scholarly journals Tetrahymena thermophila Granule Lattice Protein 3 Improves Solubility of Sexual Stage Malaria Antigens Expressed in Escherichia coli

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cengiz Akkale ◽  
Donna Marie Cassidy-Hanley ◽  
Theodore G Clark

The requirement for low cost manufacturing makes bacterial cells a logical platform for the production of recombinant subunit vaccines for malaria. However, protein solubility has been a major stumbling block with prokaryotic expression systems. Notable examples include the transmission blocking vaccine candidates, Pfs25 and Pfs48/45, which are almost entirely insoluble when expressed as recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Various solubility tags have been used with limited success in improving solubility, although recent studies with granule lattice protein 1 (Grl1p) from the ciliated protozoan, Tetrahymena thermophila, have shown promise. Here, we examine a related solubility tag, granule lattice protein 3 (Grl3p) from T. thermophila, and compare it to both Grl1p and the well-studied maltose binding protein (MBP) used to improve the solubility of multiple protein targets. We find that Grl3p performs comparably to Grl1p when linked to Pfs25 but significantly improves solubility when paired with Pfs48/45.

HortScience ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 866-869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyesoon Kim ◽  
Yeh-Jin Ahn

DcHSP17.7, a small heat shock protein from carrot (Daucus carota L.), was expressed in Escherichia coli to examine its functional mechanism under heat stress. When transformed cells expressing DcHSP17.7 were exposed to 50 °C for 1 h, the number of viable cells was ≈4-fold higher than that of control. When the amount of soluble proteins was compared, it was more than twofold higher in transformed cells expressing DcHSP17.7 than that in control, suggesting that DcHSP17.7 may function as a molecular chaperone preventing heat-inducible protein degradation. Native-PAGE followed by immunoblot analysis showed that in transformed E. coli, DcHSP17.7 was present in an oligomeric complex, ≈300 kDa in molecular mass, on isopropyl b-D-thiogalactopyranoside treatment. However, the complex rapidly disappeared when bacterial cells were exposed to heat stress. In carrot, DcHSP17.7 was found in the similar-sized complex (≈300 kDa), but only during heat stress (40 °C), suggesting that the functional structure of DcHSP17.7 may be different in transformed E. coli from that in carrot.


Author(s):  
О.В. Шамова ◽  
М.С. Жаркова ◽  
П.М. Копейкин ◽  
Д.С. Орлов ◽  
Е.А. Корнева

Антимикробные пептиды (АМП) системы врожденного иммунитета - соединения, играющие важную роль в патогенезе инфекционных заболеваний, так как обладают свойством инактивировать широкий спектр патогенных бактерий, обеспечивая противомикробную защиту живых организмов. В настоящее время АМП рассматриваются как потенциальные соединения-корректоры инфекционной патологии, вызываемой антибиотикорезистентными бактериями (АБР). Цель данной работы состояла в изученим механизмов антибактериального действия трех пептидов, принадлежащих к семейству бактенецинов - ChBac3.4, ChBac5 и mini-ChBac7.5Nb. Эти химически синтезированные пептиды являются аналогами природных пролин-богатых АМП, обнаруженных в лейкоцитах домашней козы Capra hircus и проявляющих высокую антимикробную активность, в том числе и в отношении грамотрицательных АБР. Методы. Минимальные ингибирующие и минимальные бактерицидные концентрации пептидов (МИК и МБК) определяли методом серийных разведений в жидкой питательной среде с последующим высевом на плотную питательную среду. Эффекты пептидов на проницаемость цитоплазматической мембраны бактерий для хромогенного маркера исследовали с использованием генетически модифицированного штамма Escherichia coli ML35p. Действие бактенецинов на метаболическую активность бактерий изучали с применением маркера резазурина. Результаты. Показано, что все исследованные пептиды проявляют высокую антимикробную активность в отношении Escherichia coli ML35p и антибиотикоустойчивых штаммов Escherichia coli ESBL и Acinetobacter baumannii in vitro, но их действие на бактериальные клетки разное. Использован комплекс методик, позволяющих наблюдать в режиме реального времени динамику действия бактенецинов в различных концентрациях (включая их МИК и МБК) на барьерную функцию цитоплазматической мембраны и на интенсивность метаболизма бактериальных клеток, что дало возможность выявить различия в характере воздействия бактенецинов, отличающихся по структуре молекулы, на исследуемые микроорганизмы. Установлено, что действие каждого из трех исследованных бактенецинов в бактерицидных концентрациях отличается по эффективности нарушения целостности бактериальных мембран и в скорости подавления метаболизма клеток. Заключение. Полученная информация дополнит существующие фундаментальные представления о механизмах действия пролин-богатых пептидов врожденного иммунитета, а также послужит основой для биотехнологических исследований, направленных на разработку на базе этих соединений новых антибиотических препаратов для коррекции инфекционных заболеваний, вызываемых АБР и являющимися причинами тяжелых внутрибольничных инфекций. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) of the innate immunity are compounds that play an important role in pathogenesis of infectious diseases due to their ability to inactivate a broad array of pathogenic bacteria, thereby providing anti-microbial host defense. AMPs are currently considered promising compounds for treatment of infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate molecular mechanisms of the antibacterial action of three peptides from the bactenecin family, ChBac3.4, ChBac5, and mini-ChBac7.5Nb. These chemically synthesized peptides are analogues of natural proline-rich AMPs previously discovered by the authors of the present study in leukocytes of the domestic goat, Capra hircus. These peptides exhibit a high antimicrobial activity, in particular, against antibiotic-resistant gram-negative bacteria. Methods. Minimum inhibitory and minimum bactericidal concentrations of the peptides (MIC and MBC) were determined using the broth microdilution assay followed by subculturing on agar plates. Effects of the AMPs on bacterial cytoplasmic membrane permeability for a chromogenic marker were explored using a genetically modified strain, Escherichia coli ML35p. The effect of bactenecins on bacterial metabolic activity was studied using a resazurin marker. Results. All the studied peptides showed a high in vitro antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli ML35p and antibiotic-resistant strains, Escherichia coli ESBL and Acinetobacter baumannii, but differed in features of their action on bacterial cells. The used combination of techniques allowed the real-time monitoring of effects of bactenecin at different concentrations (including their MIC and MBC) on the cell membrane barrier function and metabolic activity of bacteria. The differences in effects of these three structurally different bactenecins on the studied microorganisms implied that these peptides at bactericidal concentrations differed in their capability for disintegrating bacterial cell membranes and rate of inhibiting bacterial metabolism. Conclusion. The obtained information will supplement the existing basic concepts on mechanisms involved in effects of proline-rich peptides of the innate immunity. This information will also stimulate biotechnological research aimed at development of new antibiotics for treatment of infectious diseases, such as severe in-hospital infections, caused by antibiotic-resistant strains.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1072
Author(s):  
Raquel Cid ◽  
Jorge Bolívar

To date, vaccination has become one of the most effective strategies to control and reduce infectious diseases, preventing millions of deaths worldwide. The earliest vaccines were developed as live-attenuated or inactivated pathogens, and, although they still represent the most extended human vaccine types, they also face some issues, such as the potential to revert to a pathogenic form of live-attenuated formulations or the weaker immune response associated with inactivated vaccines. Advances in genetic engineering have enabled improvements in vaccine design and strategies, such as recombinant subunit vaccines, have emerged, expanding the number of diseases that can be prevented. Moreover, antigen display systems such as VLPs or those designed by nanotechnology have improved the efficacy of subunit vaccines. Platforms for the production of recombinant vaccines have also evolved from the first hosts, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, to insect or mammalian cells. Traditional bacterial and yeast systems have been improved by engineering and new systems based on plants or insect larvae have emerged as alternative, low-cost platforms. Vaccine development is still time-consuming and costly, and alternative systems that can offer cost-effective and faster processes are demanding to address infectious diseases that still do not have a treatment and to face possible future pandemics.


Author(s):  
Marco Vinicio Alban ◽  
Haechang Lee ◽  
Hanul Moon ◽  
Seunghyup Yoo

Abstract Thin dry electrodes are promising components in wearable healthcare devices. Assessing the condition of the human body by monitoring biopotentials facilitates the early diagnosis of diseases as well as their prevention, treatment, and therapy. Existing clinical-use electrodes have limited wearable-device usage because they use gels, require preparation steps, and are uncomfortable to wear. While dry electrodes can improve these issues and have demonstrated performance on par with gel-based electrodes, providing advantages in mobile and wearable applications; the materials and fabrication methods used are not yet at the level of disposable gel electrodes for low-cost mass manufacturing and wide adoption. Here, a low-cost manufacturing process for thin dry electrodes with a conductive micro-pyramidal array is presented for large-scale on-skin wearable applications. The electrode is fabricated using micromolding techniques in conjunction with solution processes in order to guarantee ease of fabrication, high device yield, and the possibility of mass production compatible with current semiconductor production processes. Fabricated using a conductive paste and an epoxy resin that are both biocompatible, the developed micro-pyramidal array electrode operates in a conformal, non-invasive manner, with low skin irritation, which ensures improved comfort for brief or extended use. The operation of the developed electrode was examined by analyzing electrode-skin-electrode impedance, electroencephalography, electrocardiography, and electromyography signals and comparing them with those measured simultaneously using gel electrodes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (11) ◽  
pp. pdb.prot101212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael R. Green ◽  
Joseph Sambrook

This protocol describes a convenient method for the preparation, use, and storage of competent Escherichia coli. The reported transformation efficiency of this method is ∼5 × 107 transformants/µg of plasmid DNA.


Microbiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 167 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sathi Mallick ◽  
Shanti Kiran ◽  
Tapas Kumar Maiti ◽  
Anindya S. Ghosh

Escherichia coli low-molecular-mass (LMM) Penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) help in hydrolysing the peptidoglycan fragments from their cell wall and recycling them back into the growing peptidoglycan matrix, in addition to their reported involvement in biofilm formation. Biofilms are external slime layers of extra-polymeric substances that sessile bacterial cells secrete to form a habitable niche for themselves. Here, we hypothesize the involvement of Escherichia coli LMM PBPs in regulating the nature of exopolysaccharides (EPS) prevailing in its extra-polymeric substances during biofilm formation. Therefore, this study includes the assessment of physiological characteristics of E. coli CS109 LMM PBP deletion mutants to address biofilm formation abilities, viability and surface adhesion. Finally, EPS from parent CS109 and its ΔPBP4 and ΔPBP5 mutants were purified and analysed for sugars present. Deletions of LMM PBP reduced biofilm formation, bacterial adhesion and their viability in biofilms. Deletions also diminished EPS production by ΔPBP4 and ΔPBP5 mutants, purification of which suggested an increased overall negative charge compared with their parent. Also, EPS analyses from both mutants revealed the appearance of an unusual sugar, xylose, that was absent in CS109. Accordingly, the reason for reduced biofilm formation in LMM PBP mutants may be speculated as the subsequent production of xylitol and a hindrance in the standard flow of the pentose phosphate pathway.


1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 839-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. T. Pereira-Neto ◽  
E. I. Stentiford ◽  
D. D. Mara

The forced aeration static pile composting system was used to compost mixtures of domestic refuse and sewage sludge. Several different control methods have been evaluated over the past four years from simple, low cost fixed rate aeration timers to microcomputer based systems. Their relative merits are considered. In a compost pile using temperature feedback control the number of Escherichia coli were reduced from 107 org./g to less than 102 org./g. within 16 days. Faecal streptococci were reduced from 107 to less than 102 org./g within 30 days. The process consistently produced a good quality sanitised material under a range of control regimes.


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