Expression, Detergent Solubilization, and Purification of a Membrane Transporter, the MexB Multidrug Resistance Protein

Abstract

Multidrug resistance (MDR), the ability of a cancer cell or pathogen to be resistant to a wide range of structurally and functionally unrelated anti-cancer drugs or antibiotics, is a current serious problem in public health. This multidrug resistance is largely due to energy-dependent drug efflux pumps. The pumps expel anti-cancer drugs or antibiotics into the external medium, lowering their intracellular concentration below a toxic threshold. We are studying multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that causes infections in patients with many types of injuries or illness, for example, burns or cystic fibrosis, and also in immuno-compromised cancer, dialysis, and transplantation patients. The major MDR efflux pumps in P. aeruginosa are tripartite complexes comprised of an inner membrane proton-drug antiporter (RND), an outer membrane channel (OMF), and a periplasmic linker protein (MFP). The RND and OMF proteins are transmembrane proteins. Transmembrane proteins make up more than 30% of all proteins and are 65% of current drug targets. The hydrophobic transmembrane domains make the proteins insoluble in aqueous buffer. Before a transmembrane protein can be purified, it is necessary to find buffer conditions containing a mild detergent that enable the protein to be solubilized as a protein detergent complex (PDC). In this example, we use an RND protein, the P. aeruginosa MexB transmembrane transporter, to demonstrate how to express a recombinant form of a transmembrane protein, solubilize it using detergents, and then purify the protein detergent complexes. This general method can be applied to the expression, purification, and solubilization of many other recombinantly expressed membrane proteins. The protein detergent complexes can later be used for biochemical or biophysical characterization including X-ray crystal structure determination or crosslinking studies.