{
  "abstract": "Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a therapeutic target in inflammatory diseases, yet inhibitor screening is hindered by high commercial protein costs. While expressing IL-33 as a SUMO fusion protein overcomes yield limitations in Escherichia coli, whether this intact chimera can directly serve as a screening surrogate remains unresolved. Here, we combined in silico simulations with empirical bioprocess optimization to establish a high-yield pipeline for native human IL-33 production. AI-based structure predictions (AlphaFold and RoseTTAFold) revealed distinct inter-domain dynamics mediated by a flexible linker. Molecular dynamics simulations of the compact RoseTTAFold model suggested potential steric occlusion near receptor-binding interfaces, whereas AlphaFold models exhibited extended conformations, highlighting model-dependent variations that warrant further structural verification. To restore accessibility, tag cleavage was optimized using 1.0% (mol/mol) SUMO protease at 4 °C for 1 h, achieving near-complete digestion. Sandwich ELISA demonstrated an 87.6% molar epitope recognition recovery for cleaved IL-33 versus only 12.0% for the intact fusion, providing empirical evidence of substantial functional epitope masking by the SUMO tag. Two-step IMAC purification yielded ~19% mass recovery (~32.6% molar recovery). These findings demonstrate that tag removal is operationally essential for IL-33 functional availability in screening applications.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam",
    "Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, 75124 Uppsala, Sweden",
    "Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK",
    "University of Health Sciences, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam",
    "Research Center for Discovery and Development of Healthcare Products, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Kim-Hung Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Tan Thanh Mai",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7313-9853"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Thua-Phong Lam",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8149-9952"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Long-Hung Dinh Pham"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hoang-Han Do",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4081-9593"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Minh-Thanh Quach"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Khac-Minh Thai",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5279-9614"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Minh-Quan Le",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4571-7246"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Quoc-Thai Nguyen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6315-2974"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e1agb0j8tg7ar.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/biom16101451",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13702225/?tool=EBI",
  "id": "e1agb0j8tg7ar",
  "issns": [
    "2218-273X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/10/1451",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Protein purification and stability"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220373463",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13702225/pdf/?tool=EBI",
  "pmcid": "PMC13702225",
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e1agb0j8tg7ar.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:59Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/biom16101451",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/16/10/1451"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC:PMC13702225",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13702225"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Protein purification and stability",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "In Silico Structural Dynamics and Downstream Bioprocess of Recombinant Human SUMO-IL-33",
  "title_text": "In Silico Structural Dynamics and Downstream Bioprocess of Recombinant Human SUMO-IL-33",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/e1agb0j8tg7ar",
  "venue": "Biomolecules",
  "versions": []
}