http://www.abbs.info E-mail: [email protected]
ISSN
1672-9145
Acta Biochim Biophys Sin
2005, 37(4): 234–240
CN 31-1940/Q
Expression of Monomeric Insulin Precursor in Pichia pastoris
and Its Conversion into Monomeric B27 Lys Destripeptide Insulin by Tryptic
Hydrolysis
Jin-Guo DING1,3, Jian FEI2, Da-Fu CUI1*, and You-Shang ZHANG1*
1Institute of Biochemistry and
Cell Biology, and
2Model Organism Research
Center, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences,
the Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China;
3Graduate School of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Abstract Monomeric B27 Lys destripeptide insulin (B27 Lys DTrI) was designed
and produced from its precursor expressed in Pichia pastoris through
tryptic hydrolysis instead of the less efficient tryptic transpeptidation. The
monomeric B27 Lys DTrI precursor (MIP) was purified from a cultured medium of P.
pastoris by a combination of hydrophobic, size-exclusion, and ion-exchange
chromatography. The purified MIP was converted, by tryptic hydrolysis, to B27
Lys DTrI, which was then purified by ion-exchange chromatography to homogeneity
as assessed by native gel electrophoresis, HPLC, amino acid composition, and
electrospray mass-spectrometric analysis. B27 Lys DTrI exhibited superior
monomeric properties in size-exclusion chromatography. The yield of MIP was 200
mg per liter of culture, and the overall yield of purified B27 Lys DTrI from
the crude MIP was 70%. The in vivo biological activity of B27 Lys DTrI
as determined by the mouse convulsion assay was 21 U/mg, identical to that
obtained by semisynthesis.
Key words monomeric B27 Lys destripeptide insulin; tryptic hydrolysis; Pichia
pastoris
-----------------
Received: February 4, 2005 Accepted: March 2, 2005
*Corresponding authors:
Da-Fu CUI: Tel, 86-21-54921262; Fax, 86-21-54921011; E-mail, [email protected]
You-Shang ZHANG: Tel, 86-21-54921237; Fax, 86-21-54921011; E-mail, [email protected]