Study of tungstate–protein interaction in human serum by LC–ICP-MS and MALDI-TOF

Oral administration of sodium tungstate is an effective treatment for type 1 and 2 diabetes in animal models; it does not incur significant side effects, and it may constitute an alternative to insulin. However, the mechanism by which tungstate exerts its observed metabolic effects in vivo is still not completely understood. In this work, serum-containing proteins which bind tungstate have been characterized. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) with a Phenomenex Bio-Sep-S 2000 column and 20 mM HEPES and 150 mM NaCl at pH 7.4 as the mobile phase was chosen as the most appropriate methodology to screen for tungsten–protein complexes. When human serum was incubated with tungstate, three analytical peaks were observed, one related to tungstate–albumin binding, one to free tungstate, and one to an unknown protein binding (MW higher than 300 kDa). Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometric analysis of the tungsten-containing fractions collected from SEC–ICP-MS chromatograms, after desalting and preconcentration processes, confirmed the association of tungstate with albumin and the other unknown protein. Figure SEC-ICP-MS // MALDI-TOF     

Enrichment of low-abundant serum proteins by albumin/immunoglobulin G immunoaffinity depletion under partly denaturing conditions

We present a simple protocol for affinity depletion to remove the two most abundant serum proteins, albumin and immunoglobulin G (IgG). Under native conditions, albumin/IgG were efficiently removed and several proteins were enriched as shown by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). Besides that, partly denaturing conditions were established by adding 5 or 20% acetonitrile (ACN) in order to disrupt the binding of low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteins to the carrier proteins albumin/IgG. 2-DE results showed that the total number of detected LMW proteins increased under denaturing conditions when compared to native conditions. Interestingly, the presence of 5% ACN in serum revealed better enrichment of LMW proteins when compared to 20% ACN condition. Seven randomly distributed spots in albumin/IgG depleted serum samples under 5% ACN condition were picked from the 2-DE gels and identified by mass spectrometry (MS). The intensity of five LMW protein spots increased under denaturing conditions when compared to native conditions. Three of the seven identified spots (serum amyloid P, vitamin D-binding protein, and transthyretin) belong to a group of relatively low-abundant proteins, which make up only 1% of all serum proteins. The method presented here improves the resolution of the serum proteome by increasing the number of visualized spots on 2-D gels and allowing the detection and MS identification of LMW proteins and proteins of lower abundance.     

Evaluation of gel electrophoresis conditions for the separation of metal‐tagged proteins with subsequent laser ablation ICP‐MS detection

Although laser ablation (LA)‐ICP‐MS has been reported for the determination of metalloproteins separated by gel electrophoretic techniques (GE), systematic studies that define the conditions essential for successful measurements are still scarce. In this paper we present the results of our studies of basic conditions for the effective application of GE‐LA‐ICP‐MS for the separation of metal‐binding proteins, focusing on their stability during GE and post‐separation gel treatment. The stability of metal–protein complexes (haemoglobin, myoglobin, superoxide dismutase, carbonic anhydrase, transferrin, albumin, cytochrome c) during GE is dependent on the nature of the metal–protein interaction and the principle of separation. We have observed that non‐denaturing GE is a suitable separation technique for most metal–protein complexes (e.g. Zn in carbonic anhydrase and Fe in Tf and myoglobin were quantitatively recovered in a spiked liver cytosol), whereas separation by denaturing GE strongly impaired the stability of the complexes. Equally important is the post‐separation treatment of the gel to enable successful detection of the metal. LA‐ICP‐MS requires drying of the gel without loss of protein‐bound metal or cracking of the gel. This was successfully achieved using glycerol followed by heating. We demonstrate that staining of the gel prior to LA‐ICP‐MS using silver or Coomassie blue is not recommended, since most protein‐bound metal is lost during the staining procedure. Furthermore it has been shown that only line scanning with a speed of less than 30 μm/s can reliably distinguish between lines 1 mm apart, while raster spot analysis carries the risk of misinterpretation due to contamination in/on inhomogeneous gels.     

Microdetermination of Proteins with the 1,10-Phenanthroline–H2O2–Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide–Cu(II) Chemiluminescence System

Proteins can enhance the chemiluminescence (CL) intensity of the 1,10-phenanthroline–H₂O₂–cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB)–Cu(II) system because unsaturated complexes of Cu(II) with protein have a much stronger catalytic effect on the CL reaction than does Cu(II). On this basis, a new flow injection analysis method for detection of some proteins was established. The method gives linear responses over two orders of magnitude and detection limits at the 0.02–0.05 μg ml⁻¹level for bovine serum albumin, human serum albumin, γ-globulin, and egg albumin. The method was used for determination of proteins in human serum with satisfactory results.     

质谱法分析2型糖尿病大鼠神经视网膜差异表达蛋白

采用二维电泳(2DE)分离了正常SD大鼠和2型糖尿病模型大鼠神经视网膜组织总蛋白, 并用Image Master 5.0软件分析比较了正常组和糖尿病组2DE图像, 正常组检测到 3122±37(n=3)个蛋白质点; 糖尿病组检测到2702±21(n=3)个蛋白质点. 约150个蛋白质点的表达水平在两组之间存在明显差异(P<0.05). 在糖尿病组中表达上调的点68个, 下调的点82个. 选择20个差异表达蛋白质点进行肽质量指纹谱(PMF)或串联质谱鉴定, 其中7个蛋白已有报道与糖尿病视网膜病变(DR)相关, 10个蛋白尚未见有报道.     

具抗凝血作用的三种钕配合物与人血清白蛋白的相互作用

采用荧光光谱法,紫外光谱法以及圆二色谱法研究了具抗凝血作用的水杨酸钕((NdL′3.2H2O,L′=水杨酸离子))、华法灵钕(NdL3.2H2O,L=华法灵离子)和华法灵水杨酸钕(NdL2L′.2H2O)3种配合物与人血清白蛋白的相互作用。结果表明:配合物对人血清白蛋白(HSA)的荧光产生猝灭现象;配合物的存在使得HSA紫外吸收光谱的强度增加;配合物的存在也对HSA的构象产生影响。水杨酸钕的猝灭方式为动态与静态猝灭,而华法灵钕和华法灵水杨酸钕的猝灭方式属于两者之间生成了不发荧光的复合物而导致的静态猝灭。并分别确定了它们的结合力类型:华法灵钕与HSA之间主要作用力是静电作用力;水杨酸钕与HSA之间主要作用力为典型的疏水作用力;华法灵水杨酸钕与HSA之间为氢键和范德华力。计算了配合物与人血清白蛋白的结合常数K和结合位点数n。     

Boosting the stability of protein emulsions by the synergistic use of proteins and clays

The preparation and the properties of high-pressure emulsions based on five different proteins are reported. As proteins, we used the well-studied bovine serum albumin (BSA), a biotechnical produced hydrophobin called H Star Protein B? (HPB), a protein isolate from soybeans, a wheat protein isolate (Plantasol W), and a commercially available yeast extract. All emulsions were characterized by visual appearance, light microscopy, conductivity, and rheological measurements. Beside the emulsion based on soy protein isolate, all other samples showed phase separation under the used conditions (0.5 wt.% protein; 50 wt.% oil). Plantasol W and yeast extract formed the most unstable emulsions showing typical instability processes like coalescence. Gel-like properties have been observed for emulsions based on BSA, soy protein isolate, and HPB. The same proteins were also used to stabilize emulsions after their adsorption on clay particles. Interestingly, all emulsions had gel-like properties with a yield stress value and were stable to the used conditions. It is concluded that the gel character results from the stickiness of the protein covered oil droplets and is independent from the used protein type. The proteins which are adsorbed on the oil droplets can still interact and bind to proteins on other oil droplets.     

Comparative study of various polyols as complexing agents for the acidimetric titration of tungstate

Most polyols (L = alditol or carbohydrate) form dinuclear tungstate complexes according to the over-all equilibrium 2WO4(2-) + 2H+ + L equal equilibrium [W2O7L]2- + H2O. When the reaction is fast and complete, it allows the acidimetric titration of tungstate. The formation constants of the complexes of a series of polyols were determined by potentiometry. Their values were higher at low ionic strengths. Opposite structural factors govern the stabilities and the formation rates of complexes: alditols of threo configuration react with tungstate faster than those of erythro configuration, but the stability order is erythro greater than threo. Of the polyols investigated, only xylitol and D-glucitol (sorbitol) allowed a fast and accurate potentiometric titration. Using 0.02 M HCl as titrand, 0.04 mmol of tungstate was determined in a volume of 100 cm3. The interference of molybdate is discussed in detail.     

A study of the interactions between carboplatin and blood plasma proteins using size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

To study the carboplatin–protein interaction, a sensitive method using size exclusion chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SEC–ICP–MS) was developed. The complexes formed between plasma proteins and carboplatin were monitored and identified with this method. Composite blood plasma samples from patients who were undergoing chemotherapy were analyzed, and carboplatin was found to bind plasma proteins. In addition, blank plasma samples were spiked with carboplatin and were analyzed as a time course study, and the results confirmed that carboplatin formed complexes with plasma proteins, primarily albumin and γ-globulin. To further substantiate the study, these two proteins were incubated with carboplatin. The binding between carboplatin and these proteins was then characterized qualitatively and quantitatively. In addition to a one-to-one binding of Pt to protein, protein aggregation was observed. The kinetics of the binding process of carboplatin to albumin and γ-globulin was also studied. The initial reaction rate constant of carboplatin binding to albumin was determined to be 0.74 M⁻¹ min⁻¹, while that for γ-globulin was 1.01 M⁻¹ min⁻¹, which are both lower than the rate constant of the cisplatin–albumin reaction previously reported.     

Correlation between glycated lipoproteins and fructosamine level in serum.

The correlation between the level of fructosamine and glycated proteins, including glycated lipoproteins, in serum from diabetic and nondiabetic subjects was studied. Assay of glycated proteins in serum was performed using an agarose gel film electrophoresis with nitroblue tetrazolium coloration. Glycated albumin correlated well with the fructosamine level in the diabetics (r = 0.83-0.92, p less than 0.01) but showed no correlation with the nondiabetics (r = 0.25-0.26). Also, a high correlation between the glycated beta-lipoprotein and fructosamine levels was observed in diabetic patients with hyperglycemia and in nondiabetic subjects with a high risk of atherogenesis (atherogenic index, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol greater than 2.8) (r = 0.51-0.66, p less than 0.01). Nondiabetics with a high level of beta-lipoprotein, which is well known to cause high atherogenesity, showed a high level of glycated beta-lipoprotein similar to that in the diabetic groups with hyperglycemia; therefore, the high level of glycated beta-lipoprotein seems to be attributable not only to the hyperglycemia-accelerated glycation of beta-lipoprotein but also to an increase in the level of beta-lipoprotein in serum. Consequently, the present results show that the fructosamine level in serum reflects not only the glycation of albumin but also that of lipoproteins which are known to increase in diabetes mellitus.     

The Anticancer Activity and HSA Binding Properties of the Structurally Related Platinum (II) Complexes

The development of resistance and unwanted harmful interaction with other biomolecules instead of DNA are the major drawbacks for application of platinum (Pt) complexes in cancer chemotherapy. To conquer these problems, much works have been done so far to discover innovative Pt complexes. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the anti cancer activities of a series of four and five-coordinated Pt(II) complexes, having deprotonated 2-phenyl pyridine (abbreviated as C^N), biphosphine moieties, i.e., dppm?=?bis(diphenylphosphino) methane (Ph₂PCH₂PPh₂) and dppa?=?bis(diphenylphosphino)amine (Ph₂PNHPPh₂), as the non-leaving carrier groups. The growth inhibitory effect of the Pt complexes [Pt(C^N)(dppm)]PF₆: C ₁ , [Pt(C^N)(dppa)]PF₆: C ₂ , and [Pt(C^N)I(dppa)]: C ₃ , toward the cancer cell lines was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay. In addition, the florescence quenching experiments of the interaction between human serum albumin (HSA) and the Pt complexes were performed in order to obtain the binding parameters and to evaluate the denaturing properties of these complexes upon binding to the general carrier protein of blood stream. The structure?Cactivity relationship studies reveal that four-coordinated Pt complexes C ₁ and C ₂ with both significant hydrophobic and charge characteristics, not only exhibit strong antiproliferation activity toward the cancer cell lines, but also they display lower denaturing effect against carrier protein HSA. On the other hand, five-coordinated C ₃ complex with the unusual intermolecular NH??Pt hydrogen binding and the intrinsic ability for oligomerization, exhibits poor anticancer activity and strong denaturing property. The current study reveals that the balance between charge and hydrophobicity of the Pt complexes, also their hydrogen binding abilities and coordination mode are important for their anticancer activities. Moreover, this study may suggest C ₁ and C ₂ as the potential template structures for synthesis of new generation of four-coordinated Pt complexes with strong anticancer activities and weak denaturing effects against proteins.     

Dual temperature/pH-sensitive drug delivery of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) nanogels conjugated with doxorubicin for potential application in tumor hyperthermia therapy

The interaction of the amphiphilic drugs, i.e., amitriptyline hydrochloride (AMT) and promethazine hydrochloride (PMT), with serum albumins (i.e., human serum albumin (HSA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA)), has been examined by the various spectroscopic techniques, like fluorescence, UV-vis, and circular dichroism (CD). Fluorescence results indicate that in case of HSA-drug complexes the quenching of fluorescence intensity at 280 nm is less effective as compared to at 295 nm while in case of BSA-drug complexes both have almost same effect and for most of drug-serum albumin complexes there is only one independent class of binding. For all drug-serum albumin complexes the quenching rate constant (K(q)) values suggest the static quenching procedure. The UV-vis results show that the change in protein conformation of PMT-serum albumin complexes was more prominent as compared to AMT-serum albumin complexes. The CD results also explain the conformational changes in the serum albumins on binding with drugs. The increase in α-helical structure for AMT-serum albumin complexes is found to be more as compared to PMT-serum albumin complexes. Hence, the various spectroscopic techniques provide a quantitative understanding of the binding of amphiphilic drugs with serum albumins.     

Study of Chromium Speciation in Normal and Diabetic Rats by Activable Enriched Stable Isotope Technique

Chromium speciation was investigated in the liver cytosol, serum and urine of normal and diabetic rats after a single intravenous injection of enriched stable isotope ⁵⁰Cr tracer solution. Sephadex G-25 gel chromatography combined with instrumental neutron activation analysis was used to isolate and characterize protein-bound chromium in the above materials. The results indicate that Cr is mainly combined with a high-molecular-weight protein either in liver cytosol or serum. A low-molecular-weight, Cr-containing compound (LMWCr) was found in all the observed liver, serum and urine samples of both normal and diabetic rats. Chromium is excreted chiefly as LMWCr in urine.     

Modulating the sensory response of a conjugated polymer by proteins: an agglutination assay for mercury ions in water

The complexes of a carboxylate-substituted poly(para-phenyleneethynylene) (PPE) with histone, bovine serum albumin, and papain were investigated. At higher concentrations, the proteins have a significant effect on the emission characteristics of the PPE. The electrostatic complexes formed from the PPE, and the proteins are agglutinated by different metal cations. The observed selectivities and sensitivities of these simple systems are most unusual; combination of the carboxylate-PPE and commercially available papain forms an electrostatic complex that is precipitated by mercury ions at concentrations above 10-5 mol L-1.     

Anti-diabetic effects of a series of vanadium dipicolinate complexes in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

The effects of oral treatment of rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes with a range of vanadium dipicolinate complexes (Vdipic) and derivatives are reviewed. Structure–reactivity relationships are explored aiming to correlate properties such as stability, to their insulin-enhancing effects. Three types of modifications are investigated; first, substitutions on the aromatic ring, second, coordination of a hydroxylamido group to the vanadium, and third, changes in the oxidation state of the vanadium ion. These studies allowed us to address the importance of coordination chemistry, and redox chemistry, as modes of action. Dipicolinate was originally chosen as a ligand because the dipicolinatooxovanadium(V) complex (V5dipic), is a potent inhibitor of phosphatases. The effect of vanadium oxidation state (3, 4 or 5), on the insulin-enhancing properties was studied in both the Vdipic and VdipicCl series. Effects on blood glucose, body weight, serum lipids, alkaline phosphatase and aspartate transaminase were selectively monitored. Statistically distinct differences in activity were found, however, the trends observed were not the same in the Vdipic and VdipicCl series. Interperitoneal administration of the Vdipic series was used to compare the effect of administration mode. Correlations were observed for blood vanadium and plasma glucose levels after V5dipic treatment, but not after treatment with corresponding V4dipic and V3dipic complexes. Modifications of the aromatic ring structure with chloride, amine or hydroxyl groups had limited effects. Global gene expression was measured using Affymetrix oligonucleotide chips. All diabetic animals treated with hydroxyl substituted V5dipic (V5dipicOH) and some diabetic rats treated with vanadyl sulfate had normalized hyperlipidemia yet uncontrolled hyperglycemia and showed abnormal gene expression patterns. In contrast to the normal gene expression profiles previously reported for some diabetic rats treated with vanadyl sulfate, where both hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia were normalized. Modification of the metal, changing the coordination chemistry to form a hydroxylamine ternary complex, had the most influence on the anti-diabetic action. Vanadium absorption into serum was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy for selected vanadium complexes. Only diabetic rats treated with the ternary V5dipicOH hydroxylamine complex showed statistically significant increases in accumulation of vanadium into serum compared to diabetic rats treated with vanadyl sulfate. The chemistry and physical properties of the Vdipic complexes correlated with their anti-diabetic properties. Here, we propose that compound stability and ability to interact with cellular redox reactions are key components for the insulin-enhancing activity of vanadium compounds. Specifically, we found that the most overall effective anti-diabetic Vdipic compounds were obtained when the compound administered had an increased coordination number in the vanadium complex.     

VISIBLE LIGHT IRRADIATION OF HUMAN AND BOVINE SERUM ALBUMIN-BILIRUBIN COMPLEX*

Abstract— The UV absorption and the fluorescence emission spectra of both bovine (BSA) and human (HSA) serum albumin underwent noticeable changes upon irradiation of their 1:1 complexes with bilirubin; both these phenomena are suggestive of the photosensitized modification of aromatic amino acid residues. Amino acid analysis showed that after relatively short irradiation times of both albumins, only histidyl and tryptophyl residues appeared to be affected to a significant extent. After 60min of irradiation, some decrease in the tyrosine content was also observed, especially for HSA.
Conformational studies, obtained by exposing unirradiated and irradiated BSA and HSA to denaturing agents, showed that the three-dimensional organization of the 15 min irradiated samples was slightly different from that of the native proteins. On the other hand, after 15 min of irradiation, the association constant of the bilirubin-albumin complexes decreased from 2.07 to 0.54×10⁸ M ^-1 for HSA and from 2.16 to 0.87×10⁷ M ^-1 for BSA.
These data indicate that the histidyl residues are relatively unimportant for maintaining the native tertiary structure of BSA and HSA, but they are critical for determining the binding capacity of the albumins. Our data also imply that the tertiary structure of the BSA molecule is more labile than that of HSA.     

Binding Models of Copper(II) Thiosemicarbazone Complexes with Human Serum Albumin: A Speciation Study

Copper(II) complexes of thiosemicarbazones (TSCs) often exhibit anticancer properties, and their pharmacokinetic behavior can be affected by their interaction with blood transport proteins. Interaction of copper(II) complexes of an {N,N,S} donor α-N-pyridyl TSC (Triapine) and an {O,N,S} donor 2-hydroxybenzaldehyde TSC (STSC) with human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by UV–visible and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy at physiological pH. Asp-Ala-His-Lys and the monodentate N-methylimidazole were also applied as binding models. Conditional formation constants were determined for the ternary copper(II)-TSC complexes formed with HSA, DAHK, and N-methylimidazole based on the spectral changes of both charge transfer and d-d bands. The neutral N-methylimidazole displays a similar binding affinity to both TSC complexes. The partially negatively charged tetrapeptide binds stronger to the positively charged Triapine complex in comparison to the neutral STSC complex, while the opposite trend was observed for HSA, which demonstrates the limitations of the use of simple ligands to model the protein binding. The studied TSC complexes are able to bind to HSA in a fast process, and the conditional constants suggest that their binding strength is only weak-to-moderate.     

Sample preparation of human serum for the analysis of tumor markers. Comparison of different approaches for albumin and gamma-globulin depletion

LC-MS is a powerful method for the sensitive detection of proteins and peptides in biological fluids. However, the presence of highly abundant proteins often masks those of lower abundance and thus generally prevents their detection and identification in proteomic studies. In human serum the most abundant proteins are albumin and gamma-globulins. We tested several approaches to specifically reduce the level of these proteins based on either specific antibodies, dye ligands (for albumin) and protein A or G (for gamma-globulins). The resulting, depleted serum was analyzed by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and LC-MS for the residual presence of these abundant proteins as well as for other serum proteins that should remain after depletion. To test the applicability of this method to real-life samples, depleted serum of a cervical cancer patient was analyzed for the presence of a specific tumor marker protein SCCA1 (squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1; P29508), which is present at ng/ml concentrations. The results demonstrate that SCCA1 can be detected by LC-MS in patient serum following depletion of albumin and gamma-globulins thus opening the possibility of screening patient sera for other, so far unknown, tumor markers.     

The influence of the density of ionogenic groups in the sorbent on the competitive sorption of proteins

Bi-Langmuir isotherms are calculated from the data on sorption of bovine serum albumin and cytochrome c on carboxylic cation exchangers with different ionogenic group contents. The calculated data are compared with the experimental data on the sorption of the proteins from mixed solutions. It is established that, for the protein smaller in size (cytochrome c) on the cation exchanger with the smallest amount of ionogenic groups, the results obtained agree well with each other. For bovine serum albumin, which has higher interaction energy with the sorbent, only qualitative agreement is observed.     

High-resolution 2-DE for resolving proteins, protein adducts and complexes in plasma

A 2-DE system has been devised in which proteins are first separated in their native state followed by separation according to mass under denaturing conditions (Nat/SDS-PAGE). Hydrophilic properties of the gel and the presence of dihydroxybisacrylamide in the first dimension allowed a good resolution for high-molecular-weight proteins and maintained interactions. With this method 252 plasma spots have been resolved and 140 have been characterized by MS as isoforms of 60 proteins, a relevant part of which (12) were not detected by traditional 2-D gels or by other nondenaturing 2-D techniques. The list includes complement factors (C4d, C7), coagulation factors (coagulation factor II, fibrin beta), apolipoproteins (apolipoprotein B) and cell debris (vinculin, gelsolin, tropomyosin, dystrobrevin beta, fibrinectin I). Nat/SDS PAGE also allowed separation of nicked forms of albumin, Apo B100 and alpha2-macroglobulin and showed the presence of atypical albumin adducts corresponding to post-translational and oxidation products. Our system provides therefore new tools for resolving proteins, protein aggregates and complexes and amplifies the potentiality of traditional electrophoretic analysis.