Some of the available strategies for ensuring formation of
properly folded disulfide-bonded proteins in bacteria such as E.
coli are -
- Periplasmic expression - The periplasm is an
oxidizing compartment due to the presence of thioredoxin
superfamily proteins and it hosts enzymes catalyzing disulfide bond
formation and their isomerization, as well as specific chaperones
and foldases. The fusion of recombinant proteins to
suitable leader peptides allows for the translocation of unfolded
precursors into the periplasm by either the Sec or the SRP
system.
- Modulation of the expression level - To avoid
overcrowding in periplasm, protein secretion can be effectively
modulated at the translational level by modifying the
Shine-Dalgarno sequence.
- By creating double mutant strains of
thioredoxin/glutaredoxin reductase (trxB-, gor-) pathway -
These strains are characterized by the presence of an oxidizing
cytoplasm, compatible with the folding
of proteins that need disulfide bridges for stabilizing their
structure.