Abstract
Despite their therapeutic potential, many protein drugs remain
inaccessible to patients since they are difficult to secrete. Each
recombinant protein has unique physicochemical properties and requires
different machinery for proper folding, assembly, and post-translational
modifications (PTMs). Here we aimed to identify the machinery supporting
recombinant protein secretion by measuring the protein-protein
interaction (PPI) networks of four different recombinant proteins
(SERPINA1, SERPINC1, SERPING1 and SeAP) with various PTMs and structural
motifs using the proximity-dependent biotin identification (BioID)
method. We identified PPIs associated with specific features of the
secreted proteins using a Bayesian statistical model, and found proteins
involved in protein folding, disulfide bond formation and
N-glycosylation were positively correlated with the corresponding
features of the four model proteins. Among others, oxidative folding
enzymes showed the strongest association with disulfide bond formation,
supporting their critical roles in proper folding and maintaining the ER
stability. Knock down of ERP44, a measured interactor with the highest
fold change, led to the decreased secretion of SERPINC1, which relies on
its extensive disulfide bonds. Proximity-dependent labeling successfully
identified the transient interactions supporting synthesis of secreted
recombinant proteins and refined our understanding of key molecular
mechanisms of the secretory pathway during recombinant protein
production.