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Lima GC, Chura-Chambi RM, Morganti L, Silva VJ, Cabral-Piccin MP, Rocha V, Medina TS, Ramos RN, Luz D. Recombinant human TIM-3 ectodomain expressed in bacteria and recovered from inclusion bodies as a stable and active molecule. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1227212. [PMID: 37588136 PMCID: PMC10426796 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1227212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Microbial systems, such as Escherichia coli, as host recombinant expression is the most versatile and the cheapest system for protein production, however, several obstacles still remain, such as recovery of soluble and functional proteins from inclusion bodies, elimination of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) contamination, incomplete synthesis, degradation by proteases, and the lack of post-translational modifications, which becomes even more complex when comes to membrane proteins, because they are difficult not only to produce but also to keep in solution in its active state. T-cell Immunoglobulin and Mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) is a type I transmembrane protein that is predominantly expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and macrophages, playing a role as a negative immune checkpoint receptor. TIM-3 comprises a single ectodomain for interaction with immune system soluble and cellular components, a transmembrane domain, and a cytoplasmic tail, responsible for the binding of signaling and scaffolding molecules. TIM-3 pathway holds potential as a therapeutic target for immunotherapy against tumors, autoimmunity, chronic virus infections, and various malignancies, however, many aspects of the biology of this receptor are still incompletely understood, especially regarding its ligands. Methods: Here we overcome, for the first time, the challenge of the production of active immune checkpoint protein recovered from bacterial cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, being able to obtain an active, and non-glycosylated TIM-3 ectodomain (TIM-3-ECD), which can be used as a tool to better understand the interactions and roles of this immune checkpoint. The TIM-3 refolding was obtained by the association of high pressure and alkaline pH. Results: The purified TIM-3-ECD showed the correct secondary structure and was recognized from anti-TIM-3 structural-dependent antibodies likewise commercial TIM-3-ECD was produced by a mammal cells system. Furthermore, immunofluorescence showed the ability of TIM-3-ECD to bind to the surface of lung cancer A549 cells and to provide an additional boost for the expression of the lymphocyte activation marker CD69 in anti-CD3/CD28 activated human PBMC. Discussion: Taken together these results validated a methodology able to obtain active checkpoint proteins from bacterial inclusion bodies, which will be helpful to further investigate the interactions of this and others not yet explored immune checkpoints.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. C. Lima
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - L. Morganti
- Biotechnology Center, Institute of Energy and Nuclear Research—CNEN/SP, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - V. J. Silva
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and Directed Therapy in Onco-Immuno-Hematology, Department of Hematology and Cell Therapy, Clinical Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - M. P. Cabral-Piccin
- International Research Center, A. C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - V. Rocha
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and Directed Therapy in Onco-Immuno-Hematology, Department of Hematology and Cell Therapy, Clinical Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- D’OR Institute of Research and Education, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - T. S. Medina
- International Research Center, A. C. Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - R. N. Ramos
- Laboratory of Medical Investigation in Pathogenesis and Directed Therapy in Onco-Immuno-Hematology, Department of Hematology and Cell Therapy, Clinical Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
- D’OR Institute of Research and Education, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - D. Luz
- Laboratory of Bacteriology, Butantan Institute, São Paulo, Brazil
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Liew OW, Ling SSM, Lilyanna S, Chong JPC, Ng JYX, Richards AM. One-Shot Generation of Epitope-Directed Monoclonal Antibodies to Multiple Nonoverlapping Targets: Peptide Selection, Antigen Preparation, and Epitope Mapping. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2578:121-141. [PMID: 36152284 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2732-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This chapter describes an epitope-directed approach to generate antipeptide monoclonal antibodies to multiple nonoverlapping protein sites using a cocktail of fusion peptides as immunogen. It provides a step-by-step protocol on how antigenic peptides on a target protein can be identified by in silico prediction and discusses considerations for final peptide selection. Each antigenic peptide (10-20 amino acids long) is displayed as three-copy inserts on the surface exposed loop of a thioredoxin scaffold protein. The corresponding DNA coding sequence specifying the tripeptide insert flanked by Gly-Ser-Gly-Ser-Gly linkers is cloned in-frame into the Rsr II site of the thioredoxin gene in the pET-32a vector. The presence of a C-terminal polyhistidine tag (His6-tag) allows the soluble fusion proteins to be purified by one-step native immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) to greater than 95% purity. Multiple thioredoxin fusion proteins are mixed in equimolar concentrations and used as an immunogen cocktail for animal immunization. The use of short antigenic peptides of known sequence facilitates direct epitope mapping requiring only small mutagenesis scan peptide libraries in the multipin peptide format.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oi Wah Liew
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Samantha Shi Min Ling
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shera Lilyanna
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jenny Pek Ching Chong
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jessica Yan Xia Ng
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Arthur Mark Richards
- Cardiovascular Research Institute, Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore
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