Abstract
The purification of recombinant versions of the N-terminal signaling fragment of Sonic hedgehog (ShhN) from E. coli, Hi-5™ insect cells, yeast, and mammalian cell sources reveals diverse post-translational modifications that affect the potency of the purified protein. Modifications to the N-terminal cysteine with fatty acyl groups results in significant increases in potency, up to 100-fold, when compared with the unmodified protein. Proteolytic clipping at sites near the N-terminus results in inactivation of signaling activity. The ShhN protein is particularly sensitive to metal ion-induced oxidation, and the methods described here were developed to minimize this oxidation. The purification methods developed for ShhN were applicable to human Indian and Desert hedgehog N-terminal signaling proteins, and therefore should be useful for hedgehog proteins from other species.
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© 2007 Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
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Baker, D.P., Taylor, F.R., Pepinsky, R.B. (2007). Purifying the Hedgehog Protein and its Variants. In: Horabin, J.I. (eds) Hedgehog Signaling Protocols. Methods Inmolecular Biology™, vol 397. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-516-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-516-9_1
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