Production Of Eukaryotic Membrane Proteins Research Articles

High-throughput cell-free screening of eukaryotic membrane protein expression in lipidic mimetics.

Membrane proteins play essential roles in cellular function and metabolism. Nonetheless, biophysical and structural studies of membrane proteins are impeded by the difficulty of their expression in and purification from heterologous cell-based systems. As an alternative to these cell-based systems, cell-free protein synthesis has proven to be an exquisite method for screening membrane protein targets in a variety of lipidic mimetics. Here we report a high-throughput screening workflow and apply it to screen 61 eukaryotic membrane protein targets. For each target, we tested its expression in lipidic mimetics: two detergents, two liposomes, and two nanodiscs. We show that 35 membrane proteins (57%) can be expressed in a soluble fraction in at least one of the mimetics with the two detergents performing significantly better than nanodiscs and liposomes, in that order. Using the established cell-free workflow, we studied the production and biophysical assays for mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) complexes. Our studies show that the complexes produced in cell-free are functionally competent in complex formation and substrate binding. Our results highlight the utility of using cell-free systems for screening and production of eukaryotic membrane proteins.

Transient Transfection and Expression of Eukaryotic Membrane Proteins in Expi293F Cells and Their Screening on a Small Scale: Application for Structural Studies.

Cancers, neurodegenerative and infectious diseases remain some of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. The structure-guided drug design is essential to advance drug development for these important diseases. One of the key challenges in the structure determination workflow is the production of eukaryotic membrane proteins (drug targets) of high quality. A number of expression systems have been developed for the production of eukaryotic membrane proteins. In this chapter, an optimized detailed protocol for transient transfection and expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins in Expi293F cells is presented. Testing expression and purification on a small scale allow optimizing conditions for sample preparation for downstream structural (cryo-EM) elucidation.

High-Throughput Baculovirus Expression System for Membrane Protein Production.

The ease of use, robustness, cost-effectiveness, and posttranslational machinery make baculovirus expression system a popular choice for production of eukaryotic membrane proteins. This system can be readily adapted for high-throughput operations. This chapter outlines the techniques and procedures for cloning, transfection, small-scale production, and purification of membrane protein samples in a high-throughput manner.

GFP-based expression screening of membrane proteins in insect cells using the baculovirus system.

A key step in the production of recombinant membrane proteins for structural studies is the optimization of protein yield and quality. One commonly used approach is to fuse the protein to green fluorescent protein (GFP), enabling expression to be tracked without the need to purify the protein. Combining fusion to green fluorescent protein with the baculovirus expression system provides a useful platform for both screening and production of eukaryotic membrane proteins. In this chapter we describe our protocol for the expression screening of membrane proteins in insect cells using fusion to GFP as a reporter. We use both SDS-PAGE with in-gel fluorescence imaging and fluorescence-detection size-exclusion chromatography (FSEC) to screen for expression.

Optimisation of Recombinant Production of Active Human Cardiac SERCA2a ATPase

Methods for recombinant production of eukaryotic membrane proteins, yielding sufficient quantity and quality of protein for structural biology, remain a challenge. We describe here, expression and purification optimisation of the human SERCA2a cardiac isoform of Ca2+ translocating ATPase, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as the heterologous expression system of choice. Two different expression vectors were utilised, allowing expression of C-terminal fusion proteins with a biotinylation domain or a GFP- His8 tag. Solubilised membrane fractions containing the protein of interest were purified onto Streptavidin-Sepharose, Ni-NTA or Talon resin, depending on the fusion tag present. Biotinylated protein was detected using specific antibody directed against SERCA2 and, advantageously, GFP-His8 fusion protein was easily traced during the purification steps using in-gel fluorescence. Importantly, talon resin affinity purification proved more specific than Ni-NTA resin for the GFP-His8 tagged protein, providing better separation of oligomers present, during size exclusion chromatography. The optimised method for expression and purification of human cardiac SERCA2a reported herein, yields purified protein (> 90%) that displays a calcium-dependent thapsigargin-sensitive activity and is suitable for further biophysical, structural and physiological studies. This work provides support for the use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a suitable expression system for recombinant production of multi-domain eukaryotic membrane proteins.

Recombinant production of the human aquaporins in the yeastPichia pastoris(Invited Review)

Aquaporins are water facilitating proteins embedded in the cellular membranes. Such channels have been identified in almost every living organism - including humans. These proteins are vital molecules and their malfunction can lead to several severe disorders and diseases. Hence, an increased understanding of their structure, function and regulation is of the utmost importance for developing current and future drugs. Heading towards this goal, the first problem to overcome is to acquire the proteins in sufficient amounts to enable functional and structural characterization. Using a suitable host organism, large amounts of target molecules can possibly be produced, but for membrane proteins limitations are frequently encountered. In the work described here, we have produced the 13 human aquaporins (hAQPs) in one of the most successful hosts for recombinant overproduction of eukaryotic proteins; the yeast Pichia pastoris, in order to explore the underlying bottleneck to a successful membrane protein production experiment. Here we present exceptional yield of hAQP1, whereas some other hAQPs were below the threshold needed for scaled up production. In the overproduction process, we have established methods for efficient production screening as well as for accurate determination of the initial production yield. Furthermore, we have optimized the yield of low producing targets, enabling studies of proteins previously out of reach, exemplified with hAQP4 as well as the homologue PfAQP. Taken together, our results. present insight into factors directing high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins together with suggestions on ways to optimize the recombinant production in the yeast P. pastoris.

Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells Exploited for the Production of Eukaryotic Membrane Proteins: Receptors, Transporters and Channels

BackgroundMembrane proteins (MPs) play key roles in signal transduction. However, understanding their function at a molecular level is mostly hampered by the lack of protein in suitable amount and quality. Despite impressive developments in the expression of prokaryotic MPs, eukaryotic MP production has lagged behind and there is a need for new expression strategies. In a pilot study, we produced a Drosophila glutamate receptor specifically in the eyes of transgenic flies, exploiting the naturally abundant membrane stacks in the photoreceptor cells (PRCs). Now we address the question whether the PRCs also process different classes of medically relevant target MPs which were so far notoriously difficult to handle with conventional expression strategies.Principal FindingsWe describe the homologous and heterologous expression of 10 different targets from the three major MP classes - G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), transporters and channels in Drosophila eyes. PRCs offered an extraordinary capacity to produce, fold and accommodate massive amounts of MPs. The expression of some MPs reached similar levels as the endogenous rhodopsin, indicating that the PRC membranes were almost unsaturable. Expression of endogenous rhodopsin was not affected by the target MPs and both could coexist in the membrane stacks. Heterologous expression levels reached about 270 to 500 pmol/mg total MP, resulting in 0.2–0.4 mg purified target MP from 1 g of fly heads. The metabotropic glutamate receptor and human serotonin transporter - both involved in synaptic transmission - showed native pharmacological characteristics and could be purified to homogeneity as a prerequisite for further studies.SignificanceWe demonstrate expression in Drosophila PRCs as an efficient and inexpensive tool for the large scale production of functional eukaryotic MPs. The fly eye system offers a number of advantages over conventional expression systems and paves the way for in-depth analyses of eukaryotic MPs that have so far not been accessible to biochemical and biophysical studies.

Insight into factors directing high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins; production of 13 human AQPs inPichia pastoris

Membrane proteins are key players in all living cells. To achieve a better understanding of membrane protein function, significant amounts of purified protein are required for functional and structural analyses. Overproduction of eukaryotic membrane proteins, in particular, is thus an essential yet non-trivial task. Hence, improved understanding of factors which direct a high production of eukaryotic membrane proteins is desirable. In this study we have compared the overproduction of all human aquaporins in the eukaryotic host Pichia pastoris. We report quantitated production levels of each homologue and the extent of their membrane localization. Our results show that the protein production levels vary substantially, even between highly homologous aquaporins. A correlation between the extents of membrane insertion with protein function also emerged, with a higher extent of membrane insertion for pure water transporters compared to aquaporin family members with other substrate specificity. Nevertheless, the nucleic acid sequence of the second codon appears to play an important role in overproduction. Constructs containing guanine at the first position of this codon (being part of the mammalian Kozak sequence) are generally produced at a higher level, which is confirmed for hAQP8. In addition, mimicking the yeast consensus sequence (ATGTCT) apparently has a negative influence on the production level, as shown for hAQP1. Moreover, by mutational analysis we show that the yield of hAQP4 can be heavily improved by directing the protein folding pathway as well as stabilizing the aquaporin tetramer.

A bacterial cell-free expression system to produce membrane proteins and proteoliposomes: from cDNA to functional assay.

Limitations in the production of folded membrane proteins represent the major bottleneck for functional and structural studies of this huge category of macromolecules. Cell-free expression systems provide an attractive alternative to the classical overexpression systems for producing membrane proteins. However, optimization of these systems remains a challenging task, considering the hydrophobic properties of these molecules. This unit describes the production of eukaryotic membrane proteins either in soluble form or integrated into liposomes using a bacterial cell-free expression system. Liposomes in the reaction mixture induce the direct insertion of freshly produced membrane proteins into the bilayer and allow the formation of functional proteoliposomes in which the membrane proteins are correctly folded.

Overexpression of membrane proteins using Pichia pastoris.

Among the small number of expression systems validated for the mass production of eukaryotic membrane proteins (EMPs), the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris stands as one of the most efficient hosts. This system has been used to produce crystallization-grade proteins for a variety of EMPs, from which high-resolution 3D structures have been determined. This unit describes a set of guidelines and instructions to overexpress membrane proteins using the P. pastoris system. Using a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) as a model EMP, these protocols illustrate the necessary steps, starting with the design of the DNA sequence to be expressed, through the preparation and analysis of samples containing the corresponding membrane protein of interest. In addition, recommendations are given on a series of experimental parameters that can be optimized to substantially improve the amount and/or the functionality of the expressed EMPs.