Transient expression of an IL-23R extracellular domain Fc fusion protein in CHO vs. HEK cells results in improved plasma exposure.

Transient transfection of mammalian cells in suspension culture has recently emerged as a very useful method for production of research-scale quantities of recombinant proteins. The most commonly used cell lines for this purpose are suspension-adapted HEK and CHO cells. We report here that the plasma exposure in mice of an IL-23R extracellular domain Fc fusion protein (IL23R-Fc) differed dramatically depending on whether the protein was prepared by transient transfection of HEK or CHO cells. Specifically, IL23R-Fc expressed using CHO cells had about 30-fold higher in vivo plasma exposure compared to the HEK-expressed protein. In contrast to their differing plasma exposures, the HEK- and CHO-expressed proteins had equivalent in vitro biological activity. Characterization of the CHO- and HEK-expressed IL23R-Fc proteins indicated that the differences in in vivo plasma exposure between them are due to differential glycosylation.

Antioxidant properties of minocycline: neuroprotection in an oxidative stress assay and direct radical-scavenging activity.

Minocycline is neuroprotective in animal models of a number of acute CNS injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. While anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects of minocycline have been characterized, the molecular basis for the neuroprotective effects of minocycline remains unclear. We report here that minocycline and a number of antioxidant compounds protect mixed neuronal cultures in an oxidative stress assay. To evaluate the role of minocycline's direct antioxidant properties in neuroprotection, we determined potencies for minocycline, other tetracycline antibiotics, and reference antioxidant compounds using a panel of in vitro radical scavenging assays. Data from in vitro rat brain homogenate lipid peroxidation and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assays show that minocycline, in contrast to tetracycline, is an effective antioxidant with radical scavenging potency similar to vitamin E. Our findings suggest that the direct antioxidant activity of minocycline may contribute to its neuroprotective effects in some cell-based assays and animal models of neuronal injury.

Characterization and purification of truncated human Rho-kinase II expressed in Sf-21 cells.

Rho-kinase II (ROCK-II) is a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in regulation of smooth muscle contraction and has been shown to contribute to the early stages of axon formation in neurons and the regulation of the neuronal cytoskeleton. Much of what is known about Rho-kinase function comes from cell-biological studies, whereas a paucity of biochemical characterization exists for the enzyme. In an effort to characterize ROCK-II biochemically we have cloned a truncated form of human ROCK-II comprising amino acids 1-543 and overexpressed it in Sf-21 cells. Utilizing the Sf-21/baculovirus expression system we isolated milligram quantities of ROCK-II (1-543) and purified the enzyme to near homogeneity. Optimal expression conditions revealed that infection of Sf-21 cells at a multiplicity of infection of 10 for 72h yielded maximal protein expression. Expression of ROCK-II (1-543) as an N-terminal Flag fusion protein allowed a single-step purification yielding greater than 90% homogeneous protein as assessed by SDS-PAGE. Enzyme activity was linear over a range of enzyme concentrations and times. Capture of phosphorylated, biotinylated peptides on streptavidin membrane allowed assessment of peptide substrate preference and measurement of steady-state rate constants. The data indicated that an 11-mer peptide containing Ser235/Ser236 of the S6 ribosomal protein and a 12-mer peptide containing Thr508 of LIM kinase were preferred substrates for ROCK-II (1-543). Finally, staurosporine had an IC(50) value 215-fold more potent than that of the ROCK inhibitor Y-27632. Collectively these data lay the foundation for the beginning of a biochemical characterization for this enzyme and provide methodology for more detailed biochemical, biophysical, and kinetic analysis.

Kinetic mechanism for human Rho-Kinase II (ROCK-II).

Rho-Kinase is a serine/threonine kinase that is involved in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction and cytoskeletal reorganization of nonmuscle cells. While the signal transduction pathway in which Rho-Kinase participates has been and continues to be extensively studied, the kinetic mechanism of Rho-Kinase-catalyzed phosphorylation has not been investigated. We report here elucidation of the kinetic mechanism for Rho-Kinase by using steady-state kinetic studies. These studies used the kinase domain of human Rho-Kinase II (ROCK-II 1-534) with S6 peptide (biotin-AKRRRLSSLRA-NH(2)) as the phosphorylatable substrate. Double-reciprocal plots for two-substrate kinetic data yielded intersecting line patterns with either ATP or S6 peptide as the varied substrate, indicating that Rho-Kinase utilized a ternary complex (sequential) kinetic mechanism. Dead-end inhibition studies were used to investigate the order of binding for ATP and the peptide substrate. The ATP-competitive inhibitors AMP-PCP and Y-27632 were noncompetitive inhibitors versus S6 peptide, and the S6 peptide analogue S6-AA (acetyl-AKRRRLAALRA-NH(2)) was a competitive inhibitor versus S6 peptide and a noncompetitive inhibitor versus ATP. These results indicated a random order of binding for ATP and S6 peptide.