Expression and purification of ApolipoproteinE4 - A potential target for Alzheimer's disease therapeutics (360G-Wellcome-202279_Z_16_Z)

The purpose of my project will be to express and purify the human recombinant ApoE4 isoform as the basis for conducting subsequent structural analysis and small molecule screening in an early-stage drug discovery project. In the first instance, I will attempt to reproduce previously published data with so-called "structural correctors" that convert the morphology of the "bad" ApoE4 isoform into the more benign "good" ApoE3 isoform. More specifically my aims will be: 1. Small-scale expression tests of human ApoE4 cDNA in various standard strains of bacteria (E. coli) 2. Large-scale (2-5L) expression of ApoE4 under optimal conditions identified in Step 1. 3. Isolation and purification of ApoE4 using affinity, size and/or ion exchange chromatography and fast-protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) Stretch objectives (if all goes well) include: 4. Crystallography trials and thereafter X-ray crystallography 5. Development of an ApoE4 strucutural conformation assay using a previously-published fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay