Issue 4, 2012

Recombinant production of rhesus θ-defensin-1 (RTD-1) using a bacterial expression system

Abstract

Defensins are antimicrobial peptides that are important in the innate immune defense of mammals. In contrast to mammalian α- and β-defensins, rhesus θ-defensin-1 (RTD-1) comprises only 18 amino acids stabilized by three disulfide bonds and an unusual backbone cyclic topology. In this work we report for the first time the recombinant expression of the fully folded θ-defensin RTD-1 using a bacterial expression system. This was accomplished using an intramolecular native chemical ligation in combination with a modified protein-splicing unit. RTD-1 was produced either in vitro or in vivo. In-cell production of RTD-1 was estimated to reach an intracellular concentration of ∼4 μM. Recombinant RTD-1 was shown to be correctly folded as characterized by heteronuclear-NMR and by its ability to specifically inhibit lethal factor protease. The recombinant production of folded θ-defensins opens the possibility to produce peptide libraries based on this peptide scaffold that could be used to develop in-cell screening and directed evolution technologies.

Graphical abstract: Recombinant production of rhesus θ-defensin-1 (RTD-1) using a bacterial expression system

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Nov 2011
Accepted
19 Jan 2012
First published
10 Feb 2012

Mol. BioSyst., 2012,8, 1359-1365

Recombinant production of rhesus θ-defensin-1 (RTD-1) using a bacterial expression system

A. Gould, Y. Li, S. Majumder, A. E. Garcia, P. Carlsson, A. Shekhtman and J. A. Camarero, Mol. BioSyst., 2012, 8, 1359 DOI: 10.1039/C2MB05451E

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