Protein Expression and Purification of Romiplostim and Analysis of Its Secretory Production Using an In Silico Investigated Signal Peptide in E. Coli

Romiplostim is a thrombopoietin receptor agonist approved for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia. It is produced by recombinant DNA technology in Escherichia coli. Many researchers have studied the periplasmic or extracellular production of recombinant proteins in E. coli by using signal peptide sequences due to its advantages compared to intracellular production. In this study, the effect of the pelB signal peptide on Romiplostim production was analyzed.

The nucleotide sequence of Romiplostim was codon optimized for expression in E. coli BL21. For analysis of the effect of the pelB signal peptide, pET-22b (+) and pET-15b plasmids were used. The probability of signal peptide cleavage and pathway was predicted by using the SignalP 5.0 program, and expression, purification, and biological activity of the recombinant protein were analyzed.

In-silico analysis predicted the correct cleavage of the pelB signal peptide. However, the experimental results showed intracellular accumulation of the protein in fusion with this signal peptide without any detectable protein band in periplasmic or extracellular spaces. The in-vivo experiment of purified protein without signal peptide exhibited a significant increment in platelets compared to the control group.

Romiplostim was expressed in E. coli with and without signal peptide. The latest one showed suitable in-vivo bioactivity. Despite the results of in-silico prediction, the pelB signal peptide could not transport the protein into the periplasm or extracellular environment in the experimental condition. Trying different signal peptides and more in-silico analysis might be helpful for the efficient secretion of the Romiplostim protein.