Comparative Study of The Yield and Physicochemical Properties of Collagen from Sea Cucumber (Holothuria scabra), Obtained through Dialysis and the Ultrafiltration Membrane

Collagen was extracted from the body wall of sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) using the pepsin-solubilized collagen method followed by isolation using dialysis and the ultrafiltration membrane. The yield and physicochemical properties of the collagen obtained from both isolation methods, denoted as D-PSC and UF-PSC, were compared. The ultrafiltration method affords a higher yield of collagen (11.39%) than that of the dialysis (5.15%). The isolated collagens have almost the same amino acid composition, while their functional groups, referred to as amide A, B, I, II, and III bands, were in accordance with commercial collagen, as verified by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The UV-Vis absorption peaks at 240 nm and 220 nm, respectively, indicated that the collagens produced are type-I collagen. The D-PSC showed interconnecting sheet-like fibrils, while the UF-PSC exhibited a flaky structure with flat-sheets arranged very close to each other. The higher yield and comparable physicochemical properties of the collagen obtained by ultrafiltration as compared with dialysis indicate that the membrane process has high potential to be used in large-scale collagen production for food and pharmaceutical applications.     

Purification and Characterization of an Antibacterial Peptide from Rana Temporaria Chensinensis Skin

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Holospiniferoside: A New Antitumor Cerebroside from The Red Sea Cucumber Holothuria spinifera: In Vitro and In Silico Studies

Chemical investigation of the methanolic extract of the Red Sea cucumber Holothuria spinifera led to the isolation of a new cerebroside, holospiniferoside (1), together with thymidine (2), methyl-α-d-glucopyranoside (3), a new triacylglycerol (4), and cholesterol (5). Their chemical structures were established by NMR and mass spectrometric analysis, including gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). All the isolated compounds are reported in this species for the first time. Moreover, compound 1 exhibited promising in vitro antiproliferative effect on the human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) with IC₅₀ of 20.6 µM compared to the IC₅₀ of 15.3 µM for the drug cisplatin. To predict the possible mechanism underlying the cytotoxicity of compound 1, a docking study was performed to elucidate its binding interactions with the active site of the protein Mdm2–p53. Compound 1 displayed an apoptotic activity via strong interaction with the active site of the target protein. This study highlights the importance of marine natural products in the design of new anticancer agents.     

Green Synthesis and Characterization of Hybrid Collagen–Cellulose–Albumin Biofibers from Skin Waste

Collagen (C) and cellulose are prominent biopolymers from the animal and plant kingdom and widely used in bioengineering. Albumin, on the other hand, is the most abundant plasma protein present in mammalian blood. In this work, collagen extracted from animal skin waste was blended with hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) and bovine serum albumin (A) and wet-spun to form hybrid biodegradable C/HEC/A fibers. They were further cross-linked with glutaraldehyde vapors and analyzed. X-ray diffraction and infra-red spectroscopic studies of the hybrid fibers display peaks corresponding to collagen, cellulose, and albumin. Incorporation of cellulose into the biopolymeric matrix leads to a reasonable improvement in mechanical, swelling, and thermal properties of hybrid fibers. Addition of albumin improves the regularity of fiber surface without altering the porosity as observed under a microscope. Hence, the formed hybrid biofibers can be potentially used as a suture material as well as for different biomedical applications due to their improved properties.     

Beneficial Effects of Cyclic Ether 2-Butoxytetrahydrofuran from Sea Cucumber Holothuria scabra against Aβ Aggregate Toxicity in Transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans and Potential Chemical Interaction

The pathological finding of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregates is thought to be a leading cause of untreated Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we isolated 2-butoxytetrahydrofuran (2-BTHF), a small cyclic ether, from Holothuria scabra and demonstrated its therapeutic potential against AD through the attenuation of Aβ aggregation in a transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans model. Our results revealed that amongst the five H. scabra isolated compounds, 2-BTHF was shown to be the most effective in suppressing worm paralysis caused by Aβ toxicity and in expressing strong neuroprotection in CL4176 and CL2355 strains, respectively. An immunoblot analysis showed that CL4176 and CL2006 treated with 2-BTHF showed no effect on the level of Aβ monomers but significantly reduced the toxic oligomeric form and the amount of 1,4-bis(3-carboxy-hydroxy-phenylethenyl)-benzene (X-34)-positive fibril deposits. This concurrently occurred with a reduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the treated CL4176 worms. Mechanistically, heat shock factor 1 (HSF-1) (at residues histidine 63 (HIS63) and glutamine 72 (GLN72)) was shown to be 2-BTHF’s potential target that might contribute to an increased expression of autophagy-related genes required for the breakdown of the Aβ aggregate, thus attenuating its toxicity. In conclusion, 2-BTHF from H. scabra could protect C. elegans from Aβ toxicity by suppressing its aggregation via an HSF-1-regulated autophagic pathway and has been implicated as a potential drug for AD.     

A New Kind of Biomaterials——Bullfrog Skin Collagen

Pepsin-soluble collagen was prepared from bullfrog skin and partially characterized. This study revealed interesting differences, such as molecular weight, amino acid composition,denaturation temperature (Ta), in the frog skin collagen when compared to the known vertebrate collagens. This study gives hints that bullfrog skin can be a potential, safe alternative source of collagen from cattle for use in various fields.     

Fabrication and Characterization of an Electro-Compacted Collagen/Elastin/Hyaluronic Acid Sheet as a Potential Skin Scaffold

The development of biomimetic structures with integrated extracellular matrix (ECM) components represents a promising approach to biomaterial fabrication. Here, an artificial ECM, comprising the structural protein collagen I and elastin (ELN), as well as the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA), is reported. Specifically, collagen and ELN are electrochemically aligned to mimic the compositional characteristics of the dermal matrix. HA is incorporated into the electro-compacted collagen-ELN matrices via adsorption and chemical immobilization, to give a final composition of collagen/ELN/HA of 7:2:1. This produces a final collagen/ELN/hyaluronic acid scaffold (CEH) that recapitulates the compositional feature of the native skin ECM. This study analyzes the effect of CEH composition on the cultivation of human dermal fibroblast cells (HDFs) and immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaTs). It is shown that the CEH scaffold supports dermal regeneration by promoting HDFs proliferation, ECM deposition, and differentiation into myofibroblasts. The CEH scaffolds are also shown to support epidermis growth by supporting HaCaTs proliferation, differentiation, and stratification. A double-layered epidermal-dermal structure is constructed on the CEH scaffold, further demonstrating its ability in supporting skin cell function and skin regeneration.     

Purification and Characterization of a Urethanase from Penicillium variabile

Urethanase produced by Penicillium variabile was purified through ultrasonication, concentration by polyethylene glycol 20,000, and Superdex G-200 gel filtration chromatography. The molecular weight of urethanase was determined to be around 96 kDa by gel filtration. The purified enzyme showed a single band in SDS-PAGE with the molecular weight of ~13.7 kDa, which suggests that the enzyme has a multimeric structure composed of the same subunits. Peptide map fingerprinting analysis was then carried out by MALDI/TOF-TOF MS. Within the known sequences in NCBI, glucosamine-6-phosphate deaminase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase get high score as compared with urethanase. Sequence analysis informs that N-terminal sequence of urethanase is GTNTADNDAA. The Minchaelis constant (K _m) and maximum reaction rate (V _m) of urethanase are 27.2 mmol/L and 156.25 μmol/L min, respectively.     

Profile of Molecular Species of Triacylglycerides from the Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Chemistry of Natural Compounds - The Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) is the most valuable commercial species of sea cucumbers. The profile of triacylglycerides (TAG) from the body wall of the sea...     

鹰嘴豆β-半乳糖苷酶的分离纯化与表征

从鹰嘴豆中分离得到了三种β－半乳糖苷酶（酶Ⅰ、酶Ⅱ和酶Ⅲ）。将酶Ⅰ和酶Ⅱ进一步纯化,其比活力分别提高了19倍和48倍．酶活力回收率分别为16％和18％,测得它们的表观分子里分别为2．4×104和5.8×104;最适pH分别5.9和5.0,最适温度分别为55℃和45℃．酶Ⅰ水解ONPG和PNPG的KM分别为33×10-2mol·dm-3和60×10-3mol·dm－3;酶Ⅱ水解ONPG和PNPG的KM分别为30×10－3mol·dm－3和60×10－4mol·dm－3.乳糖和半乳糖为该酶的竞争性可逆抑制剂,棉子糖为非竞争性可逆抑制剂．该酶受Hg2＋和PCMB强烈抑制和NEM明显抑制,而Mg2＋、Zn2＋和Ca2＋具有激活作用,推知巯基（－SH)是酶活性中心必须基团．     

Purification and Characterization of Cyclic AMP-Binding Protein from Ganoderma lucidum

Cyclic AMP-binding protein was purified 30 fold from the mycelia of Ganoderma lucidum by the methods of ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose, phospho-cellulose ion exchange chromatography and Sephacryl S-100 gel filtration. The molecular mass of the purified protein is 34.5 kDa and 17 kDa by Sephacryl S-100 gel filtration and SDS-ployacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. From these results it is suggested that the protein has a homometric dimmer structure. The pI of the purified protein is pH 8.2 by native isoelectric focusing gel. The half-life of the protein activity in 10% glycerol at 4 ℃ is 7 d in crude extract, but its half-life is only 3 d under purifying conditions. The optimal conditions of the protein activity are at 1 ℃ and pH 7.5. Its activity is increased 6 times by 1 mmol/L Zn^2 and is slightly inhibited by cGMP,Cu^2 and Mn^2 .     

黄姜中薯蓣皂甙元的提取、纯化及其鉴定

以湖南浏阳的盾叶薯蓣为实验材料,从发酵时间、水解时间、抽提物的pH值、回流时间对盾叶薯蓣皂甙元提取率的影响进行了研究。结果表明,发酵时间24h,水解4h,回流时间为5h,抽提物pH值近中性时可获得最佳提取率。用硅胶层析加重结晶的方法对薯蓣皂甙元粗品进行了提纯,并对纯品的结构进行了初步鉴定。     

Purification and Characterization of a Proteolytic Enzyme from Fig Latex

Ficin is an important component of plants in Ficus family such as fig latex. It is of special significance in medicine and industry because it exhibits activity throughout a wide range of temperature and pH values. In this work, we purified a component of ficin from the latex homogeneity of Shandong fig trees, and the properties of the purified ficin were studied. The current findings revealed that heavy metal ions were able to inhibit ficin, while DTT, L-cysteine, and β-ME were found to promote ficin activity. It was also observed that the half life of ficin at 65 °C was longer than 1 h and the Michaelis constant（Km） for casein hydrolyzation was determined to be 1.56 mg/mL. Our study shows that this purified ficin is a cysteine protease.     

Purification and Characterization of Tyrosine Phenol Lyase from Citrobacter freundii

The purification and characterization of intracellular tyrosine phenol lyase from Citrobacter freundii has been carried out. The enzyme was purified 35-fold to homogeneity by ammonium sulphate precipitation and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Its subunit molecular weight was found to be 52 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified tyrosine phenol lyase showed maximum activity in borate buffer (0.05 M at pH 8.5) at 45 °C after 20 min of incubation. The K _m and V _max values of purified enzyme were found to be 0.446 mm and 0.342 mM/min/mg. This enzyme exhibits t _1/2 of 10, 52 and 130 min at 55, 45 and 35 °C, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequence was determined as MET-ASN-TYR-PRO-ALA-GLU-PRO-PHE-ARG-ILE-TRP-TRP-VAL-GLY.     

A New Disulfated Triterpene Glycoside from the Sea Cucumber Mensamaria intercedens Lampert

A new disulfated triterpene glycoside named intercedenside B was isolated from the sea cucumber Memsamaria intercedens Lampert.The structure was deduced from the spectral data.     

Characterization of Collagen from Three Genetic Lines (Gray,Red and F1) of Oreochromis niloticus (Tilapia) Skin in Young and Old Adults

From tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farming, the by-products have been identified as a source of collagen that could be used for the development of dermocosmetics or pharmaceutical products. However, the characteristics of collagen related to a specific strain or culture must be well defined prior to its application. Collagen was extracted from the skin of three strains of tilapia: red YY males (YY: two Y-type sex chromosomes), XX gray females, and the F1: offspring of crossing red YY males with XX gray females; at different ages in the adult phase, using acetic acid and pepsin enzyme. The characteristics of acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) were shown by SDS-PAGE band profiles to be similar to bovine collagen type I (SIGMA), the PSC of gray tilapia being more fragile to temperature changes, consistent with the results of fractional viscosity. The characteristics of the F1 progeny were prioritized for being a commercially productive and sustainable source for the extraction of collagen, and the ASC form, being the one with the greatest stability and advantage over PSC, of importance to our investigations, leads to a controlled digestion as in the case of peptide induction, and also in the development of natural products in the pharmaceutical and/or dermocosmetic industry. Evaluations of the triple helix structure by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction and UV–visible spectroscopy give similar results between the strains: red, gray, and F1, and between ages in the adult form F1 (15, 24, and 36 months of age). Consequently, the skin of tilapia in adult form is recommended sustainably for up to 24 months of age where the collagen is obtained with the use of acetic acid without enzymatic treatment.     

Intercedenol A and B, Two New Triterpenoids from the Sea Cucumber Mensamaria intercedens

Two new triterpenoids named intercedenol A and B were isolated from the acid hydrolysate of the crude glycoside fraction. The structures were elucidated by ESI-MS and NMR spectrum.     

Partial Hydrolysis of the Fucosylated Chondroitin Sulfate from Sea Cucumber Isostichopus badionotus and Its Mechanism

The method for preparing low molecular weight fucosylated chondroitin sulfate from sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus using partial acid hydrolysis was reported, and its hydrolysis mechanism was also investigated. The sea cucumber chondroitin sulfate FCS was hydrolyzed under different conditions (80 ℃ 3 h and 6 h), then isolated and purified on a Bio-P-4 geltration to prepare low molecular weight fractions (LMWF-FCS). The chemical compositions of LMWF-FCS showed the branched fucose (Fuc) was cleaved during acid hydrolysis process, whereas the mole ratio of acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc) and glucuronic acid (GlcA) in the backbone remained the same, which indicated the backbone was a typical chondroitin sulfate structure. The disaccharide composition analysis of LMWF-FCS suggested that the sulfation patterns of GalNAc in the backbone chain changed and the substitution value was reduced. Furthermore, the 1 D NMR analysis illustrated the branched-Fuc was cleaved during acid hydrolysis, but their substitution patterns were not influenced, which was distinct from the previous reports that the substitutions of branched-Fuc in FCS were easy to change. Simultaneously, the sulfation pattern of GalNAc in backbone chain changed obviously in the acid hydrolysis process. The anticoagulant activity in vitro illuminated the anticoagulant activity of the degradation products over time in the acid hydrolysis are gradually declined, but still kept good. Therefore, the LMWF-FCS prepared could be developed as a new anticoagulant and antithrombotic drug like low molecular weight heparin.     

添加剂对活性人工皮肤胶原海绵支架材料的影响

研究了壳聚糖、硫酸软骨素和肝素对胶原海绵理化性质和生物相容性的影响。结果表明：添加壳聚糖后胶原海绵的孔隙率和暖水率下降,添加硫酸软骨素后上升,而添加肝素后无明显变化。三种添加剂均可减少基质收缩,增强材料的抗降解性能,但种问差异不明显。与纯胶原海绵相比,复合海绵可进一步促进细胞的吸附和增殖,其中添加壳聚糖和肝素的效果相当,优于硫酸软骨素,有望应用于构建组织工程化人工皮肤。