scholarly journals The Ralstonia eutropha H16 phasin PhaP1 is targeted to intracellular triacylglycerol inclusions in Rhodococcus opacus PD630 and Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, and provides an anchor to target other proteins

Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (11) ◽  
pp. 3271-3280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Hänisch ◽  
Marc Wältermann ◽  
Horst Robenek ◽  
Alexander Steinbüchel
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Mycobacterium Smegmatis ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Ralstonia Eutropha ◽  
Rhodococcus Opacus ◽  
Egfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Cell Fractions

In Ralstonia eutropha, the H16 phasin PhaP1 represents the major phasin that binds to the surface of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) inclusions. In this study, C-terminal fusions of PhaP1 with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and with Escherichia coli β-galactosidase (LacZ) were expressed separately in the triacylglycerol (TAG)-accumulating actinomycetes Rhodococcus opacus PD630 and Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, employing the M. smegmatis acetamidase (ace) promoter of the Escherichia–Mycobacterium/Rhodococcus shuttle plasmid pJAM2. PhaP1 and the PhaP1 fusion proteins were expressed stably in the recombinant strains. Western blot analysis of cell fractions of Rh. opacus revealed that PhaP1 and the PhaP1–eGFP fusion protein were associated with the TAG inclusions, whereas no phasin or phasin fusion protein was detected in the soluble and membrane fractions. Additional electron microscopy/immunocytochemistry studies demonstrated that PhaP1 was mainly located on the surface of intracellular TAG inclusions; in addition, some PhaP1 also occurred at the plasma membrane. Fluorescence microscopic investigations of the subcellular distribution of the PhaP1–eGFP fusion protein in vivo and on isolated TAG inclusions revealed that the fusion protein was bound to TAG inclusions at all stages of their formation, and to some extent at the cytoplasmic membrane. The PhaP1–LacZ fusion protein also bound to the TAG inclusions, and could be separated together with the inclusions from Rh. opacus crude extracts, thus demonstrating the immobilization of β-galactosidase activity on the inclusions. This is believed to be the first report demonstrating the ability of PhaP1 to bind to lipid inclusions in addition to PHA inclusions. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that this non-specificity of PhaP1 can be utilized to anchor enzymically active fusion proteins to a matrix of bacterial TAG inclusions.

scholarly journals Protection against Autoimmune Diabetes by Silkworm-Produced GFP-Tagged CTB-Insulin Fusion Protein

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiaohong Meng ◽  
Wenfeng Wang ◽  
Xiaowen Shi ◽  
Yongfeng Jin ◽  
Yaozhou Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Oral Administration ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Autoimmune Diabetes ◽  
Nod Mice ◽  
Treg Cells ◽  
Immunological Tolerance ◽  
Protein Vaccine ◽  
Green Fluorescent

In animals, oral administration of the cholera toxin B (CTB) subunit conjugated to the autoantigen insulin enhances the specific immune-unresponsive state. This is called oral tolerance and is capable of suppressing autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D). However, the process by which the CTB-insulin (CTB-INS) protein works as a therapy for T1Din vivoremains unclear. Here, we successfully expressed a green fluorescent protein- (GFP-) tagged CTB-Ins (CTB-Ins-GFP) fusion protein in silkworms in a pentameric form that retained the native ability to activate the mechanism. Oral administration of the CTB-Ins-GFP protein induced special tolerance, delayed the development of diabetic symptoms, and suppressed T1D onset in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. Moreover, it increased the numbers of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+T regulatory (Treg) cells in peripheral lymph tissues and affected the biological activity of spleen cells. This study demonstrated that the CTB-Ins-GFP protein produced in silkworms acted as an oral protein vaccine, inducing immunological tolerance involving CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in treating T1D.

scholarly journals Development of a Keratinocyte-Based Screening Model for Antipsoriatic Drugs Using Green Fluorescent Protein Under the Control of an Endogenous Promoter

2002 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arno Pol ◽  
Fred Van Ruissen ◽  
Joost Schalkwijk
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Reporter Gene ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Endogenous Promoter ◽  
Keratinocyte Cell ◽  
Egfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Inflamed epidermis (psoriasis, wound healing, ultraviolet-irradiated skin) harbors keratinocytes that are hyperproliferative and display an abnormal differentiation program. A distinct feature of this so-called regenerative maturation pathway is the expression of proteins such as the cytokeratins CK6, CK16, and CK17 and the antiinflammatory protein SKALP/elafin. These proteins are absent in normal skin but highly induced in lesional psoriatic skin. Expression of these genes can be used as a surrogate marker for psoriasis in drug-screening procedures of large compound libraries. The aim of this study was to develop a keratinocyte cell line that contained a reporter gene under the control of a psoriasis-associated endogenous promoter and demonstrate its use in an assay suitable for screening. We generated a stably transfected keratinocyte cell line that expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP), under the control of a 0.8-kb fragment derived from the promoter of the SKALP/elafin gene, which confers high levels of tissue-specific expression at the mRNA level. Induction of the SKALP promoter by tumor necrosis factor-ca resulted in increased expression levels of the secreted SKALP-EGFP fusion protein as assessed by direct readout of fluorescence and fluorescence polarization in 96-well cell culture plates. The fold stimulation of the reporter gene was comparable to that of the endogenous SKALP gene as assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Although the dynamic range of the screening system is limited, the small standard deviation yields a Z factor of 0.49. This indicates that the assay is suitable as a high-throughput screen, and provides proof of the concept that a secreted EGFP fusion protein under the control of a physiologically relevant endogenous promoter can be used as a fluorescence-based high-throughput screen for differentiation-modifying or antiinflammatory compounds that act via the keratinocyte.

scholarly journals In vivo localisation and stability of human Mcl-1 using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins

FEBS Letters ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 478 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 72-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cahit Akgul ◽  
Dale A Moulding ◽  
M.R.H White ◽  
Steven W Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Green Fluorescent

scholarly journals Dynamics of Nuclear Pore Distribution in Nucleoporin Mutant Yeast Cells

1997 ◽  
Vol 136 (4) ◽  
pp. 747-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naïma Belgareh ◽  
Valérie Doye
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Pore Distribution ◽  
Yeast Cells ◽  
Nuclear Pore ◽  
Amino Terminal ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Green Fluorescent ◽  
Amino Terminal Domain

To follow the dynamics of nuclear pore distribution in living yeast cells, we have generated fusion proteins between the green fluorescent protein (GFP) and the yeast nucleoporins Nup49p and Nup133p. In nup133− dividing cells that display a constitutive nuclear pore clustering, in vivo analysis of GFP-Nup49p localization revealed changes in the distribution of nuclear pore complex (NPC) clusters. Furthermore, upon induction of Nup133p expression in a GAL-nup133 strain, a progressive fragmentation of the NPC aggregates was observed that in turn led to a wild-type nuclear pore distribution. To try to uncouple Nup133p- induced NPC redistribution from successive nuclear divisions and nuclear pore biogenesis, we devised an assay based on the formation of heterokaryons between nup133− mutants and cells either expressing or overexpressing Nup133p. Under these conditions, the use of GFP-Nup133p and GFP-Nup49p fusion proteins revealed that Nup133p can be rapidly targeted to the clustered nuclear pores, where its amino-terminal domain is required to promote the redistribution of preexisting NPCs.

Ca2+ mobilization through dorsal root ganglion Ca2+-sensing receptor stably expressed in HEK293 cells

2007 ◽  
Vol 292 (5) ◽  
pp. C1895-C1905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel M. Awumey ◽  
Allyn C. Howlett ◽  
James W. Putney ◽  
Debra I. Diz ◽  
Richard D. Bukoski
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Root Ganglion ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Dorsal Root ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Hek293 Cells ◽  
Pcr Analysis ◽  
Hek 293 ◽  
Intracellular Ca ◽  
Egfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Green Fluorescent

The rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) Ca2+-sensing receptor (CaR) was stably expressed in-frame as an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion protein in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells, and is functionally linked to changes in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). RT-PCR analysis indicated the presence of the message for the DRG CaR cDNA. Western blot analysis of membrane proteins showed a doublet of 168–175 and 185 kDa, consistent with immature and mature forms of the CaR.EGFP fusion protein, respectively. Increasing extracellular [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]e) from 0.5 to 1 mM resulted in increases in [Ca2+]i levels, which were blocked by 30 μM 2-aminoethyldiphenyl borate. [Ca2+]e-response studies indicate a Ca2+ sensitivity with an EC50 of 1.75 ± 0.10 mM. NPS R-467 and Gd3+ activated the CaR. When [Ca2+]e was successively raised from 0.25 to 4 mM, peak [Ca2+]i, attained with 0.5 mM, was reduced by ∼50%. Similar reductions were observed with repeated applications of 10 mM Ca2+, 1 and 10 μM NPS R-467, or 50 and 100 μM Gd3+, indicating desensitization of the response. Furthermore, Ca2+ mobilization increased phosphorylated protein kinase C (PKC)α levels in the cells. However, the PKC activator, phorbol myristate acetate did not inhibit CaR-mediated Ca2+ signaling. Rather, a spectrum of PKC inhibitors partially reduced peak responses to Cae2+. Treatment of cells with 100 nM PMA for 24 h, to downregulate PKC, reduced [Ca2+]i transients by 49.9 ± 5.2% (at 1 mM Ca2+) and 40.5 ± 6.5% (at 2 mM Ca2+), compared with controls. The findings suggest involvement of PKC in the pathway for Ca2+ mobilization following CaR activation.

scholarly journals A Yeast Platform for the Production of Single-Chain Antibody-Green Fluorescent Protein Fusions

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (12) ◽  
pp. 7748-7759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dagang Huang ◽  
Eric V. Shusta
Keyword(s):  
Green Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Protein Secretion ◽  
Fusion Proteins ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Expression System ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Single Chain Antibody ◽  
Fusion Construct ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT Fusion proteins comprised of a binding domain and green fluorescent protein (GFP) have the potential to act as one-step binding reagents. In this study, eight single-chain antibodies (scFv) and one single-chain T-cell receptor (scTCR) were secreted as fusions to GFP using a Saccharomyces cerevisiae expression system. Fusion protein secretion levels ranged over 3 orders of magnitude, from 4 μg/liter to 4 mg/liter, and correlated well with the secretion levels of the unfused scFv/scTCR. Three fusion types with various linker lengths and fusion orientations were tested for each scFv/scTCR. Although the fusion protein secretion levels were not significantly affected by the nature of the fusion construct, the properties of the fusion protein were clearly influenced. The fluorescence yield per fusion molecule was increased by separating the scFv/scTCR and GFP with an extended (GGGGS)3 linker, and fusions with scFv/scTCR at the carboxy-terminus were more resistant to degradation. By evaluating leader sequence processing and using GFP fluorescence to track intracellular processing, it was determined that the majority of fusion protein synthesized by the yeast was not secreted and in most cases was accumulating in an immature, although active, endoplasmic-reticulum (ER)-processed form. This contrasted with unfused scFv, which accumulated in both immature ER-processed and mature post-Golgi forms. The results indicated that yeast can be used as an effective host for the secretion of scFv/scTCR-GFP fusion proteins and that as a result of intracellular secretory bottlenecks, there is considerable yeast secretory capacity remaining to be exploited.

scholarly journals Lipid Raft-Based Membrane Compartmentation of a Plant Transport Protein Expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 945-953 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guido Grossmann ◽  
Miroslava Opekarova ◽  
Linda Novakova ◽  
Jürgen Stolz ◽  
Widmar Tanner
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Plasma Membranes ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Gfp Fusion Protein ◽  
Ergosterol Synthesis ◽  
Membrane Compartments ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The hexose-proton symporter HUP1 shows a spotty distribution in the plasma membrane of the green alga Chlorella kessleri. Chlorella cannot be transformed so far. To study the membrane localization of the HUP1 protein in detail, the symporter was fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) and heterologously expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In these organisms, the HUP1 protein has previously been shown to be fully active. The GFP fusion protein was exclusively targeted to the plasma membranes of both types of fungal cells. In S. cerevisiae, it was distributed nonhomogenously and concentrated in spots resembling the patchy appearance observed previously for endogenous H+ symporters. It is documented that the Chlorella protein colocalizes with yeast proteins that are concentrated in 300-nm raft-based membrane compartments. On the other hand, it is completely excluded from the raft compartment housing the yeast H+/ATPase. As judged by their solubilities in Triton X-100, the HUP1 protein extracted from Chlorella and the GFP fusion protein extracted from S. cerevisiae are detergent-resistant raft proteins. S. cerevisiae mutants lacking the typical raft lipids ergosterol and sphingolipids showed a homogenous distribution of HUP1-GFP within the plasma membrane. In an ergosterol synthesis (erg6) mutant, the rate of glucose uptake was reduced to less than one-third that of corresponding wild-type cells. In S. pombe, the sterol-rich plasma membrane domains can be stained in vivo with filipin. Chlorella HUP1-GFP accumulated exactly in these domains. Altogether, it is demonstrated here that a plant membrane protein has the property of being concentrated in specific raft-based membrane compartments and that the information for its raft association is retained between even distantly related organisms.

scholarly journals An N-terminal fragment of titin coupled to green fluorescent protein localizes to the Z-bands in living muscle cells: overexpression leads to myofibril disassembly.

1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 705-717 ◽  
Author(s):  
K K Turnacioglu ◽  
B Mittal ◽  
G A Dabiri ◽  
J M Sanger ◽  
J W Sanger
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Band Region ◽  
Nonmuscle Cells ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Green Fluorescent

Cultures of nonmuscle cells, skeletal myotubes, and cardiomyocytes were transfected with a fusion construct (Z1.1GFP) consisting of a 1.1-kb cDNA (Z1.1) fragment from the Z-band region of titin linked to the cDNA for green fluorescent protein (GFP). The Z1.1 cDNA encodes only 362 amino acids of the approximately 2000 amino acids that make up the Z-band region of titin; nevertheless, the Z1.1GFP fusion protein targets the alpha-actinin-rich Z-bands of contracting myofibrils in vivo. This fluorescent fusion protein also localizes in the nascent and premyofibrils at the edges of spreading cardiomyocytes. Similarly, in transfected nonmuscle cells, the Z1.1GFP fusion protein localizes to the alpha-actinin-containing dense bodies of the stress fibers in vivo. A dominant negative phenotype was also observed in living cells expressing high levels of this Z1.1GFP fusion protein, with myofibril disassembly occurring as titin-GFP fragments accumulated. These data indicate that the Z-band region of titin plays an important role in maintaining and organizing the structure of the myofibril. The Z1.1 cDNA was derived from a chicken cardiac lambda gt11 expression library, screened with a zeugmatin antibody. Recent work has suggested that zeugmatin is actually part of the N-terminal region of the 81-kb titin cDNA. A reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction using a primer from the distal end (5' end) of the Z1.1 zeugmatin cDNA and a primer from the nearest known proximal (3' end) chicken titin (also called connectin) cDNA resulted in a predicted 0.3-kb polymerase chain reaction product linking the two known chicken titin cDNAs to each other. The linking region had a 79% identity at the amino acid level to human cardiac titin. This result and a Southern blot analysis of chicken genomic DNA hybridized with Z1.1 add further support to our original suggestion that zeugmatin is a proteolytic fragment from the N-terminal region of titin.

scholarly journals The Dynamic Mobility of Histone H1 Is Regulated by Cyclin/CDK Phosphorylation

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (23) ◽  
pp. 8626-8636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Contreras ◽  
Tracy K. Hale ◽  
David L. Stenoien ◽  
Jeffrey M. Rosen ◽  
Michael A. Mancini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Fluorescent Protein ◽  
Histone H1 ◽  
Open Chromatin ◽  
Nuclear Dynamics ◽  
Cdk2 Activity ◽  
Green Fluorescent

ABSTRACT The linker histone H1 is involved in maintaining higher-order chromatin structures and displays dynamic nuclear mobility, which may be regulated by posttranslational modifications. To analyze the effect of H1 tail phosphorylation on the modulation of the histone's nuclear dynamics, we generated a mutant histone H1, referred to as M1-5, in which the five cyclin-dependent kinase phosphorylation consensus sites were mutated from serine or threonine residues into alanines. Cyclin E/CDK2 or cyclin A/CDK2 cannot phosphorylate the mutant in vitro. Using the technique of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, we observed that the mobility of a green fluorescent protein (GFP)-M1-5 fusion protein is decreased compared to that of a GFP-wild-type H1 fusion protein. In addition, recovery of H1 correlated with CDK2 activity, as GFP-H1 mobility was decreased in cells with low CDK2 activity. Blocking the activity of CDK2 by p21 expression decreased the mobility of GFP-H1 but not that of GFP-M1-5. Finally, the level and rate of recovery of cyan fluorescent protein (CFP)-M1-5 were lower than those of CFP-H1 specifically in heterochromatic regions. These data suggest that CDK2 phosphorylates histone H1 in vivo, resulting in a more open chromatin structure by destabilizing H1-chromatin interactions.

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