Effects of ultrasound-assisted thawing on lamb meat quality and oxidative stability during refrigerated storage using non-targeted metabolomics

The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes of ultrasound-assisted thawing on lamb meat quality and differential metabolite profiles during refrigerated storage. Compared with flow water thawing (FW), pH, a*, C*, and sulfhydryl content of lamb were significantly increased, while L*, drip loss and cooking loss were significantly decreased after ultrasound-assisted thawing (UT). On day 1 (UT1 and FW1) and day 7 (UT7 and FW7) in the UT and FW groups, principal component analysis explained 42.22% and 39.25% of the total variance. In this study, 44 (UT1 and FW1) and 47 (UT7 and FW7) differentially expressed metabolites were identified, including amino acids, carbohydrates and their conjugates, nucleic acids, carbonyl compounds and others. The results of this study provide data to clarify the differences between UT and FW, and lay a foundation for the application of ultrasound-assisted thawing in the meat industry.     

Computational and experimental evidence of through-space NMR spectroscopic J coupling of hydrogen atoms

J coupling in NMR spectroscopy is conventionally associated with covalent bonds. A noncovalent contribution often called through-space coupling (TSC) has been observed for heavy atoms. In this study, the TSC was detected and analyzed for the more common (1)H-(1)H coupling as well. In synthesized model molecules the hydrogen positions could be well controlled. For several coupling constants the through-space mechanism was even found to be the predominant factor. The nature and magnitude of the phenomenon were also analyzed by density functional computations. Calculated carbon- and hydrogen-coupling maps and perturbed electronic densities suggest that the aromatic system strongly participates in the noncovalent contribution. Unlike covalent coupling, which is usually governed by the Fermi contact, TSC is dominated by the diamagnetic term comprising interactions of nuclei with the electron orbital angular momentum. The computations further revealed a strong distance and conformational dependence of TSC. This suggests that the through-space coupling can be explored in molecular structural studies in the same way as the covalent one.     

“Click chemistry” preparation of WCX packings for protein separation

Click chemistry was applied to immobilize three kinds of alkyne-carboxylic acids onto azide-modified silica gel to prepare three novel stationary phases for weak cation exchange chromatography(WCX).The developed protocol combines the benefits of operational simplicity,exceptionally mild conditions and high surface loadings.Six kinds of standard proteins were separated completely on the novel packings.Compared with commercial WCX columns,the three kinds of novel WCX packings prepared by click chemistry approach have better resolution and selectivity.Lysozyme was purified successfully from egg white with the novel WCX column by one step.The purity was more than 97%and a high specific activity was achieved to be 81,435 U/mg.The results illustrate the potential of click chemistry for preparation of stationary phase for IEC.     

荧光素-曙红Y能量转移荧光猝灭法测定微量白蛋白研究

在λex/λem=405/547 nm,于缓冲溶液和表面活性剂存在的情况下,荧光素和曙红Y能够发生有效能量转移,而牛血清白蛋白(BSA)的加入使得曙红Y荧光猝灭,该体系可用于微量蛋白质的测定。系统探讨了荧光素-曙红Y能量转移体系发生荧光猝灭的条件,最佳条件为:2.0 mL pH=3.8的B-R缓冲溶液,0.4 mL 0.05%曲拉通X-100,1.5 mL 1.0×10-4mol/L的荧光素水溶液,2.0 mL 1.0×10-4mol/L的曙红Y水溶液,最佳实验时间为溶液配制完成静置15 min后60 min内,最佳加入顺序为pH=3.8缓冲溶液+荧光素+曙红Y+曲拉通+蛋白质标准溶液或样品。在优化的实验条件下,蛋白质含量在0～2.0μg/mL范围内与荧光猝灭强度呈良好的线性关系。检出限为6.6 ng/mL;测定样品的相对标准偏差(RSD)在±5%以内;样品加标回收率为90.4%～95.3%。该法可用于人血清、牛奶中蛋白质含量的测定。     

Microchip electrophoresis-SDS methods with high-resolution and silver stain sensitivity for quality screening and quantitation of protein products

Two microchip electrophoresis (ME)-SDS methods have been developed for high throughput quantitation and quality screening of protein products. Both methods utilize a commercial microchip instrument to separate dodecyl sulfate-coated proteins within 1 min. In the high-resolution ME-SDS method, improved separation selectivity is achieved using a mixture of sieving polymers. Proteins of similar sizes, such as different fragment antigen-binding (Fab) assemblies can be readily resolved and individually quantified. A high-sensitivity ME-SDS method was also developed with sensitivity comparable to that of SDS-PAGE with silver staining. In this method, protein molecules are derivatized with a fluorescence reagent prior to analysis. LIF detection of the covalently attached fluorophore enables accurate quantitation of low-expressing proteins and detection of minor species at 0.04% level (1 ng/mL loading concentration). Both the high-resolution and the high-sensitivity ME-SDS methods can be applied to crude fermentation samples. The utilities of these methods in process development and formulation stability study are presented.     

Quaternized celluloses as new dynamic coatings in capillary electrophoresis for basic protein separation

In this work, a series of quaternized celluloses (QCs), homogeneously synthesized in the NaOH/urea aqueous solutions, were studied as dynamic coatings for capillary electrophoresis. Capillaries coated with these cationic cellulose derivatives at the concentration as low as 3 μg/mL were able to generate a stable, reversed electroosmotic flow. The effects of QC molecular parameters, such as the degree of cationic substitution and molecular weight, and the effect of buffer pH on the EOF mobility as well as the separation of basic proteins were investigated in detail. It was shown that the use of QC coatings in CE could drastically reduce the analysis time and improve the separation performance within a broad pH range. Five basic proteins, that is, lysozyme, ribonuclease A, cytochrome C, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, and chymotrypsinogen were baselinely separated even at pH 8.0. The separation efficiency and analysis reproducibility demonstrated that the QC coatings were efficient in minimizing the adsorption of basic proteins on the fused silica capillary. The successful performance was further demonstrated for biosample analysis.     

Systematic comparison of technical details in CBB methods and development of a sensitive GAP stain for comparative proteomic analysis

Considering the importance of CBB staining in visualizing proteins in 2-DE gels, any improvement in the existing protocols with high sensitivity and good MS compatibility is of significant importance. In this study, we systematically evaluated the effects of different staining parameters on CBB methods by 1-DE and 2-DE, and demonstrated that G-250 was more suitable for visualizing low-abundant proteins as well as generating more spots than R-250, whereas R-250 had a superior capability for quick staining of high-abundant proteins. The staining produced by mixing G-250 and R-250 in different ratios showed similar sensitivity. Compared with acetic acid, phosphoric acid produced more protein spots. Ammonium-based stain demonstrated a superior sensitivity than the aluminum-based one. Based on these findings, a new protocol using CBB G-250, ammonium sulfate and phosphoric acid (GAP) was developed by incorporating the fixation, sensitization and staining procedures together. The comparison of GAP with other methods revealed that GAP generated more protein spots and had wider applications. The identification of 11 proteins demonstrated that GAP was not only compatible with MS but also obviously reduced in vitro protein modification, and thus could be a preferable protocol in the future proteomic analysis.     

Improved Primary Structure Determination for Peptides and Proteins by Electroblotting in Combination with Sequencing

Abstract

A rapid and simple method of determining the primary structure of large synthetic peptides and natural proteins, using electroblotting on polyvinylidene difluoride membranes followed by fluorescence labelling and gas-phase sequencing, is described.     

蛋白质相互作用预测、设计与调控

蛋白质相互作用是生命活动在分子水平上的基本事件. 蛋白质相互作用的三维图像可以给出关键生命活动过程的分子细节. 了解蛋白质相互作用的原理有助于揭示生命活动的机制, 并在此基础上开展有重要价值的蛋白质设计. 本文对于蛋白质相互作用预测、设计和调控研究的近期进展进行了总结归纳, 介绍了作者实验室在相关领域的研究进展, 并对今后的研究方向进行了展望. 主要包括: (1) 蛋白质相互作用网络、蛋白质相互作用机制和蛋白质复合物结构计算分析; (2) 基于序列、结合位点以及复合物结构的蛋白质相互作用预测; (3)蛋白质相互作用设计方法; (4) 利用化学分子调控蛋白质相互作用的方法; (5) 针对蛋白质相互作用的蛋白质药物设计方法.     

蛋白质表面模块划分及其在结合位点预测中的应用

蛋白质-蛋白质复合物的结合位点预测是计算分子生物学的一个难题. 本文对蛋白质-蛋白质复合物数据集Benchmark 3.0 中的双链蛋白质复合物进行了研究, 计算了单体的残基溶剂可接近表面积和残基间的接触面积, 并据此提出了蛋白质表面模块划分方法. 发现模块的溶剂可接近表面积与其内部接触面积的乘积(PSAIA)值能够提供结合位点的信息. 在78 个双链蛋白质复合物中, 有74 个体系其受体或配体上具有最大或次大PSAIA值的模块是界面模块. 将该方法获得的结合位点信息应用在CAPRI竞赛Target 39 的复合物结构预测中取得了较好的结果. 本文提出的基于模块的蛋白质结合位点预测方法不同于以残基为基础且仅考虑表面残基的传统预测方法, 为蛋白质-蛋白质复合物结合位点预测提供了新思路.