Abstract
The human tumor suppressor SMARCB1/INI1/SNF5/BAF47 (SNF5) is a core subunit of the multi-subunit ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complex SWI/SNF, also known as Brahma/Brahma-related gene 1 (BRM/BRG1)-associated factor (BAF). Experimental studies of SWI/SNF are currently considerably limited by the low cellular abundance of this complex; thus, recombinant protein production represents a key to obtain the SWI/SNF proteins for molecular and structural studies. While the expression of mammalian proteins in bacteria is often difficult, the baculovirus/insect cell expression system can overcome limitations of prokaryotic expression systems and facilitate the co-expression of multiple proteins. Here, we demonstrate that human full-length SNF5 tagged with a C-terminal 3 × FLAG can be expressed and purified from insect cell extracts in monomeric and dimeric forms. To this end, we constructed a set of donor and acceptor vectors for the expression of individual proteins and protein complexes in the baculovirus/insect cell expression system under the control of a polyhedrin (polh), p10, or a minimal Drosophila melanogaster Hsp70 promoter. We show that the SNF5 expression level could be modulated by the selection of the promoter used to control expression. The vector set also comprises vectors that encode a 3 × FLAG tag, Twin-Strep tag, or CBP-3 × FLAG-TEV-ProteinA triple tag to facilitate affinity selection and detection. By gel filtration and split-ubiquitin assays, we show that human full-length SNF5 has the ability to self-interact. Overall, the toolbox developed herein offers the possibility to flexibly select the promoter strength as well as the affinity tag and is suggested to advance the recombinant expression of chromatin remodeling factors and other challenging proteins.
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Availability of the Toolbox
The toolbox will be deposited at the non-profit plasmid repository Addgene, and distributed to the scientific community.
Abbreviations
- AcNPV:
-
Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus
- ATP:
-
Adenosine triphosphate
- BAF:
-
BRM/BRG1-associated factor
- BAF47:
-
BRM/BRG1-associated factor 47
- BRG1:
-
Brahma-related gene 1
- BRM:
-
Brahma Abbreviations
- CBP:
-
Calmodulin-binding peptide
- CC:
-
Coiled coil
- CE:
-
Cytoplasmic extract
- DBD:
-
DNA-binding domain
- DTT:
-
Dithiothreitol
- E:
-
Elution fraction
- EDTA:
-
Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
- FBS:
-
Fetal bovine serum
- FT:
-
Flow through
- GST:
-
Glutathione S-transferase
- HEPES:
-
4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid
- HSE:
-
Heat shock element
- Hsp:
-
Heat shock protein
- INI1:
-
Integrase interactor 1
- IPTG:
-
Isopropyl β-d-1-thiogalactopyranoside
- kDa:
-
Kilo dalton
- LB:
-
Lysogeny broth
- M:
-
Marker
- MBP:
-
Maltose-binding protein
- MCS:
-
Multiple cloning site
- MDa:
-
Mega dalton
- NE:
-
Nuclear extract
- NMDA:
-
N-methyl-d-aspartate
- OD600 :
-
Optical density at 600 nm
- ORF:
-
Open reading frame
- PAGE:
-
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- Polh :
-
Polyhedrin
- P/S:
-
Penicillin/streptomycin
- SD:
-
Synthetic defined
- SDS:
-
Sodium dodecyl sulfate
- SMARCB1:
-
SWI/SNF-related matrix-associated actin-dependent regulator of chromatin subfamily B member 1
- SNF5:
-
Sucrose Non Fermentable 5
- SWI/SNF:
-
Switch/sucrose non-fermentable
- TATA:
-
TATA box
- TCA:
-
Trichloroacetic acid
- TEV:
-
Tobacco etch virus
- W:
-
Wash fraction
- X-gal:
-
5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-d-galactopyranoside
- YFP:
-
Yellow fluorescent protein
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank Susanne Stubbe and Golshah Ayoubi for expert technical assistance, and Srdja Drakulic for support with some of the experiments. We are grateful for the access to experimental facilities at the Danish Neuroscience Centre House, Aarhus University, Denmark. This study was supported by the Sapere Aude Program of the Danish Council for Independent Research, the Lundbeck Foundation’s Fellowship Program, the A.P. Møller Foundation for the Advancement of Medical Sciences, and the Carlsbergfondet to MMG. ISJ was supported by a fellowship of the Graduate School of Health, Aarhus University.
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Golas, M.M., Jayaprakash, S., Le, L.T.M. et al. Modulating the Expression Strength of the Baculovirus/Insect Cell Expression System: A Toolbox Applied to the Human Tumor Suppressor SMARCB1/SNF5. Mol Biotechnol 60, 820–832 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-018-0107-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12033-018-0107-2