6–8 week old female Balb/c mice were immunized with a purified
rhodopsin-G
i complex
39 (link). Hybridoma cells were prepared using splenocytes of
immunized mice using standard methods in combination with PAI myeloma cells.
Clones that showed a positive reaction to purified
rhodopsin(N2C/D282C/M257Y)/G
i1 complex in an ELISA assay and by
immunoprecipitation were further characterized as monoclonal antibodies or Fab
fragments. Fab-16 was selected from the initial pool of clones because it
prevented dissociation of the rhodopsin (N2C/D282C/M257Y)/Gi1 complex by
GTPγS, and therefore acted as a stabilizing chaperone in the same manner
as Nb35 for Gs. The full sequence of constructs used is listed in
Supplemental Figure 1.
All animal studies were performed at Roche Innovation Center Basel according to
ethical guidelines. All cell lines were obtained from manufacturer and tested
for contamination.
A carboxy-terminal hexahistidine-tagged single chain construct of Fab16
(scFv16) was cloned into a modified pVL1392 vector containing a GP67 secretion
signal immediately prior to the amino terminus of the scFv, expressed in
secreted form from
Trichuplusia ni Hi5 insect cells using the
baculoviral method, and purified by Ni-NTA chromatography. Supernatant from
baculoviral infected cells was pH balanced by addition of Tris pH 8.0. Chelating
agents were quenched by addition of 1 mM nickel chloride and 5 mM calcium
chloride and incubation with stirring for 1 hr at 25 °C. Resulting
precipitates were removed by centrifugation and the supernatant was loaded onto
Ni-NTA resin. The column was washed with 20 mM Hepes pH 7.5, 500 mM NaCl, and 10
mM imidazole followed by a low salt wash comprised of the same buffer
substituted with 100 mM NaCl. Following elution with the same buffer
supplemented with 250 mM imidazole, the carboxy-terminal hexahistidine tag was
cleaved by incubation with human rhinovirus 3C protease, and the protein was
dialyzed into a buffer consisting of 20mM Hepes pH 7.5 and 100 mM NaCl. Cleaved
scFv16 was further purified by reloading over Ni-NTA resin. The flow-through was
collected and purified over gel filtration chromatography using a Superdex 200
16/60 column. Monomeric fractions were pooled, concentrated, and flash frozen in
liquid nitrogen until further use.
Koehl A., Hu H., Maeda S., Zhang Y., Qu Q., Paggi J.M., Latorraca N.R., Hilger D., Dawson R., Matile H., Schertler G.F., Granier S., Weis W.I., Dror R.O., Manglik A., Skiniotis G, & Kobilka B.K. (2018). Structure of the μ Opioid Receptor-Gi Protein Complex. Nature, 558(7711), 547-552.