Cell-free protein synthesis as a promising expression system for recombinant proteins

Rapid in vitro protein synthesis pipeline: a promising tool for cost-effective protein array design

Several protein expression systems for construction of protein arrays have been established in recent years. However, current protocols for protein synthesis are still time consuming, laborious and expensive. This study has established an alternative workflow that covers rapid construction of expression cassettes, in-tube and on-membrane synthesis of recombinant proteins, and straightforward screening of synthesized proteins. Eighteen membrane associated eukaryotic proteins and two secretory complement regulators (C1 inhibitor and vitronectin) were included in the study. To generate hybrid genes, double-overlap extension PCR was employed to fuse the 5' fragment (consisting of a T7 promoter and a species independent translation sequence), ORFs of the target proteins, and the 3' fragment (encompassing GFP fusion, Myc-tag and stop codon). OE-PCR generated fragments were directly mixed with the Leishmania torentolae lysate (translation mix) for protein synthesis. In order to establish a cheap and user-friendly alternative to existing cell-free protein array techniques, PCR products were spotted on the hydrophobic substrate (PVDF membrane), air-dried and covered with only 2 μL of translation mix. All synthesized proteins were spontaneously immobilized on the membrane due to the hydrophobic interaction between C-terminally fused GFP and PVDF. Synthesis and immobilization of proteins were confirmed simply by assessing the GFP chromophore under a laser scanner or a fluorescent microscope.

Selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry: a methodology overview

Moving past the discovery phase of proteomics, the term targeted proteomics combines multiple approaches investigating a certain set of proteins in more detail. One such targeted proteomics approach is the combination of liquid chromatography and selected or multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM, MRM). SRM-MS requires prior knowledge of the fragmentation pattern of peptides, as the presence of the analyte in a sample is determined by measuring the m/z values of predefined precursor and fragment ions. Using scheduled SRM-MS, many analytes can robustly be monitored allowing for high-throughput sample analysis of the same set of proteins over many conditions. In this chapter, fundaments of SRM-MS are explained as well as an optimized SRM pipeline from assay generation to data analyzed.