Conditional protein splicing of α-sarcin in live cells

Mol Biosyst. 2014 Apr;10(4):831-7. doi: 10.1039/c3mb70387h. Epub 2014 Jan 30.

Abstract

Protein splicing technology harnesses the ability of inteins to ligate protein fragments, forming a mature protein. This report describes our effort to engineer rapamycin-dependent protein splicing of a ribotoxin, called α-sarcin. Engineering this system required the investigation of important splicing parameters, including extein context and splicing temperature. We show α-sarcin splicing is dependent on rapamycin, is inducible with rapid kinetics, and triggers apoptosis in HeLa cells. These findings establish a proof-of-concept for a conditional cell ablation strategy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis / genetics*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Endoribonucleases / biosynthesis
  • Endoribonucleases / genetics*
  • Fungal Proteins / biosynthesis
  • Fungal Proteins / genetics*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • HeLa Cells
  • Humans
  • Inteins / genetics
  • Protein Engineering / methods*
  • Protein Folding
  • Protein Splicing / genetics*
  • Sirolimus / pharmacology

Substances

  • Fungal Proteins
  • alpha-sarcin
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Endoribonucleases
  • Sirolimus