Improved soluble expression and use of recombinant human renalase

PLoS One. 2020 Nov 12;15(11):e0242109. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242109. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Electrochemical bioreactor systems have enjoyed significant attention in the past few decades, particularly because of their applications to biobatteries, artificial photosynthetic systems, and microbial electrosynthesis. A key opportunity with electrochemical bioreactors is the ability to employ cofactor regeneration strategies critical in oxidative and reductive enzymatic and cell-based biotransformations. Electrochemical cofactor regeneration presents several advantages over other current cofactor regeneration systems, such as chemoenzymatic multi-enzyme reactions, because there is no need for a sacrificial substrate and a recycling enzyme. Additionally, process monitoring is simpler and downstream processing is less costly. However, the direct electrochemical reduction of NAD(P)+ on a cathode may produce adventitious side products, including isomers of NAD(P)H that can act as potent competitive inhibitors to NAD(P)H-requiring enzymes such as dehydrogenases. To overcome this limitation, we examined how nature addresses the adventitious formation of isomers of NAD(P)H. Specifically, renalases are enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of 1,2- and 1,6-NAD(P)H to NAD(P)+, yielding an effective recycling of unproductive NAD(P)H isomers. We designed several mutants of recombinant human renalase isoform 1 (rhRen1), expressed them in E. coli BL21(DE3) to enhance protein solubility, and evaluated the activity profiles of the renalase variants against NAD(P)H isomers. The potential for rhRen1 to be employed in engineering applications was then assessed in view of the enzyme's stability upon immobilization. Finally, comparative modeling was performed to assess the underlying reasons for the enhanced solubility and activity of the mutant enzymes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Enzyme Stability
  • Escherichia coli
  • Humans
  • Industrial Microbiology / methods*
  • Monoamine Oxidase / chemistry*
  • Monoamine Oxidase / genetics
  • Monoamine Oxidase / metabolism
  • Mutation
  • NADP / metabolism
  • Protein Domains
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Solubility
  • Static Electricity

Substances

  • Recombinant Proteins
  • NADP
  • Monoamine Oxidase
  • renalase

Grants and funding

This work was supported by BioChemInsights, Inc., Malvern, PA through a Sponsored Research Agreement with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute [J71742]; and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program [grant number DGE-1247271]. BioChemInsights, Inc. provided support in the form of money for covering experimental costs and supply purchases, and also had an additional role in the decision to publish and in the preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section.