Production of Disulfide-Bonded Proteins in Escherichia coli.

Production of recombinant proteins at high yields in Escherichia coli requires extensive optimization of expression conditions. Production is further complicated for proteins that require specific post-translational modifications for their eventual folding. One common and particularly important post-translational modification is oxidation of the correct pair of cysteines to form a disulfide bond. This unit describes methods to produce disulfide-bonded proteins in E. coli in either the naturally oxidizing periplasm or the cytoplasm of appropriately engineered cells. The focus is on variables key to improving the oxidative folding of disulfide-bonded proteins, with the aim of helping the researcher optimize expression conditions for a protein of interest.