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. 1998 Feb 1;329(Pt 3):631–635. doi: 10.1042/bj3290631

Human insulin production from a novel mini-proinsulin which has high receptor-binding activity.

S G Chang 1, D Y Kim 1, K D Choi 1, J M Shin 1, H C Shin 1
PMCID: PMC1219086  PMID: 9445392

Abstract

To increase the folding efficiency of the insulin precursor and the production yield of insulin, we have designed a mini-proinsulin (M2PI) having the central C-peptide region replaced with a sequence forming a reverse turn. The mini-proinsulin was fused at the N-terminus to a 21-residue fusion partner containing a His10 tag for affinity purification. The gene for the fusion protein was inserted downstream of the T7 promoter of the expression plasmid pET-3a, and the fusion proteins were produced as inclusion bodies in the Escherichia coli cytoplasm at levels up to 25% of the total cell protein. The protein was sulphonated, cleaved by CNBr and the M2PI mini-proinsulin was purified using ion-exchange chromatography. The refolding yield of M2PI was 20-40% better than that of proinsulin studied at the same molar concentrations, indicating that the short turn-forming sequence is more effective in the refolding process than the much longer C-peptide. Native human insulin was successfully generated by subsequent enzymic conversion of mini-proinsulin. The mini-proinsulin exhibited high receptor-binding activity, about 50% as potent as insulin, suggesting that this single-chained mini-proinsulin may provide a foundation in understanding the receptor-bound structure of insulin as well as the role of C-peptide in the folding and activity of proinsulin.

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Selected References

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