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Purification of recombinant proteins by fusion with thermally-responsive polypeptides

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Abstract

Elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) undergo a reversible, inverse phase transition. Below their transition temperature (Tt), ELPs are soluble in water, but when the temperature is raised above Tt, phase transition occurs, leading to aggregation of the polypeptide. We demonstrate a method for purification of soluble fusion proteins incorporating an ELP tag. Advantages of this method, termed "inverse transition cycling," include technical simplicity, low cost, ease of scale-up, and capacity for multiplexing. More broadly, the ability to environmentally modulate the physicochemical properties of recombinant proteins by fusion with ELPs will allow diverse applications in bioseparation, immunoassays, biocatalysis, and drug delivery.

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Figure 1: Characterization of the inverse transition of ELP fusion proteins.
Figure 2: Purification by inverse transition cycling.
Figure 3: Gene sequences.

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Acknowledgements

We thank R.T. Piervincenzi for the thioredoxin–tendamistat gene. This work was supported by Duke University through its provision of start-up funds to A.C., by the Whitaker Foundation, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center (ARIG no. 9605-ARG-0050), and the National Institutes of Health (1R21-GM-057373-01). We also thank the Whitaker Foundation for support of D.E.M. as a graduate fellow.

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  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Box 90281, Duke University, Durham, 27708-0281, NC

    Dan E. Meyer & Ashutosh Chilkoti

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  1. Dan E. Meyer
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  2. Ashutosh Chilkoti
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Correspondence to Ashutosh Chilkoti.

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Meyer, D., Chilkoti, A. Purification of recombinant proteins by fusion with thermally-responsive polypeptides. Nat Biotechnol 17, 1112–1115 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/15100

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