Serial expression and activity analysis of LNK-16: a bovine antimicrobial peptide analogue

Protein J. 2014 Aug;33(4):309-12. doi: 10.1007/s10930-014-9563-0.

Abstract

Indolicidin is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with great therapeutic potential; however, high manufacturing costs associated with industrial-scale chemical synthesis have limited its delivery. Therefore, the use of recombinant DNA technology to produce this peptide is urgently needed. In this study, a new methodology for the large-scale production of a novel bovine AMP was developed. LNK-16 is an analogue of indolicidin that contains a kallikrein protease site at its C-terminus. The amino acid sequence of LNK-16 was synthesized using Escherichia coli-preferred codons. Three copies of the target gene were assembled in series by overlapping PCR and cloned into pET-30a(+) for the expression of His-(LNK-16)(3) in E. coli BL21 (DE3) cells. The expressed fusion protein His-(LNK-16)(3) was purified by Ni(2+)-chelating chromatography and then cleaved by kallikrein to release LNK-16. The recombinant LNK-16 peptide showed antimicrobial activity similar to that of chemically synthesized LNK-16 and indolicidin. Together, these data indicate that the use of serial expression can improve the large-scale production of AMPs for clinical and research applications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / chemistry
  • Anti-Infective Agents / metabolism*
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / chemistry
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / genetics
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / metabolism*
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / pharmacology
  • Bacteria / drug effects
  • Candida albicans / drug effects
  • Cattle
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Escherichia coli
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Recombinant Proteins / pharmacology

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • indolicidin