scholarly journals Recombinant Expression and Characterization of Human Activin A

1988 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 1237-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph H. Schwall ◽  
Karoly Nikolics ◽  
Eva Szonyi ◽  
Cori Gorman ◽  
Anthony J. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Activin A

scholarly journals Characterization of a Cytotoxic Factor in Culture Filtrates of Serratia marcescens

2002 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1121-1128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kent B. Marty ◽  
Christopher L. Williams ◽  
Linda J. Guynn ◽  
Michael J. Benedik ◽  
Steven R. Blanke
Keyword(s):  
Cytotoxic Activity ◽  
Serratia Marcescens ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Divalent Cations ◽  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Cytotoxic Factor ◽  
Culture Filtrates ◽  
Type Strains

ABSTRACT Serratia marcescens culture filtrates have been reported to be cytotoxic to mammalian cells. Using biochemical and genetic approaches, we have identified a major source of this cytotoxic activity. Both heat and protease treatments abrogated the cytotoxicity of S. marcescens culture filtrates towards HeLa cells, suggesting the involvement of one or more protein factors. A screen for in vitro cytotoxic activity revealed that S. marcescens mutant strains that are deficient in production of a 56-kDa metalloprotease are significantly less cytotoxic to mammalian cells. Cytotoxicity was significantly reduced when culture filtrates prepared from wild-type strains were pretreated with either EDTA or 1,10-phenanthroline, which are potent inhibitors of the 56-kDa metalloprotease. Furthermore, cytotoxic activity was restored when the same culture filtrates were incubated with zinc divalent cations, which are essential for enzymatic activity of the 56-kDa metalloprotease. Finally, recombinant expression of the S. marcescens 56-kDa metalloprotease conferred a cytotoxic phenotype on the culture filtrates of a nonpathogenic Escherichia coli strain. Collectively, these data suggest that the 56-kDa metalloprotease contributes significantly to the in vitro cytotoxic activity commonly observed in S. marcescens culture filtrates.

scholarly journals Biophysical characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 E protein

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aujan Mehregan ◽  
Sergio Perez-Conesa ◽  
Yuxuan Zhuang ◽  
Ahmad Elbahnsi ◽  
Diletta Pasini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Structural Data ◽  
Md Simulations ◽  
Full Length ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Biophysical Characterization ◽  
Viral Budding ◽  
Nmr Structures ◽  
E Protein

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc across the world, over a year and a half after its effects were first reported in the general media. Current fundamental research efforts largely focus on the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. Since successful antiviral therapies are likely to target multiple viral components, there is considerable interest in understanding the biophysical role of its other proteins, in particular structural membrane proteins. Here, we have focused our efforts on the characterization of the full-length E protein from SARS-CoV-2, combining experimental and computational approaches. Recombinant expression of the full-length E protein from SARS-CoV-2 reveals that this membrane protein is capable of independent multimerization, possibly as a tetrameric or smaller species. Fluorescence microscopy shows that the protein localizes intracellularly, and coarse-grained MD simulations indicate it causes bending of the surrounding lipid bilayer, corroborating a potential role for the E protein in viral budding. Although we did not find robust electrophysiological evidence of ion-channel activity, cells transfected with the E protein exhibited reduced intracellular Ca2+, which may further promote viral replication. However, our atomistic MD simulations revealed that previous NMR structures are relatively unstable, and result in models incapable of ion conduction. Our study highlights the importance of using high-resolution structural data obtained from a full-length protein to gain detailed molecular insights, and eventually permitting virtual drug screening.

scholarly journals Recombinant expression and characterization of a cysteine peptidase from Xanthomonas citri subsp citri

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 4043-4057 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Soares-Costa ◽  
R.S. Silveira ◽  
M.T.M. Novo ◽  
M.F.M. Alves ◽  
A.K. Carmona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Xanthomonas Citri ◽  
Cysteine Peptidase

scholarly journals Characterization of a profilin-like protein from Fasciola hepatica

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10503
Author(s):  
Jessica Wilkie ◽  
Timothy C. Cameron ◽  
Travis Beddoe
Keyword(s):  
Fasciola Hepatica ◽  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Tegument Proteins ◽  
Novel Treatments ◽  
The World ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms ◽  
Novel Drug ◽  
First Time ◽  
Important Disease

Fasciola hepatica is the causative agent of fasciolosis, an important disease of humans and livestock around the world. There is an urgent requirement for novel treatments for F. hepatica due to increasing reports of drug resistance appearing around the world. The outer body covering of F. hepatica is referred to as the tegument membrane which is of crucial importance for the modulation of the host response and parasite survival; therefore, tegument proteins may represent novel drug or vaccine targets. Previous studies have identified a profilin-like protein in the tegument of F. hepatica. Profilin is a regulatory component of the actin cytoskeleton in all eukaryotic cells, and in some protozoan parasites, profilin has been shown to drive a potent IL-12 response. This study characterized the identified profilin form F. hepatica (termed FhProfilin) for the first time. Recombinant expression of FhProfilin resulted in a protein approximately 14 kDa in size which was determined to be dimeric like other profilins isolated from a range of eukaryotic organisms. FhProfilin was shown to bind poly-L-proline (pLp) and sequester actin monomers which is characteristic of the profilin family; however, there was no binding of FhProfilin to phosphatidylinositol lipids. Despite FhProfilin being a component of the tegument, it was shown not to generate an immune response in experimentally infected sheep or cattle.

Isolation and Characterization of Levoglucosan Metabolizing Bacteria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajay S. Arya ◽  
Minh T. H. Hang ◽  
Mark A. Eiteman
Keyword(s):  
Recombinant Expression ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Soluble Carbohydrate ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
16S Rrna Gene Sequences ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Isolation And Characterization ◽  
Charred Wood

Bacteria were isolated from wastewater and soil containing charred wood remnants based on their ability to use levoglucosan as a sole carbon source and on their levoglucosan dehydrogenase (LGDH) activity. On the basis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences, these bacteria represented diverse genera of Microbacterium, Paenibacillus , Shinella , and Klebsiella . Genomic sequencing of the isolates verified that two isolates represented novel species, Paenibacillus athensensis MEC069 T and Shinella sumterensis MEC087 T , while the remaining isolates were closely related to either Microbacterium lacusdiani or Klebsiella pneumoniae . The genetic sequence of LGDH, lgdA , was found in the genomes of these four isolates as well as Pseudarthrobacter phenanthrenivorans Sphe3. The identity of the P. phenanthrenivorans LGDH was experimentally verified following recombinant expression in E. coli . Comparison of the putative genes surrounding lgdA in the isolate genomes indicated that several other gene products facilitate the bacterial catabolism of levoglucosan, including a putative sugar isomerase and several transport proteins. Importance Levoglucosan is the most prevalent soluble carbohydrate remaining after high temperature pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, but it is not fermented by typical production microbes such as Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae . A few fungi metabolize levoglucosan via the enzyme levoglucosan kinase, while several bacteria metabolize levoglucosan via levoglucosan dehydrogenase. This study describes the isolation and characterization of four bacterial species which degrade levoglucosan. Each isolate is shown to contain several genes within an operon involved in levoglucosan degradation, furthering our understanding of bacteria which metabolize levoglucosan.

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