A downstream process allowing the efficient isolation of a recombinant amphiphilic protein from tobacco leaves.

The 65-kDa isoform of human glutamic acid decarboxylase (hGAD65) is a major autoantigen in autoimmune diabetes. The heterologous production of hGAD65 for diagnostic and therapeutic applications is hampered by low upstream productivity and the absence of a robust and efficient downstream process for product isolation. A tobacco-based platform has been developed for the production of an enzymatically-inactive form of the protein (hGAD65mut), but standard downstream processing strategies for plant-derived recombinant proteins cannot be used in this case because the product is amphiphilic. We therefore evaluated different extraction buffers and an aqueous micellar two-phase system (AMTPS) to optimize the isolation and purification of hGAD65mut from plants. We identified the extraction conditions offering the greatest selectivity for hGAD65mut over native tobacco proteins using a complex experimental design approach. Under our optimized conditions, the most efficient initial extraction and partial purification strategy achieved an overall hGAD65mut yield of 92.5% with a purification factor of 12.3 and a concentration factor of 23.8. The process also removed a significant quantity of phenols, which are major contaminants present in tobacco tissue. This is the first report describing the use of AMTPS for the partial purification of an amphiphilic recombinant protein from plant tissues and our findings could also provide a working model for the initial recovery and partial purification of hydrophobic recombinant proteins from transgenic tobacco plants.

Enhancement of γ-aminobutyric acid production in recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum by co-expressing two glutamate decarboxylase genes from Lactobacillus brevis.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a non-protein amino acid, is a bioactive component in the food, feed and pharmaceutical fields. To establish an effective single-step production system for GABA, a recombinant Corynebacterium glutamicum strain co-expressing two glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) genes (gadB1 and gadB2) derived from Lactobacillus brevis Lb85 was constructed. Compared with the GABA production of the gadB1 or gadB2 single-expressing strains, GABA production by the gadB1-gadB2 co-expressing strain increased more than twofold. By optimising urea supplementation, the total production of L-glutamate and GABA increased from 22.57 ± 1.24 to 30.18 ± 1.33 g L⁻¹, and GABA production increased from 4.02 ± 0.95 to 18.66 ± 2.11 g L⁻¹ after 84-h cultivation. Under optimal urea supplementation, L-glutamate continued to be consumed, GABA continued to accumulate after 36 h of fermentation, and the pH level fluctuated. GABA production increased to a maximum level of 27.13 ± 0.54 g L⁻¹ after 120-h flask cultivation and 26.32 g L⁻¹ after 60-h fed-batch fermentation. The conversion ratio of L-glutamate to GABA reached 0.60-0.74 mol mol⁻¹. By co-expressing gadB1 and gadB2 and optimising the urea addition method, C. glutamicum was genetically improved for de novo biosynthesis of GABA from its own accumulated L-glutamate.

Isolation and characterization of a Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) gene and their differential expression in response to abiotic stresses from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer.

Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) catalyzes the conversion of L-glutamate to γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). A full-length cDNA encoding GAD (designated as PgGAD) was isolated and characterized from the root of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer. The length cDNA of PgGAD was 1881 bp and contained a 1491 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a glutamate decarboxylase protein of 496 amino acids, possessing a Ser-X-X-Lys active site, which belongs to the GAD group. The deduced amino acid sequence of the PgGAD was classified in the plant GAD family and has 76-85% high similarity with other plants as like petunia, Arabidopsis, tomato. Secondary structure of PgGAD was predicted by using SOPMA software program. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA suggests that, there is more than one copy of the PgGAD gene. The organ specific gene expression pattern also studied in P. ginseng seedlings, in which the stem showed elevated expression than root, leaf, bud and rhizomes. Along with this, we also confirmed the gene expression of PgGAD under various abiotic stresses like temperature stress, osmotic stress, anoxia, oxidative stress, and mechanical damage. Temporal analysis of gene expression except exposure of oxidative stress revealed an enhanced expression after each stresses. The enzyme activity of PgGAD was stimulated to 2-fold under cold stress.

Expression, purification, and biochemical characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis aspartate decarboxylase, PanD.

Like all bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) possesses the genes necessary for coenzyme A biosynthesis and metabolism. In the present work, the Mtb panD gene was PCR amplified, overexpressed, and purified by metal affinity chromatography. The recombinant Mtb panD was found to exist as a tetramer in solution. Incubation of Mtb panD at 37 degrees C for several hours resulted in a complete cleavage of the inactive (pi) form into the two subunits (alpha and beta). The cleavage was confirmed by Western blot analysis as well as by N-terminal sequencing. Cleaved Mtb panD was assayed for decarboxylase activity with L-aspartate as substrate. The kinetic parameters K(m) and k(cat) were found to be 219 microM and 0.65s(-1), respectively. These results provide the means for further studies based on the identification of the Mtb panD as well as other components of pantothenate metabolism as potential drug targets.

Analysis of a soluble calmodulin binding protein from fava bean roots: identification of glutamate decarboxylase as a calmodulin-activated enzyme.

The identity of a soluble 62-kD Ca(2+)-dependent calmodulin binding protein (CaM-BP) from fava bean seedlings was determined. Using 125I-CaM overlay assays, a class of soluble CaM-BPs was detected in extracts of tissues comprising the axis of 1.5-week-old seedlings, excluding the root tip and emergent leaves. The size of these CaM-BPs was not uniform within all parts of the plant; the apparent molecular masses were 62 kD in roots, 60 kD in stems, and 64 kD in nodules. The root 62-kD CaM-BP was purified, and internal microsequence analysis was performed on the protein. A tryptic peptide derived from the CaM-BP consisted of a 13-residue sequence corresponding to a highly conserved region of glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), an enzyme that catalyzes the alpha-decarboxylation of glutamate to form the stress-related metabolite gamma-aminobutyrate. Activity assays of partially purified, desalted, root GAD revealed a 50% stimulation by the addition of 100 microM Ca2+, a 100% stimulation by the addition of 100 microM Ca2+ plus 100 nM CaM, and no appreciable stimulation by CaM in the absence of added Ca2+. The demonstration that plant GAD is a Ca(2+)-CaM-stimulated enzyme provides a model in which stress-linked metabolism is modulated by a Ca(2+)-mediated signal transduction pathway.

A plant glutamate decarboxylase containing a calmodulin binding domain. Cloning, sequence, and functional analysis.

Molecular procedures have been applied to isolate plant calmodulin-binding proteins. A petunia cDNA expression library was screened with 35S-labeled recombinant calmodulin as a probe, and a cDNA coding for a Ca(2+)-dependent calmodulin-binding protein was isolated. The deduced amino acid sequence of the petunia protein (500 amino acid residues, 58 kDa) has 67% overall amino acid sequence similarity to glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) from Escherichia coli (466 amino acid residues, 53 kDa). The recombinant protein expressed in E. coli cells displays GAD activity, i.e. catalyzes the conversion of glutamic acid to gamma-aminobutyric acid and binds calmodulin, whereas E. coli GAD does not bind calmodulin. The calmodulin binding domain in the petunia GAD was mapped by binding truncated forms of GAD immobilized on nitrocellulose membranes to recombinant petunia 35S-calmodulin as well as to biotinylated bovine calmodulin and by binding truncated forms of GAD to calmodulin-Sepharose columns. The calmodulin binding domain in petunia GAD is part of a carboxyl end extension that is not present in E. coli GAD. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the recombinant petunia GAD detect a single protein band from plant extracts of gel mobility identical to that of the recombinant GAD. Moreover, the plant protein binds calmodulin in vitro. This is the first report of the isolation of a GAD gene from plants and of a calmodulin-binding GAD from any organism. Our results raise the possibility that intracellular Ca2+ signals via calmodulin are involved in the regulation of gamma-aminobutyric acid synthesis in plants.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase- and gamma-aminobutyric acid-like immunoreactivities in corticotropin-releasing factor-containing parvocellular neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus.

The indirect immunofluorescence technique was used to study the relation between corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and GABAergic neurons in the rat hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). In colchicine-pretreated animals, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)- and GABA-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were observed within the medial part of the parvocellular division of the PVN as well as surrounding the nucleus itself. In general, the GAD antiserum, as compared to the GABA antiserum, revealed stronger IR cells and a higher number of cells in the PVN. CRF-IR cells were observed throughout the whole rostrocaudal extension of the PVN, but predominantly in its dorsal medial parvocellular part. Adjacent sections stained, respectively, with antisera against CRF, GAD or GABA, revealed overlapping distributional patterns within the parvocellular part of the PVN. Employing a direct double-staining technique with sheep GAD and rabbit CRF antisera, it was demonstrated that both GAD and CRF immunoreactivities occurred in the same neurons, particularly in the dorsomedial aspect of the parvocellular PVN. GAD-positive neurons located in the ventromedial parvocellular PVN, periventricular nucleus and surrounding the PVN lacked CRF immunoreactivity. In addition, with an elution-restaining technique it was possible to demonstrate that also GABA immunoreactivity was present in some CRF neurons in the dorsomedial parvocellular PVN. Intravenous injection of the retrograde tracer Fast Blue resulted in labelling of neurons in the periventricular area and in both the parvocellular and magnocellular division of the PVN. After processing the sections for GAD/CRF immunohistochemistry, it was possible to demonstrate the presence of retrogradely labelled GAD/CRF cells, pointing at a PVN median eminence projection for these neurons. The present findings demonstrate that a subpopulation of the CRF-containing neurons in the parvocellular division of the PVN in addition are GABAergic, thereby indicating a possible corelease of these compounds, presumably in the median eminence. Possible interactions of GABA within the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis are discussed.