title: Recombinant production of antimicrobial peptides in Escherichia coli: a review.
abstract: Antimicrobial peptides are of great interest due to their potential application as novel antibiotics. Large quantities of highly purified peptides are required to meet the needs of basic research and clinical trials. Compared with isolation from natural sources and chemical synthesis, recombinant approach offers the most cost-effective means for large-scale peptide manufacture. Among the systems available for heterologous protein production, Escherichia coli has been the most widely used host. Antimicrobial peptides produced in E. coli are often expressed as fusion proteins, a strategy necessary to mask these peptides' lethal effect towards the host and protect them from proteolytic degradation. The present article reviews commonly used fusion partners (e.g., solubility-enhancing, aggregation-promoting and self-cleavable carriers, etc.), cleavage methods and optimization options for antimicrobial peptides production in E. coli. In addition, the various approaches developed to generate recombinant human antimicrobial peptide LL-37, which offer excellent examples demonstrating effective production strategies, were briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Protein Production Core Facility, Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. liy10@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Yifeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054804:Cathelicidins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006639:Histidine / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D002479:Inclusion Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D058849:Protein Refolding; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D012995:Solubility; D013879:Thioredoxins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D054804:Cathelicidins; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D006639:Histidine; D013879:Thioredoxins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases