Refolding of detergent‐denatured lysozyme using β‐cyclodextrin‐assisted ion exchange chromatography

Chromatography‐based protein refolding is widely used. Detergent is increasingly used for protein solubilization from inclusion bodies. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a refolding method for detergent‐denatured/solubilized proteins based on liquid chromatography. In the present work, sarkosyl‐denatured/dithiothreitol‐reduced lysozyme was used as a model, and a refolding method based on ion exchange chromatography, assisted by β‐cyclodextrin, was developed for refolding detergent‐denatured proteins. Many factors affecting the refolding, such as concentration of urea, concentration of β‐cyclodextrin, pH and flow rate of mobile phases, were investigated to optimize the refolding conditions for sarkosyl‐denatured lysozymes. The results showed that the sarkosyl‐denatured lysozyme could be successfully refolded using β‐cyclodextrin‐assisted ion exchange chromatography. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Use of zeolite to refold a disulfide-bonded protein

Zeolites are microporous crystalline aluminosilicates with a highly ordered structure. Using zeolite beta as an adsorbent, denatured/reduced hen egg lysozyme was refolded to the active form at high concentrations. The denatured/reduced lysozyme was adsorbed onto the zeolite and the protein was refolded by desorbing it into refolding buffer, consisting of redox reagents, guanidine hydrochloride, polyethylene glycol, and L-arginine. This zeolite refolding method could be highly effective for various kinds of proteins, refolding them with high efficiency even when they contain disulfide bonds.     

温敏型聚合物PNIPAAm辅助的溶菌酶体外复性

合成了 3种具有不同分子量的温敏型聚合物聚 (N 异丙基丙烯酰胺 ) (PNIPAAm) ,测定了其分子量分布以及相应的低临界溶解温度 (LCST) .在溶菌酶复性溶液中加入PNIPAAm可促进溶菌酶复性 ,其中采用中等分子量M—PNIPAAm(Mw 为 2 2× 10 4 g mol)时溶菌酶的复性效果最佳 ,并采用荧光发射光谱技术表征了PMIPAAm分子结构对于溶菌酶结构的影响 .系统考察了采用M—PNIPAAm时 ,复性液中尿素浓度、蛋白质浓度和温度等条件对溶菌酶复性效果影响 .结果显示尿素与M—PNIPAAm对于溶菌酶复性呈现协同效应 ,复性操作温度不仅同溶菌酶自身特性有关 ,而且还受到M—PNIPAAm自身性质变化的影响 .研究结果表明温敏型高聚物在高浓度蛋白质的大规模体外复性中具有很好的应用前景     

Refolding of Denatured／Reduced Lysozyme Using Weak－Cation Exchange Chromatography

Oxidative refolding of the denatured/reduced lysozyme was investigated by using weak-cation exchange chromatography (WCX). The stationary phase of WCX binds to the reduced lysozyme and prevented it from forming intermolecular aggregates. At the same time urea and ammonium sulfate were added to the mobile phase to increase the elution strength for lysozyme. Ammonium sulfate can more stabilize the native protein than a common eluting agent,sodium chloride. Refolding of lysozyme by using this WCX is successfully. It was simply carried out to obtain a completely and correctly refolding of the denatured lysozyme at high concentration of 20.0 mg/mL.     

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.     

Oxidative refolding of reduced, denatured lysozyme in AOT reverse micelles

The refolding kinetics of the reduced, denatured hen egg white lysozyme in sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)-isooctane-water reverse micelles at different water-to-surfactant molar ratios has been investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy and UV spectroscopy. The oxidative refolding of the confined lysozyme is biphasic in AOT reverse micelles. When the water-to-surfactant molar ratio (omega 0) is 12.6, the relative activity of encapsulated lysozyme after refolding for 24 h in AOT reverse micelles increases 46% compared with that in bulk water. Furthermore, aggregation of lysozyme at a higher concentration (0.2 mM) in AOT reverse micelles at omega 0 of 6.3 or 12.6 is not observed; in contrast, the oxidative refolding of lysozyme in bulk water must be at a lower protein concentration (5 microM) in order to avoid a serious aggregation of the protein. For comparison, we have also investigated the effect of AOT on lysozyme activity and found that the residual activity of lysozyme decreases with increasing the concentration of AOT from 1 to 5 mM. When AOT concentration is larger than 2 mM, lysozyme is almost completely inactivated by AOT and most of lysozyme activity is lost. Together, our data demonstrate that AOT reverse micelles with suitable water-to-surfactant molar ratios are favorable to the oxidative refolding of reduced, denatured lysozyme at a higher concentration, compared with bulk water.     

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.     

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.     

Enhanced refolding of lysozyme with imidazolium-based room temperature ionic liquids: Effect of hydrophobicity and sulfur residue

The expression of recombinant proteins in microorganism frequently leads to the formation of insoluble aggregates, inclusion bodies (IBs). Thus, the additional in vitro protein refolding process is required to convert inactive IBs into water-soluble active proteins. This study investigated the effect of sulfur residue and hydrophobicity of imidazolium-based room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) on the refolding of lysozyme as a model protein in the batch dilution method which is the most commonly used refolding method. When lysozyme was refolded in the refolding buffer containing [BF4]-based RTILs with a systematic variety of alkyl chain on cations varying from two to eight, less hydrophobic imidazolium cations having shorter alkyl chains were effective to facilitate lysozyme refolding. Compared to the conventional refolding buffer, 2 times higher lysozyme refolding yield was obtained in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIM][BF4]) containing refolding buffer. The refolding yield of lysozyme was even more increased by 2.5 times when 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methylsulfate ([BMIM][MS]) containing sulfur residue on anion was used. The sulfur residue in [BMIM][MS] is supposed to improve the refolding yield of lysozyme which has 4 intramolecular disulfide bonds. For dilution-based refolding of lysozyme, the optimum concentrations of RTILs in refolding buffer were found to be 1.0 M [EMIM][BF4] and 0.5 M [BMIM][MS], respectively. The optimum temperate for dilution-based refolding of lysozyme with RTILs was 4 °C.     

Considerations of sample application and elution during size-exclusion chromatography-based protein refolding

A mechanism for size-exclusion chromatography-based protein refolding is described. The model considers the steps of loading the denatured protein onto a gel filtration column, and protein elution. The model predictions are compared with results of refolding lysozyme (10 and 20 mg/ml) using Superdex 75 HR. The main collapse in protein structure occurred immediately after loading, where the partition coefficient of unfolded lysozyme increased from 0.1 to 0.48 for the partially folded molecule. Use of a refolding buffer as the mobile phase resulted in complete refolding of lysozyme; this eluted at an elution volume of 15.6 ml with a final partition coefficient of 0.54. The model predicted the elution volume of refolded lysozyme at 19.3 ml.     

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.     

Effects of solute-matrix interaction on monitoring the conformational changes of immobilized proteins by surface plasmon resonance sensor

A real-time and labeling-free surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor was used to monitor the conformational changes of immobilized globule proteins (RNase A and lysozyme) in chemical unfolding and refolding. The effects of chemical denaturants on the protein structures were investigated. The methodology in protein conformational study on the solid surface is refined through the theoretic calculations and the conformational information of native/denatured proteins in solution. Additionally, our observation illustrates that the ambient buffer solution is merit to influence the refractive index of immobilized protein films and directly be observed from the SPR resonance angle shifts.     

Studies on Aggregation Interaction between Reduced Denatured Egg White Lysozymes during Refolding Procedure in Urea Solution

The aggregation interaction between reduced-denatured egg white lysozymes during refolding procedure in urea solution was studied by means of reducing and non-reducing protein electrophoreses. Results of non-reducing sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis （SDS-PAGE） of the supernatant and aggregate precipitate formed in refolding process show that except being refolded to native egg white lysozymes, the reduced-denatured lysozymes can also form the aggregates with molecular weights （MW） being separately about 30.0 and 35.0 kD, while the reducing SDS-PAGE and the refolding results in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate show that these aggregates are formed chiefly through the misconnection of disulfide bonds between the reduced-denatured lysozymes, and the aggregate precipitates are formed through the non-covalent interactions between the aggregates with molecular weight being about 30.0 kD. From the results of electrophoresis and size-exclusion chromatographic analyses, it can be inferred that the aggregates with molecular weights being about 30.0 and 35.0 kD are bi-molecular and tri-molecular egg white lysozyme aggregates, respectively. And finally, a suggested refolding mechanism of reduced-denatured egg white lysozymes in urea solution was presented.     

Continuous matrix-assisted refolding of proteins

A refolding reactor was developed for continuous matrix-assisted refolding of proteins. The reactor was composed of an annular chromatography system and an ultrafiltration system to recycle aggregated proteins produced during the refolding reaction. The feed solution containing the denatured protein was continuously fed to the rotating bed perfused with buffer promoting folding of the protein. As the protein passed through the column, it was separated from chaotropic and reducing agents and the refolding process took place. Native proteins and aggregates could be continuously separated due to different molecular size. The exit stream containing aggregates was collected, concentrated by ultrafiltration and recycled to the feed solution. The high concentrations of chaotropic and reducing agents in the feed solution enabled dissociation of the recycled aggregates and consequently were fed again to the refolding reactor. When the initial feed mixture of denatured protein is used up, only buffer-containing chaotropic agents and recycled aggregates are fully converted to native protein. This process resulted in a stoichiometric conversion from the denatured protein to its correctly folded native state. The system was tested with bovine alpha-lactalbumin as model protein. Superdex 75 PrepGrade was used as size-exclusion medium. The yield of 30% active monomer in the batch process was improved to 41% at a recycling rate of 65%. Assuming that the aggregates can be redissolved and recycled into the feed stream in a quantitative manner, a refolding yield close to 100% is possible. The method can be also applied to other chromatographic principles suited for the separation of aggregates.     

高效弱阳离子交换色谱法对脲还原变性溶菌酶的折叠研究

用高效弱阳离子交换色谱(HPWCX)对脲还原变性溶菌酶(Lys)进行了复性研究. 在流动相中脲浓度固定为4.0 mol•L^－1和选用对天然态蛋白有稳定作用的硫酸铵为盐或置换剂时, 在蛋白浓度为15.0～50.0 mg•mL^－1时, HPWCX法比稀释法活性回收率高. 为了提高Lys的质量及活性回收率对所用色谱条件进行了优化研究, 当蛋白起始浓度为20.0 mg•mL^－1时, Lys的质量回收率和活性收率分别为97.8%和95.4%. 表明此种方法简便且有可能对其他还原变性蛋白的复性具有通用性.     

Unfolding and refolding details of lysozyme in the presence of β-casein micelles

In this work, we selected a small globular protein, lysozyme, to study how it unfolds and refolds in the presence of micelles composed of the unstructured β-casein proteins by using microcalorimetry and circular dichroism spectroscopy. It was found that a partially unfolded structure of lysozyme starts to form when the β-casein/lysozyme molar ratio is above 0.7, and the structure forms exclusively when the β-casein/lysozyme molar ratio is above 1.6. This partially unfolded state of lysozyme loses most of its tertiary structure and after heating, the denatured lysozyme molecules are trapped in the charged coatings of β-casein micelles and cannot refold upon cooling. The thus obtained protein complex can be viewed as a kind of special polyelectrolyte complex micelle. The net charge ratios of the two proteins and the ionic strength of the dispersions can significantly modulate the electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the two proteins. Our present work may have implications for the nanoparticle protein engineering therapy in the biomedicine field and may provide a better understanding of the principles governing the protein-protein interactions. Besides, the heating-cooling-reheating procedure employed in this work can also be used to study the unfolding and refolding details of the target protein in other protein-protein, protein-polymer and protein-small solute systems.     

Preparation of a silica‐based high‐performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography stationary phase for protein separation and renaturation

In this work, based on the structural characteristics of bio‐membrane molecules, a novel type of high‐performance hydrophobic interaction chromatography stationary phase was prepared using cholesterol as a ligand. Investigating the separation performance of this stationary phase, the effect of pH and salt concentration of the mobile phase on the retention time, the absorption capacity, and the hydrophobic ability revealed that this stationary phase had a high loading capacity and moderate hydrophobic interactions compared with four different hydrophobic interaction chromatography stationary phase ligands. Five types of standard proteins could be baseline separated with a great selection for protein separation. When 3.0 M urea was added to the mobile phase, it could be refolded with simultaneous purification of denatured lysozyme by one‐step chromatography. The mass recovery of lysozyme reached 89.5%, and the active recovery was 96.8%. Compared with traditional hydrophobic interaction chromatography, this new stationary phase has a good hydrophobic ability and a significant refolding efficiency.     

On-line purification of His-tag enhanced green fluorescent protein taken directly from a bioreactor by continuous ultrasonic homogenization coupled with immobilized metal affinity expanded bed adsorption

Protein refolding at high concentrations always leads to aggregation, which limits commercial application. An ion-exchange chromatography process with gradient changes in urea concentration and pH was developed to refold denatured lysozyme at high concentration. After adsorption of the denatured protein onto an ion-exchange medium, elution was carried out in combination with a gentle decrease in urea concentration and elevation of pH. Protein would gradually refold along the column with high activity yield. Denatured and reduced lysozyme at 40 mg/ml was loaded into a column filled with SP Sepharose Fast Flow, resulting in 95% activity recovery and 98% mass yield within a short period of time.     

Self-Assembly Nanochaperone with Tunable Hydrophilic–Hydrophobic Surface for Controlled Protein Refolding

Nanochaperones (nChaps) have significant potential to inhibit protein aggregation and assist in protein refolding. The interaction between nChaps and proteins plays an important role in nChaps performing chaperone-like functions, but the interaction mechanism remains elusive. In this work, a series of nChaps with tunable hydrophilic–hydrophobic surfaces are prepared, and the process of nChaps-assisted denatured protein refolding is systematically explored. It is found that an appropriate hydrophilic–hydrophobic balance on the nChap surface is critical for enhancing protein renaturation. This is because only the optimal interaction between nChap and protein can simultaneously guarantee the suitable capture and sufficient release of client proteins. The findings in this work will provide an effective reference for the design of nChaps and contribute to the development of the potential of nChaps in the future.     

体积排阻色谱法研究变性溶菌酶分子复性过程中集聚体的形成

在体积排阻色谱柱上研究了还原剂存在时脲和盐酸胍变性的3种溶菌酶溶液的复性和分离过程。当变性液中原始溶菌酶浓度大于10 g/L时,变性溶菌酶在体积排阻色谱柱上除了复性为与未变性溶菌酶出峰时间相同的复性态溶菌酶分子外,还形成了溶菌酶折叠中间体的二分子集聚体。这个结果得到了用稀释法复性时溶菌酶的蛋白电泳检测结果的支持。与稀释法复性相比较,用体积排阻色谱法复性时所形成的折叠中间体二分子集聚体的量要远远低于用稀释法所形成的集聚体的量。