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.     

Hydroxyapatite-based immobilized metal affinity adsorbents for protein purification

The employment of metal ion-charged hydroxyapatite for the one-step purification of poly(His)-tagged recombinant proteins was investigated. Fe(III) showed the highest selectivity toward the poly(His)-tagged D-hydantoinase and the best operation stability. The optimal selectivity was observed in 20 mM pH 8.0 buffer containing 150 mM NaCl and 50 mM NaF. The adsorbed poly(His)-tagged enzyme could be quantitatively recovered from hydroxyapatite with 150 mM pH 8.0 phosphate buffer. The capacity of Fe(III)-loaded hydroxyapatite for poly(His)-tagged D-hydantoinase was 4.9 mg/g hydroxyapatite, comparable to commercial agarose-based Ni-NTA adsorbents. Under optimal conditions, a D-hydantoinase preparation with a purity above 95% from crude cellular lysate could be obtained with the one-step purification process employing Fe(III)-loaded hydroxyapatite. The application of Fe(III)-loaded hydroxyapatite for the purification of poly(His)-tagged N-acetyl-D-glucosamine 2-epimerase under denaturing conditions was also demonstrated. These results demonstrate that hydroxyapatite is a promising adsorbent for immobilized metal affinity chromatography.     

Evaluation and optimization of the metal‐binding properties of a complex ligand for immobilized metal affinity chromatography

The simultaneous determination of two binding parameters for metal ions on an immobilized metal affinity chromatography column was performed by frontal chromatography. In this study, the binding parameters of Cu²⁺ to l ‐glutamic acid were measured, the metal ion‐binding characteristics of the complex ligand were evaluated. The linear correlation coefficients were all greater than 99%, and the relative standard deviations of two binding parameters were 0.58 and 0.059%, respectively. The experiments proved that the frontal chromatography method was accurate, reproducible, and could be used to determine the metal‐binding parameters of the affinity column. The effects of buffer pH, type, and concentration on binding parameters were explored by uniform design experiment. Regression, matching and residual analyses of the models were performed. Meanwhile, the optimum‐binding conditions of Cu²⁺ on the l ‐glutamic acid‐silica column were obtained. Under these binding conditions, observations and regression values of two parameters were similar, and the observation values were the best. The results demonstrated that high intensity metal affinity column could be effectively prepared by measuring and evaluating binding parameters using frontal chromatography combined with a uniform design experiment. The present work provided a new mode for evaluating and preparing immobilized metal affinity column with good metal‐binding behaviors.     

Carboxymethylated polyethylenimine modified magnetic nanoparticles specifically for purification of His‐tagged protein

Employing immobilized metal‐ion affinity chromatography and magnetic separation could ideally provide a useful analytical strategy for purifying His‐tagged protein. In the current study, a facile route was designed to prepare CMPEI‐Ni²⁺@SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ (CMPEI=carboxymethylated polyethyleneimine) magnetic nanoparticles composed of a strong magnetic core of Fe₃O₄ and a Ni²⁺‐immobilized carboxymethylated polyethyleneimine coated outside shell, which was formed by electrostatic interactions between polyanionic electrolyte of carboxymethylated polyethyleneimine and positively charged surface of 3‐(trimethoxysilyl)propylamin modified SiO₂@Fe₃O₄. The resulting CMPEI‐Ni²⁺@SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ composite nanoparticles displayed well‐uniform structure and high magnetic responsiveness. Hexa His‐tagged peptides and purified His‐tagged recombinant retinoid X receptor alpha were chosen as the model samples to evaluate the adsorption, capacity, and reusability of the composite nanoparticles. The results demonstrated the CMPEI‐Ni²⁺@SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles possessed rapid adsorption, large capacity, and good recyclability. The obtained nanoparticles were further used to purify His‐tagged protein in practical environment. It was found that the nanoparticles could selectively capture His‐tagged recombinant retinoid X receptor protein from complex cell lysate. Owing to its easy synthesis, large binding capacity, and good reusability, the prepared CMPEI‐Ni²⁺@SiO₂@Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles have great potential for application in biotechnological fields.     

Selection and rapid purification of murine antibody fragments that bind a transition-state analog by phage display

Functional antibody fragments may be displayed on the surface of filamentous bacteriophage by introducing variable region genes into the viral genome at a gene encoding a viral coat protein. “Phage display” enables the isolation of antibody genes from large libraries according to the binding specificities they encode. We have constructed a new phage-display vector encoding a polyhistidine tag that has been used for rapid purification of soluble antibody fragments. An antibody library derived from immunized mice was cloned into this vector. This library was panned against the transition state analog RT3, and a high proportion of binders isolated after two rounds of panning. PCR analysis revealed that there were 24 different pattern groups. Sequencing of 15 clones within the major pattern group revealed 10 related clones with a range of point mutations. Thus, phage display can provide a large diverse repertoire of candidate catalytic antibodies based on TSA selection and screening.     

Use of proteomics for design of a tailored host cell for highly efficient protein purification

After some initial optimization, a downstream process comprised of one or several chromatography steps removes the majority of the host proteins and achieves a reasonable degree of purification. The separation of remaining contaminant proteins from the target protein could become very difficult and costly due to their similar physicochemical properties. In this paper we describe a highly efficient strategy, based on proteomic analysis and elution chromatography, by which a protein of interest may be isolated from copurifying contaminants. Mutant strains of Escherichia coli were prepared that are deficient in three prevalent host proteins found in a strategic fraction of an elution profile of nickel immobilized affinity chromatography. Recombinant green fluorescent protein (GFPuv) served as a model protein and its elution was directed to this optimized fraction with an N-terminus hexahistidine tag (his₆), thereby easing its recovery. We demonstrate that proteomic data can facilitate the rational engineering of host cell expressing the target protein and the design of an efficient process for its purification.     

Modification of the immobilized metal affinity electrophoresis using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

Modification to the original immobilized metal affinity electrophoresis (IMAEP) technique is presented. SDS-PAGE is used instead of native PAGE for improved extraction of phosphoproteins from a mixture of proteins. Protein samples treated with 2% w/v SDS instead of native sample buffer ensure that proteins are negatively charged. These negative charges on the proteins assure that the proteins migrate electrophoretically towards the anode regardless of their pI values and hence pass through the region embedded with the metal ions. Another benefit of treating proteins with SDS is that it unfolds the phosphoproteins exposing the phosphate groups to facilitate the metal-phosphate interactions. Phosphorylated ovalbumin can only be extracted after SDS sample buffer treatment. Data show that there is no detrimental effect upon SDS treatment on the extraction of phosphoproteins from a mixture of proteins. Electrophoretic migration of phosphoproteins ceases upon encounter with metal ions like Al+3, Ti+3, Fe+3, Fe+2, and Mn+2 whereas non-phosphorylated proteins migrate freely.     

High-Speed Purification of Recombinant Interleukin-11 by IMAC with Rigid Biporous Beads

Rigid biporous beads were prepared and modified by iminodiacetic acid (IDA) for application in immobilized metal affinity chromatography of proteins. The retention behavior of four model proteins on the metal chelate columns loaded with copper (II) and nickel (II) ions were studied. The separation of the four proteins by the Ni-IDA column at 40 cm.min⁻¹ was realized within 2 min. His6-interluekin-11 (His6-IL-11) was also purified by the Ni-IDA column at 40 cm.min⁻¹. The collected His6-IL-11 fraction showed a purity of about 80%. The results indicate that the IMAC with the biporous medium is promising for high-speed protein purification.     

一种金属螯合连续棒色谱柱的制备及色谱性能

金属螯合色谱（IMAC）在生物大分子的分离和纯化中有广泛的应用,通过改变IMAC的洗脱条件和被螯合的金属离子种类,生物大分子可获得选择性分离。目前,IMAC通常以有机和无机微球作固定相,由于柱死体积的存在,使色谱柱空间利用率低,且降低了蛋白质分离的柱效。近年报道的连续棒色谱柱是由直径1μm左右的微粒堆积而成的整体,消除了色谱柱的死体积,该类色谱柱用于蛋白的反相、疏水、离子交换和亲和色谱分离均可获得高的分离效率。然而,至今尚未见到对金属螯合连续棒色谱柱制备及应用的研究报道。对蛋白的IMAC分离机理研究中,研究流动相pH对分离的影响是主要手段之一,但通常研究的pH值的5.0-9.0的窄范围内。本文提出和制备了以交联聚甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯连续棒为基质的金属螯合色谱柱,并研究了pH在2.0-11.0的较宽范围内对蛋白保留的影响。     

增强型绿色荧光蛋白的色谱分离和纯化

增强型绿色荧光蛋白(EGFP)是生物领域常用的标记物。在前期成功克隆表达EGFP的基础上,本实验建立了两步分离纯化EGFP的色谱方法,并验证其分离纯化效果,检验EGFP的活性。首先用金属螯合亲和色谱柱HisTrap HP对EGFP的重组菌体破碎上清液进行初步分离,再用葡聚糖凝胶排阻色谱柱Sephadex G-10 HR对其进行脱盐纯化。采用丙烯葡聚糖凝胶排阻色谱柱Sephacryl S-300 HR和十二烷基磺酸钠-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)检测分离纯化后的EGFP纯度。最后通过荧光分光检测器和非变性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(Native-PAGE)验证分离纯化后的EGFP是否具有荧光活性。结果表明该方法可以简便快速地分离纯化EGFP,纯度超过98%,同时保持了EGFP的荧光活性。     

Efficient fabrication of high‐capacity immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media: The role of the dextran‐grafting process and its manipulation

Novel high‐capacity Ni²⁺ immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media were prepared through the dextran‐grafting process. Dextran was grafted to an allyl‐activated agarose‐based matrix followed by functionalization for the immobilized metal ion affinity chromatographic media. With elaborate regulation of the allylation degree, dextran was completely or partly grafted to agarose microspheres, namely, completely dextran‐grafted agarose microspheres and partly dextran‐grafted ones, respectively. Confocal laser scanning microscope results demonstrated that a good adjustment of dextran‐grafting degree was achieved, and dextran was distributed uniformly in whole completely dextran‐grafted microspheres, while just distributed around the outside of the partly dextran‐grafted ones. Flow hydrodynamic properties were improved greatly after the dextran‐grafting process, and the flow velocity increased by about 30% compared with that of a commercial chromatographic medium (Ni Sepharose FF). A significant improvement of protein binding performance was also achieved by the dextran‐grafting process, and partly dextran‐grafted Ni²⁺ chelating medium had a maximum binding capacity for His‐tagged lactate dehydrogenase about 2.5 times higher than that of Ni Sepharose FF. The results indicated that this novel chromatographic medium is promising for applications in high‐efficiency and large‐scale protein purification.     

亚氨基二乙酸—硅胶键合相的合成及其在核苷酸分析中的应用

以大孔微球硅胶（３０ｎｍ，８μｍ）为基体，经γ－氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷活化与间隔臂氯代环氧丙烷反应后，再与螯合剂亚氨基二乙酸键合，后者与铜离子（Ⅱ）螯合后，构成定位金属离子亲和色谱固定相。用磷酸盐缓冲溶液（ｐＨ＝７．０）作流动相，经紫外吸收检测（２６０ｎｍ）对核苷酸混合物进行了高效液相色谱分析，取得较满意的结果。     

Proteomic identification of p38 MAP kinase substrates using in vitro phosphorylation

Protein phosphorylation is a major mechanism that regulates many basic cellular processes. Identification and characterization of substrates for a given protein kinase can lead to a better understanding of signal transduction pathways. However, it is still difficult to efficiently identify substrates for protein kinases. Here, we propose an integrated proteomic approach consisting of in vitro dephosphorylation and phosphorylation, phosphoprotein enrichment, and 2D‐DIGE. Phosphatase treatment significantly reduced the complexity of the phosphoproteome, which enabled us to efficiently identify the substrates. We employed p38 mitogen‐activated protein kinase (p38 MAP kinase) as a model kinase and identified 23 novel candidate substrates for this kinase. Seven selected candidates were phosphorylated by p38 MAP kinase in vitro and in p38 MAP kinase‐activated cells. This proteomic approach can be applied to any protein kinase, allowing global identification of novel substrates.     

Study of pepsin phosphorylation using immobilized metal affinity chromatography

The interactions of pepsin with immobilized trivalent metal ions and the participation of the enzyme phosphate group in this process were investigated using high performance immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Two different sorbents were used: the newly prepared one, consisting of Ga(3+ )chelate of (6-amino-1-hydroxyhexane-1,1-diyl) bis(phosphonic acid) covalently bound to a methacrylate support (BP-Ga(3+)), and the commercial one, containing immobilized Fe(3+ )ions (POROS MC20-Fe(3+)). The comparison of the behavior of porcine pepsin A and its partially dephosphorylated form on both sorbents showed that both forms of pepsin were adsorbed under the same conditions. To eliminate the participation of free carboxyl groups in pepsin adsorption, both enzyme forms were modified by amidation or esterification. Native enzyme and its partially dephosphorylated form both with modified carboxyl groups differed in their interaction with immobilized Ga(3+ )and Fe(3+). Phosphorylated pepsin molecules with esterified carboxyl groups were adsorbed on both sorbents while nonphosphorylated ones with esterified carboxyl groups were not adsorbed.     

Breakthrough Model of Recombinant Human-Like Collagen in Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography

The adsorption of recombinant human-like collagen by metal chelate media was investigated in a batch reactor and in a fixed-bed column. The adsorption equilibrium and kinetics had been studied by batch adsorption experiments. Equilibrium parameters and protein diffusivities were estimated by matching the models with the experimental data. Using the parameters of equilibrium and kinetics, various models, such as axial diffusion model, linear driving force model, and constant pattern model, were used to simulate the breakthrough curves on the columns. As a result, the most suitable isotherm was the Langmuir–Freundlich model, and the ionic strength had no effect on the adsorption capacity of chelate media. In addition, the pore diffusion model fitted very well to the kinetic data. The pore diffusivities decreased with increasing the initial protein concentration, however had little change with the ionic strength. The results also indicated that the models predict breakthrough curves reasonably well to the experimental data, especially at low initial protein concentration (0.3 mg ml⁻¹) and low flow rate (34 cm h⁻¹). By the results, we optimized the experimental conditions of a chromatographic process using immobilized metal affinity chromatography to purify recombinant human-like collagen.     

Expression and Purification of ZNF191（243-368） in Three Expression Systems

ZNF191 （243-368）, a new human zinc finger protein, probably relates to some hereditary diseases and cancers, To obtain adequate amount of ZNF191（243-368） for the study of its property, structure and function, three different expression systems of inclusion-body, glutathione S-transferase （GST）, and hexahistidine （6 × His） were used and compared. Among these systems, the expression level of ZNFI91（243-368） was increased in inclusion body system under a higher isopropylthio-β-D-galactoside （IPTG） concentration, but the non-target proteins were also increased more, which made its purification more difficult and the yield lower. The expression of His-tag fusion protein was almost not affected by IPTG concentration, temperature and inducing time. At a high IPTG concentration the highest expression yield for GST fusion protein was obtained. And the fusion proteins can be partially purified by a single affinity chromatography step. The fusion protein systems show advantages for expression of these proteins.     

Preparation of core–shell structure Fe3O4@SiO2 superparamagnetic microspheres immoblized with iminodiacetic acid as immobilized metal ion affinity adsorbents for His‐tag protein purification

The core–shell structure Fe₃O₄/SiO₂ magnetic microspheres were prepared by a sol–gel method, and immobiled with iminodiacetic acid (IDA) as metal ion affinity ligands for protein adsorption. The size, morphology, magnetic properties and surface modification of magnetic silica nanospheres were characterized by various modern analytical instruments. It was shown that the magnetic silica nanospheres exhibited superparamagnetism with saturation magnetization values of up to 58.1 emu/g. Three divalent metal ions, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺, were chelated on the Fe₃O₄@SiO₂–IDA magnetic microspheres to adsorb lysozyme. The results indicated that Ni²⁺‐chelating magnetic microspheres had the maximum adsorption capacity for lysozyme of 51.0 mg/g, adsorption equilibrium could be achieved within 60 min and the adsorbed protein could be easily eluted. Furthermore, the synthesized Fe₃O₄@SiO₂–IDA–Ni²⁺ magnetic microspheres were successfully applied for selective enrichment lysozyme from egg white and His‐tag recombinant Homer 1a from the inclusion extraction expressed in Escherichia coli. The result indicated that the magnetic microspheres showed unique characteristics of high selective separation behavior of protein mixture, low nonspecific adsorption, and easy handling. This demonstrates that the magnetic silica microspheres can be used efficiently in protein separation or purification and show great potential in the pretreatment of the biological sample. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of metal chelate methacrylate monolithic disk for purification of polyclonal and monoclonal immunoglobulin G

Dynamic binding capacity (DBC) of commercial metal-chelate methacrylate monolith-convective interaction media (CIM) was performed with commercial human immunoglobulin G (IgG) (Cohn fraction II, III). Monoliths are an attractive stationary phase for purification of large biomolecules because they exhibit very low back pressure even at high flow rates and flow-unaffected binding properties. Adsorption of IgG onto CIM-IDA disk immobilized with Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ were studied with Tris-acetate (TA), phosphate-acetate (PA) and MMA (MES, MOPS and acetate) buffer systems at different flow rates. Adsorption and elution of IgG varied with different buffers and adsorption of IgG was maximum with MMA buffer. Adsorption of human IgG from Cohn fractions (II, III) was high when Cu²⁺ was used as ligand. CIM-IDA disk showed dynamic binding capacity in the range of 14–16 mg/ml with Cu²⁺ and 7–9 mg/ml with Ni²⁺ for human IgG with MMA buffer. In the case of CIM-IDA-Zn²⁺ column, the binding capacity was only about 0.5 mg/ml of support. Different desorption strategies like lowering of pH and increasing of competitive agent were also studied to achieve maximum recovery. Chromatographic runs with human serum and mouse ascites fluid were also carried out with metal chelate methacrylate monolithic disk and the results indicate the potential of this technique for polyclonal human IgG and monoclonal IgG purification from complex biological samples.