This article provides a procedure for the affinity purification of a human recombinant protein, flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), which has been labeled with a 6X-histidine tag. The protocol involves the utilization of two distinct immobilized metal ion columns for the purification of the tagged protein.
Functional characterization of proteins requires them to be expressed and purified in substantial amounts with high purity to perform biochemical assays. The Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography (FPLC) system allows high-resolution separation of complex protein mixtures. By adjusting various parameters in FPLC, such as selecting the appropriate purification matrix, regulating the protein sample’s temperature, and managing the sample’s flow rate onto the matrix and the elution rate, it is possible to ensure the protein’s stability and functionality. In this protocol, we will demonstrate the versatility of the FPLC system to purify 6X-His-tagged flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) protein, produced in bacterial cultures. To improve protein purification efficiency, we will focus on multiple considerations, including proper column packing and preparation, sample injection using a sample loop, flow rate of sample application to the column, and sample elution parameters. Finally, the chromatogram will be analyzed to identify fractions containing high yields of protein and considerations for proper recombinant protein long-term storage. Optimizing protein purification methods is crucial for improving the precision and reliability of protein analysis.
Numerous strategies are available for comprehending cellular biology. One approach involves a top-down strategy, wherein genetic mutations are introduced into a gene, followed by the evaluation of resulting phenotypic changes in a model organism. Conversely, a reductionist approach entails the initial elucidation of molecular mechanisms and enzymatic functions of a particular protein, accompanied by the characterization of its interactions with other cellular components. Subsequently, the impact of this protein on a biological pathway is assessed. Although each research approach possesses its inherent advantages and limitations, achieving a comprehensive understanding of a biological pathway necessitates interdisciplinary investigations.
With DNA being the genetic blueprint of life, understanding the mechanisms of DNA duplication and genome maintenance has been an area of active interest for over seven decades. Studies in the field of DNA replication have yielded copious data concerning the individual structures and functions of numerous replication proteins. These inquiries, which encompass mechanistic aspects and biochemical activity assays, have been made feasible through the purification of these proteins, enabling their meticulous examination in an in vitro milieu. Consequently, protein purification emerges as an indispensable and ubiquitous technique in the majority of research endeavors geared toward unraveling mechanistic insights into DNA replication.
This article presents a methodology for isolating a DNA replication protein tagged with 6X-histidine, which has been overexpressed in bacterial cells. The protein of interest is human flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), a structure-specific nuclease that plays a pivotal role in lagging strand replication and is also a critical participant in DNA repair pathways like base excision repair (BER)1,2,3. FEN1's primary function is to cleave at the base of a 5'-displaced flap structure, an intermediate that arises during DNA replication or BER. Initially, biochemical investigations assessing the enzymatic activity of FEN1 suggested a "tracking" mechanism, wherein the nuclease would recognize the free 5'-phosphate end of a flap structure and then follow along the flap to its base before cleaving it4. Subsequent research revealed that FEN1 operates via a "threading" mechanism, wherein it first binds to the base of the flap and then threads the free 5' end through its active site prior to cleavage (Figure 1)5. The ability to overexpress and isolate recombinant FEN1 has facilitated these breakthroughs, enabling researchers to employ it in biochemical and structural investigations.
Affinity chromatography is a commonly used separation method to purify DNA. This technique uses the reversible binding affinity of target proteins towards ligands immobilized on a resin to specifically trap the protein of interest. One of the most widely used bio-affinities is the robust interaction between the amino acid, histidine, and metal ions such as nickel and cobalt and hence, can be captured onto a resin charged with Ni2+ or Co2+.
The DNA sequence encoding a string of 6-9 histidine residues (His) is frequently incorporated into the plasmid construct which encodes the protein of interest (at either the N-terminus or C-terminus), tagging the protein with a 6X-His-tag or a poly-His tag. The His-tagged protein can then be easily purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), a subtype of affinity chromatography whereby metal ions on the resin capture proteins with an affinity tag, which can later be eluted using appropriate elution agents. Transition metal ions such as Ni2+ and Co2+ can be immobilized onto agarose or silica gel matrices derived from N,N,N'-tris-(carboxymethyl)-ethylenediamine or nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) groups6.
Metal ligands are known to be robust against degradation by physical, chemical, and biological factors and hold this advantage over other types of ligands6,7. Additionally, the His-tag is a relatively small tag and does not significantly impact protein structure or function7. However, in a bacterial expression system, many chromosomally expressed proteins have an affinity towards metal ions and may co-purify with the target protein. Nickel and cobalt are the typical metal ions used in IMAC matrices. The Ni-NTA resin and the TALON cobalt-based resin are commonly used for the purification of His-tagged proteins.
Ni-NTA versus TALON
The respective metal ions of both Ni-NTA and TALON are immobilized on the resin through NTA ligands. Ni-NTA is thought to have a higher binding capacity, binding up to 100 mg/mL of protein. This can result in a higher protein yield, with the caveat that contaminant proteins may be co-purified. In contrast, the resin has a higher binding specificity towards His-tagged proteins and may be able to produce fractions of higher purity. In this study, we aim to compare the purification efficiency of both resins using the referenced automated fast protein liquid chromatography system, the NGC system (see the Table of Materials).
Buffers and compatibility
Buffers are required during protein purification for cell lysis, sample preparation, resin equilibration, and elution of the captured protein from the resin. Tris, MOPS, and HEPES buffers up to a concentration of 100 mM are the known compatible buffers for the Ni-NTA resin. Buffers often include reducing agents to prevent the oxidation of protein and protein aggregation. However, above a threshold limit, reducing agents could strip the resin of metal ions. The recommended concentration of reducing agents such as beta-mercaptoethanol (BME) or dithiothreitol (DTT) is below 1 mM for the above-mentioned nickel- and cobalt-based resins.
The buffers for the purification of hFEN1 are Tris buffers containing NaCl, BME, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), EDTA, and glycerol. NaCl maintains the protein in soluble form and disrupts molecular interactions such as DNA binding. BME reduces oxidized proteins and thereby prevents protein aggregation. PMSF) is a protease inhibitor that prevents protease-mediated degradation of target protein. EDTA eliminates divalent cations from the sample, preventing their access to nucleases and proteases. Glycerol enhances the stability of the protein in aqueous form. Additionally, the lysis buffer contains complete protease inhibitor tablets to ensure maximum protection of target protein from degrading proteases during cell lysis. The equilibration and elution buffers contain imidazole, with the elution buffer containing higher quantities for the imidazole to displace the bound protein from the resin during elution.
Next Generation Chromatography (NGC) system
This automated, medium-pressure chromatography system designed for fast-flow protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) uses two pumps to simultaneously pump two different buffers and is capable of injecting a wide range of sample volumes from 250 µL to 100 mL. The sample loop (known as the Dynaloop in this system), makes it possible to inject larger sample volumes. The system can be operated using the Chromlab software, which facilitates customized method creation, manipulation of purification runs, and analysis of UV peaks and protein fractions.
1. Sample preparation
2. Preparing affinity columns
3. Column packing using a flow adaptor
4. Priming the sample loop of the FPLC system
5. Sample injection
6. Method creation and analysis using the FPLC system-linked software
7. SDS PAGE analysis
BL21 (DE3) cell lysates expressing hFEN1 were passed through equilibrated Ni-NTA and TALON resins. The Ni-NTA resin is charged with Ni2+ ions and has a high binding capacity. The results show that the Ni-NTA resin yields a higher quantity of FEN1 compared to the TALON resin (Figure 7). The Ni-NTA resin is also known to non-specifically bind to other chromosomally expressed proteins. Cell lysate passed through the cobalt-based resin, was purified with high purity but a lower yield, compared to the Ni-NTA. Like many other DNA-binding proteins, FEN1 was further passed through size exclusion resin to remove the impurities. hFEN1 can be identified at the 43 kDa mark.
Figure 1: Flap cleavage mechanism by hFEN1: tracking versus threading. FEN1 (depicted in yellow) was initially thought to bind to the 5' end of the flap structure and track through it to the flap base (left). Later studies revealed that FEN1 first binds to the flap base and threads the 5' flap through its active site (right). Abbreviation: hFEN1 = human flap endonuclease 1. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Flow adaptor. (A) Components of the flow adaptor used for column packing and purification process; (B) the three positions of the cam latch used to tighten/loosen the O-ring and fix the adaptor in place. The zoomed-in image shows the state of the O-ring (loose/tight) at positions 1,2, and 3 from top to bottom. Images were taken with permission from 9. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 3: Injection module of the Fast protein liquid chromatography system. The various ports of the injection module connect the fast protein liquid chromatography system to the column, sample loop, and waste. The image was taken with permission from 10. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: System control. (A) System control tab in which flow settings can be manipulated and flow path can be seen; (B) flow rate settings window; (C) pump settings window. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Method settings window. A window to enter purification details such as column type, column volume, method base unit, and flow rate for the run. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 6: Schematic of the UV curve during FPLC: The UV curve rises and falls according to the purification phase. At the beginning of equilibration, the UV curve can get distorted due to the presence of air bubbles or contaminants in the tubing. As equilibration continues, the curve should stabilize as a flat line; During sample injection, as proteins unbound to the resin flow out, the UV curve rises until a maximum threshold is reached. The wash step, which flushes out residual unbound proteins, shows a gradual decrease in the UV measurements. Finally, during the elution phase, when the target protein is eluted, a peak is seen in the UV curve. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 7: SDS PAGE gel image. Lane 1-Molecular weight marker; Lane 2-1% Ni-NTA Input (cell lysate); Lane 3-1% flowthrough from the Ni-NTA resin; Lane 4-hFEN1 purified from Ni-NTA resin; Lane 5-1% Input (cell lysate); Lane 6-1% flowthrough from the cobalt-based resin; Lane 7-hFEN1 purified from cobalt-based resin; black arrow represents FEN1 at 42.5 kDa. Abbreviations: SDS-PAGE = sodium dodecyl sulfate; MW = molecular weight; hFEN1 = human flap endonuclease 1; NTA = nitrilotriacetic acid. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Buffers and solutions | Components |
Lysis buffer | 50 mM Tris–HCl [pH 8.0] |
500 mM NaCl | |
1 mM beta mercaptoethanol (BME) | |
1 mM phenyl-methylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) | |
1 mM EDTA | |
1 tablet complete protease inhibitor | |
10 mM imidazole | |
10% glycerol | |
Equilibration/Wash buffer | 50 mM Tris–HCl [pH 8.0] |
500 mM NaCl | |
1 mM BME | |
1 mM PMSF | |
10 mM imidazole | |
10% glycerol | |
Elution buffer | 50 mM Tris–HCl [pH 8.0] |
500 mM NaCl | |
1 mM BME | |
1 mM PMSF | |
1 M imidazole | |
10% glycerol | |
SDS sample loading buffer | 900 μL 4x Laemmli sample buffer |
100 μL BME | |
Coomassie brilliant blue staining solution | 50% ddH2O |
40% Methanol | |
10% Acetic acid | |
0.1% Coomassie brilliant blue R-250 | |
Destaining solution | 50% ddH2O |
40% Methanol | |
10% Acetic acid |
Table 1: Buffer composition.
Affinity chromatography is a widely used technique to purify DNA-binding proteins. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) is a specific type of affinity chromatography that uses metal ions to capture the histidine residues of a peptide sequence. This is why the "6X-His tag" or "poly-His tag" is attached to the N-terminus or the C-terminus of proteins to be purified. Nickel and cobalt are the most commonly used metal ions and vary in their compatibility with reagents such as BME and DTT normally used in purification. Although purifications have been carried out at concentrations of 1 mM BME or DTT, the use of these reagents can still be unreliable. Incompatibility can be observed during equilibration. If the buffer that flows through the resin appears brown in color, it indicates oxidation of the metal ions and may strip the metal ions from the resin. This could drastically reduce the binding capacity of the resin.
To ensure high purity and yield of protein, affinity interactions between metal ions and the His-tag should be favored over other possible charge-based interactions. This will ensure that all of the protein is eluted at once instead of eluting over different phases of the elution. To achieve this, the protein should carry a very low charge during the purification. If the pH values of the buffers are closer to the isoelectric point of the target protein, the charge of the protein can be kept low. As FEN1's isoelectric point is approximately 8.8, our buffers are maintained at pH 8.
The Ni-NTA resin, charged with Ni ions, is thought to have a greater protein-binding capacity and is expected to yield a higher quantity of protein compared to the cobalt-based resin TALON. This also means that there is a greater potential for the binding of non-specific proteins and therefore, lower purity. TALON's lower binding capacity is complemented by higher specific binding and the yield of high-purity protein. This is consistent with our results showing a higher yield of protein purified from Ni-NTA compared to the TALON.
Regardless of resin, purity, and yield are significantly impacted by the column packing. Efficient packing can be achieved using the flow adaptor connected to the NGC automated chromatography system9. At high enough flow rates, the flow adaptor can effectively pack the resin and prevent the accumulation of buffer in the column. The flow adaptor along with the NGC allows for the accurate comparison of both resins due to the regulation of flow rate, pressure, and elution gradient, as well as the efficient collection of protein fractions.
Through the Chromlab software, run conditions can be monitored in real time10. The flow rate can be changed at any time throughout the run. During sample application, system pressure may exceed the threshold (600 psi). In this case, lowering the flow rate during the sample application step can reduce the pressure. The software also features a Hold step function through which any step can be extended as required. This function is particularly helpful during column wash and elution steps. During the column wash, the UV graph is expected to dip down and almost reach 0-this signifies that most of the unbound proteins have been washed out of the resin. In case the UV line continues to rise or fails to ramp down, the wash step can be extended until the expected graph is seen. Similarly, during elution, the elution of the target protein can be visualized through peaks in the UV graph. If unexpectedly, no peaks are visible, the elution step can be extended until anticipated peaks are observed.
Tips and tricks
During the equilibration step, the buffer must be injected into the column and the waste buffer should be continuously released into the waste bottle; this ensures that all connections are tight and leakproof. In case of any leakage from any site of the NGC, all the ports surrounding the area must be checked, since the origin of the leak may be different from where the leak is noticed. If the flow has been started but no buffer is entering the column, it is likely that air is trapped within the tubing. Purge the system before continuing further.
During sample injection, if the back pressure from the system is resisting the injection, the tubing must be unscrewed from Loop E and placed in the waste bottle for the duration of the injection. It is important to screw it back into Loop E before starting the program. In case the equilibration buffer or sample is accumulated in the column during the run, the run must be paused and the flow adapter removed. The tubing must be unscrewed from the bottom of the column and the buffer or sample allowed to flow through. If the sample flows through, make sure to collect it as the flowthrough.
If fractions run on SDS PAGE gel show high levels of contaminant proteins, fractions could be run on either side of the peaks seen in the chromatogram. Often, for low-expression proteins, pure fractions do not show significant peaks in the UV.
Understanding the differences between the properties of the nickel-based resin and the cobalt-based resin allows for the selection of the resin best suited for the future applications of the purified protein. For example, proteins used in in-vitro biochemical assays are expected to be of the highest possible purity, a situation in which the cobalt-based resin is suitable. However, if the protein is used for the production of antibodies, a significant yield of purified protein is required for the process. The Ni-NTA resin could serve as a better option in this case. This article aimed to bring out the differences in these resins through the purification of FEN1.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (1929346) and the American Cancer Society (RSG-21-028-01). We would also like to thank members of the Balakrishnan laboratory for helpful discussions.
4x Laemmli sample buffer | BioRad | 1610747 | |
Acetic acid | Merck | UN2789 | |
Beta-mercaptoethanol (BME) | Sigma | M-6250 | |
Chromlab software version 6.1.27.0 | BioRad | operates the NGC system | |
Complete MINI protease inhibitor tablet | Roche | 11836153001 | |
Coomassie Brilliant Blue R | Sigma | B0149 | |
Dithiothreitol (DTT) | Dot Scientific | DSD11000 | |
Econo-Column glass | BioRad | 7371512 | |
Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) | Dot Scientific | DSE57020 | |
Flow adaptor | BioRad | 7380014 | |
Glycerol | Dot Scientific | DSG22020 | |
Imidazole | Dot Scientific | DSI52000 | |
Methanol | Fisher Scientific | A412 | |
Mini PROTEAN TGX gels | BioRad | 4561084 | |
NGC Chromatography System | BioRad | automated liquid chromatography system | |
Ni-NTA Agarose | Qiagen | 1018244 | |
Phenyl-methyl-sulfonyl fluoride | Dot Scientific | DSP20270 | |
PreScission Plus Protein Dual Color Standards | BioRad | 1610374 | |
Sodium chloride | Dot Scientific | DSS23020 | |
TALON metal affinity resin | Takara | 635502 | |
Tris Base | DST60040 |