Application of ultrasound-assisted physical mixing treatment improves in vitro protein digestibility of rapeseed napin

The in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) of napin was studied using different pretreatment methods, including ultrasound, mixing napin with lactalbumin, and ultrasound-assisted protein mixing. The relationships between IVPD, molecular structure, and disulfide bonds were explored, showing that the IVPD of napin was the highest compared with the control when treated with 40% ultrasound power. When the proportion of napin to lactalbumin was 5:5, a synergistic influence between the two proteins was observed. Further investigation showed that the IVPD of napin was clearly improved by treatment with ultrasound-assisted protein mixing. Compared with the single protein in the control, the β-sheet content in the secondary structure of the mixed protein after sonication was reduced from 45.02% to 37.16%. The ordered protein structure was also disrupted by ultrasound, as supported by fluorescence intensity and surface hydrophobicity analyses. The decreased number of disulfide bonds and conformational changes indicated that the IVPD of rapeseed napin was closely related to the disulfide bond content. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving protein digestibility by combining ultrasound with physical mixing.     

The secondary structure of heated whey protein and its hydrolysates antigenicity

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) and circular dichroism(CD) were used to investigate the conformational changes of heated whey protein(WP) and the corresponding changes in the hydrolysates immunoreactivity were determined by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results showed that the contents of α-helix and β-sheet of WP did not decrease much under mild heating conditions and the antigenicity was relatively high;when the heating intensity increased(70 ℃ for 25 min or 75 ℃ for 2...     

Electron holography of biological samples

In this paper, we summarise the development of off-axis electron holography on biological samples starting in 1986 with the first results on ferritin from the group of Tonomura. In the middle of the 1990s strong interest was evoked, but then stagnation took place because the results obtained at that stage did not reach the contrast and the resolution achieved by conventional electron microscopy.

To date, there exist only a few (12) publications on electron holography of biological objects, thus this topic is quite small and concise. The reason for this could be that holography is mostly established in materials science by physicists. Therefore, applications for off-axis holography were powerfully pushed forward in the area of imaging, e.g. electric or magnetic micro- and nanofields. Unstained biological systems investigated by means of off-axis electron holography up to now are ferritin, tobacco mosaic virus, a bacterial flagellum, T5 bacteriophage virus, hexagonal packed intermediate layer of bacteria and the Semliki Forest virus. New results of the authors on collagen fibres and surface layer of bacteria, the so-called S-layer 2D crystal lattice are presented in this review. For the sake of completeness, we will shortly discuss in-line holography of biological samples and off-axis holography of materials related to biological systems, such as biomaterial composites or magnetotactic bacteria.     

基于DNA损伤的蛋白调控网络研究

细胞生长的每个阶段都离不开蛋白质相互作用.研究细胞周期的功能、调控机理及参与调控的蛋白质之间的关系对生物工程等领域有重大的应用价值.本文通过研究电离辐射下生物体细胞的DNA损伤后,细胞内以p53为核心的扩展蛋白调控网络的功能、原理及其自修复机理,在现有蛋白网络基础上引入更多蛋白网络调控因子来建立蛋白调控网络,仿真模拟更为全面的细胞周期进程;并且从复杂网络图论和细胞周期调控两个方面分析扩展PMP调控网络的抗扰能力及自修复机理,结果表明:1)蛋白网络在对抗环境中出现的小扰动时具有较强的稳定性.但在面对蓄意攻击时网络的稳定性较差.2)受损的DNA能否被修复取决于p53蛋白的动力学行为,即低损伤与中损伤情况下,p53可诱导细胞周期进程阻滞来完成细胞的自修复;而当高损伤或过损伤时,p53蛋白浓度表现为周期振荡行为并诱导细胞凋亡.     

用NMR技术研究蛋白质-配体相互作用

蛋白质-配体相互作用的研究对理解生命过程、药物设计和药物筛选具有相当重要的科学意义和巨大的经济价值. NMR是研究蛋白质-配体相互作用的最有用的技术之一,有着显著的优势. 本文综述了近年来国际上用NMR技术研究蛋白质-配体相互作用的发展状况和趋势,先介绍表征蛋白质-配体相互作用的重要参数,然后介绍如何判断蛋白质或配体与复合物的化学交换类型以及所能获得的有关蛋白质-配体相互作用的信息,最后介绍具体用于研究蛋白质-配体相互作用的若干NMR技术以及基于NMR的药物筛选技术.     

Correcting reaction rates measured by saturation-transfer magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Off-resonance or spillover irradiation and incomplete saturation can introduce significant errors in the estimates of chemical rate constants measured by saturation-transfer magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Existing methods of correction are effective only over a limited parameter range. Here, a general approach of numerically solving the Bloch-McConnell equations to calculate exchange rates, relaxation times and concentrations for the saturation-transfer experiment is investigated, but found to require more measurements and higher signal-to-noise ratios than in vivo studies can practically afford. As an alternative, correction formulae for the reaction rate are provided which account for the expected parameter ranges and limited measurements available in vivo. The correction term is a quadratic function of experimental measurements. In computer simulations, the new formulae showed negligible bias and reduced the maximum error in the rate constants by about 3-fold compared to traditional formulae, and the error scatter by about 4-fold, over a wide range of parameters for conventional saturation transfer employing progressive saturation, and for the four-angle saturation-transfer method applied to the creatine kinase (CK) reaction in the human heart at 1.5 T. In normal in vivo spectra affected by spillover, the correction increases the mean calculated forward CK reaction rate by 6-16% over traditional and prior correction formulae.     

Design and construction of a compact end-station at NSRRC for circular-dichroism spectra in the vacuum-ultraviolet region

A synchrotron‐radiation‐based circular‐dichroism end‐station has been implemented at beamline BL04B at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) in Taiwan for biological research. The design and performance of this compact end‐station for measuring circular‐dichroism spectra in the vacuum‐ultraviolet region are described. The linearly polarized light from the beamline is converted to modulated circularly polarized light with a LiF photoelastic modulator to provide a usable wavelength region of 130–330 nm. The light spot at the sample position is 5 mm × 5 mm at a slit width of 300 µm and provides a flux greater than 1 × 10¹¹ photons s^?1 (0.1% bandwidth)^?1. A vacuum‐compatible cell made of two CaF₂ windows has a variable path length from 1.3 µm to 1 mm and a temperature range of 253–363 K. Measured CD spectra of (1S)‐(+)‐10‐camphorsulfonic acid and proteins demonstrated the ability of this system to extend the wavelength down to 172 nm in aqueous solution and 153 nm in hexafluoro‐2‐propanol.     

吲哚基二聚体菁类探针同步荧光测定蛋白质的研究

基于蛋白质对双嵌吲哚染料具有良好的荧光增强作用,以新型水溶性吲哚基同型二聚体探针I,建立了一种灵敏的蛋白质同步荧光分析体系。实验考察了吲哚探针的荧光特征、吲哚探针浓度、缓冲体系pH、盐浓度等参数对体系荧光的影响。在酸性条件下,蛋白质分子与探针I发生结合作用,同步荧光明显增强并向长波方向发生红移,且同步荧光强度与蛋白质浓度成良好的线性关系。在最优条件下,牛血清白蛋白BSA的线性响应范围5.00×10-7～2.50×10-5 g·mL-1,检测限(3σ/K)为3 ×10-8 g·mL-1;测定了血清蛋白BSA的合成样品,不同浓度BSA样品回收率为98.6%～103.0%,相对标准偏差1.1%～1.9%;与蛋白质紫外标准测定法比较,测定偏差为0.4%～3.9％。     

Fluorescence anisotropy decay study of self-association of bacterial luciferase intermediates

The fluorescence dynamics parameters of the fluorescent transient flavin-luciferase species from the typesVibrio fischeri andPhotobacterium leiognathi are presented. The fluorescence anisotropy decay is a single exponential function for both types. The correlation time is 70 ns for theP. leiognathi fluorescent transient intermediate (2°C, aqueous buffer, pH 7.0), consistent with the rotational correlation time of the luciferase macromolecule (77 kD) to which the flavin fluorophore is rigidly attached. In contrast, for theV. fischeri species the observed correlation time for the anisotropy decay function is 133 ns. This suggests that protein self-association occurs in theV. fischeri case and this is confirmed by filtration, where the fluorescent transient fromV. fischeri does not pass through a 100,000 molecular weight cutoff membrane, whereas theP. leiognathi species does. The filtration method also demonstrates self-association in the luciferase peroxyflavin and photoflavin fromV. fischeri. A monomer-dimer equilibrium also explains the previously reported high correlation times for theV. harveyi luciferase-flavin species. It is proposed that the self-association competes with the lumazine protein interaction in the bioluminescence reaction.     

纳米孔壁面作用对蛋白质过孔影响的粗粒化分子动力学模拟

基于粗粒化分子动力学方法模拟电驱动蛋白质过孔过程,研究纳米孔-水/纳米孔-蛋白质相互作用对电泳迁移率的影响;用操控式分子动力学模拟分析蛋白质在不同相互作用下过孔摩擦系数和摩擦阻力.研究发现：蛋白质黏附纳米孔壁面对其过孔特性影响并不明显,而纳米孔-水相互作用对蛋白质过孔电泳迁移率和摩擦系数影响较大.随纳米孔-水相互作用增强,纳米孔壁面与蛋白质附近水分子运动差异显现,蛋白质过孔摩擦阻力显著增大,过孔摩擦系数随之增大,进而影响蛋白质过孔电泳迁移率.所得结果可为纳米孔材料设计提供理论指导.