Amino acids of ricin and its polypeptides

Ricin and its corresponding polypeptides (A & B chain) were purified from castor seed. The molecular weight of ricin subunits were 29,000 and 28,000 daltons. The amino acids in ricin determined were Asp45 The22 Ser40 Glu53 Cys4 Gly96 His5 Ile21 Leu33 Lys20 Met4 Phe13 Pro37 Tyr11 Ala45 Val23 Arg20 indicating that ricin contains approximately 516 amino acid residues. The amino acids of the two subunits of ricin A and B chains were Asp23 The12 Ser21 Glu29 Cys2 Gly48 His3 Ile12, Leu17 Lys10 Met2 Phe6 Pro17 Tyr7 Ala35 Val13 Arg13 while in B chain the amino acids were Asp22 The10 Ser19 Glu25 Cys2 Gly47 His1 Ile10, Leu15 Lys11 Met1 Phe7 Pro6 Tyr5 Ala32Val11 Arg10. The total helical content of ricin came around 53.6% which is a new observation.     

Identification and quantification of ricin in biomedical samples by magnetic immunocapture enrichment and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

Ricin is a toxic protein derived from castor beans and composed of a cytotoxic A chain and a galactose-binding B chain linked by a disulfide bond, which can inhibit protein synthesis and cause cell death. Owing to its high toxicity, ease of preparation, and lack of medical countermeasures, ricin has been listed as both chemical and biological warfare agents. For homeland security or public safety, the unambiguous, sensitive, and rapid methods for identification and quantification of ricin in complicated matrices are of urgent need. Mass spectrometric analysis, which provides specific and sensitive characterization of protein, can be applied to confirm and quantify ricin. Here, we report a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method in which ricin was extracted and enriched from serum by immunocapture using anti-ricin monoclonal antibody 3D74 linked to magnetic beads, then digested by trypsin, and analyzed by LC-ESI-MS/MS. Among 19 distinct peptides observed in LC-quadrupole/time of flight-MS (LC-QTOF-MS), two specific and sensitive peptides, T_7A (⁴⁹VGLPINQR⁵⁶) and T_14B (¹⁸⁸DNCLTSDSNIR¹⁹⁸), were chosen, and a highly sensitive determination of ricin was established in LC-triple quadrupole-MS (LC-QqQ-MS) operating in multiple reaction monitoring mode. These specific peptides can definitely distinguish ricin from the homologous protein Ricinus communis agglutinin (RCA120), even though the amino acid sequence homology of the A-chain of ricin and RCA120 is up to ca. 93 % and that of B-chain is ca. 85 %. Furthermore, peptide T_7A was preferred in the quantification of ricin because its sensitivity was at least one order of magnitude higher than that of the peptide T_14B. Combined with immunocapture enrichment, this method provided a limit of detection of ca. 2.5 ng/mL and the limit of quantification was ca. 5 ng/mL of ricin in serum, respectively. Both precision and accuracy of this method were determined and the RSD was less than 15 %. This established method was then applied to measure ricin in serum samples collected from rats exposed to ricin at the dosage of 50 μg/kg in an intravenous injection manner. The results showed that ca. 10 ng/mL of the residual ricin in poisoned rats serum could be detected even at 12 h after exposure.     

Cell surface receptors and their dynamics on toxin-treated malignant cells.

The binding, mobility, and mode of cell entry of the plant toxin ricin (or RCAII) were investigated on susceptible and partially resistant murine cell lines. When susceptible cells (SV40-transformed 3T3 fibroblast cells and BW5147 lymphoma cells) were examined, ricin bound rapidly, induced endocytosis, and entered the cell cytoplasm via broken endocytotic vesicles to inhibit cell protein synthesis, as found previously (1). Addition of lactose within 15 min after initial ricin binding prevented toxicity. After this time lactose addition no longer blocked the inhibition of protein synthesis. In a partially resistant lymphoma (BW5147/RCA3) that shows only a slight reduction in the total number of ricin-binding sites, ricin bound rapidly to the cell surface, but was endocytosed significantly less at low ricin doses compared to its parental line, indicating a possible difference in cell surface behavior. The exposed surface proteins on the BW5147 parental and BW5147/RCA3 resistnat lines were examined by 125I-labeling utilizing lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination. The radiolabeled components were solubilized and separated by slab electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. Autoradiograms of the slab gels indicated that two surface components of approximately 80,000 and 35,000 mol wt were much less exposed or were missing on the resistant line.     

Colorimetric detection of Ricinus communis Agglutinin 120 using optimally presented carbohydrate-stabilised gold nanoparticles

Ricin is a toxic lectin which presents a potential security threat. Its rapid detection is highly desirable. Here we present a colorimetric bioassay based on the aggregation of carbohydrate-stabilised gold nanoparticles which has been used to detect Ricinus communis Agglutinin 120 (RCA(120)) - a ricin surrogate. To achieve a stable and robust sensing system the anchor chain length and the density of the assembled carbohydrates on the gold particle surface has been examined to determine the optimal coverage for maximal aggregation with both RCA(120) and Concanavalin A (Con A) lectins. Gold nanoparticles were stabilised with either a thiolated galactose derivative (9-mercapto-3,6-diaoxaoctyl-beta-d-galactoside) or a thiolated mannose derivative (9-merapto-3,6-dioxaoctyl-alpha-d-mannoside), for RCA(120) and Con A respectively, diluted in each instance with varying ratios of a thiolated triethylene glycol derivative. Aggregation was induced with the respective cognate lectin with the reaction monitored by UV-visible spectrophotometry. The results obtained show that a particle surface with at least 7.5% galactose is required for aggregation with RCA(120) and 6% mannose coverage is required for aggregation with Con A. For each lectin the sensitivity of the assay could be controlled by adjustment of the carbohydrate density on the gold nanoparticles, but with differing results. Maximal aggregation with Con A was achieved with a monolayer consisting of 100% mannose, whereas for RCA(120) maximal aggregation occurred with 70% coverage of galactose. The limit of detection for RCA(120) using the optimally presented galactose-stabilised nanoparticles was 9 nM.     

Characterization of sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-separated M. agalactiae membrane antigens by mass spectrometry

Mycoplasma membrane proteins are generally designated according to their apparent molecular weight measured by SDS-PAGE. Several results about mycoplasma membrane antigens are conflicting because some doubts are emerging about the accuracy of the method utilised to identify the antigens. Aim of this work, was to characterise proteins separated after sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE)-mass spectrometry to allow an uncontroversial designation of the antigens. Fifteen proteins with molecular weights ranging from 15,000 to 80,000 Da had been excised from gel and their whole molecular weight and proteolytic pattern had been determined using MALDI-TOF. The peptide pattern obtained using trypsin digestion allowed us to identify LipA, P48, P59, P80 and P40. Some other proteins showed analogies to proteins of Mycoplasma genitalium or Mycoplasma pneumoniae the only Mycoplasmas completely sequenced. There wasn't a close correspondence between the SDS-PAGE apparent molecular weight (generally used to name the proteins), the gene derived calculated mass and the molecular weight of whole proteins measured by MALDI-TOF. Only micro sequence data obtained by MS/MS allowed us to identify LipC, described as one of the most important Mycoplasma agalactiae antigens. This protein was found in correspondence with the 50 kDa region, instead of the 25 kDa region, confirming a phenomenon that we previously described.     

黄豆铁蛋白提取新方法及其与豌豆铁蛋白活性比较

铁蛋白是广泛存在于动物、微生物及植物体中的一种铁贮藏蛋白, 具有去除二价铁的毒性以及调节机体细胞铁代谢平衡的作用. 本文以黄豆种子为原料, 开发出黄豆铁蛋白提取新方法, 即将黄豆粗提液在55 ℃下加热15 min, 再将冷却后的上清液分别用500 mmol/L MgCl2和700 mmol/L柠檬酸三钠进行盐析. 离心得到的铁蛋白粗提液经透析后, 用DEAE-cellulose弱阴离子交换层析和Sephacryl S-300凝胶过滤层析进一步分离, 得到电泳纯的铁蛋白. Native-PAGE电泳测得分子量约为560000, SDS-PAGE电泳结果表明, 黄豆铁蛋白含有两种亚基, 分子量分别为28000和26500. 活性研究显示, 黄豆铁蛋白与豌豆铁蛋白铁氧化沉淀和还原释放反应的活性明显不同.     

Interaction of toxic lectin ricin with epithelial cells of rat small intestine in vitro.

To clarify the mechanism of oral toxicity of ricin, the interaction of ricin with the epithelial cells isolated from rat small intestine was compared in vitro with those of other plant lectins by two different determinations, i.e., viability and cytotoxicity. After incubation of the cells for 1 h at 37 degrees C with ricin, B-chain, castor bean hemagglutinin (CBH), soybean agglutinin (SBA), wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), concanavalin A (Con A), and peanut agglutinin (PNA), respectively, followed by staining with trypan blue, ricin and ricin B-chain as well as CBH and SBA were found to have effectively reduced the number of viable cells. On the contrary, only ricin inhibited protein synthesis in the cells and the effect was blocked by D-galactose. Additional experiments employing [125I]-labeled ricin strongly suggested that ricin was first bound via its B-chain to the galactosyl residues on the cell surface followed by internalization into cells as the whole 62 kDa molecule. These results infer first that ricin, as well as other lectins mentioned above, was able to reduce viability of the epithelial cells of rat small intestine by direct binding to the cell surface. The second effect, specific to ricin, was the inhibition of cellular protein synthesis.     

Ionic liquid-assisted SDS-PAGE to improve human serum protein separation

Ionic liquid (IL)-assisted sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (ILs-SDS-PAGE) was presented to improve protein separation. ILs were employed during the preparation process of polyacrylamide gel, then the modified gel was used for commercial protein marker, binary bovine serum albumin/lysozyme (BSA/Lyz) and human serum separation. The influence of ionic liquid concentration, cation alkyl chain length, cation and anion types on proteins separation were investigated. The results showed that ILs played a role in improving some protein separation, and ILs-SDS-PAGE provided higher resolution and separation efficiency than ordinary SDS-PAGE for low and middle relative molecular mass proteins in human serum. In addition, the principle of ILs-SDS-PAGE was discussed and the comparison of ILs-SDS-PAGE with ordinary SDS-PAGE and Native PAGE was made.     

Protein-resistant poly(ethylene oxide)-grafted surfaces: chain density-dependent multiple mechanisms of action

A clear understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the protein-resistant nature of end-tethered poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) surfaces remains elusive. A barrier to improved understanding is the fact that many of the factors involved (chain length, chain density, hydration, conformation, and distal chemistry) are inherently correlated. We hypothesize that, by comparing systems of variable but precisely known chain density, it should be possible to gain additional insight into the effects of the other factors. To evaluate this hypothesis, chain-end-thiolated PEOs were chemisorbed to gold-coated silicon wafers such that a range of chain densities was obtained. Three different PEOs were investigated: hydroxy-terminated chains of molecular weight 600 (600-OH), methoxy-terminated chains of molecular weight 750 (750-OCH3), and methoxy-terminated chains of molecular weight 2000 (2000-OCH3). In situ null ellipsometry was used to determine PEO chemisorption kinetics, ultimate PEO chain densities, protein adsorption kinetics, and ultimate protein adsorbed quantities. With this approach, it was possible to ascertain the effects of PEO distal chemistry (-OH, -OCH3), chain length, and layer hydration on protein adsorption. The data obtained suggested that properties related to chain density (conformational freedom, hydration) were the main determinants of protein resistance at chain densities up to a critical value of approximately 0.5 chain/nm2; at this value, protein adsorption was a minimum for the methoxy-terminated PEOs. For the hydroxyl-terminated PEO, adsorption leveled off at the critical value. Thus distal chemistry appears to be a major determinant of protein resistance at chain densities greater than the critical value.     

Understanding and preventing the formation of deformed polymer particles during synthesis by a seeded polymerization method

Uniformly sized porous polymer particles with different polarity namely poly(divinylbenzene), poly(vinyl acetate‐co‐divinylbenzene), poly(ethylene dimethacrylate), and poly (glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate) were prepared in the micron‐size range by a seeded polymerization method. Parameters affecting the particle morphologies including monomer mixture content, porogen content, and polystyrene (PS) seed latexes were varied, and the morphologies of the resulting particles were investigated by scanning electron and confocal microscopy. The results obtained indicated that the particle shape depended dominantly on the molecular weight of the PS seed template. Deformed particles, including collapsed spheres and spheres with holes were obtained when high molecular weight PS seeds were used, whereas well‐defined polymer particles were produced easily by using low molecular weight seeds. The use of 1,1‐diphenylethylene as a chain terminator during seed polymerization is proposed in this work as an efficient method to lower molecular weight of PS in seed particles while keeping seed size small. This low molecular weight seed template retained its spherical geometry after swelling and polymerization with different second stage monomers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Dye-free protein molecular weight markers

Protein molecular weight markers are widely used in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting. Here, we describe novel protein molecular weight markers in which a prestaining procedure is no longer needed. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is stable and resistant to denaturing agents/conditions. Various histidine-tagged GFP fusion proteins were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified by metal affinity chromatography. The minimal amount of each protein marker needed for analysis in SDS-PAGE and Western blot under visible light was 62.5 and 125 ng, respectively. Under ultraviolet (UV) ray, the minimal amount of each protein marker needed for analysis in SDS-PAGE and Western blot was half of those amounts used under visible light, respectively. Collectively, the accuracy, sensitivity, ease, economy, and flexibility of our strategy may reinforce the application of GFP in molecular biology.     

基于滚环合成的聚分子信标用于 凝血酶的靶向检测

采用滚环扩增(RCA)合成得到的DNA长链打开带适配体的分子信标, 由于RCA长链上带有多个与分子信标(MB)互补的重复序列, 其打开分子信标的能力比单一互补短链提高了上百倍. 所形成的聚多价分子信标组装体, 在分子信标浓度相同的情况下, 打开后的荧光强度也大幅上升; 并且由于组装体上多价适配体的存在, 聚分子信标对凝血酶的靶向能力显著增强. 实验结果表明, 聚分子信标结合凝血酶后, 其荧光信号与凝血酶浓度呈线性关系, 检测灵敏度达到0.2 nmol/L, 该体系的构建有利于实现对凝血酶的高灵敏、 特异性检测.     

Biochemical studies on oral toxicity of ricin. V. The role of lectin activity in the intestinal absorption of ricin.

In order to investigate a possible role of lectin activity of ricin in its absorption from the small intestine, we prepared two ricin derivatives. BMH-ricin, prepared by crosslinking A and B chains of ricin with 1,6-bismaleimidohexane, was nearly non-toxic but the lectin activity was unaltered. And, NBS-ricin, prepared by the oxidation of tryptophanyl residues of ricin with N-bromosuccinimide, was not only non-toxic but also non-lectinic. After the oral administration of ricin derivatives to rats, their interaction with the digestive tract and absorption into the circulatory systems have been compared with those of ricin, immunochemically and histologically. It was shown by immunostaining that ricin and BMH-ricin could bind to the intestinal mucosa, whereas NBS-ricin could not. No appreciable damage in the small intestine from rats treated with either BMH-ricin or NBS-ricin has been observed, in contrast to ricin treatment where severe impairment of the small intestinal tissues resulted after 5 h. Immunoreactive ricin in the liver has been determined with the ricin enzyme immunoassay (EIA). When compared at 48 h after oral administration, NBS-ricin was not detected, whereas BMH-ricin was found to be 38 micrograms/liver and ricin 100 micrograms/liver. From these results, it was inferred that the lectin activity of ricin plays an important role in the absorption of ricin from the small intestine and that the absorption of ricin protein was enhanced by its high toxicity.     

Extended-chain crystals. III. Size distribution of polyethylene crystals grown under elevated pressure

Extended-chain crystals of high molecular weight polymethylene, a polyethylene with a broad molecular weight distribution, and three fractions of polyethylene were grown from the melt under elevated pressure. Comparison of the crystal size distribution in the molecular chain direction (measured on fracture surfaces by electron microscopy) with the molecular weight distribution (measured by gel-permeation chromatography) gave the following results. Up to molecular weight 10,000 all samples showed eutectic separation into fully extended chain crystals of narrow molecular weight distribution. Above molecular weight 10,000 mixed crystals were formed. Under the chosen crystallization conditions larger chain extension was achieved with higher molecular weights. However, an increase in molecular weight by a factor of 1000 led only to a tenfold increase in chain extension. These facts are discussed in the light of a proposed mechanism of crystal growth.     

Modelling toxin effects on protein biosynthesis in eukaryotic cells

We present a rather generic model for toxin (ricin) inhibition of protein biosynthesis in eukaryotic cells. We also study reduction of the ricin toxic effects with application of antibodies against the RTB subunit of ricin molecules. Both species initially are delivered extracellularly. The model accounts for the pinocytotic and receptor-mediated toxin endocytosis and the intact toxin exocytotic removal out of the cell. The model also includes the lysosomal toxin destruction, the intact toxin motion to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for separation of its molecules into the RTA and RTB subunits, and the RTA chain translocation into the cytosol. In the cytosol, one portion of the RTA undergoes degradation via the ERAD. The other its portion can inactivate ribosomes at a large rate. The model is based on a system of deterministic ODEs. The influence of the kinetic parameters on the protein concentration and antibody protection factor is studied in detail.     

Enrichment of low molecular weight serum proteins using acetonitrile precipitation for mass spectrometry based proteomic analysis

A rapid acetonitrile (ACN)-based extraction method has been developed that reproducibly depletes high abundance and high molecular weight proteins from serum prior to mass spectrometric analysis. A nanoflow liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (nano-LC/MS/MS) multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method for 57 high to medium abundance serum proteins was used to characterise the ACN-depleted fraction after tryptic digestion. Of the 57 targeted proteins 29 were detected and albumin, the most abundant protein in serum and plasma, was identified as the 20th most abundant protein in the extract. The combination of ACN depletion and one-dimensional nano-LC/MS/MS enabled the detection of the low abundance serum protein, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), which has a serum concentration in the region of 100 ng/mL. One-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the depleted serum showed no bands corresponding to proteins of molecular mass over 75 kDa after extraction, demonstrating the efficiency of the method for the depletion of high molecular weight proteins. Total protein analysis of the ACN extracts showed that approximately 99.6% of all protein is removed from the serum. The ACN-depletion strategy offers a viable alternative to the immunochemistry-based protein-depletion techniques commonly used for removing high abundance proteins from serum prior to MS-based proteomic analyses.     

Polymerization of Vinyl Chloride at Reduced Monomer Accessibility. I. Polymerization at Subsaturation Pressure with Suspension PVC as a Seed

Vinyl chloride was polymerized at 40–96% of saturation pressure in water suspended systems at 55°C with suspension PVC as a seed. The monomer was continuously charged as vapor from a storage vessel kept at lower temperature. Characterization included molecular weight distribution (MWD) and degree of long-chain branching (LCB) by GPC and viscometry, thermal dehydrochlorination, microscopy, and technical standard tests. A granular seed was necessary to obtain granular polymer and reasonable polymerization rate. In properly seeded systems with monomer-soluble initiator, crust formation is very low. With monomer-soluble initiator the polymerization reactions are restricted to the seed polymer, comprise its total structure, reducing its porosity. At pressure near saturation, molecular weight increased with conversion, and autoacceleration occurred. The changes in molecular weight are presumably due to the lack of a liquid monomer phase, which reduces the mobility of the radicals leading to decreased termination. At decreasing polymerization pressure the mobility is further reduced due to de-swelling of the gel. At low pressure the polymerization rate decreased, the amount of low molecular weight material increased, and considerable long-chain branching occurred as a result of monomer depletion. With water-soluble initiator (at pressure near saturation), new tiny particles were formed in the water phase at the boundary to the seed particles. The seed structure remained unchanged. The polymer formed showed broad MWD and high LCB. No marked reduction in polymerization rate was observed. The dehydrochlorinatlon measurements indicate that the end groups and not the branch points are responsible for the decrease in thermal stability noticed.     

Nanoproteomic Approach for Isolation and Identification of Potential Biomarkers in Human Urine from Adults with Normal Weight,Overweight and Obesity

In this work, previously synthesized and characterized core-shell silica nanoparticles (FCSNP) functionalized with immobilized molecular bait, Cibacron blue, and a porous polymeric bis-acrylamide shell were incubated with pooled urine samples from adult women or men with normal weight, overweight or obesity for the isolation of potential biomarkers. A total of 30 individuals (15 woman and 15 men) were included. FCSNP allowed the capture of a variety of low molecular weight (LMW) proteins as evidenced by mass spectrometry (MS) and the exclusion of high molecular weight (HMW) proteins (>34 kDa) as demonstrated by SDS-PAGE and 2D SDS-PAGE. A total of 36 proteins were successfully identified by MS and homology database searching against the Homo sapiens subset of the Swiss-Prot database. Identified proteins were grouped into different clusters according to their abundance patterns. Four proteins were found only in women and five only in men, whereas 27 proteins were in urine from both genders with different abundance patterns. Based on these results, this new approach represents an alternative tool for isolation and identification of urinary biomarkers.     

Nonlinear electrophoresis of protein-detergent complexes

A comparatively new procedure is described for the nonlinear electrophoresis of proteins. Movement and separation of complexes formed by proteins and ionic detergents is first experimentally demonstrated for SDS rainbow colored protein molecular weight markers (Amersham). This result was revealed by SDS-PAGE in an asymmetric zero average pulsed electric field with a peak amplitude of up to 300 V cm(-1) and a frequency of 100 Hz. The highest molecular weight fractions were found to have the highest nonlinear drift velocity. A two-dimensional map of distribution of the protein complexes developed using nonlinear electrophoresis followed by SDS gel electrophoresis in an orthogonal direction, reveals nonuniform distribution of the fractions. Nonlinear electrophoresis can be run without electrode chambers, since the buffer electrolyte is not used up in alternating electric fields. Thus, this new type of electrophoresis can have advantages in microfluidic systems and biochips. Also possible uses are discussed of nonlinear electrophoresis via nonlinear focusing of protein-detergent complexes for further improvement of the SDS-PAGE technique for the separation and examination of these large hydrophobic complexes.