Expression, purification, and C-terminal site-specific PEGylation of cysteine-mutated glucagon-like peptide-1

Appl Biochem Biotechnol. 2010 Sep;162(1):155-65. doi: 10.1007/s12010-009-8725-6. Epub 2009 Sep 1.

Abstract

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is attracting increasing interest on account of its prominent benefits in type 2 diabetes. However, its clinical application is limited because of short biological half-life. This study was designed to produce a C-terminal site-specific PEGylated analog of cysteine-mutated GLP-1 (cGLP-1) to prolong its action. The gene of cGLP-1 was inserted into pET32a to construct a thioredoxinA fusion protein. After expression in BL21 (DE3) strain, the fusion protein was purified with Ni-affinity chromatography and then was PEGylated with methoxy-polyethylene glycol-maleimide (mPEG(10K)-MAL). The PEGylated fusion protein was purified with anion exchange chromatography and then was cleaved by enterokinase. The digested product was further purified with reverse-phase chromatography. Finally, 8.7 mg mPEG(10K)-cGLP-1 with a purity of up to 98% was obtained from the original 500 ml culture. The circular dichroism spectra indicated that mPEG(10K)-cGLP-1 maintained the secondary structure of native GLP-1. As compared with that of native GLP-1, the plasma glucose lowering activity of mPEG(10K)-cGLP-1 was significantly extended. These results suggest that our method will be useful in obtaining a large quantity of mPEG(10K)-cGLP-1 for further study and mPEG(10K)-cGLP-1 might find a role in the therapy of type 2 diabetes through C-terminal site-specific PEGylation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Blood Glucose / metabolism
  • Cysteine*
  • Gene Expression
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / chemistry
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / genetics*
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / isolation & purification
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mutation*
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Polyethylene Glycols / metabolism*
  • Protein Engineering / methods*
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / metabolism
  • Substrate Specificity

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • Polyethylene Glycols
  • Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
  • Cysteine