Analyses of carcinogenic aromatic amines released from harmful azo colorants by Streptomyces SP. SS07

Extracellular fluid protein (ECFP) of Streptomyces species SS07 has been used to reduce water soluble azo dyes and the carcinogenic amines released have been compared with that from chemical reduction. The effect of temperature, pH and contact time on the recovery of amines using ECFP was studied. The ECFP releases carcinogenic amines at a pH of 9.2 and a temperature of 37 degrees C for a contact period of 24 h. The reduction products were analyzed with HPLC and their structures confirmed by LC-MS and GC-MS. It was observed that both the ECFP and chemical reduction methods released similar type of amine products. In the case of dye samples, compared to chemical reduction, 5-20% increase in the release of carcinogenic amines by ECFP was observed. The percentage of amine products released by chemical reduction was higher for leather garment samples compared to ECFP treatment.     

MALDI-TOF-MS法对重组人内皮抑素蛋白分子质量测定

肿瘤的生长依赖于血管的生成,新生血管不仅为肿瘤生长提供必需的营养物质,而且为肿瘤细胞扩散提供了重要的途径。1997年哈佛大学的O'Reilly等发现了一种内源性新血管生成抑制因子内皮抑素(Endoscatin),显示出特异抑制激活的血管内皮细胞增殖和肿瘤新血管生成的生物学活性,其抗肿瘤作用具有高效、低毒、无耐药性的优点。目前,内皮抑素的研究引起了国内外广泛的兴趣,在美国已进行以安全性为目的的I期临床实验,国内也有多家公司对内皮抑素进行了抗肿瘤研究并申报一类新药。内皮抑素有望成为医治肿瘤而又没有化疗和放疗的毒副作用的一种新的治疗方法,但是否能作为药物应用于临床,尚需对内皮抑素的结构特点及抑制肿瘤和内皮细胞的作用机制等方面进行许多深入的研究。     

A comparison of the adsorption of saliva proteins and some typical proteins onto the surface of hydroxyapatite

Adsorption of protein from saliva on hydroxyapatite was compared with adsorption of several typical proteins with different electric charges, i.e. lysozyme, human serum albumin, β-lactoglobulin and ovalbumin. Adsorbed amounts of these proteins were determined and electrophoretic mobilities of protein-covered hydroxyapatite particles were measured, at different values for the adsorbed mass and, therefore, at various degrees of surface coverage. Also, adsorption kinetics were investigated by streaming potential measurements of a hydroxyapatite surface in contact with a protein solution, allowing monitoring of changes in the zeta-potential of the protein-covered hydroxyapatite surface in real time. The adsorbed amounts show that, as compared to most of the other proteins, the saliva proteins have remarkably low adsorption affinity. The measured values for the electrophoretic mobilities indicate that the positively charged proteins in the saliva mixture preferentially adsorb onto the negatively charged hydroxyapatite surface; this is most pronounced at low protein concentration in solution (i.e. at low coverage of the surface by the protein). Preferential uptake of the positively charged saliva proteins during the initial stages of the adsorption process is also concluded from the results of the kinetics experiments. Preferential adsorption of positive proteins is somewhat suppressed by the presence of Ca²⁺ ions in the medium. The results suggest that an acquired pellicle on a tooth in an oral environment contains a significant fraction of positively charged proteins. The positively charged proteins in the pellicle reduce the zeta-potential at the tooth surface to low values; consequently, electrostatic forces are expected to play only a minor role in the interaction with other components (e.g. bacterial cells).     

Synthesis and Expression in Escherichia coli of a Human Neutrophil Activating Protein-1/Interleukin-8 Gene

The complete gene coding for human neutrophilactivating protein-1/interleukin-8 was synthesized using a semi-chemical semi-enzymatic method. The synthetic gene was then overexpressed in Escherichia coli under the temperature-regulated control of the P_RP_L tandem promoters. As determined by SDS-PAGE and densitometry, the overexpressed protein comprised up to 18.5% and 10.9% of the total soluble protein in E. coli cells grown in shake flasks and in batch fermentation, respectively. The recombinant NAP-1/IL-8 was then purified to>95% homogeneity by gel filtration and cation exchange chromatography. The purified protein appeared as a single band on the SDS-PAGE gel and possessed potent chemotactic activity in the concentration of <10 ng/ml, as assayed by the agarose plate method. An early skin reactivity was also observed when the pure NAP-1/IL-8 was injected subcutaneously into the rabbits. The N-terminal 36 amino acid sequence of the recombinant NAP1/IL-8 was determined using the Edman method and was sho     

Generic method for systematic phase selection and method development of biochromatographic processes. Part I. Selection of a suitable cation-exchanger for the purification of a pharmaceutical protein

Even if the first protein therapeutics are now for more than 20 years on the market the selection of suitable adsorbents for the preparative downstream processing (DSP) of these biomolecules as well as the method development towards process conditions are still based mainly on 'trial and error'. Therefore, theses processes are not perfectly efficient, but indeed very time consuming and laborious. In this study a novel systematic method is introduced to find a suitable adsorbent (not necessarily the best one) with appropriate separation parameters for a specific separation with reduced effort. Following this strategy, the adsorbents must first be packed into columns under preparative conditions and then characterized completely with regard to, e.g. pressure drop, k'-values, plate heights (HETP curves), selectivity and capacity by using test substances, which are similar in their characteristics (molecular mass, size, charge distribution, hydrophobicity) to the target proteins. With the database once determined, a preselection of most suitable adsorbents including separation parameters is made regarding chromatographic and also economical properties. After this, preparative experiments must be conducted with a reduced number of adsorbents to figure out the individual influence of side components. This approach is demonstrated for the separation of an exemplary industrial protein mixture using cation-exchange chromatography (CEX). Characterization of different weak CEX-adsorbents is illustrated. After comparing these phases with each other, a first preselection and a prediction of suitable adsorbents is made. In the following preparative separation conditions (load, velocity, gradient) are determined for the preparative separations using the database and results of some additional experiments. The final comparison of separation performance in preparative scale confirms this selection and so the applicability of the new method.     

Synthesis of [18,19,21,22‐13C4]‐Labeled Tautomycin as an NMR Probe of Protein Phosphatase Inhibitor

We have accomplished the synthesis of ¹³C‐labeled tautomycin at the C18, C19, C21, and C22 positions starting from 100 % [¹³C]triethylphosphonoacetate for the purpose of elucidating the dynamics and conformation of the C17–C26 moiety. NMR spectroscopy of ¹³C‐labeled tautomycin revealed strong binding with protein phosphatase type 1 and new features in the ¹³C NMR spectrum, such as the very small three‐bond coupling constants (²J).     

Permeation associated with three-phase-partitioning method on release of green fluorescent protein

Transformed cells of Escherichia coli expressing recombinant green fluorescent protein (GFPuv) were subjected to two methods of extraction: (1) freezing/thawing/sonication (FTS) cycles prior to the three-phase partitioning (TPP) method, or (2) directly to TPP extraction. The amount of GFPuv released by the FTS plus TPP method varied: 374μg/mL (first cycle), 93–442 μg/mL (second cycle), 32–359 μg/mL (third cycle), 18–115 μg/mL (fourth cycle). The GFPuv yields by the second method (TPP only) were, 23–54 μg/mL for the first extract and 33–91 μg/mL for the second. The FTS plus TPP method released similar amounts of GFPuv to that extracted by TPP; and provided a better mixture elution through the hydrophobic interaction column: 13–63 μg/mL for FTS plus TPP methods, and 2.5–13 μg/mL for TPP. The results showed that although selective permeation is a more laborious methodology, it was more efficient for obtaining of GFPuv in relation to the direct extraction of the cells for TPP.     

磷脂酶A2家族的功能性分类研究

采用“结合强度指纹图谱分析”方法, 通过对多重分子对接得到的作用强度数据进行聚类矩阵分析对蛋白质进行功能分类. 着重研究了磷脂酶A₂家族基于抑制剂作用强度的功能分类, 并且与基于序列的聚类结果进行比较, 成功地解决了序列比对方法不能处理的远源蛋白(cPLA₂)的分类问题.     

ImmobilizedE. coli Alkaline Phosphatase

We have immobilized E.coli alkaline phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.1) by linking it covalently to sepharose 4B. This preparation has several advantages over the soluble enzyme. The immobilized enzyme is easily separable from other constituents in incubation mixtures. The immobilized enzyme can be reused repeatedly and is more stable than the soluble enzyme to heat treatment in the presence of 10 mM Mg²⁺. The insoluble and soluble phosphatases removed 75 and77%, respectively, of the inorganic phosphorus from casein. The immobilized enzyme inactivated two enzymes believed to be active in the phosphorylated state, acyl-CoA : cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT) by 39% and NADPH-cytochrome P-450 reductase by 89%. The utility of immobilized alkaline phosphatase for studying the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of soluble or membrane-bound enzymes and proteins is discussed.     

Ultrafast dynamics of myoglobin probed by time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy

Recent experimental work carried out in this laboratory on the ultrafast dynamics of myoglobin (Mb) is summarized with a stress on structural and vibrational energy relaxation. Studies on the structural relaxation of Mb following CO photolysis revealed that the structural change of heme itself, caused by CO photodissociation, is completed within the instrumental response time of the time-resolved resonance Raman apparatus used (approximately 2 ps). In contrast, changes in the intensity and frequency of the iron-histidine (Fe-His) stretching mode upon dissociation of the trans ligand were found to occur in the picosecond regime. The Fe-His band is absent for the CO-bound form, and its appearance upon photodissociation was not instantaneous, in contrast with that observed in the vibrational modes of heme, suggesting appreciable time evolution of the Fe displacement from the heme plane. The band position of the Fe-His stretching mode changed with a time constant of about 100 ps, indicating that tertiary structural changes of the protein occurred in a 100-ps range. Temporal changes of the anti-Stokes Raman intensity of the v4 and v7 bands demonstrated immediate generation of vibrationally excited heme upon the photodissociation and decay of the excited populations, whose time constants were 1.1 +/- 0.6 and 1.9 +/- 0.6 ps, respectively. In addition, the development of the time-resolved resonance Raman apparatus and prospects in this research field are described.