在反相色谱、离子交换色谱、固定化镍离子亲和色谱上的保留行为也进行了研究。色谱柱纯化的rhIFN-γ收集液经排阻色谱除盐和冷冻干燥得到rhIFN-γ干粉。用基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱对rhIFN-γ干粉进行了测定,rhIFN-γ单体的相对分子质量为17184.0,二聚体的相对分子质量为34204.4。用细胞病变抑制法(CPEI)测定rhIFN-γ干粉的比活性为9.5×108 IU/mg。用十二烷基硫酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳（SDS-PAGE）测定rhIFN-γ干粉的纯度高于95%。用色谱柱复性并同时纯化rhIFN-γ的质量回收率达到93.7%,纯度高于95%,比活性为4.3×107 IU/mg。结果表明,采用PEG200-STHIC色谱柱复性并同时纯化rhIFN-γ是一种十分高效的方法。