Cloning, expression, and characterization of a novel anti-HIV lectin from the cultured cyanobacterium, Oscillatoria agardhii

OAA, the potent anti-HIV protein from Oscillatoria agardhii NIES-204 belongs to a new lectin family, shows strict binding specificity for high-mannose N-glycans, and has an extremely high association constant in the picomolar range for recombinant gp120, an envelope protein of HIV. In this study we have cloned the gene encoding OAA from the genomic DNA of the cyanobacterium, and efficiently expressed the recombinant lectin (rOAA) in Escherichia coli. The rOAA expressed as a His-tagged fusion protein was recovered in a soluble form and purified in high yield (48 mg/1 l-culture) by metal chelate chromatography. The fusion protein was cleaved with factor Xa, and the resulting rOAA was isolated in a final yield of 14.8 mg/1 l-culture by reversed-phase HPLC. Both the N-terminal sequence and the molecular mass of rOAA were found to be identical with those of OAA. The rOAA was fully functional with the same properties as OAA, as evidenced by hemagglutination activity, hapten-inhibition test, and binding specificity for high-mannose-type N-glycans. This rOAA should be applicable as a specific probe for high-mannose N-glycans and should contribute to elucidation of the molecular basis of its strict carbohydrate-binding specificity and potent anti-HIV activity.