Untitled

Funder

Organizational Unit

Publications

Evaluation of Mut(S) and Mut⁺ Pichia pastoris strains for membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase biosynthesis

Publication . Pedro, Augusto; Oppolzer, David; Bonifácio, M J; Maia, C J; Queiroz, João; Passarinha, L A

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT, EC 2.1.1.6) is an enzyme that catalyzes the methylation of catechol substrates, and while structural and functional studies of its membrane-bound isoform (MBCOMT) are still hampered by low recombinant production, Pichia pastoris has been described as an attractive host for the production of correctly folded and inserted membrane proteins. Hence, in this work, MBCOMT biosynthesis was developed using P. pastoris X33 and KM71H cells in shake flasks containing a semidefined medium with different methanol concentrations. Moreover, after P. pastoris glass beads lysis, biologically and immunologically active hMBCOMT was found mainly in the solubilized membrane fraction whose kinetic parameters were identical to its correspondent native enzyme. In addition, mixed feeds of methanol and glycerol or sorbitol were also employed, and its levels quantified using liquid chromatography coupled to refractive index detection. Overall, for the first time, two P. pastoris strains with opposite phenotypes were applied for MBCOMT biosynthesis under the control of the strongly methanol-inducible alcohol oxidase (AOX) promoter. Moreover, this eukaryotic system seems to be a promising approach to deliver MBCOMT in high quantities from fermentor cultures with a lower cost-benefit due to the cheaper cultivation media coupled with the higher titers tipically achieved in biorreactors, when compared with previously reported mammallian cell cultures.

2015-04Journal article

Restricted access

Pichia pastoris: a recombinant microfactory for antibodies and human membrane proteins

Publication . Gonçalves, A M; Pedro, Augusto; Maia, C J; Sousa, Fani; Queiroz, João; Passarinha, L A

During the last few decades, it has become evident that the compatibility of the yeast biochemical environment with the ability to process and translate the RNA transcript, along with its capacity to modify a translated protein, are relevant requirements for selecting this host cell for protein expression in several pharmaceutical and clinical applications. In particular, Pichia pastoris is used as an industrial host for recombinant protein and metabolite production, showing a powerful capacity to meet required biomolecular target production levels in high-throughput assays for functional genomics and drug screening. In addition, there is a great advantage to using P. pastoris for protein secretion, even at high molecular weights, since the recovery and purification steps are simplified owing to relatively low levels of endogenous proteins in the extracellular medium. Clearly, no single microexpression system can provide all of the desired properties for human protein production. Moreover, chemical and physical bioprocess parameters, including culture medium formulation, temperature, pH, agitation, aeration rates, induction, and feeding strategies, can highly influence product yield and quality. In order to benefit from the currently available wide range of biosynthesis strategies using P. pastoris, this mini review focuses on the developments and technological fermentation achievements, providing both a comparative and an overall integration analysis. The main aim is to highlight the relevance and versatility of the P. pastoris biosystem to the design of more cost-effective microfactories to meet the increasing demands for recombinant membrane proteins and clinical antibodies for several therapeutic applications.

2013-05Journal article

Restricted access