Stepwise refolding of Acid-denatured myoglobin: Evidence from electrospray mass spectrometry

Application of electrospray mass spectrometry (ES/MS) to a protein refolding study was demonstrated. Acid denaturation of equine myoglobin was reversed by adding various amounts of ammonium hydroxide to the protein that was unfolded in 10% acetic acid. The protein refolding process was followed by ES/MS, in which both the changes in the protein charge-state distribution and mass were monitored. The ES/MS results show that the pH-dependent renaturation of the acid-denatured myoglobin is stepwise, consisting of two major steps. The unfolded polypeptide chain first refolds to establish a compact nativelike structure, without the assistance of the heme prosthetic group. The newly formed binding cavity then retains the heme group by noncovalent interactions. It is also shown that inclusion of a stabilizing buffer, such as ammonium acetate, in the protein solution is greatly beneficial to the ES/MS detection of intact noncovalent globin/heme complex.     

High pH Solubilization and Chromatography-Based Renaturation and Purification of Recombinant Human Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor from Inclusion Bodies

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) is a very efficient therapeutic protein drug which has been widely used in human clinics to treat cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. In this study, rhG-CSF was solubilized from inclusion bodies by using a high-pH solution containing low concentration of urea. It was found that solubilization of the rhG-CSF inclusion bodies greatly depended on the buffer pH employed; alkalic pH significantly favored the solubilization. In addition, when small amount of urea was added to the solution at high pH, the solubilization was further enhanced. After solubilization, the rhG-CSF was renatured with simultaneous purification by using weak anion exchange, strong anion exchange, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, separately. The results indicated that the rhG-CSF solubilized by the high-pH solution containing low concentration of urea had much higher mass recovery than the one solubilized by 8 M urea when using anyone of the three refolding methods employed in this work. In the case of weak anion exchange chromatography, the high pH solubilized rhG-CSF could get a mass recovery of 73%. The strategy of combining solubilization of inclusion bodies at high pH with refolding of protein using liquid chromatography may become a routine method for protein production from inclusion bodies.     

Modification of the thermal unfolding pathways of myoglobin upon drug interaction in different aqueous media

In this work, we have analyzed the influence of two structurally related phenothiazine drugs, promazine and triflupromazine hydrochlorides, when bound to myoglobin, a model protein, and how the drug concentration and solution conditions may affect the denaturation process of this protein. In this manner, we derive the thermodynamic quantities of the unfolding process by using a spectroscopic technique such as UV-vis spectroscopy at different drugs concentrations and at pH 2.5, 5.5, and 9.0. To do this, a thermodynamic model was used which included experimental data corresponding to the pre- and post-transition into the observable transition. It has been found that both drugs play a destabilizing role for the protein, at least at low concentrations. In addition, at acidic pH and higher drug concentrations, a stabilizing effect can be observed, which may be related to the formation of some type of protein refolding, subsequent aggregation, or both. The reason for this behavior has been suggested to be the different protein conformations at acidic pH, the increase of solvent-exposed hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues after denaturation and/or binding, and the different strength of drug-protein interactions when changing the solution conditions. For this reason, thermodynamic quantities such as Gibbs energies, DeltaG, and entropies of unfolding, DeltaS(m), increase as the solution pH increases provided that additional solvent-exposed hydrophobic residues are present, which were previously buried at room temperature. Moreover, the larger binding affinity at pH 9.0 due to enhanced electrostatic interactions between protein and drug molecules (drug and protein differ in their net electrical charge) additionally collaborates to this residue exposition to solvent as a consequence of the alteration of protein conformation as due to drug binding. Comparison of thermodynamic data between promazine and triflupromazine hydrochlorides also shows that drug-protein affinity and hydrophobicity also affect the thermodynamic denaturation parameters.     

Labeling effects on the isoelectric point of green fluorescent protein.

We studied the effects of fluorescent labeling on the isoelectric points (pI values) of proteins using capillary isoelectric focusing with laser-induced fluorescence detection (cIEF-LIF). Specifically, we labeled green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria with the fluorogenic dye 3-(2-furoyl)quinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (FQ). cIEF-LIF was used to monitor the native fluorescence of GFP and showed pI changes in GFP's FQ-labeled products. Multiple labeling of GFP with FQ produced a series of products with pI values shifted towards a low pH. We verified cIEF-LIF results with traditional slab gel IEF. Our cIEF-LIF technique can routinely detect 10(-11) M of FQ-labeled protein, whereas traditional slab gel IEF with silver stain detection gives detection limits of 10(-7) M in the same samples.     

Effect of pH on thermal- and chemical-induced denaturation of GFP

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is an unusually stable autofluorescent protein that is increasingly being exploited for many applications. In this report, we have used fluorescence spectroscopy to study the effect of pH on the denaturation of GFP with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), urea, and heat. Surprisingly, SDS (up to 0.5%) did not have any significant effect on the fluorescence of GFP at pH 7.5 or 8.5 buffers; however, at pH 6.5, the protein lost all fluorescence within 1 min of incubation. Similarly, incubation of GFP with 8 M urea at 50°C resulted in time dependent denaturation of GFP, but only in pH 6.5 buffer. At higher pH values (pH 7.5 and pH 8.5), the GFP was quite stable in 8 M urea at 50°C, showing only a slight decrease in fluorescence. Heat denaturation of GFP was found to be pH dependent as well, with the denaturation being fastest at pH 6.5 as compared to pH 7.5 or pH 8.5. Like the denaturation studies, renaturation of heat-denatured GFP was most efficient at pH 8.5, followed by pH 7.5, and then pH 6.5. These results suggests that GFP undergoes a structural/stability shift between pH 6.5 and pH 7.5, with the GFP structure at pH 6.5 being very sensitive to denaturation by SDS, urea, and heat.     

Computer simulations of the refolding of sperm whale apomyoglobin from high-temperature denaturated state

The refolding mechanism of apomyoglobin (apoMb) subsequent to high-temperature unfolding has been examined using computer simulations with atomic level detail. The folding of this protein has been extensively studied experimentally, providing a large database of folding parameters which can be probed using simulations. In the present study, 4-folding trajectories of apoMb were computed starting from coiled structures. A crystal structure of sperm whale myoglobin taken from the Protein Data Bank was used to construct the final native conformation by removal of the heme group followed by energy optimization. The initial unfolded conformations were obtained from high-temperature molecular dynamics simulations. Room-temperature refolding trajectories at neutral pH were obtained using the stochastic difference equation in length algorithm. The folding trajectories were compared with experimental results and two previous molecular dynamics studies at low pH. In contrast to the previous simulations, an extended intermediate with large helical content was not observed. In the present study, a structural collapse occurs without formation of helices or native contacts. Once the protein structure is more compact (radius of gyration<18 A) secondary and tertiary structures appear. These results suggest that apoMb follows a different folding pathway after high-temperature denaturation.     

Further studies on the reaction of amines and proteins with 4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole

The reaction of glycine with NBD-F (4-fluoro-7-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole) is investigated to establish conditions that provide a high formation rate of NBD-glycine and a low hydrolysis rate of the reagent. The reaction rate increases with higher temperature, larger contents of organic solvent and a sodium borate buffer. The use of borate buffer decreases ther ate of hydrolysis of the reagent. For low-molecular-weight amines, condition for a suitable liquid chromatographic postcolumn reactor include a high content of acetonitrile and 0.1 M sodium borate (pH 8.0–8.5). For proteins, separated by molecular-exclusion chromatography, water is needed for sensitive reactions. Suitable postcolumn reactor conditions include borate buffer (pH 7.9) containing 0.1 M potassium chloride, a 0.02% (w/v) NBD-F solution in acetonitrile with reaction at 50°C for about 45 s. The detection limits for human serum albumin, β-lactoglobulin and myoglobin are 6.6 pmol, 8.4 pmol and 11 pmol, respectively.     

Solid-support fluorescent derivatization of picomoles of protein at low concentration with FITC

A new method based on solid-support reaction is described to realize fluorescent derivatization of proteins at concentrations as low as 10⁻⁸ M. A simple, low-cost homemade capillary C18 cartridge was fabricated as the solid-support reactor. Using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a test protein, we demonstrated that the protein can be captured by this reactor and then labeled by fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC, isomer I) on solid-support. Unwanted fluorescent intruder (excrescent FITC and products of secondary reactions) were removed from target easily. The analysis by nano-HPLC with laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) detection was described. The effect of reaction conditions on the derivatization has been evaluated and discussed. The use of the solid-support reactor allows easy handling of as little as 8.5 pmol of BSA. A fraction from weak anion-exchange chromatography (WAX) of human liver extract was used as an illustrative example of application to real samples.     

Role of stimuli-sensitive polymers in protein refolding: alpha-amylase and CcdB (controller of cell division or death B) as model proteins

Alginate, a calcium-sensitive polymer, could carry out simultaneous purification and refolding of 8 M urea/100 mM dithiothreitol (DTT) denatured and thermally denatured alpha-amylase present in a commercial preparation. Activity recoveries of 80 and 70% in the former and the latter cases, respectively, were obtained. The fluorescence spectra showed refolding, and PAGE showed the absence of any aggregates in the refolded preparation. As another example, Eudragit S-100, a pH-sensitive poly(methyl methacrylate), was used to refold CcdB (controller of cell division or death B) protein. Initial experiments with wild-type (WT) CcdB showed that Eudragit bound and precipitated (upon lowering the pH to 4.0) CcdB quantitatively from the latter's aqueous solution. The bioconjugate showed DNA gyrase inhibition activity of CcdB and could be recycled. The inclusion bodies of CcdB mutant CcdB-17P were solubilized in 8 M urea/100 mM dithiothreitol. This preparation could be refolded by precipitation with Eudragit. The fluorescence and CD spectra showed that protein refolding has occurred.     

In situ labeling and imaging of cellular protein via a bi-functional anticancer aptamer and its fluorescent ligand

In this article, we reported a novel approach for in situ labeling and imaging HeLa cancer cells utilizing a bifunctional aptamer (AS1411) and its fluorescent ligand, protoporphyrin IX (PPIX). In the presence of potassium ion, AS1411 folded to G-quadruplex structure, binded fluorescent ligand (PPIX) with fluorescent enhancement, and targeted the nucleolin overexpressed by cancer cells. Consequently, bioimaging of cancer cells specifically were realized by laser scanning confocal microscope. The bioimaging strategy with AS1411–PPIX complex was capable to distinguish HeLa cancer cells from normal cells unambiguously, and fluorescence imaging of cancer cells was also realized in human serum. Moreover, the bioimaging method was very facile, effective and need not any covalent modification. These results illustrated that the useful approach can provide a novel clue for bioimaging based on non-covalent bifunctional aptamer in clinic diagnosis.     

Band broadening caused by the multiple labeling of proteins in micellar electrokinetic chromatography with diode laser-induced fluorescence detection

When a labeling reagent is used, in the determination of proteins by capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection, the multiple labeling of proteins frequently occurs, which can degrade the separation efficiency. In order to understand the influence of the multiple labeling of proteins on separation efficiency, the band broadening caused by a labeling reaction between bovine serum albumin (BSA) and a cyanine fluorescent dye (Cy5) was investigated using micellar electrokinetic chromatography in conjunction with diode laser-induced fluorometry. With the aid of an internal standard, methylene blue, the height equivalent to the theoretical plate (HETP) ratio of BSA to methylene blue was used as an indicator for band broadening under optimum separation conditions. Labeling conditions, including reaction buffer pH, reaction time, and initial concentration of Cy5 to bovine serum albumin, were found to influence the HETP ratio. The separation efficiency for the labeled protein was degraded by experimental conditions employed in the labeling, which indicates an increase in the heterogeneity of the final products.     

Novel column-based protein refolding strategy using dye-ligand affinity chromatography based on macroporous biomaterial

A novel column-based chromatographic protein refolding strategy was developed using dye-ligand affinity chromatography (DLAC) based on macroporous biomaterial. Chitosan–silica (CS–silica) biomaterial with macroporous surface was used as the supporting matrix for the preparation of the DLAC material. The dye-ligand Cibacron Blue F3GA (CBF) was selected as affinity handle and could be covalently immobilized to form dye-ligand affinity adsorbent (CBF–CS–silica) using the reactivity of NH₂ on CS–silica biomaterial. After the model protein catalase was denatured with 6 mol/L urea, the denaturant could be rapidly removed and catalase could be successfully refolded as facilitated by the adsorption of CBF–CS–silica. The urea denaturation process and the elute condition for the chromatographic refolding were optimized by measuring tryptophan fluorescence and activity of catalase. The refolding performance of the proposed DLAC was compared with dilution refolding. The protein concentration during the proposed chromatographic refolding increased by a factor of 20 without reducing the yield achieved as compared to dilution refolding. The column-based protein refolding strategy based on dye-ligand affinity chromatography with porous biomaterial being matrix possessed potential in chromatographic refolding of protein.     

Effect of urea on the enzymatic activity of a lipase entrapped in AOT-heptane-water reverse micellar solutions

A study has been made of the effect of urea upon the hydrolysis of 2-naphthyl acetate (2-NA) catalyzed by lipase from Rhizopus arrhizus in AOT-heptane-water reverse micellar solutions at pH 7. The partition constants, K, of 2-NA between n-heptane and aqueous urea solutions in the absence of micelles were also determined. It was found that K decreases when the concentration of urea increases. In aqueous solution the rate of hydrolysis of 2-NA catalyzed by lipase is dependent on the concentration of urea (at a given 2-NA concentration). This result can be due to a decrease in the magnitude of the association of lipase with 2-NA and/or to changes in the reaction rate of the lipase-2-NA complex. The modifications of the enzymatic activities elicited by addition of urea show a lineal correlation with K, emphasizing the relevance of hydrophobic effects in the loss of activity. Nevertheless, the slope of the line is higher than one, suggesting that changes in the conformation of the enzyme would be also important. Addition of urea to the micellar solutions provokes a decrease of the enzyme activity. From the dependence of the reaction rate with AOT concentration, the partition constant of 2-NA between n-heptane and the micelles, K(p), was obtained. In the presence of 2 M urea a value of K(p)=0.33 M(-1) was derived. This value is lower than that measured in the absence of urea (Aguilar et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 388 (2001) 231), indicating that incorporation of urea to the micellar interface produces a decrease of the association of 2-NA with the micelles. From a comparison of the results obtained in the micellar solution and in aqueous solution, it is concluded that the enzyme is more resistant to denaturation by urea in the micellar solution than in aqueous solution. Furthermore, at intermediate urea concentrations (2 M), the additive produces an increase in the Michaelis constant (K(M)) without a significant decrease (or even a small increase) in the catalytic rate constant (k(cat)).     

Determination of catecholamines and serotonin by micellar electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection

6-Oxy-(N-succinimidyl acetate)-9-(2'-methoxycarbonyl) fluorescein, a new synthesized fluorescent reagent, was established for the first time as a label for the sensitive analysis of catecholamines (CAs) and serotonin (5-HT) by micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) with laser-induced fluorescence detection. After careful study on the derivatization conditions such as pH value, reagent concentration, temperature and reaction time, the labeling reaction was accomplished as quickly as 7 min with stable yield. The separation parameters for the CAs and 5-HT were also optimized in detail. The derivatives were baseline separated in a running buffer containing 30 mM boric acid and 15 mM sodium dodeculsulfate at pH 9.0. The detection limits ranged from 5 x 10(-10) to 2 x 10(-9) M (signal-to-noise ratio = 3). The rapid and sensitive method was also applied to the determination of the CAs and 5-HT of urine samples.     

基于聚合酶反应和发夹型核酸适体的蛋白质荧光检测新方法

设计合成了一种发夹型核酸适体(Aptamer), 结合聚合酶反应建立了蛋白质荧光分析新方法. 该核酸适体同时作为蛋白质配体和聚合反应模板, 与靶蛋白特异结合后, 其构象发生了变化, 启动聚合反应, 从而在未直接标记核酸适体的情况下, 通过监测聚合反应进程来检测蛋白质的浓度. 采用该方法检测凝血酶的线性范围为0.5~8 nmol/L, 检测下限为0.5 nmol/L, 为蛋白质检测提供了一种简便快速的非直接标记的荧光分析方法, 有望在蛋白质组学的研究中得到广泛的应用.     

A biosynthetic route to photoclick chemistry on proteins

Light-induced chemical reactions exist in nature, regulating many important cellular and organismal functions, e.g., photosensing in prokaryotes and vision formation in mammals. Here, we report the genetic incorporation of a photoreactive unnatural amino acid, p-(2-tetrazole)phenylalanine (p-Tpa), into myoglobin site-specifically in E. coli by evolving an orthogonal tRNA/aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pair and the use of p-Tpa as a bioorthogonal chemical "handle" for fluorescent labeling of p-Tpa-encoded myoglobin via the photoclick reaction. Moreover, we elucidated the structural basis for the biosynthetic incorporation of p-Tpa into proteins by solving the X-ray structure of p-Tpa-specific aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase in complex with p-Tpa. The genetic encoding of this photoreactive amino acid should make it possible in the future to photoregulate protein function in living systems.     

Solubilization and Refolding with Simultaneous Purification of Recombinant Human Stem Cell Factor

Recombinant human stem cell factor (rhSCF) was solubilized and renatured from inclusion bodies expressed in Escherichia coli. The effect of both pH and urea on the solubilization of rhSCF inclusion bodies was investigated; the results indicate that the solubilization of rhSCF inclusion bodies was significantly influenced by the pH of the solution employed, and low concentration of urea can drastically improve the solubilization of rhSCF when solubilized by high pH solution. The solubilized rhSCF can be easily refolded with simultaneous purification by ion exchange chromatography (IEC), with a specific activity of 7.8 × 10⁵ IU·mg⁻¹, a purity of 96.3%, and a mass recovery of 43.0%. The presented experimental results show that rhSCF solubilized by high pH solution containing low concentration of urea is easier to be renatured than that solubilized by high concentration of urea, and the IEC refolding method was more efficient than dilution refolding and dialysis refolding for rhSCF. It may have a great potential for large-scale production of rhSCF.     

Cooperative Effect of Guanidinium Chloride and Urea on Lysozyme Refolding

Abstract

The interaction between urea and guanidinium chloride (GuHCl) on lysozyme refolding was investigated in this work. Live micrococcus lysodeikticus was successfully introduced into a refolding system. Lysozyme can be refolded from the GuHCl-denatured, DTT-reduced state in a good yield of 96.54% at final protein concentration as high as 0.2 mg·mL^?1. A model could be employed to elucidate refolding kinetics behavior and the kinetics constants were studied. In the coexistence of GuHCl and urea, the aggregation rate decreased by increasing urea concentration to a proper value. The cooperation of GuHCl and urea not only suppressed the competition of the aggregation reaction but also increased the yield of refolding efficiently.     

An integrated method for mutation detection using on-chip sample preparation, single-stranded conformation polymorphism, and heteroduplex analysis

This work integrates rapid techniques for mutation detection by producing single-stranded DNA and (renatured) double-stranded DNA on-chip, labeling these with fluorescent DNA stains and then performing two complementary methods of mutation detection-single stranded conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis and heteroduplex analysis (HA). This involves the denaturation of double-stranded polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product into single-stranded DNA, the mutation analysis of the single-stranded DNA by SSCP and the rehybridized double-stranded DNA by HA. These steps were performed entirely on-chip within several minutes of operation. The combination of these two mutation detection methods on-chip provides a highly sensitive method of mutation detection for either genotyping or screening. Many mutation analysis methods rely upon fluorescently labeled samples from a PCR with fluorescently labeled primers. By labeling on-chip we not only attain improved signal strength, but the method is considerably more versatile. Although we used PCR products in this work, this method could be used to analyze DNA from any source. We believe that this combination of several procedures on a single chip represents a significant step in the development of higher levels of integration upon microfluidic devices.