key: cord-0729187-hyoroqit
authors: Zhao, Jin-Cun; Zhao, Zhen-Dong; Wang, Wei; Gao, Xiao-Ming
title: Prokaryotic expression, refolding, and purification of fragment 450–650 of the spike protein of SARS-coronavirus
date: 2004-12-08
journal: Protein Expr Purif
DOI: 10.1016/j.pep.2004.10.004
sha: dd48974178600f4ad57d1ed4cd351ceb97693459
doc_id: 729187
cord_uid: hyoroqit

The spike (S) glycoprotein is one of the major structure proteins of SARS-associated coronavirus (CoV). Fragment 450–650 (S450-650) of the S protein contains receptor-binding domain and neutralizing epitopes. In this study, S450-650 was expressed with a histidine tag in Escherichia coli BL21. Bacterial inclusion bodies containing the recombinant S450-650 were solubilized with 8 M urea and then applied onto a Ni–nitrilotriacetic acid column. On-column refolding and purification was performed. Reduced glutathione and oxidized glutathione were included in the refolding buffer. In the wash and elution buffers, glycerol and glucose were necessary additives to prevent protein aggregation during purification. This refolding and purification procedure allowed production of S450-650 at up to 500 μg/ml in soluble form, which maintained appropriate antigenicity and immunogenicity. It was able to induce strong IgG responses in BALB/c mice. In Western blot assays, the recombinant S450-650 was recognized by monoclonal Ab against the His-tag and also sera from a convalescent SARS patient. S450-650-based ELISA system was able to detect anti-SARS-CoV IgG Abs in patient sera.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is caused by SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV), an enveloped, positive-stranded RNA virus of the Coronaviridae family [1] [2] [3] . The genome of SARS-CoV encodes several structural proteins including the spike (S) glycoprotein, nucleocapsid protein, membrane protein, and envelope protein [3] . Membrane fusion between SARS-CoV and the host cell is mediated by its S glycoprotein [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] , which is also the main target for neutralization Abs against SARS-CoV [5, 8] . The S protein consists of 1255 amino acid residues with approximately 25% homology to those of the other human CoVs [10, 11] . Expression of full-length, or fragments of, S protein in soluble form and relatively large quantity is desirable for study of viral invasion, construction of diagnostic kits, and potential application as subunit vaccines. Computational modeling and sequence analysis indicates that the S protein of SARS-CoV contains 14 disulWde bonds [12] and is highly hydrophobic (446 out of its 1255 amino acid residues are hydrophobic ones). Further studies (EMBOSS: antigenic program) revealed that residues 450-650 of the S glycoprotein (S450-650) of SARS-CoV are largely solvent accessible and contain dominant B cell epitopes. There is also evidence suggesting that fragment 485-625 might contain the receptor-binding domain and also neutralization epitopes [13] . In this study, we expressed histidinetagged recombinant S450-650 in E. coli and puriWed the polypeptide using a rapid on-column refolding procedure.

High Wdelity Taq DNA polymerase was purchased from TaKaRa Biotech (Japan). Restriction enzymes and T4 ligase were from Invitrogen (USA). The DNA extraction and puriWcation kit was from Qiagen (Germany). pET-28a expression vector was from Novagen (Germany). The Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid agarose was from Novagen (Germany). Mouse anti-His monoclonal antibody (mAb) was purchased from BD Clontech (USA). Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled goat anti-human IgG and anti-mouse IgG were obtained from Zhongshan Biotech (China). Complementary DNA encoding full-length S proteins of SARS-CoV was obtained from China CDC. Sera from convalescent SARS patients were provided by Beijing Red Cross Blood Center.

DNA coding for S450-650 was ampliWed using PCR with SARS-CoV S protein cDNA as template. The sequences of the primers employed in the PCR were 5ЈCGC GGA TCC ATG CCC TTT GAG AGA GAC ATA TCT 3Ј (forward sequence containing a BamHI site) and 5ЈCCC GAA TTC TTA AAT GTC GCA CTC ATA AGA AGT G 3Ј (reverse sequence containing an EcoRI site).

PCR was performed under the following conditions: 5 min at 95°C for full denaturation, 30 s at 95°C, 1 min at 50°C, 1 min at 72°C for 35 circles of ampliWcation, and 10 min at 72°C for an additional extension. The ampliWed product was digested with BamHI and EcoRI, and then ligated with cut vector, pET28a. The resulting plasmid was named pET28a-S450-650.

Freshly transformed Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) cells harboring plasmid pET28a-S450-650 were cultured in 1 L of 2YT medium containing kanamycin (25 g/ml) at 37°C. When the cell density reached 0.8-1.0 (OD 600 ), isopropyl--D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG, Sigma) was added to a Wnal concentration of 0.1 mM, and the bacteria were cultured for a further 3.5 h at 37°C. The culture was then harvested by centrifugation at 5,000g for 15 min at 4°C. The cell pellet was suspended in 100 ml buVer A (Table 1) . After sonication (4 s pulse, 4 s pause, 200 W for 50 times), the lysed cells were centrifuged at 5000g for 15 min at 4°C and pellet was resuspended in 100 ml buVer B.

The puriWed inclusion bodies were solubilized in 40 ml buVer C by incubating at 4°C overnight. After centrifugation at 16,000g for 30 min, the supernatant was Wltered through a 0.45 m membrane and incubated with 4 ml Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) agarose at 4°C for 1 h. Then, the agarose was poured into a column and washed with 30 ml buVer C at a Xow rate of 2 ml/min. A linear gradient urea buVer D between 8 and 0 M was applied. Finally, the column was washed with 10 ml buVer E, and the recombinant S450-650 was eluted with 15 ml buVer F. The Xow rate was maintained at 1 ml/min throughout. The recombinant S450-650 was adjusted to proper concentration and dialyzed with PBS (pH 7.2) containing 20% glycerol, 5% glucose.

Female BALB/c mice of 6-8 weeks of age were obtained from Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. The mice were immunized S.C. with S480-650 (50 g/ mouse) or PBS emulsiWed in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA, Sigma) at the base of the tail. Two more booster immunization was given on days 15 and 29 with Ag mixed with incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). Mouse blood was collected by tail bleeding on day 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and the sera were kept at ¡80°C until use.

The nitro-cellulose membranes, on which the recombinant S450-650 protein bands had been transferred, were blocked at room temperature for 2 h with blocking solution (5% non-fat dried milk) and then incubated for 2 h at room temperature with the Wrst antibody. After washes in Tris-buVered saline (TBS, pH 8.0) containing 0.05% Tween 20 (TBS-T), the membranes were incubated with HRP-labeled goat anti-human IgG or goat anti-mouse IgG. 3,3Ј-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB, Sigma) was used to visualize the reaction.

ELISA plates were coated at 4°C overnight with recombinant protein (2.5 pmol/well) resuspended in carbonate buVer (pH 9.6). The wells were then incubated with blocking solution (2% BSA in PBS) for 2 h at 37°C. After four washes with PBS containing 0.05% Tween 20 (PBS-T), one hundred microliters of diluted sera was added and incubated for 90 min at 37°C. After washes with PBS-T, the plates were then incubated with HRPlabeled goat anti-human IgG antibody for 1 h at 37°C. OPD (ortho-phenylenediamine) substrate (100 l/well) was added after Wve washes with PBS-T and incubated for 2 min at room temperature. Fifty microliters of 2 M H 2 SO 4 solution was added to each well to stop the reaction, and the optical density (OD) was immediately read at 492 nm.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 , complementary DNA encoding S450-650 of the S protein of SARS-CoV was inserted into pET28a, a vector for His-tag fusion protein expression under the control of T7 RNA polymerase and lac operator [14, 15] . Following IPTG induction (0.1 mM, 37°C), the recombinant protein was overexpressed in inclusion bodies of E. coli BL21 cells (Fig. 2) , reaching approximate 40% of total bacterial proteins, as estimated by scanning imaging analysis of the SDS-PAGE gels (data not shown).

Escherichia coli BL21 cells expressing S450-650 were harvested, washed with wash buVer containingmercaptoethanol and Triton X-100 (Table 1) , and then subjected to several cycles of sonication and washes to obtain inclusion bodies, which were then lysed in lysis buVer containing 8 M urea and 5 mM -mercap-toethanol (Table 1 ) overnight at 4°C. After centrifugation, the supernatant was harvested and incubated with Ni resin for 1 h at 4°C with continuous rotation. Most of the recombinant S450-650 in the supernatant bound to the column, as only a small amount of S450-650 was detected in the Xow-through (Fig. 3) .

Our on-column refolding and puriWcation procedure was based on that reported by previous investigators [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] . After the protein-bound column was precleared with low concentration imidazole (Fig. 3) , a linear gradient of urea in refolding buVer containing glycerol, reduced glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ( Table 1) was applied, with Xow rate held at 1 ml/min. The column was then washed with buVer E containing imidazole at 100 mM, eluting contaminant bacterial proteins but not the target pro- tein (Fig. 3) . Finally, the S450-650 protein was eluted using 800 mM imidazole containing glycerol and glucose ( Table 1 ). The purity of the recombinant S450-650 protein thus obtained was approximately 95% as judged by SDS-PAGE analysis (Fig. 3) . Inclusion of glycerol and glucose in the refolding buVer and elute buVers appeared to be crucial, as the yield and the concentration of S450-650 signiWcantly decreased when buVers without glycerol and glucose were used (Fig. 3 , Table 2 ). The puriWcation and yield of S450-650 from E. coli are summarized in Table 2 . The eluted protein was dialyzed in PBS (pH 7.2) containing glycerol (20%) and glucose (5%), and stored at 300 g-500 g/ml at ¡80°C.

In Western blot assays, the recombinant S450-650 was recognized by anti-His-tag mAb as well as convalescent serum from one of the two SARS patients (Fig. 4) . The S450-650 polypeptide was also used as coating Ag in an ELISA system, which was able to detect S protein-speciWc IgG Abs in sera from convalescent SARS patients (Figs. 5A and B) . Subcutaneous immunization of BALB/c mice with S450-650 induced very strong IgG Table 2 PuriWcation of recombinant S450-650 protein from E. coli in 1 L culture a With glycerol and glucose in refolding and elute buVers. b Without glycerol and glucose in refolding and elute buVers. c The amount of total proteins was determined with a Coomassie protein assay reagent (Pierce) using bovine -globulin as the standard protein.

d The amount of recombinant S450-650 protein was estimated from the protein band intensity in SDS-PAGE gels by scanning imaging analysis. e Recovery rate D (recombinant S450-650 protein in each puriWcation step)/(recombinant S450-650 protein in cell lysate) £ 100%. response against the immunizing Ag, as determined in ELISAs (Fig. 6 ).

The predicted molecular weight of the S450-650 recombinant protein is 25.8 kDa (total 201 + 38 amino acid residues). However, it appears to be 31 kDa in SDS-PAGE gels (Figs. 2 and 3) . We reckon this is because so the S450-650 protein contains 20 acidic residues (D, E) with a predicted iso-electric point of 4.3. It has been demonstrated that strongly acidic proteins behave abnormally in SDS-gels since the acidic amino acids do not bind SDS [24] .

Solubility of the recombinant S450-650 was very poor, it was mainly expressed in inclusion bodies of the bacterial cells even at 20°C with diVerent IPTG concentrations (data not shown). This is probably due to the fact that S450-650 contains 64 hydrophobic amino acid residues (31.8% of the sequence). To obtain, reasonably high concentration S450-650 in soluble form, we adopted an oncolumn refolding and puriWcation procedure. -Mercaptoethanol and Triton X-100 were included in the inclusion body wash buVer and lysis buVer (Table 1) , which help to solubilize hydrophobic proteins, reduce interchain disulWde bonds, and minimize non-speciWc binding of proteins to Ni column [16] . Glycerol and glucose were included in the refolding and elution buVers ( Table 1) . As powerful cosolvents, they are able to enhance native protein stability [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] . GSH/GSSG (1 mM GSH, 0.1 mM GSSG) were also helpful additives, because of the fact that the oxidizing conditions maintained by GSH/GSSG promote correct formation of disulWde bonds and dramatically increase the recombinant protein yield [20] . Yin et al. [16] showed that Xow rate of the refolding buVer is a factor aVecting protein refolding, whick was maintained at 1 ml/min in our experiments.

Apparently, our recombinant S450-650 maintained appropriate antigenicity and immunogenicity. When BALB/c mice were immunized with S450-650, a very strong IgG response was observed (Fig. 6) . In ELISAs and Western blot assays, the S450-650 recombinant protein was recognized by serum Abs from convalescent SARS patients (Figs. 4 and 5) . It is of interest to note that sera from patient PT32 recognized the S450-650 polypeptide in ELISAs but not Western blot assays (Figs. 4 and 5A). It is highly likely that Abs in PT32 serum were speciWc mainly for conformational rather than linear epitope(s) in the S450-650 fragment. In ELISAs, Abs can recognize native (undenatured and non-reduced) Ags, whilst in Western blot assays they can only react with Ags in denatured and reduced form. It can therefore be concluded that a certain proportion of the molecules of our recombinant S450-650 polypeptide refolded correctly following our on-column refolding procedure.

Characterization of a novel coronavirus associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome

Coronavirus as a possible cause of severe acute respiratory syndrome

The genome sequence of the SARS-associated coronavirus

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 is a functional receptor for the SARS coronavirus

The SARS-CoV S glycoprotein: expression and functional characterization

The secret life of ACE2 as a receptor for the SARS virus

A 193-amino acid fragment of the SARS coronavirus S protein eYciently binds angiotensin-converting enzyme 2

Expression cloning of functional receptor used by SARS coronavirus

Potent neutralization of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus by a human mAb to S1 protein that blocks receptor association

Antigenicity and receptor-binding ability of recombinant SARS coronavirus spike protein

Mass spectrometric characterization of proteins from the SARS virus: a preliminary report

Molecular modeling of S1 and S2 subunits of SARS coronavirus spike glycoprotein

An exposed domain in the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus spike protein induces neutralizing antibodies

Use of bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase to direct selective high-level expression of cloned genes

Bacterial expression and in vitro refolding of a single-chain Fv antibody speciWc for human plasma apolipoprotein B-100

On-column puriWcation and refolding of recombinant bovine prion protein: using its octarepeat sequences as a natural aYnity tag

On-column refolding and characterization of soluble human interleukin-15 receptor -chain produced in Escherichia coli

On-column refolding of an insoluble tag recombinant exopolyphosphatase from Trypanosoma brucei overexpressed in Escherichia coli

One-step on-column aYnity refolding puriWcation and functional analysis of recombinant human VDAC1

Construction and high-level expression of a single-chain Fv antibody fragment speciWc for acidic isoferritin in Escherichia coli

In vitro protein refolding by chromatographic procedures

Large scale production of biologically active Escherichia coli glutamyl-tRNA reductase from inclusion bodies

Utility of (His) 6 Tag for puriWcation and refolding of proplasmepsin-2 and mutants with altered activation properties

Section 1, 1, Electrophoresis, Electrophoresis in Practice

Detection and prevention of protein aggregation before, during, and after puriWcation

Refolding of recombinant proteins

Stabilization of protein structure by sugars

Control of protein stability and reactions by weakly interacting cosolvents: the simplicity of the complicated

The Hofmeister eVect and the behavior of water at interafaces

Mechanisms of the stabilization of ribonuclease A by sorbitol: preferential hydration is great for the denatured than for the native protein

Temperature dependence of the preferential interactions of ribonuclease A in aqueous cosolvent systems: thermodynamic analysis

This study was supported by grants from the National Key Basic Research Programs (2001CB510007, 2003CB514109), National High Technology Research & Development Program (2003AA208412A) and "211" Program of China. Patient's consent was obtained before blood collection.