Influence of low-molecular-weight aggregates on aggregate growth kinetics and physical properties of solid-state proteins during storage.

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) aggregate is a critical determinant of subsequent protein aggregation, but the aggregate growth kinetics of solid proteins have not been fully characterized. In this study, the high-molecular weight (HMW) aggregate formation process for solid-state proteins and the relationship between aggregation and physical properties of tablets were evaluated using proteins with various initial aggregate ratios. Quantitative changes in monomers, LMW aggregates, and HMW aggregates during storage were measured. The monomer amount decreased uniformly for all proteins. Proteins with low initial LMW aggregates showed remarkable increases in LMW aggregates but little increases in HMW aggregates during storage. Proteins with high initial LMW aggregates showed decreases in LMW aggregates but remarkable increases in HMW aggregates. A correlation analysis and logistic regression indicated that HMW aggregate formation depended on the initial quantity of LMW aggregates. Furthermore, the initial LMW aggregate ratio was related to the disintegratability of protein-containing tablets after storage. These results provide novel insight into solid-state protein aggregation and may guide the prediction of the long-term quality of solid protein-containing pharmaceuticals and foods without storage.

Characterization of KfrA proteins encoded by a plasmid of Paenibacillus popilliae ATCC 14706(T).

A scaffold obtained from whole-genome shotgun sequencing of Paenibacillus popilliae ATCC 14706(T) shares partial homology with plasmids found in other strains of P. popilliae. PCR and sequencing for gap enclosure indicated that the scaffold originated from a 15,929-bp circular DNA. The restriction patterns of a plasmid isolated from P. popilliae ATCC 14706(T) were identical to those expected from the sequence; thus, this circular DNA was identified as a plasmid of ATCC 14706(T) and designated pPOP15.9. The plasmid encodes 17 putative open reading frames. Orfs 1, 5, 7, 8, and 9 are homologous to Orfs 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17, respectively. Orf1 and Orf11 are annotated as replication initiation proteins. Orf8 and Orf16 are homologs of KfrA, a plasmid-stabilizing protein in Gram-negative bacteria. Recombinant Orf8 and Orf16 proteins were assessed for the properties of KfrA. Indeed, they formed multimers and bound to inverted repeat sequences in upstream regions of both orf8 and orf16. A phylogenetic tree based on amino acid sequences of Orf8, Orf16 and Kfr proteins did not correlate with species lineage.

Mass Production of an Active Peptide-N-Glycosidase F Using Silkworm-Baculovirus Expression System.

The peptide-N (4)-(N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminyl) asparagine amidase F (PNGase F) catalyzes the cleavage of N-linked oligosaccharides between the innermost GlcNAc and asparagine residues of high mannose, hybrid and complex oligosaccharides from glycoproteins. The PNGase F has broad substrate specificity and thus is extensively used for the structural and functional studies of the glycoproteins. In this study, we tried to produce active recombinant PNGase F as secreted and intracellular-expressed forms using baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) through silkworm larvae or cultured cells. PNGase F itself contains potential N-linked glycosylation sites and we found that it was N-glycosylated when PNGase F secreted from silkworm cells. Intriguingly, the secreted recombinant PNGase F has the lower catalytic activity and self-digests its N-linked glycans and therefore this secreted form of this enzyme produced from BEVS is not appropriate for carbohydrate chain analysis. Instead, we successfully mass-produced (2.1 mg/20 silkworm larvae) and purified active recombinant PNGase F as an intracellular protein without N-glycosylations. Besides, we confirmed by directed mutagenesis that several amino acid residues are crucial for the function of PNGase F. Our results provide an alternative method for the mass production of active enzymes involved in the study of glycoproteins.

Biochemical characterization of maintenance DNA methyltransferase DNMT-1 from silkworm, Bombyx mori.

DNA methylation is an important epigenetic mechanism involved in gene expression of vertebrates and invertebrates. In general, DNA methylation profile is established by de novo DNA methyltransferases (DNMT-3A, -3B) and maintainance DNA methyltransferase (DNMT-1). DNMT-1 has a strong substrate preference for hemimethylated DNA over the unmethylated one. Because the silkworm genome lacks an apparent homologue of de novo DNMT, it is still unclear that how silkworm chromosome establishes and maintains its DNA methylation profile. As the first step to unravel this enigma, we purified recombinant BmDNMT-1 using baculovirus expression system and characterized its DNA-binding and DNA methylation activity. We found that the BmDNMT-1 preferentially methylates hemimethylated DNA despite binding to both unmethylated and hemimethylated DNA. Interestingly, BmDNMT-1 formed a complex with DNA in the presence or absence of methyl group donor, S-Adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) and the AdoMet-dependent complex formation was facilitated by Zn(2+) and Mn(2+). Our results provide clear evidence that BmDNMT-1 retained the function as maintenance DNMT but its sensitivity to metal ions is different from mammalian DNMT-1.

Expression, purification, and characterization of endo-ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase H using baculovirus-mediated silkworm protein expression system.

Endo-ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase (Endo H) from Streptomyces plicatus hydrolyzes the core di-GlcNAc units of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides and is regarded as an important tool for glycobiology research. In the present study, we established a large-scale system to produce secreted Endo H using a silkworm-baculovirus expression system (silkworm-BES). The recombinant Endo H purified from silkworm hemolymph had activity comparable to that from recombinant Escherichia coli. As well as its well-characterized substrate RNase B, the Endo H from silkworm-BES was able to deglycosylate the high-mannose glycoproteins from silkworm hemolymph. Interestingly, the secretion amount of recombinant Endo H was significantly varied among the different silkworm strains, which could provide valuable information for larger-scale protein productions from silkworm-BES.

Establishment of a soaking RNA interference and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV)-hypersensitive cell line using Bme21 cell.

The double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) mediated RNA interference (RNAi) is widely employed in silkworm and its tissue-derived cell lines for gene function analysis. Baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) has an advantage for large-scale protein expression. Previously, combining these useful tools, we improved traditional AcMNPV-Sf9 BEVS to produce modified target glycoproteins, where the ectopic expression of Caenorhabditis elegans systemic RNAi defective-1 (SID-1) was found to be valuable for soaking RNAi. In current study, we applied CeSID-1 protein to a Bombyx mori NPV (BmNPV)-hypersensitive Bme21 cell line and investigated its properties both in soaking RNAi ability and recombinant protein expression. The soaking RNAi-mediated suppression in the Bme21 cell enables us to produce modified glycoproteins of interest in BmNPV-Bme21 BEVS.