Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli

Abstract Background During the recombinant protein expression, most heterologous proteins expressed in E. coli cell factories are generated as insoluble and inactive aggregates, which prohibit E. coli from being employed as an expression host despite its numerous advantages and ease of use. The yeas...

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Main Authors: Gayathri Ravitchandirane, Sheetal Bandhu, Tapan K. Chaudhuri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2022-02-01
Series:Microbial Cell Factories
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-022-01749-w
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author Gayathri Ravitchandirane
Sheetal Bandhu
Tapan K. Chaudhuri
author_facet Gayathri Ravitchandirane
Sheetal Bandhu
Tapan K. Chaudhuri
author_sort Gayathri Ravitchandirane
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background During the recombinant protein expression, most heterologous proteins expressed in E. coli cell factories are generated as insoluble and inactive aggregates, which prohibit E. coli from being employed as an expression host despite its numerous advantages and ease of use. The yeast mitochondrial aconitase protein, which has a tendency to aggregate when expressed in E. coli cells in the absence of heterologous chaperones GroEL/ES was utilised as a model to investigate how the modulation of physiological stimuli in the host cell can increase protein solubility. The presence of folding modulators such as exogenous molecular chaperones or osmolytes, as well as process variables such as incubation temperature, inducer concentrations, growth media are all important for cellular folding and are investigated in this study. This study also investigated how the cell's stress response system activates and protects the proteins from aggregation. Results The cells exposed to osmolytes plus a pre-induction heat shock showed a substantial increase in recombinant aconitase activity when combined with modulation of process conditions. The concomitant GroEL/ES expression further assists the folding of these soluble aggregates and increases the functional protein molecules in the cytoplasm of the recombinant E. coli cells. Conclusions The recombinant E. coli cells enduring physiological stress provide a cytosolic environment for the enhancement in the solubility and activity of the recombinant proteins. GroEL/ES-expressing cells not only aided in the folding of recombinant proteins, but also had an effect on the physiology of the expression host. The improvement in the specific growth rate and aconitase production during chaperone GroEL/ES co-expression is attributed to the reduction in overall cellular stress caused by the expression host's aggregation-prone recombinant protein expression. Graphical Abstract
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spelling doaj.art-64b5e7430d1744ec91aec32d404af59d2022-12-22T04:11:58ZengBMCMicrobial Cell Factories1475-28592022-02-0121111910.1186/s12934-022-01749-wMultimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coliGayathri Ravitchandirane0Sheetal Bandhu1Tapan K. Chaudhuri2Kusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology DelhiKusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology DelhiKusuma School of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology DelhiAbstract Background During the recombinant protein expression, most heterologous proteins expressed in E. coli cell factories are generated as insoluble and inactive aggregates, which prohibit E. coli from being employed as an expression host despite its numerous advantages and ease of use. The yeast mitochondrial aconitase protein, which has a tendency to aggregate when expressed in E. coli cells in the absence of heterologous chaperones GroEL/ES was utilised as a model to investigate how the modulation of physiological stimuli in the host cell can increase protein solubility. The presence of folding modulators such as exogenous molecular chaperones or osmolytes, as well as process variables such as incubation temperature, inducer concentrations, growth media are all important for cellular folding and are investigated in this study. This study also investigated how the cell's stress response system activates and protects the proteins from aggregation. Results The cells exposed to osmolytes plus a pre-induction heat shock showed a substantial increase in recombinant aconitase activity when combined with modulation of process conditions. The concomitant GroEL/ES expression further assists the folding of these soluble aggregates and increases the functional protein molecules in the cytoplasm of the recombinant E. coli cells. Conclusions The recombinant E. coli cells enduring physiological stress provide a cytosolic environment for the enhancement in the solubility and activity of the recombinant proteins. GroEL/ES-expressing cells not only aided in the folding of recombinant proteins, but also had an effect on the physiology of the expression host. The improvement in the specific growth rate and aconitase production during chaperone GroEL/ES co-expression is attributed to the reduction in overall cellular stress caused by the expression host's aggregation-prone recombinant protein expression. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-022-01749-wCellular protein foldingProtein aggregationYeast mitochondrial aconitaseMolecular chaperoneCellular stressGroEL/ES
spellingShingle Gayathri Ravitchandirane
Sheetal Bandhu
Tapan K. Chaudhuri
Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
Microbial Cell Factories
Cellular protein folding
Protein aggregation
Yeast mitochondrial aconitase
Molecular chaperone
Cellular stress
GroEL/ES
title Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
title_full Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
title_fullStr Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
title_full_unstemmed Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
title_short Multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in E. coli
title_sort multimodal approaches for the improvement of the cellular folding of a recombinant iron regulatory protein in e coli
topic Cellular protein folding
Protein aggregation
Yeast mitochondrial aconitase
Molecular chaperone
Cellular stress
GroEL/ES
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-022-01749-w
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