Refolding of TIMP-2 from Escherichia coli inclusion bodies

The TIMP proteins contain six intramolecular disulfide bonds and form unfolded insoluble aggregates when expressed in E. coli. Eukaryotic expression systems provide the necessary post-translational modification apparatus to produce authentic TIMP but are comparatively slow and more expensive. This chapter describes the production of native TIMP-2 (both full-length and the N-terminal domain) from E. coli by in vitro refolding. The technique allows high-level intracellular expression and efficient isolation of the recombinant product without the use of fusion tags or partners. Protein purity after ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography was judged to be greater than 95% with yields of 15 mg/L from LB medium and 10 mg/L from minimal medium.