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Updated: Feb 2, 2026

Protein Engineering by Yeast Surface Display
Published on: November 29, 2024
Dual functionality of lamprey VLRB C-terminus (LC) for multimerization and cell surface display
Jung Seok Lee1, Jaesung Kim1, Se Pyeong Im1
1Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases, College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University 900 Gajwadong, Jinju, Gyeongnam, 660-701, South Korea.
Lamprey variable lymphocyte receptors B (VLRB) can be engineered for secretion or membrane anchoring. The C-terminus of VLRB (LC) shows potential as a fusion partner for multimerization and antibody display technology.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Lampreys, jawless vertebrates, utilize variable lymphocyte receptors B (VLRB) for antigen recognition, differing from immunoglobulin (Ig)-based systems in higher vertebrates.
- The C-terminus of lamprey VLRB (LC) contains a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) signal and seven cysteine residues, enabling dual function as humoral agglutinins and cell membrane receptors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the secretion and membrane anchoring capabilities of the lamprey VLRB C-terminus (LC).
- To explore the potential of LC as a fusion partner for protein multimerization and membrane display applications.
Main Methods:
- Engineered secreted and membrane-anchored heterologous fused proteins using LC variants.
- Utilized serially truncated LC variants to identify optimal domains for multimerization and membrane anchorage.
- Employed the PiggyBac (PB) transposase system for antibody display on HEK-293F cells.
Main Results:
- LC can be secreted or membrane-anchored in multimeric forms (eight or ten monomers).
- A truncated LC variant (LC7, lacking the C-terminal 'RKR' amino acids) is optimal for multimerization.
- Intact LC is suitable for membrane anchorage applications.
- A VLRB antibody (VLR43) displayed on cells showed dose-dependent antigen binding, confirming utility in antibody display technology.
Conclusions:
- The lamprey VLRB C-terminus (LC) offers versatile functionality for protein engineering.
- LC serves as a novel fusion partner for creating multimeric proteins and for membrane-anchored protein display systems.
- This research provides insights into VLRB structure and its potential applications in biotechnology.
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