Expression, purification and characterization of N-glycosylation mutant human IFN-λ1 in Pichia pastoris

Abstract

IFN-λ1 is a member of a new family of interferons called type Ⅲ IFNs with similar functions to type ⅠIFNs. Previously we obtained recombinant soluble human rhIFN-λ1 from Pichia pastoris. However, the hyper-glycosylation from P. pastoris brings immunogenicity and low purification recovery rate. To overcome this disadvantage, in this study, we constructed an rhIFN-λ1 mutant (rhIFN-λ1-Nm) devoid of the potential N-glycosylation sites by site-directed mutagenesis. rhIFN-λ1-Nm was successfully expressed and secreted extracellularly in P. pastoris (GS115) using methanol inducible AOX1 promoter with α-mating factor signal sequence. rhIFN-λ1-Nm was purified and characterized. There was no significant difference between rhIFN-λ1-Nm and rhIFN-λ1 in structure and bioactivity. The molecular weight was low after N-glycosylation mutation whereas the glycosylation was much lower. The mutational rhIFN-λ1 (rhIFN-λ1-Nm) could legitimately be developed as substitutes for rhIFN-λ1, and thus it may be developed into a more promising therapeutic reagent in the future.