氨基酸描述子SZOTT用于多肽定量序效建模研究

在相关研究的基础上, 提出一新的氨基酸描述子SZOTT, 该描述子所含信息量大, 且操作简便. 将其用于两类肽体系序列表征, 用偏最小二乘和正交信号纠正-偏最小二乘建模, 获得较好的建模结果.     

一组新氨基酸描述子用于肽定量构效关系研究

用主成分分析从20种天然氨基酸0D～3D结构信息中收集到的共1369个描述子变量得到了一组新氨基酸描述子(SZOTT), 将其用于血管紧张素转化酶抑制剂和苦味二肽结构表征并以偏最小二乘法建立定量构效关系模型, 得复相关系数R_CU²分别为0.894和0.908, 留一法交互检验的复相关系数R_CV²分别为0.828和0.736, 估计均方根误差RMS分别为0.331和0.195. 研究结果表明, SZOTT描述子含信息量大, 操作简便, 结构表达能力强, 有望在多肽定量构效关系研究中得到进一步推广.     

HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位定量结构与活性研究

采用VHSE氨基酸结构描述子表征HLA-A*0201限制性表位结构, 以遗传算法和偏最小二乘相结合(GA-PLS)对102个训练集进行定量构效关系建模. 剔除3个异常样本后, 据候选模型交互检验及50个外部测试集预测结果, 筛选得到最优偏最小二乘模型(A＝2), 其R², Q²和 分别为0.755, 0.621和0.680. 构效研究显示: CTL表位活性主要与1, 2, 7, 8, 9位氨基酸残基疏水、1, 2位立体及6位残基电性等性质密切相关.     

一种新多肽表征方法及支持向量机用于肽HPLC定量结构-保留建模预测

从20种天然氨基酸的1369种性质参数经主成分分析得出一种新多肽序列表征方法——SZOTT. 将其用于71个不同长度肽序列表征, 以偏最小二乘(PLS)和支持向量机(SVM)建立定量结构-保留模型(QSRM). 研究表明, SZOTT能够较好表征71个肽序列特征, 其含信息量大且易操作, 与PLS相比, SVM对lgk建模预测表现出较强的拟合能力和良好外部预测能力, SZOTT表征方法和SVM建模可进一步用于肽HPLC保留行为研究.     

基于定量序效模型的计算机辅助虚拟疫苗库设计

给出了基于定量序效模型(QSAM)的计算机辅助虚拟疫苗库设计方案, 并以此为基础成功组建了一个合理规模的HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位库, 其实现流程如下: (1)从天然氨基酸516种理化性质经主成分分析(PCA)得到一种新的氨基酸描述子: 氨基酸综合性质得分(SP-score); (2)基于SP-score结合遗传-偏最小二乘(GA-PLS)技术建立QSAM模型; (3)利用QSAM模型作为评价工具采用遗传算法(GA)优化CTL表位种群; (4)统计优秀种群中20种氨基酸分别在抗原肽序列不同位置出现频率f; (5)保留f＞F (F为平均出现概率, 对于任意氨基酸为1/20)的氨基酸作为该位置的有利残基类型参与虚拟组合库的构建.     

抗原肽与MHC分子相互作用的QSAR模型研究

分别采用氨基酸序列及氨基酸结构描述符方法定量研究了短肽-MHC(major histocompatibility complex)分子结合亲合力的定量构效关系(QSAR)模型, 用这两个模型对短肽与HLA-A*0201分子结合的805个预测样本进行了预测, 预测准确度分别达到66.8%和65.5%. 采用了去除“劣点”方法检验模型的鲁棒性, 结果证明两个模型都具有良好的鲁棒性. 通过改变两个模型的参数, 对氨基酸残基个数为8或10的CTL(cytotoxicy T lymphocyte)表位进行预测.     

一种新的氨基酸描述符及其在肽QSAR中的应用

从20种天然氨基酸的41个randic molecular profiles非零描述符、44个eigenvalue based indices非零描述符和47个walk and path counts非零描述符分别进行主成分分析,得出一种新的氨基酸描述符-SVREW。将其应用于血管紧张素转化酶(ACE)抑制二肽和ACE抑制三肽、苦味二肽和苦味四肽、后叶催产素类似物、HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位肽的结构表征,应用多元线性回归(MLR)建立定量构效关系模型,同时采用内部与外部双重验证的方法验证模型的稳定性。所建ACE抑制二肽、ACE抑制三肽、苦味二肽、苦味四肽、后叶催产素类似物、HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位肽的模型复相关系数(R2cum)分别为0.994,0.797,0.948,0.878,0.686,0.720;留一法交互校验复相关系数(R2cv)分别为0.955,0.859,0.879,0.958,0.796,0.843;外部样本校验相关系数(Q2ext)分别为0.990,0.954,0.890,0.950,0.748,0.773。经研究表明SVREW描述符用于肽分子结构表征所建模型的稳定性与预测能力均较好,有望成为多肽定量构效关系研究中一种有效的结构表征方法,可对新药物的发现和研究提供指导。     

The HLA-A2-supermotif: a QSAR definition

Identification of epitopes capable of binding multiple HLA types will significantly rationalise the development of epitope-based vaccines. A quantitative method assessing the contribution of each amino acid at each position was applied to over 500 nonamer peptides binding to 5 MHC alleles--A*0201, A*0202, A*0203, A*0206 and A*6802--which together define the HLA-A2-like supertype. FXIGXI (L)IFV was identified as a supermotif for the A2-supertype based on the contributions of the common preferred amino acids at each of the nine positions. The results indicate that HLA-A*6802 is an intermediate allele standing between A2 and A3 supertypes: at anchor position 2 it is closer to A3 and at anchor position 9 it is nearer to A2. Models are available free on-line at http://www.jenner.ac.uk/MHCPred and can be used for binding affinity prediction.     

Heart‐cutting 2D‐CE with on‐line preconcentration for the chiral analysis of native amino acids

The use of transient moving chemical reaction boundary (tMCRB) was investigated for the on‐line preconcentration of native amino acids in heart‐cutting 2D‐CE with multiple detection points using contactless conductivity detection. The tMCRB focusing was obtained by using ammonium formate (pH 8.56) as sample matrix and acetic acid (pH 2.3) as a BGE in the first dimension of the heart‐cutting 2D‐CE. Different experimental parameters such as the injected volume and the concentration in ammonium formate were optimized for improving the sensitivity of detection. A stacked fraction from the first dimension was selected, isolated in the capillary, and then separated in the second dimension in the presence of a chiral selector ((+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid). This on‐line tMCRB preconcentration coupled with heart‐cutting 2D‐CE was applied with success to the chiral separation of D ,L ‐phenylalanine, and D ,L ‐threonine in a mixture of 22 native amino acids. The sample mixture was diluted in 0.8 M of ammonium formate, and injected at a concentration of 2.5 μM for each enantiomer with a volume corresponding to 10% of the total capillary volume. An LOD (S/N=3) of 2 μM was determined for L ‐threonine.     

基于高维特征非线性筛选的HLA-A*0201限制性CTL表位预测

高活性细胞毒T细胞(CTL)表位鉴定是设计肿瘤疫苗的关键内容.采用天然氨基酸的531个物理化学性质参数表征HLA-A^*0201限制性表位9肽, 从531×9个初始描述子出发, 经二元矩阵重排过滤器粗筛和多轮末尾淘汰精细筛选, 获得18个物理化学意义明确的保留描述子. 18个保留描述子主要涉及除1位、5位外各位置残基的疏水性和空间结构特征, 3位残基疏水性对活性影响最大, 且2位、4位、9位残基共占10个保留描述子,支持2位和9位残基为锚点、3位为关键位点以及4位残基为标志链的现有认知. 对18个保留描述子以支持向量回归构建定量序效模型,其拟合、留一法交叉验证决定系数R²、Q_cv²分别为0.957、0.708; 独立预测决定系数及均方根误差Q_ext² 、RMSE_ext分别为0.818、0.366, 明显优于文献报道. 通过对全组合虚拟9肽的预测, 得到了多条预测活性高于已知表位肽的9肽, 可供实验验证. 较全面阐明了特定位置残基对多肽亲和性的影响规律, 为高活性多肽疫苗分子设计提供了切实指导.     

A 2‐D‐HPLC‐CE platform coupled to ESI‐TOF‐MS to characterize the phenolic fraction in olive oil

A 2‐D‐HPLC/CE method was developed to separate and characterize more in depth the phenolic fraction of olive oil samples. The method involves the use of semi‐preparative HPLC (C18 column 250×10 mm, 5 μm) as a first dimension of separation to isolate phenolic fractions from commercial extra‐virgin olive oils and CE coupled to TOF‐MS (CE‐TOF‐MS) as a second dimension, to analyze the composition of the isolated fractions. Using this method, a large number of compounds were tentatively identified, some of them by first time, based on the information concerning high mass accuracy and the isotopic pattern provided by TOF‐MS analyzer together with the chemical knowledge and the behavior of the compounds in HPLC and CE. From these results it can be concluded that 2‐D‐HPLC‐CE‐MS provides enough resolving power to separate hundreds of compounds from highly complex samples, such as olive oil. Furthermore, in this paper, the isolated phenolic fractions have been used for two specific applications: quantification of some components of extra‐virgin olive oil samples in terms of pure fractions, and in vitro studies of its anti‐carcinogenic capacity.     

Actinic Prurigo in Singaporean Chinese: A Positive Association with HLA‐DRB1*03:01

Studies have reported the association of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes with susceptibility to develop actinic prurigo (AP) in Caucasians, but there were no studies in Asian populations, including the Chinese. Our study was performed to determine if AP is associated with susceptibility or protective HLA alleles or haplotypes in Singaporean Chinese. All Chinese patients diagnosed with AP at National Skin Center, Singapore, from January 2002 to April 2015 were invited to participate in the study. Clinical data and phototesting results were collated, and HLA typing was performed. Among 14 patients included, 11 were male and the mean age was 49.6 (37.9–61.3) years. All patients did not have a family history of AP and none had mucosal involvement, as such these clinical features differed from Caucasian AP patients. The frequency of DRB1*03:01 in AP patients was significantly higher compared to healthy controls (43% vs 16%, P = 0.022, odds ratio (OR) 3.89). Concurrently, the frequency of HLA‐B*58:01‐DRB1*03:01 haplotype was also significantly increased (25% vs 7%, P = 0.004, OR 4.23). In conclusion, HLA‐DRB1*03:01 was associated with AP in Singaporean Chinese patients. This novel allelic association may possibly be utilized as a biological marker to aid in the diagnosis of AP in Chinese patients.     

Complex Formation between the Lumenal Domain of Adenovirus E3–19k Protein and the Extracellular Domain of Class I MHC Molecule In Vitro

The Ad2 E3–19k protein inhibits the transport of newly synthesized class I MHC molecules to the cell surface, thereby interfering with antigen presentation. The details of the interaction between E3–19k protein and class I MHC molecules have not been well‐defined. In this present study, we describe the use of gel filtration HPLC for confirming the binding interaction of two domain proteins, E3–19k and MHC class I antigen, and subsequently the characterization of protein complex by SDS‐PAGE. Our results demonstrate the complex formation between Ad2 lumenal E3–19k (108 amino acids, wt 108) and HLA‐A*0201 molecule in vitro. Titration experiments will be employed in the future to determine stoichiometry and verify the specific interactions.     

Analysis of pharmaceutical impurities using multi‐heartcutting 2D LC coupled with UV‐charged aerosol MS detection

To overcome challenges in HPLC impurity analysis of pharmaceuticals, we developed an automated online multi‐heartcutting 2D HPLC system with hyphenated UV‐charged aerosol MS detection. The first dimension has a primary column and the second dimension has six orthogonal columns to enhance flexibility and selectivity. The two dimensions were interfaced by a pair of switching valves equipped with six trapping loops that allow multi‐heartcutting of peaks of interest in the first dimension and also allow “peak parking.” The hyphenated UV‐charged aerosol MS detection provides comprehensive detection for compounds with and without UV chromophores, organics, and inorganics. It also provides structural information for impurity identification. A hidden degradation product that co‐eluted with the drug main peak was revealed by RP × RP separation and thus enabled the stability‐indicating method development. A poorly retained polar component with no UV chromophores was analyzed by RP × hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography separation with charged aerosol detection. Furthermore, using this system, the structures of low‐level impurities separated by a method using nonvolatile phosphate buffer were identified and tracked by MS in the second dimension.