[Construction and expression of recombinant baculovirus with Schistosoma japonicum SjPP gene].

OBJECTIVE: To express the soluble recombinant Schistosoma japonicum SjPP proteins in TN5B1-4 cells. METHODS: The total RNA was extracted from adult worms of Schistosoma japonicum. The whole coding sequence of SjPP gene was synthesized by RT-PCR and cloned into donor plasmid. The recombinant donor pFastBac-SjPP was transformed into E.coli DH10Bac forming Bacmid-SjPP which was transfected into insect cell with cational lipofectin. The fusion protein SjPP was analyzed with SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. RESULTS: The infective recombinant baculovirus Bacmid-SjPP was obtained and SjPP protein was expressed in insect cells. CONCLUSION: The recombinant protein SjPP has been expressed in insect TN5B1-4 cells with proper antigenicity.

Complete sequence and organization of Antheraea pernyi nucleopolyhedrovirus, a dr-rich baculovirus.

BACKGROUND: The completion and reporting of baculovirus genomes is extremely important as it advances our understanding of gene function and evolution. Due to the large number of viral genomes now sequenced it is very important that authors present significantly detailed analyses to advance the understanding of the viral genomes. However, there is no report of the Antheraea pernyi nucleopolyhedrovirus (AnpeNPV) genome. RESULTS: The genome of AnpeNPV, which infects Chinese tussah silkworm (Antheraea pernyi), was sequenced and analyzed. The genome was 126,629 bp in size. The G+C content of the genome, 53.4%, was higher than that of most of the sequenced baculoviruses. 147 open reading frames (ORFs) that putatively encode proteins of 50 or more amino acid residues with minimal overlap were determined. Of the 147 ORFs, 143 appeared to be homologous to other baculovirus genes, and 4 were unique to AnpeNPV. Furthermore, there are still 29 and 33 conserved genes present in all baculoviruses and all lepidopteran baculoviruses respectively. In addition, the total number of genes common to all lepidopteran NPVs is sill 74, however the 74 genes are somewhat different from the 74 genes identified before because of some new sequenced NPVs. Only 6 genes were found exclusively in all lepidopteran NPVs and 12 genes were found exclusively in all Group I NPVs. AnpeNPV encodes v-trex(Anpe115, a 3' to 5' repair exonuclease), which was observed only in CfMNPV and CfDEFNPV in Group I NPVs. This gene potentially originated by horizontal gene transfer from an ancestral host. In addition, AnpeNPV encodes two conotoxin-like gene homologues (ctls), ctl1 and ctl2, which were observed only in HycuNPV, OpMNPV and LdMNPV. Unlike other baculoviruses, only 3 typical homologous regions (hrs) were identified containing 2~9 repeats of a 30 bp-long palindromic core. However, 24 perfect or imperfect direct repeats (drs) with a high degree of AT content were found within the intergenic spacer regions that may function as non-hr, ori-like regions found in GrleGV, CpGV and AdorGV. 9 drs were also found in intragenic spacer regions of AnpeNPV. CONCLUSION: AnpeNPV belongs to Group I NPVs and is most similar to HycuNPV, EppoNPV, OpMNPV and CfMNPV based on gene content, genome arrangement, and amino acid identity. In addition, analysis of genes that flank hrs supported the argument that these regions are involved in the transfer of sequences between the virus and host.

Oral administration activity determination of recombinant osteoprotegerin from silkworm larvae.

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) regulates the formation of osteoclasts and is involved in the regulation of bone resorption and remodeling. To investigate the feasibility of using silkworm (Bombyx mori) larvae to produce recombinant osteoprotegerin as a oral administration drug, the rh-OPG was expressed in the larvae of silkworm through the silkworm baculovirus expression system, and was orally administered to mice. Compared with the control, oral administration of rh-OPG was effective to decrease serum calcium concentration in normal mice, and block the bone loss induced by the loss of estrogen in ovariectomized mice. These results indicated that oral administration of rh-OPG expressed in silkworm larvae had the proper bioactivity.

Expression of open reading frames in silkworm pupal cDNA library.

A cDNA library containing 2409 singletons was constructed from whole silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori) In addition, the types of genes overexpressed in pupa were analyzed. These genes contained 79 types of proteins with the exception of enzyme, mitochondrial DNA, andribosomal protein. Also analyzed were the expression and nonexpression of open reading frame (ORF) sequences in Escherichia coli. cDNA sequences were compared to the silkworm (B. mori) genome in the GenBank database and the silkworm cDNA database including the SilkBase and KAIKOBLAST databases and 498 novel expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and 217 unknown ESTs were found. After comparison with all available ORF-complete mRNA sequences from the same organism (fruitfly, mosquito, and apis) in the RefSeq collection, 1659 full-length cDNA were identified. In addition, the structure of silkworm mRNA was analyzed, and it was found that 66.8% of silkworm mRNA tailed with poly(A) contained the highly conserved AAUAAA signal and the signal located 10-17 nucleotides upstream of the putative poly(A). Finally, the composition of nucleotides in promoter region for all ESTs was surveyed. The results imply that the TTTTA box may possess some functions in regulating transcription and expression of some genes.

Expression, purification and characterization of human GM-CSF using silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori) as a bioreactor.

To date, many recombinant proteins have been expressed in Bombyx mori cells or silkworm larvae, apart from in pupae. Silkworm pupae may be more suitable for the expression of heterologous proteins as a bioreactor. If maintained at an appropriate temperature, silkworm pupae could be inoculated with recombinant baculovirus for the expression of a protein of interest. In this study, human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor was successfully expressed in silkworm pupae using B. mori nucleopolyhedrovirus, purified and characterized with respect to its physico-chemical properties. The target protein expressed had an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.1. The protein was purified using three chromatographic steps with a final recovery of 10.3%. Finally, approximately 3.5mg of the protein was obtained with a biological activity of up to 8.4 x 10(6) cfu mg(-1). The results of this study suggest that silkworm pupae represent a convenient and low-cost bioreactor for the expression of heterologous proteins.

High level expression of functionally active human lactoferrin in silkworm larvae.

In this paper, recombinant human lactoferrin (rhLf) was expressed very well using Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis baculovirus expression system. Infection of silkworm larvae with recombinant virus, vBm-hLf, the rhLf was efficiently secreted into larvae hemolymph and the concentration of product purified was about 65 microg/ml. The isolated rhLf molecular mass was approximately 78 kDa, lower than that of the human lactoferrin (hLf) standards, which may be due to incomplete glycosylation or protein degradation. Furthermore, the rhLf was characterized and its biological activities were evaluated by in vivo bioassay using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model that mimics some characteristics of colitis disease in human. We conclude that silkworm expression system can be used successfully to express functional human lactoferrin.

The processing of human mitochondrial leucyl-tRNA synthetase in the insect cells.

A His-tagged full-length cDNA of human mitochondrial leucyl-tRNA synthetase was expressed in a baculovirus system. The N-terminal sequence of the enzyme isolated from the mitochondria of insect cells was found to be IYSATGKWTKEYTL, indicating that the mitochondrial targeting signal peptide was cleaved between Ser39 and Ile40 after the enzyme precursor was translocated into mitochondria. The enzyme purified from mitochondria catalyzed the leucylation of Escherichia coli tRNA(1)(Leu)(CAG) and Aquifex aeolicus tRNA(Leu)(GAG) with higher catalytic activity in the leucylation of E. coli tRNA(Leu) than that previously expressed in E. coli without the N-terminal 21 residues.

Cloning of anti-lPS factor cDNA from Tachypleus tridentatus, expression in Bombyx mori larvae and its biological activity in vitro.

In this article we report the cloning and expression of a cDNA encoding Tachypleus anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) factor, which is of interest for use as a potential inhibitor of the common core subunit of Gram-negative bacterial endotoxins. First, two degenerate primers were designed based on the sequence homology of anti-LPS factors purified from different species of horseshoe crab. The total RNA was extracted from amebocytes of Tachypleus tridentatus. The cDNA was then obtained by using the RT-PCR methods. Second, the cDNA of Tachypleus anti-LPS factor (TALF) was expressed in Bombyx mori larvae using baculovirus expression system, which showed a yield of up to 600 mg/L. Last, we determined the biological activity of the recombinant proteins by LPS neutralization assay and bacteriostatic assay in vitro.

Expression of an antimicrobial peptide identified in the male reproductive system of rats.

Bin1b is a beta-defensins-like molecule originally isolated from the rat epididymis. Owing to its bactericidal activity, Bin1b may have therapeutic properties suitable for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. The amino terminus of the mature Bin1b peptide contains a conserved myristoylated Gly residue. We studied the requirement of the terminal myristoylated Gly residue in the bactericidal activity of Bin1b and found that the terminal myristoylated Gly residue is not essential for the bactericidal activity. In addition, we expressed the tandem repeats of Bin1b in Escherichia coli and found that two tandem repeats of Bin1b protein were successfully expressed. The bacterially expressed tandem Bin1b repeats may be used in a diverse array of biochemical and cell biological studies.

Production of recombinant human osteoprotegrin from Trichoplusia ni cells and Bombyx mori larvae.

Human osteoprotegrin (OPG) and its truncated mutant OPG-280 and lengthened mutant OPG-Fc were constructed and successfully expressed in Trichoplusia ni cells and Bombyx mori larvae. Native SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis revealed that OPG-Fc is present as a homodimer in Tn cells or B. mori larvae compared with OPG and OPG-280. Furthermore, the hypocalcemic effect assay showed that truncation of the C-terminal 100 residues OPG does not abolish the biological activity and Fc can be helpful in forming the OPG homodimer with improved biological activity.

Cloning and high-level expression of scorpion toxin BmKITa1 in Escherichia coli and insect cells.

BmK ITa1 cDNA was cloned and highly expressed in E. coli and insect cell. SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis revealed that subunit molecular weight of expression products is about 40 kDa and 10 kDa respectively. The expression product purified by a Ni(2+)-IDA-sepharose 6B column was toxic for insect, which indicated that it was biologically activity. Furthermore, Quantitative estimation show that the biological activity of recombinant BmK ITa1 from Tn cells was more powerful than from E. coli.

Production of recombinant human calcitonin from silkworm (B. mori) larvae infected by baculovirus.

A synthetic modified gene encoding the human calcitonin analog (hmCT) was expressed by use of the baculovirus expression system. After injection with recombinant baculoviruses, the hmCT-GST fusion protein was produced within the silkworm larvae. The fusion protein was purified by affinity chromatography. Biological activity of hmCT for hypercalcemic effect was determined in normal rats.

Construction of Antigenized Antibodies Expressing an Immunodominant Epitope AA32-45 of the Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein.

By using site-directed mutagenesis, we created a unique Xho I site in the CDR3 of the heavy-chain variable domain (V(H)). Two antibody molecules, one carrying one or and the other two repeats of an immunodominant epitope AA32-45 (GVYLLPRRGPRLGV) of the hepatitis C virus core protein in CDR3 of V(H) were engineered and designated Ig-E1, Ig-E2 respectively. We found that both antigenized antibodies lost the HBsAg-binding ability and the insertion of one repeat of GVYLLPRRGPRLGV epitope into the CDR3 of the V(H) domain did not appreciably affect the H chain to assemble with L chain to form a stable H(2)L(2) tetramer. Ig-E1 was able to be recognized by the polyclonal antibody against AA1-58 of the core protein as characterized by Western blot. However, Ig-E2 could not be assembled into H(2)L(2) tetramer.

Construction of Single-chain Antibody to Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Its High Expression in E. coli.

The heavy and light chain variable region (V(H) and V(K)) genes encoding the murine monoclonal antibody E(7)B(10) to carcinoembryonic antigen were linked into single-chain antibody gene with 36 oligonucleotide (Gly(3)Ser)(3) by using recombinant PCR. The construct was highly expressed in E. coli as inclusion bodies (IB), accounting for 20% of the total bacteria proteins, and was characterized by SDS-PAGE and Western blot. When the content of inclusion bodies was denatured and followed by renaturation, it was shown to possess abiliby to kind to its specific antigen CEA by using RIA and competitive ELISA.

Studies on the Nucleotide Sequence, Transcription and Deletion Analysis of the BmNPV Protein Kinase Gene.

The coding region of BmvPK-1 gene of Bombyx mori NPV (Strain ZJ8) is 828 nt long and encodes a 276 aa polypeptide with predicted molecular mass of 32 kD. Dot blot analysis showed its mRNA to be gene is first detectable at 18 h p.i. and reaching the highest transcriptional level at 48 h p.i. The result suggested that BmvPK-1 gene is a late or very late gene. The most conserved 365 bp of the BmvPK-1 gene was deleted in a transfer vector (pUCPK-lac), and a report gene (lacZ) was inserted in the deleted position. Cotransfection of BmN cells with pUCPK-lac DNA and BmNPV DNA resulted in the recombinant virus which expressed detectable product of lacZ gene. But the virus with the deleted BmvPK-1 gene could not be isolated from the wild BmNPV by plaque purification method. The result showed that the BmvPK-1 gene deleted virus can multiply only with the help of the product of this gene from the wild type virus, and the gene is necessary for the virus to finish its life cycle in the cultured cells.

[Coexpression of caiB and caiE with two plasmids in E. coli].

Recombinant bacteria exhibiting high enzymatic activities were obtained by cloning and coexpression of both caiB gene and caiE gene in the host of E. coli Bl21(DE3), which encode carnitine dehydratase and a protein related to the synthesis of cofactor for carnitine dehydratase, respectively. In order to coexpress these two genes, compatible and incompatible two plasmids system were used, the difference between them was also studied. After induction with IPTG, both caiB and caiE genes were coexpressed in both compatible two plasmids system and incompatible two plasmids system. In the former system, the expressed products accounted for 17% and 10% of the total proteins in the host; in the later system, the proportion was 39% and 20%, respectively. The activity of carnitine dehydratase in E. coli Bl21(DE3) with either coexpression system is about 2.3 times than that in E. coli Bl21(DE3) with only pET28-caiB. The plasmids stabilities in these two systems were the same, all needed the help of antibiotic selective pressure.

Nucleotide Sequence Analysis of HaSNPV Protein Kinase.

The protein kinase gene of Helicoverpa armigera single nucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (HaSNPV) has been cloned and sequenced. It is located approximately 1.25 kb downstream of the polyhedrin gene. The predicted molecular mass of this 267 amino acid protein (HavPK) is 31 kD. HavPK shows a 43.0% amino acid homology to vPK from Lymantria dispar multinucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (LdMNPV) and a 39.0% homology to PK-1 from Autographa californica multinucleocapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). Comparison of HavPK with protein kinases from other organisms showed that HavPK was also homologous to the catalytic domains of eukaryotic protein kinases and strongly indicated that HavPK was a serine/threonine protein kinase.

The Cloning and Construction of a Murine-human Chimeric Antibody with Specificity for HBsAg and the Expression of the Chimeric Heavy Chain in E. coli.

The genes encoding the heavy and light chain variable regions (V(H) and V(K)) of the murine monoclonal antibody with the specificity for hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) have been clone by using RT-PCR. They were combined to the Human C(gamma)(3) and C(K) genes respectively to construct the murine human chimeric antibody genes The chimeric heavy chain was expressed in E. coli, and characterized by SDS-PAGE, Western-blot, indirect ELISA Assay to demonstrate the expression product has the HBsAg-binding ability.

Expression of a Gene for Single-chain Antibody to Carcinoembryonic Antigen in Bombyx mori cells and Its Larvae.

Recombinant Bm-BacScFv virus which contains a cDNA encoding anti-CEA single-chain antibody was generated by cotransfection into Bm N cells with the transfer plasmid pBacPAK-(His)(6)-ScFv and the modified Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus Bm-BacPAK genomic DNA. Bombyx mori cells and larvae were infected by the recombinant virus, respectively. The anti-CEA single-chain antibody were expressed both in Bombyx mori cells and larvae, the former accounted for 6% of the total cell protein, the later 0.3 mg per larvae. The histidine-tagged ScFvs were respectively purified with nickel-iminodiacetic acid affinity chromatography. The purity of the former reached over 90% and that of the latter was lower. Purified protein products was able to bind to CEA with an affinity constant of 5.4x10(8)/mol.L(-1) and 2.3x10(8)/mol.L(-1), slightly lower than its parental monoclonal antibody E(7)B(10) which had 2.7x10(9)/mol.L(-1).

Analysis of N-Terminal Nucleotide Sequence of NDV Fusion Protein.

Fusion protein of Newcastle disease virus is a glycoprotein with antigenicity. The cDNA of fusion gene of NDV strain F48E8 was cloned by RT-PCR, and the sequence of F48E8 was compared with other two virulent strains, Australia-victoria and Italien. Results show that the sequences of N-terminus are very similar, and cysteine residues and the potential glycosylation sites are relatively conserved. However, there are a few differences in the region of signal peptides.