Dynamic mechanism of fatty acid transport across cellular membranes through FadL: molecular dynamics simulations

FadL is an important member of the family of fatty acid transport proteins within membranes. In this study, 11 conventional molecular dynamics (CMD) and 25 steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations were performed to investigate the dynamic mechanism of transport of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) across FadL. The CMD simulations addressed the intrinsically dynamic behavior of FadL. Both the CMD and SMD simulations revealed that a fatty acid molecule can move diffusively to a high-affinity site (HAS) from a low-affinity site (LAS). During this process, the swing motion of the L3 segment and the hydrophobic interaction between the fatty acid and FadL could play important roles. Furthermore, 22 of the SMD simulations revealed that fatty acids can pass through the gap between the hatch domain and the transmembrane domain (TMD) by different pathways. SMD simulations identified nine possible pathways for dodecanoic acid (DA) threading the barrel of FadL. The binding free energy profiles between DA and FadL along the MD trajectories indicate that all of the possible pathways are energetically favorable for the transport of fatty acids; however, one pathway (path VI) might be the most probable pathway for DA transport. The reasonability and reliability of this study were further demonstrated by correlating the MD simulation results with the available mutagenesis results. On the basis of the simulations, a mechanism for the full-length transport process of DA from the extracellular side to the periplasmic space mediated by FadL is proposed.     

Improvement of performance in label-free quantitative proteome analysis with monolithic electrospray ionization emitter

The postcolumn void volume, which is introduced by the connecting tubing and void ESI emitter in the nanoflow LC coupled with MS/MS system (microLC-MS/MS), is harmful for the analysis of peptides in shotgun proteome analysis. A new type of porous C12 monolithic ESI emitter was prepared to eliminate the disruption and mixing effects occurring in the connecting tubing and void emitter. It was demonstrated that the porous hydrophobic monolith inside the emitter played a key role in retaining the good peak profile, and the average peak capacity of the whole separation system increased 12.8% in contrast to commercially available void emitter. Then, the porous C12 monolithic emitter was applied in label-free quantitative proteome analysis of two standard protein mixtures that were spiked into the tryptic digest of mouse livers extract. Compared to commercially available void ESI emitter, the number of proteins with reliable results in quantification increased greatly. And the relative quantities of the four standard proteins were all determined with the relative error < or = 6.8%. However, quantitative information of only three standard proteins could be obtained when void emitter was used.     

Investigation of voltammetric enzyme-linked immunoassay based on a new system of HAP-H2O2-HRP

By introducing heterocyclic compound to immunoassay system as an electrochemical substrate for the fist time, a new voltammetric enzyme-linked immunoassay system of 3-hydroxyl-2-aminopyridine (HAP)-H(2)O(2)-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) has been developed. HAP was oxidized with H(2)O(2) catalyzed by HRP, and the resulting electroactive product produced a sensitive voltammetric peak at potential of -0.36 V (vs. SCE) in Britton-Robinson (BR) buffer solution. The process of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction and the electro-reduction of the product have been investigated in detail. The linear range for detection of free HRP was from 4.0x10(-13) to 1.0x10(-9) g/mL with a detection limit of 1.2x10(-13) g/mL. The new system has been successfully applied for the assay of alpha-fetoprotein (alphaFP) in human serum ranging from 0.1 to 200 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.1 ng/mL, which was 10 times lower than that of traditional spectrophotometric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. HAP-H(2)O(2)-HRP voltammetric enzyme-linked immunoassay showed a promising alternative approach in the detection of alphaFP in clinical diagnosis.     

A novel approach to the taxane ABC ring system through chemical conversion from C19-diterpenoid alkaloid deltaline

A novel approach to the highly functionalized taxane ABC ring system through chemical conversion of the C₁₉-diterpenoid alkaloid deltaline (1) was achieved in six steps (1→17) in 18% overall yield mainly by Grob fragmentation, fission of the Δ⁹⁽¹⁴⁾ double bond, followed by aldol condensation, and Pelletier's cleavage process.     

Automation of nanoflow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for proteome and peptide profiling analysis by using a monolithic analytical capillary column

An automated nano-LC-MS/MS platform without trap column was established, which only used a 20 cm lauryl methacrylate-ethylene dimethacrylate (LMA-EDMA) monolithic capillary column to allow preconcentration and separation of peptides. The monolithic column had the advantages of good permeability and low backpressure resulting in higher flow rates for capillary columns. Tryptic digests of bovine albumin and yeast protein extract were tested using the monolithic column system. High proteomic coverage using this approach were demonstrated in this study. Furthermore, peptide samples extracted from mouse liver were separated by using the monolithic column system combined with size-exclusion chromatography prefractionation. This monolithic column system might be a promising alternative for the automated system previously using a trap column for routine proteome and peptide profiling analysis.     

新城疫病毒流式微球免疫检测新方法

本研究基于新城疫病毒多克隆抗体的制备及优化,以聚苯乙烯微球作为蛋白质载体建立免疫检测体系,建立了快速检测新城疫病毒的流式细胞术新方法。以藻红蛋白荧光染料对新城疫多克隆抗体荧光标记,取1μL荧光微球与100μL新配制的单克隆抗体溶液反应,依次加入一定量待测抗原和藻红蛋白标记的多克隆抗体,漩涡振荡10s,室温振荡反应充分,形成双抗体夹心复合物,用流式细胞仪进行检测。采用ELISA法对免疫试剂进行了匹配性筛选实验,优选了试剂用量,并与传统ELISA方法进行了对比分析。实验结果表明,单克隆抗体350mg/L、多克隆抗体300mg/L时可获得最佳分析效果,与传统的ELISA方法呈现出良好的相关性,不与鸡传染性支气管炎病毒、鸡痘病毒、鸡马立克氏病病毒等发生交叉反应。     

Phenol Inhibition and Restoration of the Bioactivity of Anaerobic Granular Sludge

Inhibition and restoration of different concentrations of phenol on the bioactivity of anaerobic granular sludge were investigated with laboratory-scale equipment. It indicated that phenol concentration lower than 50 mg/l show no inhibitory effect on bioactivities of granular sludge. However, methane productivity, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) content, and coenzyme F(420) activity were decreased by varying degrees when phenol concentration adopted for inhibition ranged between 50 and 400 mg/l. Noticeably, methane productivity could be fully or partly restored in case the phenol was removed after 24 h of phenol inhibition.