Hydroxylation of Human Type III Collagen Alpha Chain by Recombinant Coexpression with a Viral Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase in Escherichia coli.

High-level expression of recombinant collagen by genetic engineering is urgently required. Recombinant collagen is different from natural collagen in its hydroxyproline (Hyp) content and thermal stability. To obtain hydroxylated collagen for applications in biomedicine and biomaterials, the human collagen α1(III) chain was co-expressed with the viral prolyl 4-hydroxylase A085R in Escherichia coli. Unlike previous reports using human prolyl 4-hydroxylase, this study examined the hydroxylation of full-length human collagen α1(III) chain (COL3A1) by viral prolyl 4-hydroxylase. The genes encoding these two proteins were controlled by different promoters, Ptac and PRPL, on a recombinant pKK223-3 plasmid. The sequencing results verified that the target genes were successfully inserted into the recombinant vector. Based on quantitative PCR, SDS-PAGE, and western blotting, successful expression by E. coli BL21(DE3) was detected at the mRNA and protein levels for both loci. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) results suggested that the highest Hyp yield was obtained when the two proteins were induced with 0.5 mM IPTG and heat-shock treatment at 50 °C, corresponding to high enzyme expression and low human collagen α1(III) chain expression levels. A biological activity analysis indicated that the recombinant collagen with the highest hydroxylation level supported the growth of baby hamster kidney cells, similar to observations for native collagen. The production of hydroxylated collagen in this study establishes a new method for collagen hydroxylation and provides a basis for the application of recombinant collagen expressed in E. coli.