U.S. patent application number 16/100080 was filed with the patent office on 2019-03-14 for method for refining protein including self-cutting cassette and use thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to AbTLAS CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is AbTLAS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Hyo Jung CHOI, Hye In KIM, Eung-Suk LEE, Byeong Doo SONG, Jee Sun YUN.
Application Number | 20190077846 16/100080 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51792155 |
Filed Date | 2019-03-14 |
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00001.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00002.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00003.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00004.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00005.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00006.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00007.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00008.png)
![](/patent/app/20190077846/US20190077846A1-20190314-D00009.png)
United States Patent
Application |
20190077846 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
SONG; Byeong Doo ; et
al. |
March 14, 2019 |
METHOD FOR REFINING PROTEIN INCLUDING SELF-CUTTING CASSETTE AND USE
THEREOF
Abstract
The present invention relates to a self-cleaving fusion protein
including a target protein, a peptide consisting of amino acid
sequence represented by LPXTG, a domain of Sortase A having
cleaving function, and a tag, which are sequentially positioned
from the amino terminal; a nucleic acid encoding the same; an
expression vector including the nucleic acid of the present
invention; and a cell transformed with the expression vector of the
present invention. In addition, the present invention relates to a
method for refining a target protein including culturing,
dissolving, and purifying the transformed cell, and a method for
preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate by using the
purifying method.
Inventors: |
SONG; Byeong Doo;
(Chuncheon-si, KR) ; YUN; Jee Sun; (Chuncheon-si,
KR) ; CHOI; Hyo Jung; (Gangneung-si, KR) ;
KIM; Hye In; (Chuncheon-si, KR) ; LEE; Eung-Suk;
(Chuncheon-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
AbTLAS CO., LTD. |
Chuncheon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
AbTLAS CO., LTD.
Chuncheon-si
KR
|
Family ID: |
51792155 |
Appl. No.: |
16/100080 |
Filed: |
August 9, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
14785881 |
Oct 21, 2015 |
10077299 |
|
|
PCT/KR2014/003639 |
Apr 25, 2014 |
|
|
|
16100080 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C12N 9/52 20130101; C12Y
304/2207 20130101; C07K 2319/41 20130101; C07K 2319/42 20130101;
C07K 16/00 20130101; C07K 2319/50 20130101; C07K 2319/00 20130101;
C07K 2319/30 20130101; C07K 2319/21 20130101; C07K 1/22 20130101;
C12N 15/1093 20130101; C12N 9/50 20130101; A61P 35/00 20180101 |
International
Class: |
C07K 16/00 20060101
C07K016/00; C12N 9/50 20060101 C12N009/50 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 25, 2013 |
KR |
10-2013-0046322 |
Claims
1. A self-cleaving fusion protein comprising: (i) a target protein;
(ii) a peptide represented by Formula I below; (iii) a domain of
Sortase A having cleaving function; (iv) a tag, wherein (i) to (iv)
are sequentially positioned from amino terminus to a carboxyl
terminus of the fusion protein, L-P-X-T-G (SEQ ID NO: 58), [Formula
I] wherein L represents Leucine, P represents Proline, X represents
an any amino acid, T represents Threonine, and G represents
Glycine.
2. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, further
comprising a peptide linker between a peptide represented by
Formula I and a domain of Sortase A having cleaving function.
3. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein X
in Formula I is glutamic acid.
4. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 2, wherein
the peptide linker is selected from the group consisting of a
natural linker, a flexible linker, a helical linker, a positively
charged linker, a negatively charged linker and a coiled coil
linker.
5. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 2, wherein
the peptide linker is represented by Sc(SG4)l(GGSSRSS)GdSe (SEQ ID
NO: 4), in which S represents Serine, G represents Glycine, R
represents Arginine, c represents 0 to 5, d represents 0 to 5, e
represents 0 to 5, and l represents 0 to 10.
6. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 2, wherein
the peptide linker consists of 19 to 40 amino acids.
7. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 2, wherein
the peptide linker consists of 19 to 25 amino acids.
8. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 2, wherein
the peptide linker comprises an amino acid sequence represented by
SEQ ID NO: 7.
9. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the Sortase A is derived from Staphylococcus aureus (S.
aureus).
10. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the domain of Sortase A having cleaving function comprises an amino
acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 8.
11. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the tag is selected from the group consisting of a poly-histidine
tag, a glutathione-S-transferase tag, a Hemagglutinin tag, a FLAG
tag, a Myc tag, a maltose binding protein tag, a chitin binding
protein tag, and a fluorescent tag.
12. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 11, wherein
the tag is a poly-histidine tag.
13. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 12, wherein
the poly-histidine tag comprises 6 to 12 sequential histidines.
14. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the target protein is selected from the group consisting of polymer
proteins, glycoproteins, cytokines, growth factors, blood
preparations, vaccines, hormones, enzymes and antibodies.
15. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the target protein is a portion or whole of a light chain or a
heavy chain of an antibody.
16. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 15, wherein
the target protein is a light chain variable region (VL) or a heavy
chain variable region (VH) of an antibody.
17. The self-cleaving fusion protein according to claim 1, wherein
the fusion protein comprises an amino acid sequence represented by
SEQ ID NO: 17 or 18.
18. A nucleic acid encoding the self-cleaving fusion protein
according to claim 1.
19. An expression vector comprising the nucleic acid of claim
18.
20. A host cell transformed with the expression vector of claim
19.
21. The host cell according to claim 20, wherein the host cell is a
prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell.
22. The host cell according to claim 21, wherein the host cell is
Escherichia coli.
23. (canceled)
24. A method for purifying a target protein comprising: (1)
culturing cells of claim 20 to obtain cell lysates; and (2)
purifying the target protein from the cell lysates.
25. The method for purifying a target protein of claim 24, wherein
step (2) comprises: (a) injecting the cell lysates into a column
bound to a tag in a fusion protein; (b) washing the column; (c)
equilibrating the column by using a cleavage buffer including at
least one selected from the group consisting of calcium and
triglycine to perform a cleaving reaction; and (d) obtaining the
cleavage buffer from the column to obtain the target protein from
which the tag is removed.
26.-28. (canceled)
29. A method of preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate
comprising: (1) reacting the self-cleaving fusion protein of claim
1 with a triglycine-drug (GGG-drug) in a cleavage buffer including
calcium to conjugate the triglycine-drug (GGG-drug) to the target
protein; and (2) recovering a conjugate of the target protein in
which the tag has been replaced with the triglycine-drug.
30. The method of preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate
of claim 29, wherein the cleavage buffer in step (1) comprises 0.1
to 10 mM of calcium.
31.-32. (canceled)
33. The method of preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate
of claim 29, wherein the target protein is an antibody against a
tumor surface antigen.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a self-cleaving fusion
protein including a target protein, a peptide consisting of amino
acid sequence represented by LPXTG, a domain of Sortase A having
cleaving function, and a tag, which are sequentially positioned
from the amino terminal; a nucleic acid encoding the same; an
expression vector including the nucleic acid of the present
invention; and a cell transformed with the expression vector of the
present invention. In addition, the present invention relates to a
method for refining a target protein including culturing,
dissolving, and purifying the transformed cell, and a method for
preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate by using the
purifying method.
BACKGROUND ART
[0002] In accordance with recent development of genetic engineering
and biology, there are many attempts to produce or obtain a large
amount of specific protein to be used for treatment of various
types of industries and diseases. Accordingly, protein combination
technology, mass-production technology, and purification
technology, and the like, for obtaining a desired protein have been
intensively developed.
[0003] Frequently, the target protein to be required by human may
be produced by culturing a cell transformed with a vector
expressing the target protein so that the target protein is
expressed. Occasionally, the protein may be expressed in eukaryotic
cells, prokaryotic cells, and the like, and in specific cases, the
protein may be expressed in transformed plants or transformed
animals. For example, a method of expressing a protein in
transformed animals that secrets milk to obtain the target protein
through the milk of the transformed animals, and the like, has been
attempted. In this case, the target protein may be isolated and
refined through cell culture or milk.
[0004] In a case of expressing a protein in animals and plants or
microorganisms in which methods for obtaining a target protein
through separate secretion do not exist, processes for extracting a
protein from storage organ or an inner part of cells are primarily
needed. A process for obtaining the target protein from the
transformed cell is not easily performed. Accordingly, a method for
recombining a target protein to include a tag rather than a
wild-type one has been largely used to easily obtain the
protein.
[0005] A method using a tag for purification is one of methods in
which significantly high efficiency is exhibited among various
protein purification technologies, wherein the tag to be used is
largely classified into a peptide tag and a protein tag. The
peptide tag consists of short amino acids and includes a his-tag
(histidine-tag) as a representative one. Particularly, a
hexahistidine tag (His6-tag) has been largely used. Histidine
peptide has specific chemical affinity to nickel, such that fusion
proteins including corresponding tags are possible to be refined
with high purity by column including nickel. The protein tag is a
tag including corresponding domains, and the like, in order to use
characteristics, and the like, of domains of proteins bound to
specific components. The protein tag includes a GST-tag
(Glutathione S-transferase-tag). The GST tag may be refined with
high purity by column using glutathione which is a substrate of GST
as a fixing media.
[0006] The tag fused and expressed in the target protein for
protein purification as described above may have a risk of
interrupting structure or function of the target protein itself,
such that a method for obtaining the target protein from which the
tag is cleaved has been considered. Meanwhile, the conventional
method requires a primary process for obtaining a protein including
a tag, a process for cleaving the tag, and a process for purifying
a target protein only. During these processes, the target protein
is lost, an amount of finally obtained protein is decreased, and
cost and time for corresponding processes are also excessive.
Accordingly, it is required to develop a method for minimizing the
loss of the target protein in the process for cleaving the tag, and
purifying the protein rapidly, while maintaining advantages of the
method for purifying a protein using the tag.
[0007] Under this background, a method for purifying a protein
using domain of Sortase A having cleaving function protein having
self-cleaving function and cleavage site sequence recognized by the
corresponding domain was developed (Mao H et al., Protein Expr.
Purif. 2004; 37(1):253-63). The Sortase A (SrtA, 60-206 A.A.) is an
enzyme which recognizes the cleavage site sequence (LPXTG, X is an
any amino acid) in circumstance in which there are calcium and
triglycine to generate a catalytic reaction which cuts between
threonine (T) and glycine (G). The method for purifying a protein
using the conventional Sortase A is a method including a step of
producing a recombinant expression vector including polynucleotide
encoding a tag-Sortase A(60-206 A. A.)-LPXTG-a target protein,
expressing the protein in a host cell, and binding host cell
pulverized product to a tag binding column; a step of removing
impurities; a step of injecting calcium and/or
triglycine-containing solution and performing a reaction; and a
step of obtaining the protein to be capable of purifying the
protein and removing a tag at a time with the use of the column
only once. However, the method of using the conventional domain in
Sortase A having cleaving function has a problem that purification
efficiency is low, according to a target protein.
[0008] Therefore, the present inventors has completed the present
invention by confirming that remarkable protein yield is possibly
obtained by focusing on a direction of binding the domain in
Sortase A having cleaving function in a fusion protein and applying
a linker between the Sortase A and site of sequence for cleavage,
as compared the conventional method.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a
self-cleaving fusion protein including a peptide consisting of
amino acid sequence represented by LPXTG, a domain of Sortase A
having cleaving function, and a tag, which are sequentially
positioned from the amino terminal.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
nucleic acid including nucleotide sequence encoding the fusion
protein and an expression vector including the nucleic acid.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a cell
transformed with the expression vector.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0012] FIGS. 1A-1D show a structure of the conventional fusion
protein in which a target protein is positioned in a carboxyl
terminal (FIG. 1A), and structures of fusion proteins according to
the present invention in which target proteins are present in amino
terminals and linkers have different length to each other (FIG. 1B:
SEQ ID No; 5; FIG. 1C: SEQ ID NO: 6; FIG. 1D: SEQ ID NO: 7). LPETG
is represented by SEQ ID NO: 59. (BAP, biomolecular affinity
purification.)
[0013] FIGS. 2A-2B show a structure of a fusion protein to which a
flexible linker (SEQ ID NO: 5) is added (FIG. 2A) or a structure of
a fusion protein to which a helical linker (SEQ ID NO: 1) is added
(FIG. 2B), for optimization of a peptide linker.
[0014] FIGS. 3A-3B show a structure of a fusion protein to which a
charged linker (a CH linker (FIG. 3A, SEQ ID NO: 2) or an AH linker
(FIG. 3B, SEQ ID NO 3)) is added, for optimization of a peptide
linker.
[0015] FIGS. 4A-4D show structures of fusion proteins that are
dependent on length of a linker (FIGS. 4A-4C), presence or absence
of a linker (FIGS. 4A-4D), and type or length of a tag (FIGS.
4A-4D). "Linker (7A.A)", "Linker (18A.A)", "Linker (20A.A)", and
"LPETG" are represented by SEQ ID NO:5, SEQ ID NO: 6, SEQ ID NO: 7,
and SEQ ID NO: 59, respectively.
[0016] FIG. 5 shows the method for purifying a protein using the
conventional Sortase A self-cleaving cassette (BAP, biomolecular
affinity purification; Ni-NTA, nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid; STA,
Solanum tuberosum agglutinin).
[0017] FIG. 6 shows expression of fusion proteins using various
types of expression vectors by SDS-PAGE gels stained with Coomassie
blue.
[0018] FIG. 7A shows protein expression by the method for purifying
a protein using a conventional Sortase A self-cleaving cassette,
and FIG. 7B shows whether the protein is expressed (FIG. 7A) and
the cleaved target protein (anti-Myc) is purified (lanes 5 and
6).
[0019] FIG. 8 shows a purification method using a Sortase A
self-cleaving cassette according to the present invention (Ni-NTA,
nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid; STA, Solanum tuberosum
agglutinin).
[0020] FIGS. 9A-9B show levels of expression by SDS-PAGE (FIG. 9A)
and purification by Western Blot (FIG. 9B) of fusion proteins from
various E. coli host cells (Origami2(DE3) and BL21(DE3))
transformed with expression vectors including the Sortase A
self-cleaving cassette according to the present invention and
linkers with different length (7, 18, 20 A.A.).
[0021] FIG. 10 shows levels of protein expression, purification and
binding by culturing the cells transformed with the expression
vectors of the present invention with various linkers (7, 18, 20
A.A.) in LB(L), SB(S), and 2.times.YT(Y) culture media (LS, loading
sample; FT, flow through; CP, cleaved protein; BP, bound
protein).
[0022] FIGS. 11A-11B show comparison in yield of cleaved protein
depending on the presence or absence of calcium (FIG. 11A) or
triglycine (FIG. 11B) at various concentrations, for optimization
of a cleavage buffer (LS, loading samples; FT, flow through).
[0023] FIG. 12 shows levels of expression and binding of the fusion
protein after adding a helical linker thereto (LS, loading samples;
FT, flow through; B, bound protein).
[0024] FIG. 13 shows levels of expression and binding of a fusion
protein with the flexible linker (7 A.A.) between the domain in
Sortase A having cleaving function and a tag (Lanes 2-1 or 2-2),
and a fusion protein without the flexible linker (Lane 1).
[0025] FIGS. 14A-14B show levels of expression, binding, and
purification of the fusion protein to which the charged linker (a
CH linker (FIG. 14A) or an AH linker (FIG. 14B)) is added (LS,
loading samples; FT, flow through; W, wash; B, bound protein).
[0026] FIG. 15 shows levels of expression, binding, and
purification of the fusion protein including the conventional
Sortase A cleaving cassette, that is, the fusion protein including
the target protein at a carboxyl terminal (C-terminal), and the
fusion protein including the Sortase A cleaving cassette of the
present invention, that is, the fusion protein including the target
protein at an amino terminal (N-terminal) (LS, loading samples; FT,
flow through; B, bound protein).
[0027] FIGS. 16A-16B show the effects of concentration (A) and
reaction time (B) on a triglycine-biotin conjugation reaction in
order to establish optimum conditions for conjugating the target
protein to a drug (STA, Solanum tuberosum agglutinin).
[0028] FIG. 17 shows a process of preparing an antibody-drug
conjugate (ADC) by performing a conjugation reaction of the
self-cleaving cassette including the fusion protein and the
`antibody-linker-Sortase` with triglycine-drug (GGG-drug) in the
cleavage buffer.
BEST MODE
[0029] As far as it is not defined in other ways, all technical and
scientific terms used in the present specification have the same
meaning as being generally appreciated by those skilled in the art
to which the present invention pertains. In general, a nomenclature
used in the present specification and experimental methods to be
described below are well known in technical fields and generally
used.
[0030] As an exemplary embodiment of the present invention for
achieving the above-described objects, the present invention
provides a self-cleaving fusion protein including a target protein,
a peptide consisting of amino acid sequence represented by LPXTG a
domain of Sortase A having cleaving function, and a tag.
[0031] Specifically, the self-cleaving fusion protein of the
present invention includes:
[0032] (i) a target protein;
[0033] (ii) a peptide represented by Formula I below:
L-P-X-T-G; [Formula I]
[0034] (iii) a domain of Sortase A having cleaving function,
and
[0035] (iv) a tag, wherein (i) to (iv) are sequentially positioned
from an amino terminal to a carboxyl terminal of the fusion
protein, and in Sequence Formula 1, L represents Leucine, P
represents Proline, X represents an any amino acid, T represents
Threonine, G represents Glycine.
[0036] The conventional self-cleaving fusion protein including the
domain in Sortase A having cleaving function includes a target
protein at a carboxyl terminal; however, there are cases in which
purification yield is significantly low according to the target
protein. In the present invention, it may be confirmed that an
efficiency of binding of the fusion protein to a column and a
cleaving efficiency are significantly improved, and thus the
purification yield of obtaining the target protein is remarkably
increased (FIG. 15), by positioning the target protein at an amino
terminal of the Sortase A.
[0037] Preferably, the self-cleaving fusion protein of the present
invention may further include a peptide linker between a peptide
consisting of amino acid sequence represented by LPXTG and a domain
of Sortase A having cleaving function.
[0038] The "target protein" herein refers to any protein which is
required to be obtained with high purity or in a large amount for
specific purposes, and includes, without limitation, a wild-type
protein, a protein variant, a novel recombinant protein, and the
like. The target protein may be a protein required to be obtained
with high purity or in a large amount for industrial, medical,
scientific reasons, and the like, preferably, may be a recombinant
protein for pharmaceutical or research, and more preferably, may be
selected from the group consisting of polymer proteins,
glycoproteins, cytokines, growth factor, blood preparations,
vaccines, hormones, enzymes and antibodies. More preferably, the
target protein may be an entire portion of a light chain or a heavy
chain of an antibody, or a portion thereof, and the most
preferably, the target protein may be a light chain variable region
(VL) or a heavy chain variable region (VH) of an antibody.
[0039] The "peptide consisting of amino acid sequence represented
by LPXTG" refers to a peptide consisting of amino acid sequence of
Leucine-Proline-any amino acid-Threonine-Glycine, which is a
recognition sequence for Sortase A having a protein cleaving
function. That is, the Sortase A recognizes the LPXTG sequence,
which cleaves between Threonine and Glycine, such that a portion
including LPXT and a portion including G are separated. X in the
peptide consisting of LPXTG amino acid sequence in the present
invention may be any amino acid, for example, may be Glutamic Acid
(E).
[0040] The "Sortase A (Srt A)" in the present invention is a
protein having a function of attaching a surface protein to a cell
wall of gram positive bacteria, which is known to link a free
carboxyl group of Threonine to a free amino group of pentaglycine
in cell wall and the like, by cutting between Threonine and Glycine
of LPXTG sequence.
[0041] Basically, the Sortase A is a peptidase having a function of
recognizing and cleaving LPXTG sequence. The Sortase A or Srt A,
and the like, in the present invention may refer interchangeably to
a domain having cleaving function in Sortase A and the whole
protein. In the present invention, any domain of Sortase A having
cleaving function may be used. Preferably, the Sortase A may be
derived from bacteria, for example, Staphylococcus aureus (S.
aureus), and more preferably, the domain having cleaving function
in Sortase A may consist of amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:
8.
[0042] The "tag" in the present invention refers to amino acid
sequence, a peptide, or a protein domain, and the like, which is
inserted to a recombinant protein with the purpose of labeling or
obtaining a protein, and a method for purifying a protein using the
tag is one exhibiting significantly high efficiency among various
protein purification technologies. For this case, the tag to be
used is classified into a peptide tag and a protein tag. For
example, the tag in the present invention may be selected from the
group consisting of a polyhistidine tag, a GST tag
(glutathione-S-transferase tag), a HA tag (hemagglutinin tag), a
FLAG tag, a Myc tag, a maltose binding protein tag, a chitin
binding protein tag, and a fluorescent tag, but is not limited
thereto. Preferably, the tag may be a polyhistidine peptide tag,
more preferably a peptide tag including 6 to 12 histidines, and the
most preferably, a polyhistidine peptide tag including 10
histidines.
[0043] The tag serves to attach the tag linked entire fusion
protein to a column, in which a tag would be bound thereto.
Accordingly, ultimately, the target protein included in the fusion
protein may be obtained.
[0044] The "self-cleaving fusion protein" in the present invention
refers to a protein including a domain having cleaving function and
a recognition sequence recognized and cleaved by the domain in one
fusion protein at the same time. Under a predetermined condition,
the domain having cleaving function is activated to recognize and
cleave the recognition sequence in the same protein. In the present
invention, the fusion protein may include a Sortase A-derived
domain having cleaving function and LPXTG recognized by the domain,
and further include other constitutions.
[0045] The "self-cleaving cassette" in the present invention refers
to a domain set including the domain having cleaving function and
the recognition sequence recognized and cleaved by the domain,
preferably, may be a domain set including the Sortase A-derived
domain having cleaving function and LPXTG recognized by the
corresponding domain.
[0046] The "peptide linker" in the present invention is a peptide
used to have physical and chemical distance or connection between
the domain and the domain in the fusion protein. The fusion protein
of the present invention may include a linker between the Sortase A
and the LPXTG peptide. The linker may be a natural linker, a
flexible linker, a helical linker, a charged linker (a CH linker or
an AH linker) or a coiled coil linker, and the like. The flexible
linker in the present invention may generally have a form of
(GaSb)n (a is 1 to 10, b is 1 to 10, n is 1 to 10), in particular,
may include (G4S) sequence.
[0047] In the amino acids of amino acid sequence in the present
invention are represented by one letter abbreviations, which are
conventionally used in the related art. Basically, the flexible
linkers do not have a characteristic of repulsion or integration
among amino acids present in the linker with each other, and thus
exhibit flexible movement. The helical linker in the present
invention may include General Formula of A(EAAK)mA (wherein m is
2-5), and may be 50 A.A. of (H4)2 linker
(LEA(EAAAK)4ALEA(EAAAK)4AL, SEQ ID NO: 1). The charged linker in
the present invention may be a positively or negatively charged
linker, and a positively charged linker may be a CH linker
(TRARLSKELQAAQARLGADMEDVCGRLVQYRG, SEQ ID NO: 2), and an negatively
charged linker may be an AH linker
(KEQQNAFYEILHLPNLNEEQRNGFIQSLKDDPSQSANLLAEAKKL, SEQ ID NO: 3).
[0048] The coiled coil linker may be a linker having a binding
ability to other coiled coil domain or linker, while maintaining a
helical three-dimensional structure, which may be one of SEQ ID NO:
9 to 16 or SEQ ID NO: 48 to 55.
[0049] Preferably, the peptide linker in the present invention may
be a flexible linker, and may have a form of Sc(SG4)l(GGSSRSS)GdSe
(SEQ ID NO: 4). In Sc(SG4)l(GGSSRSS)GdSe, c represents 0 to 5, d
represents 0 to 5, e represents 0 to 5, and 1 represents 0 to 10.
In the present invention, a length of the peptide linker is not
important, and the length of the linker may vary depending on
target proteins for accessibility of an active site. Preferably,
the linker may consist of 19 to 40 amino acids, and more
preferably, 19 to 25 amino acids. The most preferably, the linker
may be a peptide linker consisting of amino acid sequence
represented by SEQ ID NO: 7.
[0050] When the target protein is an antibody variable region in a
specific exemplary embodiment of the present invention, linker
optimization was tested by changing length of the linkers, the
number of linkers, and types of linkers, in order to confirm an
effect of the linker on yield of obtaining the target protein.
[0051] When comparing yields of obtaining the target proteins
(Examples 5-1, FIGS. 9 and 10) among linkers with different
lengths, 7 A.A.(SEQ ID NO: 5), 18 A.A.(SEQ ID NO: 6) and 20
A.A.(SEQ ID NO: 7), it was confirmed that yield of obtaining the
target protein was increased in case of including the linker with
the length of 20 A.A.
[0052] Meanwhile, an effect on yield of obtaining the target
protein from decrease interference between the domains (Example
5-2) was evaluated by further including a linker between the domain
in Sortase A having cleaving function and the tag, in addition to
the linker between LPXTG recognition sequence and domain in Sortase
A having cleaving function (FIG. 2). Specifically, (1) a protein
from a cell transformed with a vector expressing a fusion protein
having a structure of target protein (VH)-LPETG-linker(20
A.A.)-Sortase A-His tag was compared with (2) a protein from a cell
transformed with a vector expressing a fusion protein having a
structure of target protein (VH)-LPETG-linker(20 A.A.)-Sortase
A-linker(7 A.A.)-His tag (FIG. 13). In case of (1), proteins bound
to the column were confirmed (Bound proteins); however, in case of
(2), proteins bound to the column were hardly found. That is, the
addition of the linker to C-terminal of Sortase A did not lead to
an increase in binding of the fusion protein to column.
[0053] An effect on yield of obtaining the target protein in a case
in which the helical linker or the charged linker as listed above
as the types of the linkers is inserted between the domain in
Sortase A having cleaving function and the tag was confirmed
(Example 5-3, FIGS. 12 and 14). Specifically, it could be confirmed
that the fusion protein was hardly bound to the column (FIG. 12) in
a case of which the helical linker is additionally inserted between
the domain in Sortase A having cleaving function and the tag, while
remaining the flexible linker (20 A.A.) between the LPXTG
recognition sequence and the domain in Sortase A having cleaving
function.
[0054] In addition, even in a case in which the charged linkers
such as the positively charged linker (CH linker, SEQ ID NO: 2) or
the negatively charged linker (AH linker, SEQ ID NO: 3) are
additionally inserted between the domain in Sortase A having
cleaving function and the tag, while remaining the flexible linker
(20 A.A.) between the LPXTG recognition sequence and the domain in
Sortase A having cleaving function, it could be confirmed that the
fusion protein was hardly bound to the column, and the cleavage
protein was hardly found (FIG. 14).
[0055] The self-cleaving fusion protein of the present invention
may comprise amino acid sequence represented by SEQ ID NO: 17 or
18. This refers to the fusion protein includes an antibody variable
region as the target protein, LPETG recognition sequence, a peptide
linker, a domain of Sortase A having cleaving function
(60.about.206 A.A.) and a tag for binding to column (His9)
sequentially from the amino terminal.
[0056] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided a nucleic acid including nucleotide
sequence encoding the self-cleaving fusion protein of the present
invention. The nucleotide sequence encoding the fusion protein of
the present invention may be a nucleotide sequence encoding amino
acid sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17 or 18, preferably, SEQ ID NO: 56 or
57.
[0057] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided an expression vector including the
nucleic acid as described above.
[0058] The "expression vector" in the present invention refers to a
vector operably linked with a promoter, and the like, to express
specific genes in specific prokaryotic or eukaryotic host cells. A
backbone of the vector may be changed depending on the host cells.
The vector of the present invention may be a vector which is
possible to be expressed in E. coli, more preferably, pET21b, pLIC,
pET23a vectors (Novagen).
[0059] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided a cell transformed with the expression
vector as described above.
[0060] The cell to be a target for transformation refers to a host
cell, and includes eukaryotic or prokaryotic host cells. In the
present invention, the host cell may be preferably Escherichia
coli, and more preferably, E. coli Origami2(DE3) or E. coli
BL21(DE3) strains.
[0061] According to specific exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, aspects showing transformation and expression of E. coli
Origami2(DE3) and E. coli BL21(DE3) as the host cells transformed
with the expression vectors of the present invention were compared
(FIG. 9). As confirmed in FIG. 9, there was no big difference in
expression aspects between Origami2 and BL21.
[0062] According to another exemplary embodiment of the present
invention, there is provided a method for purifying a target
protein including: culturing cells of the present invention to
obtain cell lysates; and purifying the target protein from the cell
lysates.
[0063] In addition, preferably, the purifying of the target protein
from the cell lysates may include: injecting the cell lysates into
a column bound to a tag in a fusion protein; washing the column;
equilibrating the column by using a cleavage buffer including at
least one selected from the group consisting of calcium and
triglycine to perform a cleaving reaction; and obtaining the
cleavage-buffer from the column to obtain the target protein from
which the tag is removed.
[0064] The "column" in the present invention is an apparatus
performing functions of isolating and/or purifying specific
components, proteins, and compounds while injecting a mixture
solution including the specific component, proteins, and compounds
and allowing the mixture solution to pass through inside of the
column. In the present invention, particularly, the column
functions to isolate and refine the compounds, the components, the
proteins, and the like, by fixing the compounds, the components,
the proteins, and the like, having a binding property to the
specific tag included in the fusion protein to the inside of the
column to thereby attach the proteins having the tag to the inside
of the column. When the tag included in the fusion protein is
His-tag (tag including histidine), a Ni-NTA column using a binding
property to nickel may be used, and when the tag included in the
fusion protein is GST, a column including Glutathione as a fixing
media may be used.
[0065] The "cleavage-buffer" in the present invention indicates a
buffer activating a domain having cleaving function, in particular,
a buffer activating Sortage A. The cleavage-buffer may include
calcium and/or triglycine, preferably, may include at least
triglycine. In addition, the cleavage-buffer may preferably include
0.1 to 10 mM of calcium and 0.1 to 10 mM of triglycine, and more
preferably, 0.2 to 5 mM of calcium and 0.2 to 5 mM of
triglycine.
[0066] In a specific exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
yield of obtaining the cleavage protein was confirmed by including
or not including calcium or triglycine and by changing
concentration conditions in order to confirm optimum conditions of
the cleavage reaction. Yield of obtaining the cleavage protein by
the cleavage-buffer in which one of calcium and triglycine having a
concentration to be fixed as 5 mM and the remaining other one
having a concentration of 0, 0.2, 1, or 5 mM are mixed is compared
with that of a negative control group without including both of
calcium and triglycine. In the negative control group, the cleaved
protein could not be observed at all (about 15 kDa), and in a case
if one of calcium and triglycine is included, the cleavage protein
could be observed. In addition, it could be confirmed that in a
case of including a certain amount of triglycine and controlling
concentration of calcium, there was little difference in an amount
of cleaved protein to be obtained. However, in a case of including
a certain amount of calcium and controlling concentration of
triglycine, in particular, the cleaved protein was obtained in a
small amount, when triglycine is not included. It was confirmed
that triglycine included in the cleavage-buffer has an important
role in cleavage function of Sortase.
[0067] The "therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)" in the
present invention consists of three components including a drug, an
antibody, and a linker linking the drug and the antibody, and the
therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate technology is a method in which
the drug is delivered to tumor cells by using the antibody
specifically bound to a specific antigen expressed on the surface
of cancer cells.
[0068] The therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate may be prepared
according to the present invention. Specifically, in order to build
a self-cleaving cassette including `antibody-linker-Sortase` at the
amino terminal, and recognize cleavage sequence (LPXTG) and perform
cleavage function by Sortase A, calcium and/or triglycine are
required, wherein the drug is linked to C-terminal of triglycine
which is a derivative inducing this cleavage and the reaction is
performed. When `triglycine-drug (GGG-drug)` linking the drug to
C-terminal of triglycine is prepared or synthesized, and then is
used for the cleavage reaction of the self-cleaving cassette
including the constructed `antibody-linker-Sortase`, an
`antibody-linker-drug (antibody-linker-LPETGGG-drug)` may be
prepared by an optimized cleavage reaction.
[0069] Specifically, the drug usable for the therapeutic
antibody-drug conjugate of the present invention may include any
compound having an effect for inhibiting cytotoxicity or cell
proliferation, a portion or a group, and includes:
[0070] (i) chemotherapeutic agent capable of functioning as a
microtubulin inhibitor, a mitotic inhibitor, a topoisomerase
inhibitor, or a DNA Intercalator;
[0071] (ii) a protein toxin capable of functioning as an
enzyme;
[0072] (iii) micro RNA (miRNA), siRNA, shRNA capable of inhibiting
expression of specific carcinogenic gene (oncogene); and
[0073] (iv) a radioactive isotope, and the like.
[0074] The drug may include various antitumor or anticancer agents
including maytansinoid, auristatin, dolastatin, tricotecene, CC1065
(cytotoxic compound), calicheamicin and other enediyne antibiotics,
taxane, anthracycline, methotrexate, adriamycin, vindesine, vinca
alkaloids (vincristine, vinblastine, etoposide), doxorubicin,
melphalan, mitomycin C, chlorambucil, daunorubicin, daunomycin and
stereoisomers thereof, isosters, analogs or derivatives thereof,
enzymes as other insertion agents and fragments thereof, such as
nucleolytic enzymes, antibiotics, and toxins (bacteria, fungi,
plants or animals-origin enzymatically active toxins or small
molecule toxins) and cisplatin, CPT-1, doxorubicin, paclitaxel and
docetaxel, and the like, but the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0075] In a specific exemplary embodiment of the present invention,
yield of obtaining the cleavage protein was confirmed by including
or not including triglycine-biotin and by changing concentration
conditions in order to confirm optimum conditions of the cleavage
reaction for preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate. Yield
of obtaining the target protein by the cleavage-buffer was compared
with that of a negative control group, by including
triglycine-biotin at a concentration of 0, 10 nM, 100 nM, 500 nM, 1
.mu.M, 10M, 100M, 500 .mu.M, 1 mM. In the negative control group,
binding of the target protein to biotin could not be observed at
all (about 45 kDa), and a large amount of binding reaction could be
observed at a concentration of 500 .mu.M to 1 mM. Optimum reaction
time condition of the cleavage reaction was confirmed by using the
concentrations of triglycine-biotin as established above. Yield of
obtaining the target protein-biotin conjugate after performing the
reaction for 0, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 hours, and 16 hours, was
compared with that of a negative control group. A large amount of
triglycine-biotin could be observed in the binding reaction
performed for 4 to 16 hours.
[0076] In addition, the cleavage-buffer preferably includes 0.1 to
10 mM calcium and 500 nM to 1 mM triglycine-drug (GGG-drug), but
the present invention is not limited thereto. Time required for the
binding the target protein to triglycine-drug (GGG-drug) is
preferably 4 to 16 hours, but the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0077] The target protein is preferably an antibody to against a
tumor surface antigen, but the present invention is not limited
thereto.
[0078] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in
detail with reference to the following Examples. These examples are
only for exemplifying the present invention, and it will be obvious
to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention
is not construed to be limited to these examples.
Example 1 Construction of Expression Vector
[0079] 1-1: PCR Reaction Solution and Conditions
[0080] A composition of PCR reaction solution and PCR performance
conditions for obtaining various genes and constructing vectors
used in the present invention were as follows.
[0081] Firstly, the PCR reaction solution (50 .mu.l) was prepared
by including 2.5 mM dNTP mix (5 .mu.l), 5.times. PrimeSTAR buffer
(10 .mu.l), 100 .mu.M forward and reverse primers (respectively 1
.mu.L), 100 ng/uL of template DNA (1 .mu.l), 2.5 U/uL PrimeSTAR
polymerase (0.50 .mu.l) and distilled water (31.5 .mu.l).
[0082] The prepared PCR reaction solution was used to perform
two-step PCR which repeats a cycle 29 times, wherein the cycle
includes a step at 98.degree. C. for 10 seconds and a step at
68.degree. C. for 1 minute. Samples obtained after PCR was
completed were stored at 4.degree. C.
[0083] 1-2: Preparation of BAP-Sortase-LPETG-Target (VL)
[0084] Firstly, DNA sequence encoding BAP(biotin acceptor peptide)
was amplified by PCR by using a primer 1_sfi (5'-ccgtg gcc cag gcg
gcc GCA AGC AGC GGC CTG AAC GAC ATC TTC GAG GCC-3': SEQ ID NO: 19)
or a primer 1 (5'-ATGT CAT ATG GCA AGC AGC GGC CTG AAC GAC ATC TTC
GAG GCC-3': SEQ ID NO: 20), and a primer 2 (5'-CTG CAT TTC GTG CCA
CTC GAT CTT CTG GGC CTC GAA GAT GTC GTT-3': SEQ ID NO: 21).
[0085] DNA sequence encoding 60th to 206th amino acid sequences of
Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)-derived SrtA(GenBank Accession
No. AF162687) was amplified by PCR by using a primer 3 (5'-ATC GAG
TGG CAC GAA ATG CAG GCT AAG CCG CAG ATT CCG-3': SEQ ID NO: 22) and
a primer 4 (5'-GCC GGT CTC GGG AAG CTT CTT GAC CTC GGT AGC GAC
AAA-3': SEQ ID NO: 23).
[0086] Secondary DNA sequence encoding LPETG-target (VL) was
amplified by PCR by using a primer 5 (5'-CAG TAA GCT TCC CGA GAC
CGG CGA TAT CCA GAT GAC TCA GAGC-3': SEQ ID NO: 24), a primer 6
(5'-ACT CGA ACC CGC CGT ACG TTT TAT CTC TAC CTT TGT-3': SEQ ID NO:
25) and a template target (VL).
[0087] Then, after three PCR products prepared as above were mixed
with each other, DNA sequence encoding BAP-SrtA-kLPETG-target (VL)
which is a fusion protein having HindIII site between SrtAc-LPETG
and sequence encoding a target was amplified by PCR by using the
primer 1_sfi or the primer 1 and the primer 7 (5'-taatggccggcctggcc
GCG GCC GCT TAA AGA TCT TCT TCA CTA ATT AACTT-3': SEQ ID NO:
26).
[0088] DNA fragments resulted therefrom were cleaved by NdeI and
NotI, the target protein was ligated with a pET23a vector (Novagen)
inducing expression into cytoplasm, cleaved by SfiI, and
BAP-Sortase-LPETG-target-myc (I in FIG. 1) which is a fusion
protein was ligated with pCom3x which is a vector inducing
expression into periplasm.
[0089] 1-3: Preparation of Target (VL)-kLPETG-Linker-Sortase-H9
[0090] DNA sequence encoding target-LPETG-linker (7 A.A.) linked
with a linker (7 A.A.) (GGSSRSS: SEQ ID NO: 5) was amplified by PCR
by using a primer 8 (5'-ATG TCA TAT GGA CAT TCA GAT GAC ACA
GAGT-3': SEQ ID NO: 27) and a primer 9 (5'-ggaaccaccgccggtctcgggaag
AAG ATC TTC TTC ACT AAT TAAC-3': SEQ ID NO: 28).
[0091] DNA sequence encoding target-LPETG-linker (18 A.A.) linked
with a linker (18 A.A.) (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSS: SEQ ID NO: 6) was
amplified by PCR by using a primer 8 and a primer 10 (5'-GGA AGA
TCT AGA GGA ACC ACC CCC ACC ACC GCC CGA GCC ACC GCC ACC GGA TGA GCC
GGT CTC GGG AAG AAG AT-3': SEQ ID NO: 29) and a target-LPETG-linker
(7 A.A.) which is the product obtained by PCR above.
[0092] DNA sequence encoding linker (7 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206) was
amplified by PCR by using a primer 11 (5'-gag acc ggc ggt ggt tcc
tct aga tct tcc cag get aag ccg cag att-3': SEQ ID NO: 30) and a
primer 12 (5'-taat GC GGC CGC tta atgatggtg ATG GTG ATG ATG ATG
ATGGC-3': SEQ ID NO: 31).
[0093] DNA sequence encoding linker(18 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206) was
amplified by PCR by 10 using a primer 13 (5'-gtggttcctctagatcttcc
TCG AAG GTC GCG GGA TAT ATT-3': SEQ ID NO: 32) and a primer 14
(5'-taatggccggcctggcctta atgatggtg ATG GTG ATG ATG ATG ATG GC-3':
SEQ ID NO: 33).
[0094] DNA sequence encoding a linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206) with a
linker (20 A.A.) (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS: SEQ ID NO: 7) was amplified
by PCR by using a 15 primer 15 (5'-GGT TCC TCT AGA TCT TCC GGA AGC
cag get aag ccg cag att-3': SEQ ID NO: 34) and the primer 14.
[0095] DNA sequence encoding linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-linker
(7 A.A.) with a linker (20 A.A.) (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS: SEQ ID NO:
7) linked to N-terminal, and a linker (7 A.A.) (GGSSRSS: SEQ ID NO:
5) linked to C-terminal was amplified by PCR by using the primer
15, a primer 16 (5'-ATG ATG ATG GCG AGA GCT ACG GCT GCT GCC GCC CTT
GAC CTC GGT AGC GAC AAA GA-3': SEQ ID NO: 35), and a primer 17
(5'-TAA TGC GGC CGC TTA ATG ATG GTG ATG GTG ATG ATG ATG ATG GCG AGA
GCT ACG GCT-3': SEQ ID NO: 36).
[0096] DNA sequence encoding linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-(H4)2 L
linker (50 A.A.) with a linker (20 A.A.) (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS: SEQ
ID NO: 11) linked to N-terminal, and a (H4)2 L linker (50 A.A.XSEQ
ID NO: 1) linked to C-terminal was amplified by PCR by using the
primer 15, a primer 18(5'-ACG ACG ACG ACG GCG CTC CAG TGC CTT AGC
AGC GGC TTC CTT AGC AGC AGC CTC CTT AGC AGC TGC TTC TTT CGC TGC GGC
TTC CGC TTC CAA CGC TTT C-3': SEQ ID NO: 37), and a primer
19(5'-TAA TGC GGC CGC TTA ACG GCG ACG ACG GCG ACG ACG ACG ACG GCG
CTC CAG T-3': SEQ ID NO: 38).
[0097] DNA sequence with a linker (20 A.A.) (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS:
SEQ ID NO: 7) linked to N-terminal and encoding TRA- of N-terminal
of CH linker (32 A.A.) was amplified by PCR by using the primer 15,
a primer 20(5'-GTG CCC GCG TCT TGA CCT CGG TAG CGA CAA AGA TCTT-3':
SEQ ID NO: 39), and the CH linker part was amplified by using a
primer 21 (5'-GCT GTC CAA GGA GCT GCA GGC GGC GCA GGC CCG GCT GGG
CGC GGA CAT G-3': SEQ ID NO: 40), a primer 22(5'-GCG GTA CTG CAC
CAG GCG GCC GCA CAC GTC CTC CAT GTC CGC GCC CAG CCGG-3': SEQ ID NO:
41), and a primer 23(5'-GAG GTC AAG ACG CGG GCA CGG CTG TCC AAG GAG
CTG CAG-3': SEQ ID NO: 42) and a primer 24(5'-TAA T GC GGC CGC TTA
ATG ATG CTG ATG GTG ATG GCC GCG GTA CTG CAC CAG GC-3': SEQ ID NO:
43), and DNA sequence encoding a linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-CHL
linker (32 A.A.) with a linker (20 A.A.XSSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS: SEQ
ID NO: 7) linked to N-terminal and a CHL linker (32
A.A.X(TRARLSKELQAAQARLGADMEDVCGRLVQYRG: SEQ ID NO: 2) linked to
C-terminal was amplified by overlapping PCR by using a mixture of
the primers 15 and 24 and the product obtained by PCR above (the
linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-CHL(TRA-)) and the CHL linker (32
A.A.) (TRARLSKELQAAQARLGADMEDVCGRLVQYRG: SEQ ID NO: 2).
[0098] DNA sequence encoding a linker (20 A.A.)
(SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS: SEQ ID NO: 11) linked to N-terminal and KEQ-
of N-terminal of AH linker (45 A.A.) was amplified by using the
primer 15 and a primer 25(5'-CGG ATC ACC CTT GAC CTC GGT AGC GAC
AAA GAT CTT-3': SEQ ID NO: 44), and AH linker was amplified by
using a primer 26 (5'-GAG GTC AAG GGT GAT CCG AAA GCT GAC AAC AAA
TTC-3': SEQ ID NO: 45) and a primer 27 (5'-GTG ATG ATG ATG ATG GTG
AGC TTT TGG TGC TTG TGC ATC AT-3': SEQ ID NO: 46), and using pIG20
vector as a template. DNA sequence encoding a linker(20
A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-AHL linker (45 A.A.) with an AH linker (45 A.A.)
(KEQQNAFYEILHLPNLNEEQRNGFIQSLKDDPSQSAN LLAEAKKL: SEQ ID NO: 3)
linked to C-terminal was amplified by overlapping PCR by using a
mixture of the primer 15, a primer 28 (5'-TAA T GC GGC CGC TTA ATG
ATG GTG ATG GTG ATG ATG ATG ATG GTG AGC TTT TGG-3': SEQ ID NO: 47)
and the product obtained by PCR above (linker(20
A.A.)-SrtA(60-206)-AHL(KEQ-)) and AHL linker (45 A.A.)
(KEQQNAFYEILHLPNLNEEQRNGFIQSLKDDPSQSANLLAEAKKL: SEQ ID NO: 3).
[0099] Lastly, target (VL)-LPETG-linker (7 A.A.)-Sortase-H9 (II of
FIG. 1) was amplified by overlapping PCR by using a mixture of a
primer 8, a primer 12 and the product obtained by PCR above
(target-LPETG-linker (7 A.A.) and linker (7 A.A.)-SrtA).
[0100] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (18 A.A.)-Sortase-H9
(III of FIG. 1) was amplified by overlapping PCR by using a mixture
of the primer 8, the primer 14 and the product obtained by PCR
above (target-LPETG-linker (18 A.A.) and linker (18
A.A.)-SrtA).
[0101] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase-H9
(IV of FIG. 1) was amplified by overlapping PCR by using a mixture
of the primer 8, the primer 14 and the product obtained by PCR
above (target-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.) and linker (20
A.A.)-SrtA).
[0102] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (20
A.A.)-Sortase-linker (7 A.A.)-H9 (I of FIG. 2) was amplified by
overlapping PCR by using a mixture of the primer 8, the primer 17
and the product obtained by PCR above (target-LPETG-linker (20
A.A.) and linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA-linker (7 A.A.)).
[0103] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (20
A.A.)-Sortase-(H4)2 L linker (50 A.A.)-H9 (II of FIG. 2) was
amplified by overlapping PCR by using a mixture of the primer 8,
the primer 19 and the product obtained by PCR above
(target-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.) and linker (20 A.A.)-SrtA-(H4)2 L
linker (50 A.A.))
[0104] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase-CHL
linker (32 A.A.)-H9 (I of FIG. 3) was amplified by overlapping PCR
by using a mixture of the primer 8, the primer 24 and the product
obtained by PCR above (target-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.) and linker (20
A.A.)-SrtA-CHL linker (32 A.A.)).
[0105] Gene encoding target (VL)-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase-AHL
linker (45 A.A.)-H9 (II of FIG. 3) was amplified by overlapping PCR
by using a mixture of the primer 8, the primer 28 and the product
obtained by PCR above (target-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.) and linker (20
A.A.)-SrtA-AHL linker (45 A.A.)).
[0106] DNA fragments resulted therefrom were cleaved by NdeI and
NotI, the target protein was ligated with a pET23a vector (Novagen)
which is a vector expressing target-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-R9,
target-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-H6, or target-LPETG-other
linker-Sortase-H9, that is the fusion protein.
[0107] Target-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-R9, target-LPETG-other
linker-Sortase-H6, or target-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-H9 which is
a fusion protein has HindIII site between the target and sequence
encoding LPETG-other linker-Sortase-R9, LPETG-other
linker-Sortase-H6, or LPETG-other linker-Sortase-H9. Then, for
expression, all gene constructs were cleaved by NdeI and HindIII,
and ligated with pET23a-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-R9,
pET23a-LPETG-other linker-Sortase-H6, or pET23a-LPETG-other
linker-Sortase-H9.
Example 2: Confirmation of Expression in Soluble Condition
[0108] Expression tests were performed by using E. coli
Origami2(DE3) or BL21(DE3). Single bacterial colony was inoculated
in dYT medium (30 Ml) containing 100 mg/l of ampicillin and 0.5%
(w/v) of glucose, and cultured overnight at 37.degree. C. The
preculture was inoculated in 0.3 l of LB, SB, or dYT medium (100
mg/l of ampicillin, 50 mM K.sub.2HPO.sub.4), and cultured at
37.degree. C. (1 l flask with baffles, 200 rpm). When OD600 was
0.6, IPTG was added so as to have a final concentration of 0.5 mM
to induce expression. The culturing was maintained at 18.degree. C.
for 18 hours. Cells were collected by centrifugation (10,000 rpm,
10 minutes, 4.degree. C.), suspended in 30 Ml of 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH
8.0) and 150 mM NaCl, and crushed by ultrasonic waves (sonication).
The crude extract was centrifuged (10,000 rpm, 30 minutes,
4.degree. C.), and the supernatant was filtered with 0.2 mm filter
and applied directly to Ni FF chromatography as described in
Example 3 below.
Example 3: Ni-NTA Purification
[0109] The supernatant of the lysate was loaded on 5 Ml of Ni-NTA
(GE) column, and washed with a buffer A (50 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.0, 150
mM NaCl, 30 mM imidazole, and 5 mM BME) having a volume 20 times
larger than column volume, and washed with a buffer B (50 mM
Tris-Cl, pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl) having a volume 5 times larger than
column volume. After washing, aliquote of protein-binding resin was
equilibrated with a cleavage-buffer (a buffer B including 5 mM
CaCl.sub.2) and 5 mM tri-Gly), and reacted at 25.degree. C. for 1
hour.
[0110] The corresponding process was progressed as shown in FIGS. 5
and 8. FIG. 5 shows a process for purifying the conventional fusion
protein in which Sortase A is bound to the C-terminal shown in I of
FIG. 1, and FIG. 8 shows a process for purifying the fusion protein
in which Sortase A is bound to the N-terminal according to the
present invention.
[0111] Protein purity was analyzed by Coomassie blue staining of
SDS-PAGE gels. In addition, whether or not expression and
purification were performed on some samples was confirmed by
Western blotting.
Example 4: Confirmation of Expression and Purification of Sortase
Fusion Protein
[0112] When the target protein is linked to N-terminal or
C-terminal of the entire fusion protein on the basis of the target
protein in view of a structure of fusion proteins, change in
purification efficiency was confirmed.
[0113] Whether or not expression is performed was confirmed in cell
lysates obtained by Example 2 above from the host cell (E. coli)
transformed with the expression vectors obtained by inserting the
fusion protein shown in I of FIG. 1 into pET21b, pET23a, and pLIC.
The cell lysates were refined by binding to Ni-NTA(GE) column as
described in Example 3, and the proteins were confirmed in a state
in which they were bound to the column.
[0114] The expression and the purification were confirmed by
Coomassie blue staining and Western blotting using a Myc tag bound
to the target protein.
[0115] As shown in FIG. 6, the fusion protein was well expressed
regardless of the vectors, and as shown in FIG. 7, the fusion
protein including the target protein at the C-terminal could not be
bound to the column, and purification activity could be rarely
confirmed (5, 6 lanes in FIG. 7B).
[0116] In order to confirm an effect of a position of the target
protein on the purification efficiency, the fusion proteins
including the target proteins positioned at N-terminal and at
C-terminal were compared with each other in view of purification
efficiency. It was confirmed by experiments according to Examples 2
and 3.
[0117] As shown in FIG. 15, the cleaved protein (Cleaved) was not
detected in the case in which the target protein was positioned at
C-terminal. Meanwhile, it could be confirmed that the cleaved
protein was present in significantly high purity in the case in
which the target protein was positioned at N-terminal. As confirmed
by comparison between Ls lane and flow through (FT) lane and by
bound proteins present in the column in each case, it could be
confirmed that when the target protein is positioned at C-terminal,
the fusion protein could be rarely bound to the column; meanwhile,
when the target protein was positioned at N-terminal, the fusion
proteins had significantly high binding ratio, and most of the
bound fusion proteins were cleaved.
Example 5: Linker Optimization Test
[0118] 5-1: Length Optimization of Linker
[0119] Whether or not expression is performed was confirmed in cell
lysates obtained by culturing Origami2(DE3) or BL21(DE3)
transformed with vectors expressing the fusion protein shown in II
to IV of FIG. 1 in LB, SB or dYT medium, and performing the method
as shown in Example 2. The cell lysates were refined by binding to
Ni-NTA(GE) column as described in Example 3, and the proteins were
confirmed in a state in which they were bound to the column.
[0120] The expression and the purification of the target protein
were confirmed by Coomassie blue staining and Western blotting
using a HA tag antibody in a case of VH, and using a myc tag
antibody in a case of VL.
[0121] As shown in FIG. 9, it was confirmed that expression was
well achieved without showing difference between host cells
(Origami2 or BL21).
[0122] In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, it may be seen that the
fusion protein was well expressed without showing a significant
difference among culturing solutions that culture the cells
(position of 33 kDa in Loading sample (LS) lane). In addition, most
of the proteins bound to the column were cleaved (33 kDa bands did
not exist in all bound protein (BP) lanes).
[0123] Meanwhile, by changing the length of the linker, it could be
confirmed that the proteins from which the tag was removed
(positioned at 15 kDa in cleaved protein (CP) lane) were weakly
present in 7 A.A. linker(GGSSRSS, SEQ ID NO: 5), and 18 A.A. linker
(SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSS, SEQ ID NO: 6). Meanwhile, the protein from
which the tag was removed, with high purity and in a large amount
was confirmed in 20 A.A. linker (SSGGGGSGGGGGGSSRSSGS, SEQ ID NO:
7).
[0124] As a reason in which target protein yield of obtaining the
protein including 20 A.A. linker is remarkably higher than that of
the protein including 7 A.A. or 18 A.A. linker, firstly, in
comparison in view of expression amount (LS lane), it could be
confirmed that as compared to 7 A.A. linker, the fusion protein
including 20 A.A. linker had higher over-expression degree;
however, it could be confirmed that the fusion protein including 18
A.A. linker was over-expressed without significant difference
between the protein including 18 A.A. linker and the protein
including 20 A.A. linker. Meanwhile, as appreciated in each case by
comparison between LS lane and FT lane, it was observed that the
thick band of the over-expressed fusion protein (about 33 kDa) only
including 20 A.A. linker disappeared in FT lane while passing
through the column, which could be confirmed that the fusion
protein including 20 A.A. linker had a remarkably high binding
ratio to the column. It could be additionally confirmed that the
protein portions (positioned at 20 kDa in Bound protein (BP) lane)
removed while including remaining tag in the column were remarkably
highly shown in the protein including 20 A.A. linker.
[0125] Accordingly, it was confirmed that the structure in which
the 20 A.A. linker is inserted between the self-cleaving portion
and Sortase is possible to remarkably increase yield of obtaining
the target protein.
[0126] 5-2: Whether or not Yield is Changed According to Addition
of Linker
[0127] In order to confirm that yield is changed when the linker is
present in C-terminal as well as N-terminal of the Sortase A
domain, the fusion protein obtained by additionally inserting the
linker between the Sortase A domain and His tag was used for
comparison.
[0128] FIG. 13 shows comparison between (1) a case transformed with
a vector expressing a fusion protein having a structure of target
protein (VH)-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase A-His 6, and (2) a case
transformed with a vector expressing a fusion protein having a
structure of target protein (VH)-HA-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase
A-linker (7 A.A.)-His 6.
[0129] Difference between (1) and (2) is the presence of the linker
(7 A.A., GGSSRSS) behind the Sortase A. Expression and column
binding degrees of two fusion proteins were confirmed by Coomassie
blue staining.
[0130] As shown in FIG. 13, it could be confirmed that strong bands
were shown at fusion protein portions (33 kDa) in both cases of (1)
and (2). However, in (1), the proteins slightly bound to the column
were confirmed (Bound proteins); and in (2) comparing with (1),
proteins bound to the column were hardly confirmed. That is, the
addition of the linker (7 A.A.) to C-terminal of Sortase A
interferes the binding of the fusion protein to column.
[0131] 5-3: Change of Linker
[0132] Binding ratio to column or yield was confirmed by
substituting the linkers consisting of a plurality of glycine and
serine and one arginine with various kinds of linkers capable of
reducing interference among the domains.
[0133] First, the substitution was made with a helical linker. The
helical linker having General Formula of A(EAAK)nA (n=2-5) was
used, in particular, (H4)2 linker (LEA(EAAAK)4ALEA(EAAAK)4ALE, 50
A.A., SEQ ID NO: 1) (n=4) was used to express the fusion protein
having structures of I and II of FIG. 2, and binding ratios of
protein and column were confirmed.
[0134] As shown in FIG. 12, it could be confirmed that the
corresponding fusion proteins were over-expressed, but rarely bound
to the column. It was confirmed that the helical linker used in the
corresponding fusion proteins could not have an effect of
increasing the binding ratio.
[0135] Next, the substitution was made with a positively charged
linker (CHL, TRARLSKELQAAQARLGADMEDVCGRL VQYRG, SEQ ID NO: 2) or a
negatively charged linker (AHL, KEQQNAFYEILHLPNLNEE
QRNGFIQSLKDDPSQSANLLAEAKKL, SEQ ID NO: 3). Structures of the fusion
proteins using the linkers were illustrated in I and II of FIG. 3.
Binding ratio and yield of obtaining two fusion proteins were
confirmed.
[0136] As shown in FIG. 14, the fusion protein including CHL (FIG.
14A) showed significantly weak expression, and was rarely bound to
the column. Meanwhile, the fusion protein including AHL (FIG. 14B)
showed some level of over-expression, and was bound to the column
in a predetermined amount; however, cleaved protein (cleavage) was
rarely shown. It was confirmed that the charged linker used in the
corresponding fusion proteins could not have a sufficient effect of
increasing the binding ratio or yield.
Example 6: Optimum Conditions for Cleavage Reaction
[0137] In order for the Sortase A to recognize and cleave the
cleavage sequence (LPXTG), it was known to require calcium and/or
triglycine. In the present invention, yield of obtaining the
cleavage protein was confirmed by including or not including
calcium or triglycine and by changing concentration conditions in
order to confirm optimum conditions of the cleavage reaction.
[0138] Specifically, yield of obtaining the cleavage protein by the
cleavage-buffer in which one of calcium and triglycine having a
concentration to be fixed as 5 mM and the remaining other one
having a concentration of 0, 0.2, 1, or 5 mM are mixed is compared
with that of a negative control group without including both of
calcium and triglycine.
[0139] As shown in FIG. 11, in the negative control group, the
cleavage protein was not observed at all (about 15 kDa), and in a
case in which one of calcium and triglycine is included, the
cleavage protein could be observed. Meanwhile, it could be
confirmed that in a case of including 5 mM of triglycine and
controlling concentration of calcium from 0 to 5 mM, there was
little difference in an amount of cleavage protein to be obtained;
meanwhile, in a case of including 5 mM of calcium and controlling
concentration of triglycine from 0 to 5 mM, in particular, in a
case of not including triglycine, the cleavage protein was obtained
in a small amount (FIG. 11B). However, once triglycine is included,
there was little difference in an amount of the cleavage protein to
be obtained.
[0140] It means that triglycine included in the cleavage-buffer has
an important role in cleavage function of Sortase, and the
concentration difference does not have significant meaning.
Example 7: Optimization for Preparing Therapeutic Antibody-Drug
Conjugate
[0141] 7-1: Concentration Optimization
[0142] In present example, optimum concentration condition of
triglycine required for binding to effective drug was established.
As the drug, biotin fused with triglycine was used. The reaction
was made by mixing the drug with each concentration of 0, 10 nM,
100 nM, 500 nM, 1 .mu.M, 10M, 100 .mu.M, 500 .mu.M, and 1 mM with
reaction buffer (50 mM Tris buffer, pH8.0/150 mM NaCl/5 mM
CaCl.sub.2)), and the target proteins-biotin conjugates were
compared with negative control groups. For the negative control
groups, three conditions (1: 50 mM Tris buffer, pH8.0/2:50 mM Tris
buffer, pH8.0+500 .mu.M triglycine-biotin/3: reaction buffer) were
used. Total concentration of the target protein from the
conjugation reaction of target protein-biotin was confirmed by
Western blotting using a Myc tag bound to the target protein, and a
conjugation reaction degree of the target protein and the biotin
was confirmed by streptavidin.
[0143] As a result, in the negative control groups including three
conditions as described above, the target protein-biotin conjugate
(about 45 kDa) was not observed at all, and a saturated conjugation
reaction could be observed in triglycine-biotin with a
concentration of 500 .mu.M and 1 mM, and a large amount of
conjugation reactions could be observed in triglycine-biotin with a
concentration of 100 .mu.M; but had a lower reaction degree as
compared to the triglycine-biotin conjugates with concentration of
500 .mu.M and 1 mM (FIG. 16A).
[0144] 7-2: Reaction Time Optimization
[0145] Optimum reaction time condition was analyzed by using the
established concentration of triglycine-biotin as described in
Example 7-1 above. The reaction was made by using the target
proteins each with concentration to be fixed as 500 .mu.M or 1 mM
for reaction times of 0, 30 minutes, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 hours, and 16
hours. Then, the target protein-biotin conjugates were compared
with the negative control group.
[0146] As an analysis result obtained by Western blotting like
Example 7-1, the target protein-biotin conjugate was not observed
in the negative control group, a large amount of conjugation
reactions was observed in triglycine-biotin with a concentration of
500 .mu.M for 4 to 6 hours; and the best efficiency was shown in
the conjugation reaction for 16 hours. In addition, in
triglycine-biotin with a concentration of 1 mM, it could be
confirmed that excellent conjugation efficiency could be shown in
all conjugation reactions for 4 to 6 hours and 16 hours (FIG.
16B).
[0147] When summarizing the above-described results, it could be
appreciated that the fusion protein having a structure of target
protein-LPETG-linker (20 A.A.)-Sortase-tag had significantly high
yield due to excellent binding ability to column, and excellent
Sortase A self-cleaving activity, and the therapeutic antibody-drug
conjugate could be prepared by using the fusion protein.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
[0148] The present invention relates to a self-cleaving fusion
protein including a self-cleaving cassette consisting of a domain
of Sortase A having cleaving function and a peptide including amino
acid sequence represented by LPXTG which is a recognition sequence
of the domain in Sortase A having cleaving function, which is
significantly useful in that a purification process and a tag
removing process of the target protein are capable of being
completed by only one purification process rather than separate
processes. In particular, the fusion protein may be widely used in
various fields requiring proteins with high purity and in a large
amount in that a binding ability of the fusion protein to the
column, and a self-cleaving ability are increased, the target
protein from which the tag is removed is capable of being obtained
with high purity, and the purification process and the tag removing
process of the target protein are capable of being completed by a
cleavage-buffer to remarkably reduce time and efforts required for
the purification, and loss of proteins to be obtained is reduced
due to only one step, by positioning the target protein at the
amino terminal. In particular, the fusion protein is useful for
preparing a therapeutic antibody-drug conjugate.
[0149] The present invention has been described in detail based on
particular features thereof, and it is obvious to those skilled in
the art that these specific technologies are merely preferable
embodiments and thus the scope of the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments. Therefore, the substantial scope of the
present invention will be defined by the accompanying claims and
their equivalents.
Sequence CWU 1
1
59149PRTArtificial SequenceLinker 50 a.a. 1Leu Glu Ala Glu Ala Ala
Ala Lys Glu Ala Ala Ala Lys Glu Ala Ala 1 5 10 15 Ala Lys Glu Ala
Ala Ala Lys Ala Leu Glu Ala Glu Ala Ala Ala Lys 20 25 30 Glu Ala
Ala Ala Lys Glu Ala Ala Ala Lys Glu Ala Ala Ala Lys Ala 35 40 45
Leu 232PRTArtificial SequenceCH Linker 2Thr Arg Ala Arg Leu Ser Lys
Glu Leu Gln Ala Ala Gln Ala Arg Leu 1 5 10 15 Gly Ala Asp Met Glu
Asp Val Cys Gly Arg Leu Val Gln Tyr Arg Gly 20 25 30
345PRTArtificial SequenceAH Linker 3Lys Glu Gln Gln Asn Ala Phe Tyr
Glu Ile Leu His Leu Pro Asn Leu 1 5 10 15 Asn Glu Glu Gln Arg Asn
Gly Phe Ile Gln Ser Leu Lys Asp Asp Pro 20 25 30 Ser Gln Ser Ala
Asn Leu Leu Ala Glu Ala Lys Lys Leu 35 40 45 415PRTArtificial
SequenceFlexible LinkerREPEAT(2)..(6)'SGGGG' can be repeated from 0
to 10 timesREPEAT(1)'S' can be repeated from 0 to 5
timesREPEAT(14)'G' can be repeated from 0 to 5 timesREPEAT(15)'S'
can be repeated from 0 to 5 times 4Ser Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly
Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Gly Ser 1 5 10 15 57PRTArtificial
SequenceLinker 7 a.a. 5Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser 1 5
618PRTArtificial SequenceLinker 18 a.a. 6Ser Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly
Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Ser Ser
720PRTArtificial SequenceLinker 20 a.a. 7Ser Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly
Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg 1 5 10 15 Ser Ser Gly Ser
20 8147PRTArtificial SequenceS. aureus Sortase A 60-206 8Gln Ala
Lys Pro Gln Ile Pro Lys Asp Lys Ser Lys Val Ala Gly Tyr 1 5 10 15
Ile Glu Ile Pro Asp Ala Asp Ile Lys Glu Pro Val Tyr Pro Gly Pro 20
25 30 Ala Thr Pro Glu Gln Leu Asn Arg Gly Val Ser Phe Ala Glu Glu
Asn 35 40 45 Glu Ser Leu Asp Asp Gln Asn Ile Ser Ile Ala Gly His
Thr Phe Ile 50 55 60 Asp Arg Pro Asn Tyr Gln Phe Thr Asn Leu Lys
Ala Ala Lys Lys Gly 65 70 75 80 Ser Met Val Tyr Phe Lys Val Gly Asn
Glu Thr Arg Lys Tyr Lys Met 85 90 95 Thr Ser Ile Arg Asp Val Lys
Pro Thr Asp Val Gly Val Leu Asp Glu 100 105 110 Gln Lys Gly Lys Asp
Lys Gln Leu Thr Leu Ile Thr Cys Asp Asp Tyr 115 120 125 Asn Glu Lys
Thr Gly Val Trp Glu Lys Arg Lys Ile Phe Val Ala Thr 130 135 140 Glu
Val Lys 145 939PRTArtificial SequenceH1. winzipA1 coiled coil 9Thr
Val Ala Gln Leu Glu Glu Lys Val Lys Thr Leu Arg Ala Gln Asn 1 5 10
15 Tyr Glu Leu Lys Ser Arg Val Gln Arg Leu Arg Glu Gln Val Ala Gln
20 25 30 Leu Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 1039PRTArtificial
SequenceH2. winzipA2 coiled coil linker 10Thr Val Ala Gln Leu Arg
Glu Arg Val Lys Thr Leu Arg Ala Gln Asn 1 5 10 15 Tyr Glu Leu Glu
Ser Glu Val Gln Arg Leu Arg Glu Gln Val Ala Gln 20 25 30 Leu Ala
Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 1139PRTArtificial SequenceH3. Vel Al coiled
coil linker 11Thr Val Ala Gln Leu Glu Glu Lys Val Lys Thr Leu Arg
Ala Glu Asn 1 5 10 15 Tyr Glu Leu Lys Ser Glu Val Gln Arg Leu Glu
Glu Gln Val Ala Gln 20 25 30 Leu Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 35
1236PRTArtificial SequenceH4.Max coiled coil linker 12Thr Met Arg
Arg Lys Asn Asp Thr His Gln Gln Asp Ile Asp Asp Leu 1 5 10 15 Lys
Arg Gln Asn Ala Leu Leu Glu Gln Gln Val Arg Ala Leu Ala Ser 20 25
30 Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 1352PRTArtificial SequenceH5. EE1234L coiled
coil linker 13Thr Leu Glu Ile Glu Ala Ala Phe Leu Glu Gln Glu Asn
Thr Ala Leu 1 5 10 15 Glu Thr Glu Val Ala Glu Leu Glu Gln Glu Val
Gln Arg Leu Glu Asn 20 25 30 Ile Val Ser Gln Tyr Glu Thr Arg Tyr
Gly Pro Leu Gly Gly Ala Ser 35 40 45 Glu Phe Glu Leu 50
1444PRTArtificial SequenceH6.VSAL E5 coiled coil linker 14Thr Glu
Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu 1 5 10 15
Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu Val Ser 20
25 30 Ala Leu Glu Lys Gly Gly Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 40
1531PRTArtificial SequenceH7.VSAL E3ox coiled coil linker 15Thr Cys
Gly Gly Glu Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu Val Ser Ala Leu 1 5 10 15
Glu Lys Glu Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 20 25
30 1628PRTArtificial SequenceH8. IAALE3 coiled coil linker 16Thr
Glu Ile Ala Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu Ile Ala Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu 1 5 10
15 Ile Ala Ala Leu Glu Lys Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 20 25
17374PRTArtificial SequenceFlag-VH-linker- VSAL E3 ox coiled coil-
HA-Flag-LPETG-linker 20-SrtA-His9 17Asp Tyr Lys Asp Glu Val Gln Leu
Val Glu Ser Gly Gly Gly Leu Val 1 5 10 15 Gln Pro Gly Gly Ser Leu
Arg Leu Ser Cys Ala Ala Ser Gly Phe Asn 20 25 30 Ile Lys Asp Thr
Tyr Ile His Trp Val Arg Gln Ala Pro Gly Lys Gly 35 40 45 Leu Glu
Trp Val Ala Arg Ile Tyr Pro Thr Asn Gly Tyr Thr Arg Tyr 50 55 60
Ala Asp Ser Val Lys Gly Arg Phe Thr Ile Ser Ala Asp Thr Ser Lys 65
70 75 80 Asn Thr Ala Tyr Leu Gln Met Asn Ser Leu Arg Ala Glu Asp
Thr Ala 85 90 95 Val Tyr Tyr Cys Ser Arg Trp Gly Gly Asp Gly Phe
Tyr Ala Met Asp 100 105 110 Tyr Trp Gly Gln Gly Thr Leu Val Thr Val
Ser Ser Ser Leu Glu Gly 115 120 125 Thr Gly Gly Thr Ser Gly Ser Thr
Ser Gly Thr Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg 130 135 140 Ser Ser Ser Thr Thr Cys
Gly Gly Glu Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Glu 145 150 155 160 Val Ser Ala
Leu Glu Lys Glu Val Ser Ala Leu Glu Lys Ala Ser Glu 165 170 175 Phe
Glu Leu Tyr Pro Tyr Asp Val Pro Asp Tyr Ala Lys Asp Tyr Lys 180 185
190 Asp Leu Pro Glu Thr Gly Ser Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser Gly Gly Gly
195 200 205 Gly Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Gly Ser Gln Ala Lys Pro
Gln Ile 210 215 220 Pro Lys Asp Lys Ser Lys Val Ala Gly Tyr Ile Glu
Ile Pro Asp Ala 225 230 235 240 Asp Ile Lys Glu Pro Val Tyr Pro Gly
Pro Ala Thr Pro Glu Gln Leu 245 250 255 Asn Arg Gly Val Ser Phe Ala
Glu Glu Asn Glu Ser Leu Asp Asp Gln 260 265 270 Asn Ile Ser Ile Ala
Gly His Thr Phe Ile Asp Arg Pro Asn Tyr Gln 275 280 285 Phe Thr Asn
Leu Lys Ala Ala Lys Lys Gly Ser Met Val Tyr Phe Lys 290 295 300 Val
Gly Asn Glu Thr Arg Lys Tyr Lys Met Thr Ser Ile Arg Asp Val 305 310
315 320 Lys Pro Thr Asp Val Gly Val Leu Asp Glu Gln Lys Gly Lys Asp
Lys 325 330 335 Gln Leu Thr Leu Ile Thr Cys Asp Asp Tyr Asn Glu Lys
Thr Gly Val 340 345 350 Trp Glu Lys Arg Lys Ile Phe Val Ala Thr Glu
Val Lys His His His 355 360 365 His His His His His His 370
18377PRTArtificial SequenceVL-linker-VelB1 coiled coil-
myc-LPETG-linker 20- SrtA-His9 18Asp Ile Gln Met Thr Gln Ser Pro
Ser Ser Leu Ser Ala Ser Val Gly 1 5 10 15 Asp Arg Val Thr Ile Thr
Cys Arg Ala Ser Gln Asp Val Asn Thr Ala 20 25 30 Val Ala Trp Tyr
Gln Gln Lys Pro Gly Lys Ala Pro Lys Leu Leu Ile 35 40 45 Tyr Ser
Ala Ser Phe Leu Tyr Ser Gly Val Pro Ser Arg Phe Ser Gly 50 55 60
Ser Arg Ser Gly Thr Asp Phe Thr Leu Thr Ile Ser Ser Leu Gln Pro 65
70 75 80 Glu Asp Phe Ala Thr Tyr Tyr Cys Gln Gln His Tyr Thr Thr
Pro Pro 85 90 95 Thr Phe Gly Gln Gly Thr Lys Val Glu Ile Lys Ala
Leu Glu Gly Thr 100 105 110 Gly Ser Ser Thr Gly Ser Ser Thr Gly Pro
Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser 115 120 125 Ser Ser Thr Gly Pro Gly Gly Ser
Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Val 130 135 140 Asp Glu Leu Gln Ala Glu
Val Asp Gln Leu Glu Asp Glu Asn Tyr Ala 145 150 155 160 Leu Lys Thr
Lys Val Ala Gln Leu Arg Lys Lys Val Glu Lys Leu Ala 165 170 175 Ser
Glu Phe Glu Leu Glu Gln Lys Leu Ile Ser Glu Glu Asp Leu Lys 180 185
190 Leu Pro Glu Thr Leu Pro Glu Thr Gly Ser Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser
195 200 205 Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Gly Ser Gln
Ala Lys 210 215 220 Pro Gln Ile Pro Lys Asp Lys Ser Lys Val Ala Gly
Tyr Ile Glu Ile 225 230 235 240 Pro Asp Ala Asp Ile Lys Glu Pro Val
Tyr Pro Gly Pro Ala Thr Pro 245 250 255 Glu Gln Leu Asn Arg Gly Val
Ser Phe Ala Glu Glu Asn Glu Ser Leu 260 265 270 Asp Asp Gln Asn Ile
Ser Ile Ala Gly His Thr Phe Ile Asp Arg Pro 275 280 285 Asn Tyr Gln
Phe Thr Asn Leu Lys Ala Ala Lys Lys Gly Ser Met Val 290 295 300 Tyr
Phe Lys Val Gly Asn Glu Thr Arg Lys Tyr Lys Met Thr Ser Ile 305 310
315 320 Arg Asp Val Lys Pro Thr Asp Val Gly Val Leu Asp Glu Gln Lys
Gly 325 330 335 Lys Asp Lys Gln Leu Thr Leu Ile Thr Cys Asp Asp Tyr
Asn Glu Lys 340 345 350 Thr Gly Val Trp Glu Lys Arg Lys Ile Phe Val
Ala Thr Glu Val Lys 355 360 365 His His His His His His His His His
370 375 1950DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 1_sfi 19ccgtggccca
ggcggccgca agcagcggcc tgaacgacat cttcgaggcc 502043DNA Artificial
Sequenceprimer 1 20atgtcatatg gcaagcagcg gcctgaacga catcttcgag gcc
432145DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 2 21ctgcatttcg tgccactcga
tcttctgggc ctcgaagatg tcgtt 452239DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 3
22atcgagtggc acgaaatgca ggctaagccg cagattccg 392339DNAArtificial
Sequenceprimer 4 23gccggtctcg ggaagcttct tgacctcggt agcgacaaa
392443DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 5 24cagtaagctt cccgagaccg
gcgatatcca gatgactcag agc 432536DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 6
25actcgaaccc gccgtacgtt ttatctctac ctttgt 362652DNAArtificial
Sequenceprimer 7 26taatggccgg cctggccgcg gccgcttaaa gatcttcttc
actaattaac tt 522731DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 8 27atgtcatatg
gacattcaga tgacacagag t 312846DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 9
28ggaaccaccg ccggtctcgg gaagaagatc ttcttcacta attaac
462974DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 10 29ggaagatcta gaggaaccac
ccccaccacc gcccgagcca ccgccaccgg atgagccggt 60ctcgggaaga agat
743048DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 11 30gagaccggcg gtggttcctc
tagatcttcc caggctaagc cgcagatt 483144DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer
13 31taatgcggcc gcttaatgat ggtgatggtg atgatgatga tggc
443241DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 13 32gtggttcctc tagatcttcc
tcgaaggtcg cgggatatat t 413349DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 14
33taatggccgg cctggcctta atgatggtga tggtgatgat gatgatggc
493442DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 15 34ggttcctcta gatcttccgg
aagccaggct aagccgcaga tt 423556DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 16
35atgatgatgg cgagagctac ggctgctgcc gcccttgacc tcggtagcga caaaga
563657DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 17 36taatgcggcc gcttaatgat
ggtgatggtg atgatgatga tggcgagagc tacggct 5737100DNAArtificial
Sequenceprimer 18 37acgacgacga cggcgctcca gtgccttagc agcggcttcc
ttagcagcag cctccttagc 60agctgcttct ttcgctgcgg cttccgcttc caacgctttc
1003852DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 19 38taatgcggcc gcttaacggc
gacgacggcg acgacgacga cggcgctcca gt 523937DNAArtificial
Sequenceprimer 20 39gtgcccgcgt cttgacctcg gtagcgacaa agatctt
374049DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 21 40gctgtccaag gagctgcagg
cggcgcaggc ccggctgggc gcggacatg 494152DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer
22 41gcggtactgc accaggcggc cgcacacgtc ctccatgtcc gcgcccagcc gg
524239DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 23 42gaggtcaaga cgcgggcacg
gctgtccaag gagctgcag 394353DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 24
43taatgcggcc gcttaatgat gctgatggtg atggccgcgg tactgcacca ggc
534436DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 25 44cggatcaccc ttgacctcgg
tagcgacaaa gatctt 364536DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 26
45gaggtcaagg gtgatccgaa agctgacaac aaattc 364641DNAArtificial
Sequenceprimer 27 46gtgatgatga tgatggtgag cttttggtgc ttgtgcatca t
414754DNAArtificial Sequenceprimer 28 47taatgcggcc gcttaatgat
ggtgatggtg atgatgatga tggtgagctt ttgg 544839PRTArtificial
SequenceL1.wizipB1 coiled coil linker 48Ser Val Asp Glu Leu Gln Ala
Glu Val Asp Gln Leu Gln Asp Glu Asn 1 5 10 15 Tyr Ala Leu Lys Thr
Lys Val Ala Gln Leu Arg Lys Lys Val Glu Lys 20 25 30 Leu Ala Ser
Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 4950PRTArtificial SequenceL2.winzipB2 coiled
coil linker 49Gly Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Val
Asp Glu Leu 1 5 10 15 Lys Ala Glu Val Asp Gln Leu Gln Asp Gln Asn
Tyr Ala Leu Arg Thr 20 25 30 Lys Val Ala Gln Leu Arg Lys Glu Val
Glu Lys Leu Ser Glu Glu Phe 35 40 45 Glu Leu 50 5050PRTArtificial
SequenceL3. Vel B1 coiled coil linker 50Gly Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg
Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Val Asp Glu Leu 1 5 10 15 Gln Ala Glu Val Asp
Gln Leu Glu Asp Glu Asn Tyr Ala Leu Lys Thr 20 25 30 Lys Val Ala
Gln Leu Arg Lys Lys Val Glu Lys Leu Ala Ser Glu Phe 35 40 45 Glu
Leu 50 5147PRTArtificial SequenceL4. myc coiled coil linker 51Gly
Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Val Gln Ala Glu 1 5 10
15 Glu Gln Lys Leu Ile Ser Glu Glu Asp Leu Leu Arg Lys Arg Arg Glu
20 25 30 Gln Leu Lys His Lys Leu Glu Gln Leu Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu
Leu 35 40 45 5264PRTArtificial SequenceL5. RR1234L coiled coil
52Gly Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Lys Gly Gly Gly 1
5 10 15 Leu Glu Ile Arg Ala Ala Phe Leu Arg Arg Arg Asn Thr Ala Leu
Arg 20 25 30 Thr Arg Val Ala Glu Leu Arg Gln Arg Val Gln Arg Leu
Arg Asn Ile 35 40 45 Val Ser Gln Tyr Glu Thr Arg Tyr Gly Pro Ala
Ser Phe Glu Glu Leu 50 55 60 5352PRTArtificial SequenceL6. VSAL K5
coiled coil linker 53Gly Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr
Lys Val Ser Ala Leu 1 5 10 15 Lys Glu Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu
Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu 20 25 30 Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu
Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu Gly Gly 35 40 45 Glu Phe Glu Leu 50
5441PRTArtificial SequenceL7. VSAL k3ox coiled coil linker 54Gly
Pro Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Cys Gly Gly Lys Val 1 5 10
15 Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu Lys Val Ser Ala Leu Lys Glu Lys Val Ser Ala
20 25 30 Leu Lys Glu Gly Gly Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 40
5539PRTArtificial SequenceL8.IAAL K3 coiled coil linker 55Gly Pro
Gly Gly Ser Ser Arg Ser Ser Ser Thr Ser Lys Ile Ala Ala 1 5 10 15
Leu Lys Glu Lys Ile Ala Ala Leu Lys Glu Lys Ile Ala Ala Leu Lys 20
25 30 Glu Ala Ser Glu Phe Glu Leu 35 561128DNAArtificial
SequenceFlag-VH-linker- VSAL E3 ox coiled coil-
HA-Flag-LPETG-linker 20-SrtA-His9 56gattataaag atgaagtgca
gcttgttgaa agtggcggcg gtctggtaca gcctggaggt 60agtttacgtc tgtcatgcgc
ggcatctgga ttcaatataa aagatacata tattcactgg 120gtccgccagg
caccggggaa aggattagaa tgggtagctc gtatttaccc aacgaatggt
180tatactcgct atgccgactc cgtgaagggc agatttacca tctcggcgga
tacgtcaaaa 240aacaccgcct atttgcagat gaacagcctg cgggctgaag
atactgcagt ttattactgt 300tctcgttggg gtggtgacgg gttttacgcc
atggattatt ggggtcaagg taccttagtt 360acagtgtcta gtagcctcga
gggtaccggc ggtaccagcg gttctaccag cggcaccggc 420ggcagctctc
gtagcagctc taccacctgc ggcggtgaag tgagcgcgct ggaaaaagaa
480gttagcgcgc tggaaaagga agtgagcgcc ctggaaaaag cgagcgaatt
cgagctctac 540ccatacgatg ttccagatta cgctaaggat tataaagatg
aacttcccga gaccggctca 600tccggtggcg gtggctcggg cggtggtggg
ggtggttcct ctagatcttc cggaagccag 660gctaagccgc agattccgaa
ggataagtcg aaggtcgcgg gatatattga aattcccgac 720gccgatataa
aggaaccagt gtatcctggg ccagccactc ctgaacagtt aaatcggggg
780gtgagctttg cagaagaaaa tgaaagcctg gacgaccaga acatttcaat
tgcgggccat 840acgttcatcg accgtccgaa ctaccagttc accaatctga
aggcggccaa gaagggttcc 900atggtttatt ttaaagtggg caacgaaaca
cgcaagtata aaatgacatc tatcagagat 960gttaaaccga cagatgtagg
agttttagat gaacaaaagg gtaaggataa gcaactcacg 1020ctgataactt
gcgatgacta caatgagaag acgggcgttt gggaaaagcg taagatcttt
1080gtcgctaccg aggtcaagca ccatcatcat catcaccatc accatcat
1128571086DNAArtificial SequenceVL-linker-VelB1 coiled coil-
myc-LPETG-linker 20- SrtA-His9 57gatatccaga tgactcagag cccgagtagc
ttgtccgcat cggtgggtga ccgtgttaca 60atcacgtgtc gtgcgtctca ggatgttaac
actgccgtgg cttggtatca gcaaaaaccg 120ggcaaagctc ccaaactgct
gatttactcg gcgtcattct tatattctgg cgtcccatct 180cgttttagcg
gaagtcgctc cgggaccgat tttacactca ccattagctc actgcaacct
240gaagactttg caacctatta ttgccagcaa cactatacga ccccgccaac
ctttggtcag 300ggtacaaagg tagagataaa agcgctcgag ggtaccggca
gcagcaccgg ttctagcacc 360ggcccgggcg gcagctctcg tagcagctct
accagcgtgg atgaactgca ggcggaagtg 420gatcagctgg aagatgaaaa
ctacgcgctg aaaaccaaag tggcccagct gcgtaaaaag 480gtggaaaaac
tgagcgaaga attcgagctc gagcaaaagt taattagtga agaagatctt
540aagcttcccg agaccggctc atccggtggc ggtggctcgg gcggtggtgg
gggtggttcc 600tctagatctt ccggaagcca ggctaagccg cagattccga
aggataagtc gaaggtcgcg 660ggatatattg aaattcccga cgccgatata
aaggaaccag tgtatcctgg gccagccact 720cctgaacagt taaatcgggg
ggtgagcttt gcagaagaaa atgaaagcct ggacgaccag 780aacatttcaa
ttgcgggcca tacgttcatc gaccgtccga actaccagtt caccaatctg
840aaggcggcca agaagggttc catggtttat tttaaagtgg gcaacgaaac
acgcaagtat 900aaaatgacat ctatcagaga tgttaaaccg acagatgtag
gagttttaga tgaacaaaag 960ggtaaggata agcaactcac gctgataact
tgcgatgact acaatgagaa gacgggcgtt 1020tgggaaaagc gtaagatctt
tgtcgctacc gaggtcaagc atcatcatca tcaccatcac 1080catcat
1086585PRTArtificial Sequencegeneral Sortase A recognition
sequencemisc_feature(3)..(3)Xaa can be any amino acid 58Leu Pro Xaa
Thr Gly 1 5 595PRTArtificial Sequencespecific Sortase A recognition
sequence 59Leu Pro Glu Thr Gly 1 5
* * * * *