Expression, purification and structural characterization of functionally replete thrombospondin-1 type 1 repeats in a bacterial expression system

► TSR(2,3) expression in Escherishia coli as a GST fusion affords excellent yield and purity. ► Recombinant TSR(2,3) binds histidine-rich glycoprotein, a canonical TSP-1 ligand. ► Recombinant TSR(2,3) exhibits anti-chemotactic activity similar to full-length TSP-1. ► X-ray crystal structures of E. coli and Drosophila expressed TSR(2,3) are identical.