Solution structure of human IL-13 and implication for receptor binding.

Interleukin-13 has been implicated as a key factor in asthma, allergy, atopy and inflammatory response, establishing the protein as a valuable therapeutic target. The high-resolution solution structure of human IL-13 has been determined by multidimensional NMR. The resulting structure is consistent with previous short-chain left-handed four-helix bundles, where a significant similarity in the folding topology between IL-13 and IL-4 was observed.

Cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding the catalytic subunit of bovine enterokinase.

Enterokinase (enteropeptidase) is a heterodimeric serine protease that is responsible for the physiological activation of trypsinogen by highly specific cleavage of the trypsinogen activation peptide following the sequence (Asp)4-Lys. In this paper, we report the cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding the catalytic domain (light chain) of bovine enterokinase. The nucleotide sequence of this cloned cDNA predicts a 235-amino acid polypeptide that shares a high degree of homology with a variety of mammalian serine proteases involved in digestion, coagulation, and fibrinolysis.

A thioredoxin gene fusion expression system that circumvents inclusion body formation in the E. coli cytoplasm.

We have developed a versatile Escherichia coli expression system based on the use of E. coli thioredoxin (trxA) as a gene fusion partner. The broad utility of the system is illustrated by the production of a variety of mammalian cytokines and growth factors as thioredoxin fusion proteins.