Fusion expression of bovine lactoferricin in Escherichia coli

Protein Expr Purif. 2006 May;47(1):110-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pep.2005.08.016. Epub 2005 Sep 20.

Abstract

The drug resistance problem has been growing with the utilization of current antibiotics in feed and medical industries. LfcinB, a 25-amino acid antibacterial peptide derived from bovine lactoferrin, is one of potential alternatives of antibiotics. According to the bias of codon utilization of Escherichia coli, a fragment encoding LfcinB has been chemically synthesized, inserted into vector pGEX-4T-2 and expressed in E. coli. The antibacterial peptide was fused with GST with a protease cleavage site located between them. Two constructs with different cleavage sites were made. One construct, pGEX-Th-LfcinB, contains a thrombin cleavage site carried by the vector, and the other, pGEX-Th-Xa-LfcinB, contains a Factor Xa cleavage site which was introduced after the thrombin cleavage site. Fusion protein GST-Th-LfcinB protein was efficiently cleaved by thrombin, yielding recombinant LfcinB showing antibacterial activity. However, fusion protein GEX-Th-Xa-Lfcin B containing Factor Xa recognition site could not be cleaved by Factor Xa at the conditions tried in this study. Successful expression of LfcinB in E. coli provides a possible method to produce LfcinB in large amounts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / biosynthesis
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemical synthesis*
  • Base Sequence
  • Cattle
  • Cloning, Molecular / methods
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Escherichia coli / genetics*
  • Lactoferrin / biosynthesis*
  • Lactoferrin / chemical synthesis
  • Lactoferrin / genetics*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptide Fragments / biosynthesis
  • Peptide Fragments / chemical synthesis*
  • Peptide Fragments / genetics
  • Plasmids / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / chemical synthesis
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • lactoferricin B
  • Lactoferrin