Refolding of proteins from inclusion bodies: rational design and recipes.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Anindya; Li, Xiang; Leong, Susanna Su Jan

2011-10-01

The need to develop protein biomanufacturing platforms that can deliver proteins quickly and cost-effectively is ever more pressing. The rapid rate at which genomes can now be sequenced demands efficient protein production platforms for gene function identification. There is a continued need for the biotech industry to deliver new and more effective protein-based drugs to address new diseases. Bacterial production platforms have the advantage of high expression yields, but insoluble expression of many proteins necessitates the development of diverse and optimised refolding-based processes. Strategies employed to eliminate insoluble expression are reviewed, where it is concluded that inclusion bodies are difficult to eliminate for various reasons. Rational design of refolding systems and recipes are therefore needed to expedite production of recombinant proteins. This review article discusses efforts towards rational design of refolding systems and recipes, which can be guided by the development of refolding screening platforms that yield both qualitative and quantitative information on the progression of a given refolding process. The new opportunities presented by light scattering technologies for developing rational protein refolding buffer systems which in turn can be used to develop new process designs armed with better monitoring and controlling functionalities are discussed. The coupling of dynamic and static light scattering methodologies for incorporation into future bioprocess designs to ensure delivery of high-quality refolded proteins at faster rates is also discussed.

Reassessment of inclusion body-based production as a versatile opportunity for difficult-to-express recombinant proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffmann, Daniel; Ebrahimi, Mehrdad; Gerlach, Doreen; Salzig, Denise; Czermak, Peter

2017-11-10

The production of recombinant proteins in the microbial host Escherichia coli often results in the formation of cytoplasmic protein inclusion bodies (IBs). Proteins forming IBs are often branded as difficult-to-express, neglecting that IBs can be an opportunity for their production. IBs are resistant to proteolytic degradation and contain up to 90% pure recombinant protein, which does not interfere with the host metabolism. This is especially advantageous for host-toxic proteins like antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). IBs can be easily isolated by cell disruption followed by filtration and/or centrifugation, but conventional techniques for the recovery of soluble proteins from IBs are laborious. New approaches therefore simplify protein recovery by optimizing the production process conditions, and often include mild resolubilization methods that either increase the yield after refolding or avoid the necessity of refolding all together. For the AMP production, the IB-based approach is ideal, because these peptides often have simple structures and are easy to refold. The intentional IB production of almost every protein can be achieved by fusing recombinant proteins to pull-down tags. This review discusses the techniques available for IB-based protein production before considering technical approaches for the isolation of IBs from E. coli lysates followed by efficient protein resolubilization which ideally omits further refolding. The techniques are evaluated in terms of their suitability for the process-scale production and downstream processing of recombinant proteins and are discussed for AMP production as an example.

MB109 as bioactive human bone morphogenetic protein-9 refolded and purified from E. coli inclusion bodies

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The development of chemical refolding of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) superfamily ligands has been instrumental to produce the recombinant proteins for biochemical studies and exploring the potential of protein therapeutics. The osteogenic human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (hBMP-2) and its Drosophila DPP homolog were the early successful cases of refolding into functional form. Despite the similarity in their three dimensional structure and amino acid sequences, several other TGF-β superfamily ligands could not be refolded readily by the same methods. Results Here, we report a comprehensive study on the variables of a rapid-dilution refolding method, including the concentrations of protein, salt, detergent and redox agents, pH, refolding duration and the presence of aggregation suppressors and host-cell contaminants, in order to identify the optimal condition to refold human BMP-9 (hBMP-9). To produce a recombinant form of hBMP-9 in E. coli cells, a synthetic codon-optimized gene was designed to encode the mature domain of hBMP-9 (Ser320 – Arg429) directly behind the first methionine, which we herein referred to as MB109. An effective purification scheme was also developed to purify the refolded MB109 to homogeneity with a final yield of 7.8 mg from 100 mg of chromatography-purified inclusion bodies as a starting material. The chemically refolded MB109 binds to ALK1, ActRIIb and BMPRII receptors with relatively high affinity as compared to other Type I and Type II receptors based on surface plasmon resonance analysis. Smad1-dependent luciferase assay in C2C12 cells shows that the MB109 has an EC50 of 0.61 ng/mL (25 pM), which is nearly the same as hBMP-9. Conclusion MB109 is prone to be refolded as non-functional dimer and higher order multimers in most of the conditions tested, but bioactive MB109 dimer can be refolded with high efficiency in a narrow window, which is strongly dependent on the pH, refolding duration, the presence of

Continuous processing of recombinant proteins: Integration of inclusion body solubilization and refolding using simulated moving bed size exclusion chromatography with buffer recycling.

Science.gov (United States)

Wellhoefer, Martin; Sprinzl, Wolfgang; Hahn, Rainer; Jungbauer, Alois

2013-12-06

An integrated process which combines continuous inclusion body dissolution with NaOH and continuous matrix-assisted refolding based on closed-loop simulated moving bed size exclusion chromatography was designed and experimentally evaluated at laboratory scale. Inclusion bodies from N(pro) fusion pep6His and N(pro) fusion MCP1 from high cell density fermentation were continuously dissolved with NaOH, filtered and mixed with concentrated refolding buffer prior to refolding by size exclusion chromatography (SEC). This process enabled an isocratic operation of the simulated moving bed (SMB) system with a closed-loop set-up with refolding buffer as the desorbent buffer and buffer recycling by concentrating the raffinate using tangential flow filtration. With this continuous refolding process, we increased the refolding and cleavage yield of both model proteins by 10% compared to batch dilution refolding. Furthermore, more than 99% of the refolding buffer of the raffinate could be recycled which reduced the buffer consumption significantly. Based on the actual refolding data, we compared throughput, productivity, and buffer consumption between two batch dilution refolding processes - one using urea for IB dissolution, the other one using NaOH for IB dissolution - and our continuous refolding process. The higher complexity of the continuous refolding process was rewarded with higher throughput and productivity as well as significantly lower buffer consumption compared to the batch dilution refolding processes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Refolding Technologies for Antibody Fragments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsutomu Arakawa

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Refolding is one of the production technologies for pharmaceutical grade antibody fragments. Detergents and denaturants are primarily used to solubilize the insoluble proteins. The solubilized and denatured proteins are refolded by reducing the concentration of the denaturants or detergents. Several refolding technologies have been used for antibody fragments, comprising dilution, dialysis, solid phase solvent exchange and size exclusion chromatography, as reviewed here. Aggregation suppressor or folding-assisting agents, including arginine hydrochloride, ionic liquids and detergents or denaturants at low concentrations, are included in the refolding solvent to enhance refolding yield.

Production of Active Nonglycosylated Recombinant B-Chain of Type-2 Ribosome-Inactivating Protein from Viscum articulatum and Its Biological Effects on Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzu-Li Lu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Type-2 ribosome-inactivating proteins, composed of a toxic A-chain and lectin-like B-chain, display various biological functions, including cytotoxicity and immunomodulation. We here cloned the lectin-like B-chain encoding fragment of a newly identified type-2 RIP gene, articulatin gene, from Viscum articulatum, into a bacterial expression vector to obtain nonglycosylated recombinant protein expressed in inclusion bodies. After purification and protein refolding, soluble refolded recombinant articulatin B-chain (rATB showed lectin activity specific toward galactoside moiety and was stably maintained while stored in low ionic strength solution. Despite lacking glycosylation, rATB actively bound leukocytes with preferential binding to monocytes and in vitro stimulated PBMCs to release cytokines without obvious cytotoxicity. These results implicated such a B-chain fragment as a potential immunomodulator.

Production of refolded Toxoplasma gondii recombinant SAG1-related sequence 3 (SRS3) and its use for serodiagnosis of human toxoplasmosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzadeh, Abolfazl; Saadatnia, Geita; Golkar, Majid; Babaie, Jalal; Noordin, Rahmah

2017-05-01

SAG1-related sequence 3 (SRS3) is one of the major Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoite surface antigens and has been shown to be potentially useful for the detection of toxoplasmosis. This protein is highly conformational due to the presence of six disulfide bonds. To achieve solubility and antigenicity, SRS3 depends on proper disulfide bond formation. The aim of this study was to over-express the SRS3 protein with correct folding for use in serodiagnosis of the disease. To achieve this, a truncated SRS3 fusion protein (rtSRS3) was produced, containing six histidyl residues at both terminals and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The refolding process was performed through three methods, namely dialysis in the presence of chemical additives along with reduced/oxidized glutathione and drop-wise dilution methods with reduced/oxidized glutathione or reduced DTT/oxidized glutathione. Ellman's assay and ELISA showed that the protein folding obtained by the dialysis method was the most favorable, probably due to the correct folding. Subsequently, serum samples from individuals with chronic infection (n = 76), probable acute infection (n = 14), and healthy controls (n = 81) were used to determine the usefulness of the refolded rtSRS3 for Toxoplasma serodiagnosis. The results of the developed IgG-ELISA showed a diagnostic specificity of 91% and a sensitivity of 82.89% and 100% for chronic and acute serum samples, respectively. In conclusion, correctly folded rtSRS3 has the potential to be used as a soluble antigen for the detection of human toxoplasmosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ion-exchange chromatographic protein refolding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Freydell, E.; Wielen, van der L.; Eppink, M.H.M.; Ottens, M.

2010-01-01

The application of ion-exchange (IEX) chromatography to protein refolding (IExR) has been successfully proven, as supported by various studies using different model proteins, ion-exchange media and flow configurations. Ion-exchange refolding offers a relatively high degree of process

Purification of bone morphogenetic protein-2 from refolding mixtures using mixed-mode membrane chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Gieseler, Gesa; Pepelanova, Iliyana; Stuckenberg, Lena; Villain, Louis; Nölle, Volker; Odenthal, Uwe; Beutel, Sascha; Rinas, Ursula; Scheper, Thomas

2017-01-01

In this study, we present the development of a process for the purification of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) using mixed-mode membrane chromatography. RhBMP-2 was produced as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. In vitro refolding using rapid dilution was carried out according to a previously established protocol. Different membrane chromatography phases were analyzed for their ability to purify BMP-2. A membrane phase with salt-tolerant properties resulting from mixed-mode ligand chemistry was able to selectively purify BMP-2 dimer from refolding mixtures. No further purification or polishing steps were necessary and high product purity was obtained. The produced BMP-2 exhibited a biological activity of 7.4 × 10 5  U/mg, comparable to commercial preparations. Mixed-mode membrane chromatography can be a valuable tool for the direct purification of proteins from solutions with high-conductivity, for example refolding buffers. In addition, in this particular case, it allowed us to circumvent the use of heparin-affinity chromatography, thus allowing the design of an animal-component-free process.

A novel clot lysis assay for recombinant plasminogen activator.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamialahmadi, Oveis; Fazeli, Ahmad; Hashemi-Najafabadi, Sameereh; Fazeli, Mohammad Reza

2015-03-01

Recombinant plasminogen activator (r-PA, reteplase) is an engineered variant of alteplase. When expressed in E. coli, it appears as inclusion bodies that require refolding to recover its biological activity. An important step following refolding is to determine the activity of refolded protein. Current methods for enzymatic activity of thrombolytic drugs are costly and complex. Here a straightforward and low-cost clot lysis assay was developed. It quantitatively measures the activity of the commercial reteplase and is also capable of screening refolding conditions. As evidence for adequate accuracy and sensitivity of the current assay, r-PA activity measurements are shown to be comparable to those obtained from chromogenic substrate assay.

A successful strategy for the recovering of active P21, an insoluble recombinant protein of Trypanosoma cruzi

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Marlus Alves Dos; Teixeira, Francesco Brugnera; Moreira, Heline Hellen Teixeira; Rodrigues, Adele Aud; Machado, Fabrício Castro; Clemente, Tatiana Mordente; Brigido, Paula Cristina; Silva, Rebecca Tavares E.; Purcino, Cecílio; Gomes, Rafael Gonçalves Barbosa; Bahia, Diana; Mortara, Renato Arruda; Munte, Claudia Elisabeth; Horjales, Eduardo; da Silva, Claudio Vieira

2014-03-01

Structural studies of proteins normally require large quantities of pure material that can only be obtained through heterologous expression systems and recombinant technique. In these procedures, large amounts of expressed protein are often found in the insoluble fraction, making protein purification from the soluble fraction inefficient, laborious, and costly. Usually, protein refolding is avoided due to a lack of experimental assays that can validate correct folding and that can compare the conformational population to that of the soluble fraction. Herein, we propose a validation method using simple and rapid 1D 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra that can efficiently compare protein samples, including individual information of the environment of each proton in the structure.

Cross-system excision of chaperone-mediated proteolysis in chaperone-assisted recombinant protein production

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Alonso, Mónica; Villaverde, Antonio

2010-01-01

Main Escherichia coli cytosolic chaperones such as DnaK are key components of the control quality network designed to minimize the prevalence of polypeptides with aberrant conformations. This is achieved by both favoring refolding activities but also stimulating proteolytic degradation of folding reluctant species. This last activity is responsible for the decrease of the proteolytic stability of recombinant proteins when co-produced along with DnaK, where an increase in solubility might be associated to a decrease in protein yield. However, when DnaK and its co-chaperone DnaJ are co-produced in cultured insect cells or whole insect larvae (and expectedly, in other heterologous hosts), only positive, folding-related effects of these chaperones are observed, in absence of proteolysis-mediated reduction of recombinant protein yield. PMID:21326941

Comparative study to develop a single method for retrieving wide class of recombinant proteins from classical inclusion bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Padhiar, Arshad Ahmed; Chanda, Warren; Joseph, Thomson Patrick; Guo, Xuefang; Liu, Min; Sha, Li; Batool, Samana; Gao, Yifan; Zhang, Wei; Huang, Min; Zhong, Mintao

2018-03-01

The formation of inclusion bodies (IBs) is considered as an Achilles heel of heterologous protein expression in bacterial hosts. Wide array of techniques has been developed to recover biochemically challenging proteins from IBs. However, acquiring the active state even from the same protein family was found to be an independent of single established method. Here, we present a new strategy for the recovery of wide sub-classes of recombinant protein from harsh IBs. We found that numerous methods and their combinations for reducing IB formation and producing soluble proteins were not effective, if the inclusion bodies were harsh in nature. On the other hand, different practices with mild solubilization buffers were able to solubilize IBs completely, yet the recovery of active protein requires large screening of refolding buffers. With the integration of previously reported mild solubilization techniques, we proposed an improved method, which comprised low sarkosyl concentration, ranging from 0.05 to 0.1% coupled with slow freezing (- 1 °C/min) and fast thaw (room temperature), resulting in greater solubility and the integrity of solubilized protein. Dilution method was employed with single buffer to restore activity for every sub-class of recombinant protein. Results showed that the recovered protein's activity was significantly higher compared with traditional solubilization/refolding approach. Solubilization of IBs by the described method was proved milder in nature, which restored native-like conformation of proteins within IBs.

The Functional Quality of Soluble Recombinant Polypeptides Produced in Escherichia coli Is Defined by a Wide Conformational Spectrum▿

Science.gov (United States)

Martínez-Alonso, Mónica; González-Montalbán, Nuria; García-Fruitós, Elena; Villaverde, Antonio

2008-01-01

We have observed that a soluble recombinant green fluorescent protein produced in Escherichia coli occurs in a wide conformational spectrum. This results in differently fluorescent protein fractions in which morphologically diverse soluble aggregates abound. Therefore, the functional quality of soluble versions of aggregation-prone recombinant proteins is defined statistically rather than by the prevalence of a canonical native structure. PMID:18836021

Expression and purification of soluble recombinant Hexastatin in E. coli

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Xin; Wen Lei; Song Naling; Wang Dezhi; Zhao Qiren

2012-01-01

Purpose: To construct the expression vector of Hexastatin gene, to express and to purify the recombinant protein for further activity research. Methods: The human Hexastatin gene was isolated by RTPCR from EC9706 cells total RNA and cloned into pMD18-T for sequencing. Then the Hexastatin gene was subcloned into pMAL-c4x expression vector and induced to express by IPTG. The recombinant fusion protein was purified with Amylose Resin Heads. Results: RT-PCR product was about 687 bp and its sequence was the same as that of Hexastatin reported. The recombinant protein was expressed in E. coli BL21 with high level and the soluble protein accounted for 24.8% of the total bacterial protein. The purification of recombinant protein purified with Amylose Resin Heads reached more than 90%. Conclusion: The cloning, expression and purification of human Hexastatin have laid a foundation for its anti-angiogenesis therapy for tumor. (authors)

Expression of nattokinase in Escherichia coli and renaturation of its inclusion body.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, He; Guo, Peng-Cheng; Jiang, Wei-Ling; Fan, Xiao-Min; Luo, Xiang-Yu; Li, Hai-Hang

2016-08-10

Nattokinase is an important fibrinolytic enzyme with therapeutic applications for cardiovascular diseases. The full-length and mature nattokinase genes were cloned from Bacillus subtilis var. natto and expressed in pQE30 vector in Escherichia coli. The full-length gene expressed low nattokinase activity in the intracellular soluble and the medium fractions. The mature gene expressed low soluble nattokinase activity and large amount insoluble protein in inclusion bodies without enzyme activity. Large amount of refolding solutions (RSs) at different pH values were screening and RS-10 and RS-11 at pH 9 were selected to refold nattokinase inclusion bodies. The recombinant cells were lysed with 0.1mg/mL lysozyme and ultrasonic treatment. After centrifugation, the pellete was washed twice with 20mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.5) containing 1% Triton X-100 to purify the inclusion bodies. The inclusion bodies were dissolved in water at pH 12.0 and refolded with RS-10. The refolded proteins showed 42.8IU/mg and 79.3IU/mg fibrinolytic activity by the traditional dilution method (20-fold dilution into RS-10) and the directly mixing the protein solution with equal volume RS-10, respectively, compared to the 52.0IU/mg of total water-soluble proteins from B. subtilis var. natto. This work demonstrated that the inclusion body of recombinant nattokinase expressed in E. coli could be simply refolded to the natural enzyme activity level by directly mixing the protein solution with equal volume refolding solution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Soluble expression of recombinant proteins in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Hans; Mortensen, Kim

2005-01-01

Pure, soluble and functional proteins are of high demand in modern biotechnology. Natural protein sources rarely meet the requirements for quantity, ease of isolation or price and hence recombinant technology is often the method of choice. Recombinant cell factories are constantly employed...... molecular tools available. In spite of all these qualities, expression of recombinant proteins with E. coli as the host often results in insoluble and/or nonfunctional proteins. Here we review new approaches to overcome these obstacles by strategies that focus on either controlled expression of target...... for the production of protein preparations bound for downstream purification and processing. Eschericia coli is a frequently used host, since it facilitates protein expression by its relative simplicity, its inexpensive and fast high density cultivation, the well known genetics and the large number of compatible...

Soluble multimer of recombinant endostatin expressed in E. coli has anti-angiogenesis activity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Dongmei; Gao Yan; Cao Xiangrong; Zhu Nianchun; Liang Jianfu; Xie Weiping; Zhen Mingying; Zhu Minsheng

2006-01-01

The bioactivity, refolding, and multimer formation of endostatin, particularly of recombinant endostatin produced from bacteria, are proved challenging for clinical application. In order to determine the biological activity of recombinant endostatin multimer, first, we expressed endostatin in Escherichia coli and purified it with ion-exchange chromatography. The purified active protein could elicit multimer formation spontaneously, but still has comparable activity. Aim to determine the anti-angiogenic activity of multimer endostatin, by use of RP-HPLC, we then successfully separated endostatin monomer and multimer for subjecting to anti-angiogenesis assay. The results from CAM (chorioallantoic membrane) inhibition assay showed that both monomer and multimer suppressed CAM vascularization significantly. At the dosage of 0.8 μg, inhibition rates of multimeric and monomeric proteins were about 58% and 38%, respectively. Multimeric endostatin exerted a higher activity than monomeric endostatin (p 0.05), although both of them show a high inhibition effect in contrast to control. The results from HUVEC proliferation assay also showed similar effects at dosages of 0.6 and 1.6 μg/ml, multimer exerted a higher activity on inhibition of HUVEC proliferation comparing with monomer (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our results suggest that endostatin multimer has a comparable or higher bioactivity and multimerization will not affect its bioactivity, implying that endostatin activity is insensitive to structure conformation contributed by disulfide bonds

Presence of the propeptide on recombinant lysosomal dipeptidase controls both activation and dimerization.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolenc, Iztok; Pain, Roger; Turk, Vito

2007-01-01

Lysosomal dipeptidase catalyzes the hydrolysis of dipeptides with unsubstituted terminals. It is a homodimer and binds zinc. Dimerization is an important issue in understanding the enzyme's function. In this study, we investigated the influence of the propeptide on the folding and dimerization of recombinant lysosomal dipeptidase. For this purpose, we separately cloned and overexpressed the mature protein and the proenzyme. The overexpressed proteins were localized exclusively to insoluble inclusion bodies. Refolding of the urea-solubilized inclusion bodies showed that only dipeptidase lacking the propeptide was dimeric. The soluble renatured proenzyme was a monomer, although circular dichroism and fluorescence spectra of the proenzyme indicated the formation of secondary and tertiary structure. The propeptide thus controls dimerization, as well as activation, of lysosomal dipeptidase.

A review of machine learning methods to predict the solubility of overexpressed recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Habibi, Narjeskhatoon; Mohd Hashim, Siti Z; Norouzi, Alireza; Samian, Mohammed Razip

2014-05-08

Over the last 20 years in biotechnology, the production of recombinant proteins has been a crucial bioprocess in both biopharmaceutical and research arena in terms of human health, scientific impact and economic volume. Although logical strategies of genetic engineering have been established, protein overexpression is still an art. In particular, heterologous expression is often hindered by low level of production and frequent fail due to opaque reasons. The problem is accentuated because there is no generic solution available to enhance heterologous overexpression. For a given protein, the extent of its solubility can indicate the quality of its function. Over 30% of synthesized proteins are not soluble. In certain experimental circumstances, including temperature, expression host, etc., protein solubility is a feature eventually defined by its sequence. Until now, numerous methods based on machine learning are proposed to predict the solubility of protein merely from its amino acid sequence. In spite of the 20 years of research on the matter, no comprehensive review is available on the published methods. This paper presents an extensive review of the existing models to predict protein solubility in Escherichia coli recombinant protein overexpression system. The models are investigated and compared regarding the datasets used, features, feature selection methods, machine learning techniques and accuracy of prediction. A discussion on the models is provided at the end. This study aims to investigate extensively the machine learning based methods to predict recombinant protein solubility, so as to offer a general as well as a detailed understanding for researches in the field. Some of the models present acceptable prediction performances and convenient user interfaces. These models can be considered as valuable tools to predict recombinant protein overexpression results before performing real laboratory experiments, thus saving labour, time and cost.

Production, purification and characterization of two recombinant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2008-06-17

Jun 17, 2008 ... Two recombinant DNA-derived variants of ovine growth hormone were produced, purified, characterized and compared with the authentic pituitary derived GH. The variants oGH3 and oGH5 were isolated by differential centrifugation method and were purified after refolding by ion-exchange.

Purification and Characterization of Recombinant Vaccinia L1R Protein from Escherichia coli

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

RECOMBINANT VACCINIA L1R PROTEIN FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Vaccinia virus (VACV) is the active component of the...the preparation of the recombinant VACV L1R protein fragment by denaturing , refolding, and purifying material expressed into inclusion bodies in...PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF RECOMBINANT VACCINIA L1R PROTEIN FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI ECBC-TR-1370

Expression and characterization of recombinant single-chain salmon class I MHC fused with beta2-microglobulin with biological activity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhao, Heng; Stet, René J M; Skjødt, Karsten

2008-01-01

Heterodimeric class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules consist of a putative 45-kDa heavy chain and a 12-kDa beta2-microglobulin (beta2m) light chain. The knowledge about MHC genes in Atlantic salmon accumulated during the last decade has allowed us to generate soluble and stable ...... MHC class I molecules with biological activity. We report here the use of a bacterial expression system to produce the recombinant single-chain MHC molecules based on a specific allele Sasa-UBA*0301. This particular allele was selected because previous work has shown its association...... antibodies were successfully produced against both the MHC class I heavy chain and beta(2)m, and showed binding to the recombinant molecule. The recombinant complex Sasabeta2mUBA*0301 was expressed and isolated; the production was scaled up by adjusting to its optimal conditions. Subsequently......, the recombinant proteins were purified by affinity chromatography using mAb against beta2m and alpha3. Eluates were analyzed by Western blot and refolded by the removal of denaturant. The correct folding was confirmed by measuring its binding capacity against mAb produced to recognize the native form of MHC...

A novel system for continuous protein refolding and on-line capture by expanded bed adsorption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferré, Henrik; Ruffet, E; Nielsen, L.L.B

2005-01-01

A novel two-step protein refolding strategy has been developed, where continuous renaturation-by-dilution is followed by direct capture on an expanded bed adsorption (EBA) column. The performance of the overall process was tested on a N-terminally tagged version of human beta(2)-microglobulin (HAT......-h beta(2)m) both at analytical, small, and preparative scale. In a single scalable operation, extracted and denatured inclusion body proteins from Escherichia coli were continuously diluted into refolding buffer, using a short pipe reactor, allowing for a defined retention and refolding time...... of the overall process was 45%, and the product loss was primarily a consequence of the refolding reaction rather than the EBA step. Full biological activity of HAT-h beta(2)m was demonstrated after removal of the HAT-tag. In contrast to batch refolding, a continuous refolding strategy allows the conditions...

High-level expression of soluble recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli using an HE-maltotriose-binding protein fusion tag.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yingqian; Guo, Wanying; Su, Bingqian; Guo, Yujie; Wang, Jiang; Chu, Beibei; Yang, Guoyu

2018-02-01

Recombinant proteins are commonly expressed in prokaryotic expression systems for large-scale production. The use of genetically engineered affinity and solubility enhancing fusion proteins has increased greatly in recent years, and there now exists a considerable repertoire of these that can be used to enhance the expression, stability, solubility, folding, and purification of their fusion partner. Here, a modified histidine tag (HE) used as an affinity tag was employed together with a truncated maltotriose-binding protein (MBP; consisting of residues 59-433) from Pyrococcus furiosus as a solubility enhancing tag accompanying a tobacco etch virus protease-recognition site for protein expression and purification in Escherichia coli. Various proteins tagged at the N-terminus with HE-MBP(Pyr) were expressed in E. coli BL21(DE3) cells to determine expression and solubility relative to those tagged with His6-MBP or His6-MBP(Pyr). Furthermore, four HE-MBP(Pyr)-fused proteins were purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography to assess the affinity of HE with immobilized Ni 2+ . Our results showed that HE-MBP(Pyr) represents an attractive fusion protein allowing high levels of soluble expression and purification of recombinant protein in E. coli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Technical refolding of proteins: Do we have freedom to operate?

Science.gov (United States)

Eiberle, Maria K; Jungbauer, Alois

2010-06-01

Expression as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli is a widely used method for the large-scale production of therapeutic proteins that do not require post-translational modifications. High expression yields and simple recovery steps of inclusion bodies from the host cells are attractive features industrially. However, the value of an inclusion body-based process is dominated by the solubilization and refolding technologies. Scale-invariant technologies that are economical and applicable for a wide range of proteins are requested by industry. The main challenge is to convert the denatured protein into its native conformation at high yields. Refolding competes with misfolding and aggregation. Thus, the yield of native monomer depends strongly on the initial protein concentrations in the refolding solution. Reasonable yields are attained at low concentrations (freedom to operate.

A Systematic Protein Refolding Screen Method using the DGR Approach Reveals that Time and Secondary TSA are Essential Variables.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuanze; van Oosterwijk, Niels; Ali, Ameena M; Adawy, Alaa; Anindya, Atsarina L; Dömling, Alexander S S; Groves, Matthew R

2017-08-24

Refolding of proteins derived from inclusion bodies is very promising as it can provide a reliable source of target proteins of high purity. However, inclusion body-based protein production is often limited by the lack of techniques for the detection of correctly refolded protein. Thus, the selection of the refolding conditions is mostly achieved using trial and error approaches and is thus a time-consuming process. In this study, we use the latest developments in the differential scanning fluorimetry guided refolding approach as an analytical method to detect correctly refolded protein. We describe a systematic buffer screen that contains a 96-well primary pH-refolding screen in conjunction with a secondary additive screen. Our research demonstrates that this approach could be applied for determining refolding conditions for several proteins. In addition, it revealed which "helper" molecules, such as arginine and additives are essential. Four different proteins: HA-RBD, MDM2, IL-17A and PD-L1 were used to validate our refolding approach. Our systematic protocol evaluates the impact of the "helper" molecules, the pH, buffer system and time on the protein refolding process in a high-throughput fashion. Finally, we demonstrate that refolding time and a secondary thermal shift assay buffer screen are critical factors for improving refolding efficiency.

Immobilization and functional reconstitution of antibody Fab fragment by solid-phase refolding.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumada, Yoichi; Hamasaki, Kyoto; Nakagawa, Aya; Sasaki, Eiju; Shirai, Tatsunori; Okumura, Masahiro; Inoue, Manami; Kishimoto, Michimasa

2013-12-31

In this study, we demonstrated the successful preparation of a Fab antibody-immobilized hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plate via one- and two-step solid-phase refolding methods. Both polystyrene-binding peptide (PS-tag)-fused Fd fragment of heavy chain (Fab H-PS) and full-length of light-chain (Fab L-PS) were individually produced in insoluble fractions of Escherichia coli cells, and they were highly purified in the presence of 8M of urea. Antigen-binding activities of Fab antibody immobilized were correctly recovered by the one-step solid-phase refolding method that a mixture of Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS was immobilized in the presence of 0.5-2M urea, followed by surface washing of the phi-PS plate with PBST. These results indicate that by genetic fusion of a PS-tag, a complex between Fab H and Fab L was efficiently immobilized on the surface of a phi-PS plate even in the presence of a low concentration of urea, and was then correctly refolded to retain its high antigen-binding activity via removal of the urea. A two-step solid-phase refolding method whereby Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS were successively refolded on the surface of a phi-PS plate also resulted in Fab antibody formation on the plate. Furthermore, both the binding affinity and the specificity of the Fab antibody produced by the two-step method were highly maintained, according to the results of sandwich ELISA and competitive ELISA using Fab antibody-immobilized plate via two-step solid-phase refolding. Thus, the solid-phase refolding method demonstrated in this study should be quite useful for the preparation of a Fab antibody-immobilized PS surface with high efficiency from individually produced Fab H-PS and Fab L-PS. This method will be applicable to the preparation of a large Fab antibody library on the surface of a PS plate for use in antibody screening. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spider Silk Fibers Spun from Soluble Recombinant Silk Produced in Mammalian Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Lazaris, Anthoula; Arcidiacono, Steven; Huang, Yue; Zhou, Jiang-Feng; Duguay, François; Chretien, Nathalie; Welsh, Elizabeth A.; Soares, Jason W.; Karatzas, Costas N.

2002-01-01

Spider silks are protein-based ``biopolymer'' filaments or threads secreted by specialized epithelial cells as concentrated soluble precursors of highly repetitive primary sequences. Spider dragline silk is a flexible, lightweight fiber of extraordinary strength and toughness comparable to that of synthetic high-performance fibers. We sought to ``biomimic'' the process of spider silk production by expressing in mammalian cells the dragline silk genes (ADF-3/MaSpII and MaSpI) of two spider species. We produced soluble recombinant (rc)-dragline silk proteins with molecular masses of 60 to 140 kilodaltons. We demonstrated the wet spinning of silk monofilaments spun from a concentrated aqueous solution of soluble rc-spider silk protein (ADF-3; 60 kilodaltons) under modest shear and coagulation conditions. The spun fibers were water insoluble with a fine diameter (10 to 40 micrometers) and exhibited toughness and modulus values comparable to those of native dragline silks but with lower tenacity. Dope solutions with rc-silk protein concentrations >20% and postspinning draw were necessary to achieve improved mechanical properties of the spun fibers. Fiber properties correlated with finer fiber diameter and increased birefringence.

Toxoplasma gondii: Biochemical and biophysical characterization of recombinant soluble dense granule proteins GRA2 and GRA6

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bittame, Amina; Effantin, Grégory; Pètre, Graciane; Ruffiot, Pauline; Travier, Laetitia; Schoehn, Guy; Weissenhorn, Winfried; Cesbron-Delauw, Marie-France; Gagnon, Jean; Mercier, Corinne

2015-01-01

The most prominent structural feature of the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in which the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii proliferates is a membranous nanotubular network (MNN), which interconnects the parasites and the PV membrane. The MNN function remains unclear. The GRA2 and GRA6 proteins secreted from the parasite dense granules into the PV have been implicated in the MNN biogenesis. Amphipathic alpha-helices (AAHs) predicted in GRA2 and an alpha-helical hydrophobic domain predicted in GRA6 have been proposed to be responsible for their membrane association, thereby potentially molding the MMN in its structure. Here we report an analysis of the recombinant proteins (expressed in detergent-free conditions) by circular dichroism, which showed that full length GRA2 displays an alpha-helical secondary structure while recombinant GRA6 and GRA2 truncated of its AAHs are mainly random coiled. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy showed that recombinant GRA6 and truncated GRA2 constitute a homogenous population of small particles (6–8 nm in diameter) while recombinant GRA2 corresponds to 2 populations of particles (∼8–15 nm and up to 40 nm in diameter, respectively). The unusual properties of GRA2 due to its AAHs are discussed. - Highlights: • Toxoplasma gondii: soluble GRA2 forms 2 populations of particles. • T. gondii: the dense granule protein GRA2 folds intrinsically as an alpha-helix. • T. gondii: monomeric soluble GRA6 forms particles of 6–8 nm in diameter. • T. gondii: monomeric soluble GRA6 is random coiled. • Unusual biophysical properties of the dense granule protein GRA2 from T. gondii

Toxoplasma gondii: Biochemical and biophysical characterization of recombinant soluble dense granule proteins GRA2 and GRA6

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bittame, Amina [CNRS, UMR 5163, 38042 Grenoble (France); Université Grenoble Alpes, 38042 Grenoble (France); Effantin, Grégory [Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), 38044 Grenoble (France); CNRS, IBS, 38044 Grenoble (France); CEA, IBS, 38044 Grenoble (France); Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions (UVHCI), UMI 3265 (UJF-EMBL-CNRS), 38027 Grenoble (France); Pètre, Graciane; Ruffiot, Pauline; Travier, Laetitia [CNRS, UMR 5163, 38042 Grenoble (France); Université Grenoble Alpes, 38042 Grenoble (France); Schoehn, Guy; Weissenhorn, Winfried [Université Grenoble Alpes, Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS), 38044 Grenoble (France); CNRS, IBS, 38044 Grenoble (France); CEA, IBS, 38044 Grenoble (France); Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions (UVHCI), UMI 3265 (UJF-EMBL-CNRS), 38027 Grenoble (France); Cesbron-Delauw, Marie-France; Gagnon, Jean [CNRS, UMR 5163, 38042 Grenoble (France); Université Grenoble Alpes, 38042 Grenoble (France); Mercier, Corinne, E-mail: corinne.mercier@ujf-grenoble.fr [CNRS, UMR 5163, 38042 Grenoble (France); Université Grenoble Alpes, 38042 Grenoble (France)

2015-03-27

The most prominent structural feature of the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in which the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii proliferates is a membranous nanotubular network (MNN), which interconnects the parasites and the PV membrane. The MNN function remains unclear. The GRA2 and GRA6 proteins secreted from the parasite dense granules into the PV have been implicated in the MNN biogenesis. Amphipathic alpha-helices (AAHs) predicted in GRA2 and an alpha-helical hydrophobic domain predicted in GRA6 have been proposed to be responsible for their membrane association, thereby potentially molding the MMN in its structure. Here we report an analysis of the recombinant proteins (expressed in detergent-free conditions) by circular dichroism, which showed that full length GRA2 displays an alpha-helical secondary structure while recombinant GRA6 and GRA2 truncated of its AAHs are mainly random coiled. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy showed that recombinant GRA6 and truncated GRA2 constitute a homogenous population of small particles (6–8 nm in diameter) while recombinant GRA2 corresponds to 2 populations of particles (∼8–15 nm and up to 40 nm in diameter, respectively). The unusual properties of GRA2 due to its AAHs are discussed. - Highlights: • Toxoplasma gondii: soluble GRA2 forms 2 populations of particles. • T. gondii: the dense granule protein GRA2 folds intrinsically as an alpha-helix. • T. gondii: monomeric soluble GRA6 forms particles of 6–8 nm in diameter. • T. gondii: monomeric soluble GRA6 is random coiled. • Unusual biophysical properties of the dense granule protein GRA2 from T. gondii.

Dynamics of Ionic Liquid-Assisted Refolding of Denatured Cytochrome c: A Study of Preferential Interactions toward Renaturation.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Upendra Kumar; Patel, Rajan

2018-05-25

In vitro refolding of denatured protein and the influence of the alkyl chain on the refolding of a protein were tested using long chain imidazolium chloride salts, 1-methyl-3-octylimidazolium chloride [C 8 mim][Cl], and 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C 10 mim][Cl]. The horse heart cytochrome c (h-cyt c) was denatured by urea and guanidinium hydrochloride (GdnHCl), as well as by base-induced denaturation at pH 13, to provide a broad overview of the overall refolding behavior. The variation in the alkyl chain of the ionic liquids (ILs) showed a profound effect on the refolding of denatured h-cyt c. The ligand-induced refolding was correlated to understand the mechanism of the conformational stability of proteins in aqueous solutions of ILs. The results showed that the long chain ILs having the [C 8 mim] + and [C 10 mim] + cations promote the refolding of alkali-denatured h-cyt c. The IL having the [C 10 mim] + cation efficiently refolded the alkali-denatured h-cyt c with the formation of the MG state, whereas the IL having the [C 8 mim] + cation, which is known to be compatible for protein stability, shows slight refolding and forms a different transition state. The lifetime results show successful refolding of alkaline-denatured h-cyt c by both of the ILs, however, more refolding was observed in the case of [C 10 mim][Cl], and this was correlated with the fast and medium lifetimes (τ 1 and τ 2 ) obtained, which show an increase accompanied by an increase in secondary structure. The hydrophobic interactions plays an important role in the refolding of chemically and alkali-denatured h-cyt c by long chain imidazolium ILs. The formation of the MG state by [C 10 mim][Cl] was also confirmed, as some regular structure exists far below the CMC of IL. The overall results suggested that the [C 10 mim] + cation bound to the unfolded h-cyt c triggers its refolding by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions that stabilize the MG state.

Stabilization of apoglobin by low temperature increases yield of soluble recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Weickert, M J; Pagratis, M; Curry, S R; Blackmore, R

1997-01-01

Accumulation of soluble recombinant hemoglobin (rHb1.1) in Escherichia coli requires proper protein folding, prosthetic group (heme) addition, and subunit assembly. This served as a new model system for the study of the effects of temperature, protein synthesis rates, and protein accumulation rates on protein solubility in E. coli. Fermentation expression of rHb1.1 at 30 degrees C from cultures containing a medium or high globin gene dosage (pBR-based or pUC-based plasmids with rHb1.1 genes under the control of the tac promoter) was compared. A medium gene dosage resulted in rHb1.1 accumulating to approximately 7% of the soluble cell protein, of which 78% was soluble. A high globin gene dosage resulted in a > or = 3-fold increase in total globin to 23 to 24% of the soluble cell protein, but 70% was insoluble. Accumulation of insoluble rHb1.1 began immediately upon induction. The proportion of rHb1.1 from the high globin gene dosage that accumulated as insoluble globin was affected by reducing (i) the inducer concentration and (ii) the temperature. Reducing the inducer concentration reduced globin synthesis up to eightfold but increased the proportion of soluble rHb1.1 to 93%. In contrast, total globin protein synthesis was barely affected by reducing the temperature from 30 to 26 degrees C, while soluble globin accumulation increased > 2-fold to approximately 15% of the soluble cell protein. The contrast between the effects of reducing rates of protein synthesis and accumulation and those of reducing temperature suggests that lower temperature stabilizes one or more folding intermediates. We propose a simplified physical model which integrates protein synthesis, folding, and heme association. This model shows that temperature-dependent apoglobin stability is the most critical factor in soluble rHb1.1 accumulation. PMID:9361418

[In vitro renaturation of proteins from inclusion bodies].

Science.gov (United States)

Porowińska, Dorota; Marszałek, Ewelina; Wardęcka, Paulina; Komoszyński, Michał

2012-06-11

Recombinant proteins and enzymes are commonly used in many areas of our life, such as diagnostics, industry and medicine, due to heterologous synthesis in prokaryotic expression systems. However, a high expression level of foreign protein in bacteria cells results in formation of inactive and insoluble aggregates--inclusion bodies. Reactivation of aggregated proteins is a complex and time-consuming process. Every protein requires experimental optimization of the process conditions. The choice of the refolding method depends on the type of recombinant protein and its physical, chemical and biological properties. Recovery of the activity of proteins accumulated in inclusion bodies can be divided into 4 steps: 1) inclusion bodies isolation, 2) solubilization of aggregates, 3) renaturation, 4) purification of catalytically active molecules. Efficiency of the refolding process depends on many physical factors and chemical and biological agents. The above parameters determine the time of the folding and prevent protein aggregation. They also assist the folding and have an influence on the solubility and stability of native molecules. To date, dilution, dialysis and chromatography are the most often used methods for protein refolding.

Unique Features of Halophilic Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Arakawa, Tsutomu; Yamaguchi, Rui; Tokunaga, Hiroko; Tokunaga, Masao

2017-01-01

Proteins from moderate and extreme halophiles have unique characteristics. They are highly acidic and hydrophilic, similar to intrinsically disordered proteins. These characteristics make the halophilic proteins soluble in water and fold reversibly. In addition to reversible folding, the rate of refolding of halophilic proteins from denatured structure is generally slow, often taking several days, for example, for extremely halophilic proteins. This slow folding rate makes the halophilic proteins a novel model system for folding mechanism analysis. High solubility and reversible folding also make the halophilic proteins excellent fusion partners for soluble expression of recombinant proteins.

Expression by Streptomyces lividans of the Rat α Integrin CD11b A-Domain as a Secreted and Soluble Recombinant Protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorra Zouari Ayadi

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We already reported the use of a long synthetic signal peptide (LSSP to secrete the Streptomyces sp. TO1 amylase by Streptomyces lividans strain. We herein report the expression and secretion of the rat CD11b A-domain using the same LSSP and S. lividans as host strain. We have used the Escherichia coli/Streptomyces shuttle vector pIJ699 for the cloning of the A-domain DNA sequence downstream of LSSP and under the control of the constitutive ermE-up promoter of Streptomyces erythraeus. Using this construct and S. lividans as a host strain, we achieved the expression of 8 mg/L of soluble secreted recombinant form of the A-domain of the rat leukocyte β2 integrin CD11/CD18 alpha M subunit (CD11b. This secreted recombinant CD11b A-domain reacted with a function blocking antibody showing that this protein is properly folded and probably functional. These data support the capability of Streptomyces to produce heterologous recombinant proteins as soluble secreted form using the “LSSP” synthetic signal peptide.

Chaperonin GroE-facilitated refolding of disulfide-bonded and reduced Taka-amylase A from Aspergillus oryzae.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawata, Y; Hongo, K; Mizobata, T; Nagai, J

1998-12-01

The refolding characteristics of Taka-amylase A (TAA) from Aspergillus oryzae in the presence of the chaperonin GroE were studied in terms of activity and fluorescence. Disulfide-bonded (intact) TAA and non-disulfide-bonded (reduced) TAA were unfolded in guanidine hydrochloride and refolded by dilution into buffer containing GroE. The intermediates of both intact and reduced enzymes were trapped by GroEL in the absence of nucleotide. Upon addition of nucleotides such as ATP, ADP, CTP or UTP, the intermediates were released from GroEL and recovery of activity was detected. In both cases, the refolding yields in the presence of GroEL and ATP were higher than spontaneous recoveries. Fluorescence studies of intrinsic tryptophan and a hydrophobic probe, 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate, suggested that the intermediates trapped by GroEL assumed conformations with different hydrophobic properties. The presence of protein disulfide isomerase or reduced and oxidized forms of glutathione in addition to GroE greatly enhanced the refolding reaction of reduced TAA. These findings suggest that GroE has an ability to recognize folding intermediates of TAA protein and facilitate refolding, regardless of the existence or absence of disulfide bonds in the protein.

Prokaryotic Soluble Overexpression and Purification of Human VEGF165 by Fusion to a Maltose Binding Protein Tag.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minh Tan Nguyen

Full Text Available Human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF is a key regulator of angiogenesis and plays a central role in the process of tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. Escherichia coli is one of the most common expression systems used for the production of recombinant proteins; however, expression of human VEGF in E. coli has proven difficult because the E. coli-expressed VEGF tends to be misfolded and forms inclusion bodies, resulting in poor solubility. In this study, we successfully produced semi-preparative amounts of soluble bioactive human VEGF165 (hVEGF. We created seven N-terminal fusion tag constructs with hexahistidine (His6, thioredoxin (Trx, glutathione S-transferase (GST, maltose-binding protein (MBP, N-utilization substance protein A (NusA, human protein disulfide isomerase (PDI, and the b'a' domain of PDI (PDIb'a', and tested each construct for soluble overexpression in E. coli. We found that at 18°C, 92.8% of the MBP-tagged hVEGF to be soluble and that this tag significantly increased the protein's solubility. We successfully purified 0.8 mg of pure hVEGF per 500 mL cell culture. The purified hVEGF is stable after tag cleavage, contains very low levels of endotoxin, and is 97.6% pure. Using an Flk1+ mesodermal precursor cell (MPC differentiation assay, we show that the purified hVEGF is not only bioactive but has similar bioactivity to hVEGF produced in mammalian cells. Previous reports on producing hVEGF in E. coli have all been based on refolding of the protein from inclusion bodies. To our knowledge, this is the first report on successfully expressing and purifying soluble hVEGF in E. coli.

DIFFERENTIAL BINDING OF HUMAN INTERLEUKIN-1 (IL-1) RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST TO NATURAL AND RECOMBINANT SOLUBLE AND CELLULAR IL-1 TYPE-I RECEPTORS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svenson, Morten; Nedergaard, Susanne; Heegaard, Peter M. H.

1995-01-01

antagonist (IL-1ra). Recombinant soluble human IL-1RI expressed in COS cells (sIL-1RI) consists of the extracellular part of the receptor and binds all three known IL-1 species but preferentially to IL-1ra. We further characterized the sizes and binding of IL-1raBF and sIL-1RI to IL-1ra by polyacrylamide gel...... electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate, ligand binding interference analyses, N-glycosidase treatment, concanavalin A affinity chromatography, and with the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to human recombinant IL-1ra. We also evaluated the binding of IL-1ra to cellular IL-1RI on MRC5...... binding of both molecules to IL-1ra. Both factors blocked binding of IL-1ra to cellular IL-1RI, as did mAb to IL-1ra, but the sites on IL-1ra which bound to the mAb, and to IL-1raBF and sIL-1RI, differed. We conclude that there are important differences between the natural and recombinant forms of soluble...

Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe...... a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the alpha- and beta-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression......-translational modifications. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need...

Symmetrical refolding of protein domains and subunits: example of the dimeric two-domain 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenases.

Science.gov (United States)

Gráczer, Eva; Varga, Andrea; Melnik, Bogdan; Semisotnov, Gennady; Závodszky, Péter; Vas, Mária

2009-02-10

The refolding mechanism of the homodimeric two-domain 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IPMDH) from the organisms adapted to different temperatures, Thermus thermophilus (Tt), Escherichia coli (Ec), and Vibrio sp. I5 (Vib), is described. In all three cases, instead of a self-template mechanism, the high extent of symmetry and cooperativity in folding of subunits and domains have been concluded from the following experimental findings: The complex time course of refolding, monitored by Trp fluorescence, consists of a fast (the rate constant varies as 16.5, 25.0, and 11.7 min-1 in the order of Tt, Ec, and Vib IPMDHs) and a slow (the rate constants are 0.11, 0.80, and 0.23 min-1 for the three different species) first-order process. However, a burst increase of Trp fluorescence anisotropy to the value of the native states indicates that in all three cases the association of the two polypeptide chains occurs at the beginning of refolding. This dimeric species binds the substrate IPM, but the native-like interactions of the tertiary and quaternary structures are only formed during the slow phase of refolding, accompanied by further increase of protein fluorescence and appearance of FRET between Trp side chain(s) and the bound NADH. Joining the contacting arms of each subunit also takes place exclusively during this slow phase. To monitor refolding of each domain within the intact molecule of T. thermophilus IPMDH, Trp's (located in separate domains) were systematically replaced with Phe's. The refolding processes of the mutants were followed by measuring changes in Trp fluorescence and in FRET between the particular Trp and NADH. The high similarity of time courses (both in biphasicity and in their rates) strongly suggests cooperative folding of the domains during formation of the native three-dimensional structure of IPMDH.

Development of a rapid in vitro protein refolding assay which discriminates between peptide-bound and peptide-free forms of recombinant porcine major histocompatibility class I complex (SLA-I)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oleksiewicz, M.B.; Kristensen, B.; Ladekjaer-Mikkelsen, A.S.

2002-01-01

The extracellular domains of swine leukocyte antigen class I (SLA-I, major histocompatibility complex protein class 1) were cloned and sequenced for two haplotypes (114 and H7) which do not share any alleles based on serological typing, and which are the most important in Danish farmed pigs....... The extracellular domain of SLA-I was connected to porcine beta2 microglobulin by glycine-rich linkers. The engineered sin.-le-chain proteins, consisting of fused SLA-I and beta2 microglobulin, were overexpressed as inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli. Also, variants were made of the single-chain proteins......, by linking them through glycine-rich linkers to peptides representing T-cell epitopes from classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). An in vitro refold assay was developed, using a monoclonal anti-SLA antibody (PT85A) to gauge refolding. The single best-defined, SLA...

A comprehensive structure-function analysis shed a new light on molecular mechanism by which a novel smart copolymer, NY-3-1, assists protein refolding.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Chaohui; Ilghari, Dariush; Niu, Jianlou; Xie, Yaoyao; Wang, Yan; Wang, Chao; Li, Xiaokun; Liu, Bailin; Huang, Zhifeng

2012-08-31

An in-depth understanding of molecular basis by which smart polymers assist protein refolding can lead us to develop a more effective polymer for protein refolding. In this report, to investigate structure-function relationship of pH-sensitive smart polymers, a series of poly(methylacrylic acid (MAc)-acrylic acid (AA))s with different MAc/AA ratios and molecular weights were synthesized and then their abilities in refolding of denatured lysozyme were compared by measuring the lytic activity of the refolded lysozyme. Based on our analysis, there were optimal MAc/AA ratio (44% MAc), M(w) (1700 Da), and copolymer concentration (0.1%, w/v) at which the highest yield of protein refolding was achieved. Fluorescence, circular dichroism, and RP-HPLC analysis reported in this study demonstrated that the presence of P(MAc-AA)s in the refolding buffer significantly improved the refolding yield of denatured lysozyme without affecting the overall structure of the enzyme. Importantly, our bioseparation analysis, together with the analysis of zeta potential and particle size of the copolymer in refolding buffers with different copolymer concentrations, suggested that the polymer provided a negatively charged surface for an electrostatic interaction with the denatured lysozyme molecules and thereby minimized the hydrophobic-prone aggregation of unfolded proteins during the process of refolding. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient refolding and immobilization of PMMA-tag-fused single-chain Fv antibodies for sensitive immunological detection on a PMMA plate.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumada, Yoichi; Ishikawa, Yasuyuki; Fujiwara, Yusuke; Takeda, Rui; Miyamoto, Ryosuke; Niwa, Daisuke; Momose, Shun; Kang, Bongmun; Kishimoto, Michimasa

2014-09-01

In this study, we investigated the efficient refolding and site-specific immobilization of single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) genetically fused with a poly(methylmethacrylate)-binding peptide (PMMA-tag). According to the results of an aggregation test of a scFv-PM in the presence of 0.5 M urea, aggregation was hardly detectable at a weak-alkaline pH (8.5) with lower concentrations of NaCl. Consequently, more than 93% recovery of the anti-RNase scFv-PM model was attained, when it was refolded by dialysis against 50 mM TAPS (pH8.5). These results suggested that the apparent isoelectric point (pI) of a target scFv was decreased to a great extent by the genetic fusion of a PMMA-tag containing 5 acidic amino acids, and, thus, the solubility of the scFv-PM in its semi-denatured form was considerably improved. We also designed alternative peptide-tags composed of plural aspartic acid residues (D5, D10 and D15-tags) to decrease the apparent pI value of the fusion protein. As a consequence, scFv-D5, scFv-D10 and scFv-D15 were also efficiently refolded with yields of more than 95%. It is noteworthy that even scFv-PS-D15, which had both a positively charged polystyrene-binding peptide (PS-tag) and a negatively charged D15-tag, was serially connected at the C-terminal region of scFvs, and also refolded with a yield of 96.1%. These results clearly indicate that controlling the apparent pI value of scFvs by the fusion of oligo-peptides composed of acidic amino acids at the C-terminus resulted in a high degree of recovery via dialysis refolding. According to the results of a sandwich ELISA using scFv-PMs, scFv-D15 and scFv-PS-D15 as ligands, high antigen-binding signals were detected from both the PMMA and phi-PS plates immobilized with scFv-PMs. Furthermore, the high antigen-binding activity of scFv-PMs was maintained in an adsorption state when it was immobilized on the surface of not only PMMA, but also hydrophilic PS (phi-PS) and polycarbonate (PC). These results

Tryptophan tags and de novo designed complementary affinity ligands for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Pina, Ana Sofia; Carvalho, Sara; Dias, Ana Margarida G C; Guilherme, Márcia; Pereira, Alice S; Caraça, Luciana T; Coroadinha, Ana Sofia; Lowe, Christopher R; Roque, A Cecília A

2016-11-11

A common strategy for the production and purification of recombinant proteins is to fuse a tag to the protein terminal residues and employ a "tag-specific" ligand for fusion protein capture and purification. In this work, we explored the effect of two tryptophan-based tags, NWNWNW and WFWFWF, on the expression and purification of Green Fluorescence Protein (GFP) used as a model fusion protein. The titers obtained with the expression of these fusion proteins in soluble form were 0.11mgml -1 and 0.48mgml -1 for WFWFWF and NWNWNW, respectively. A combinatorial library comprising 64 ligands based on the Ugi reaction was prepared and screened for binding GFP-tagged and non-tagged proteins. Complementary ligands A2C2 and A3C1 were selected for the effective capture of NWNWNW and WFWFWF tagged proteins, respectively, in soluble forms. These affinity pairs displayed 10 6 M -1 affinity constants and Qmax values of 19.11±2.60ugg -1 and 79.39ugg -1 for the systems WFWFWF AND NWNWNW, respectively. GFP fused to the WFWFWF affinity tag was also produced as inclusion bodies, and a refolding-on column strategy was explored using the ligand A4C8, selected from the combinatorial library of ligands but in presence of denaturant agents. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Refolding and characterization of the functional ligand-binding domain of human lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Qiuhong; Matsunaga, Shigeru; Shi, Xiaohua; Ogawa, Setsuko; Niimi, Setsuko; Wen, Zhesheng; Tokuyasu, Ken; Machida, Sachiko

2003-11-01

Lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor (LOX-1), a type II membrane protein that can recognize a variety of structurally unrelated macromolecules, plays an important role in host defense and is implicated in atherogenesis. To understand the interaction between human LOX-1 and its ligands, in this study the functional C-type lectin-like domain (CTLD) of LOX-1 was reconstituted at high efficiency from inactive aggregates in Escherichia coli using a refolding technique based on an artificial chaperone. The CD spectra of the purified domain suggested that the domain has alpha-helical structure and the blue shift of Trp residues was observed on refolding of the domain. Like wild-type hLOX-1, the refolded CTLD domain was able to bind modified LDL. Thus, even though CTLD contains six Cys residues that form disulfide bonds, it recovered its specific binding ability on refolding. This suggests that the correct disulfide bonds in CTLD were formed by the artificial chaperone technique. Although the domain lacked N-glycosylation, it showed high affinity for its ligand in surface plasmon resonance experiments. Thus, unglycosylated CTLD is sufficient for binding modified LDL.

Recombinant DNA derived monomeric insulin analogue: comparison with soluble human insulin in normal subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vora, J P; Owens, D R; Dolben, J; Atiea, J A; Dean, J D; Kang, S; Burch, A; Brange, J

1988-11-12

To compare the rate of absorption from subcutaneous tissue and the resulting hypoglycaemic effect of iodine-125 labelled soluble human insulin and a monomeric insulin analogue derived by recombinant DNA technology. Single blind randomised comparison of equimolar doses of 125I labelled soluble human insulin and insulin analogue. Study in normal people at a diabetes research unit and a university department of medical physics. Seven healthy male volunteers aged 20-39 not receiving any other drugs. After an overnight fast and a basal period of one hour two doses (0.05 and 0.1 U/kg) of 125I labelled soluble human insulin and insulin analogue were injected subcutaneously into the anterior abdominal wall on four separate days. To find a fast acting insulin for meal related requirements in insulin dependent diabetics. MEASUREMENTS and main results--Residual radioactivity at the injection site was measured continuously for the first two hours after injection of the 125I labelled preparations and thereafter for five minutes simultaneously with blood sampling. Frequent venous blood samples were obtained over six hours for determination of plasma immunoreactive insulin, insulin analogue, glucose, and glucagon values. Time to 50% of initial radioactivity at the injection site for the insulin analogue compared with soluble insulin was 61 v 135 minutes (p less than 0.05) with 0.05 U/kg and 67 v 145 minutes (p less than 0.001) with 0.1 U/kg. Concentrations in plasma increased faster after the insulin analogue compared with soluble insulin, resulting in higher plasma concentrations between 10 and 150 minutes (0.001 less than p less than 0.05) after 0.05 U/kg and between 40 and 360 minutes (0.001 less than p less than 0.05) after 0.1 U/kg. The hypoglycaemic response to insulin analogue was a plasma glucose nadir at 60 minutes with both doses compared with 90 and 120 minutes with soluble insulin at 0.5 and 0.1 U/kg respectively. The response of glucagon substantiated the earlier and

Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

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Chandrasekhar Natarajan

Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species.As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus, a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications.Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

Expression and purification of recombinant hemoglobin in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Natarajan, Chandrasekhar; Jiang, Xiaoben; Fago, Angela; Weber, Roy E; Moriyama, Hideaki; Storz, Jay F

2011-01-01

Recombinant DNA technologies have played a pivotal role in the elucidation of structure-function relationships in hemoglobin (Hb) and other globin proteins. Here we describe the development of a plasmid expression system to synthesize recombinant Hbs in Escherichia coli, and we describe a protocol for expressing Hbs with low intrinsic solubilities. Since the α- and β-chain Hbs of different species span a broad range of solubilities, experimental protocols that have been optimized for expressing recombinant human HbA may often prove unsuitable for the recombinant expression of wildtype and mutant Hbs of other species. As a test case for our expression system, we produced recombinant Hbs of the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), a species that has been the subject of research on mechanisms of Hb adaptation to hypoxia. By experimentally assessing the combined effects of induction temperature, induction time and E. coli expression strain on the solubility of recombinant deer mouse Hbs, we identified combinations of expression conditions that greatly enhanced the yield of recombinant protein and which also increased the efficiency of post-translational modifications. Our protocol should prove useful for the experimental study of recombinant Hbs in many non-human animals. One of the chief advantages of our protocol is that we can express soluble recombinant Hb without co-expressing molecular chaperones, and without the need for additional reconstitution or heme-incorporation steps. Moreover, our plasmid construct contains a combination of unique restriction sites that allows us to produce recombinant Hbs with different α- and β-chain subunit combinations by means of cassette mutagenesis.

Purification of inclusion bodies using PEG precipitation under denaturing conditions to produce recombinant therapeutic proteins from Escherichia coli.

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Chen, Huanhuan; Li, Ninghuan; Xie, Yueqing; Jiang, Hua; Yang, Xiaoyi; Cagliero, Cedric; Shi, Siwei; Zhu, Chencen; Luo, Han; Chen, Junsheng; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Menglin; Feng, Lei; Lu, Huili; Zhu, Jianwei

2017-07-01

It has been documented that the purification of inclusion bodies from Escherichia coli by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) may benefit subsequent refolding and recovery of recombinant proteins. However, loading volume and the high cost of the column limits its application in large-scale manufacturing of biopharmaceutical proteins. We report a novel process using polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation under denaturing conditions to replace SEC for rapid purification of inclusion bodies containing recombinant therapeutic proteins. Using recombinant human interleukin 15 (rhIL-15) as an example, inclusion bodies of rhIL-15 were solubilized in 7 M guanidine hydrochloride, and rhIL-15 was precipitated by the addition of PEG 6000. A final concentration of 5% (w/v) PEG 6000 was found to be optimal to precipitate target proteins and enhance recovery and purity. Compared to the previously reported S-200 size exclusion purification method, PEG precipitation was easier to scale up and achieved the same protein yields and quality of the product. PEG precipitation also reduced manufacturing time by about 50 and 95% of material costs. After refolding and further purification, the rhIL-15 product was highly pure and demonstrated a comparable bioactivity with a rhIL-15 reference standard. Our studies demonstrated that PEG precipitation of inclusion bodies under denaturing conditions holds significant potential as a manufacturing process for biopharmaceuticals from E. coli protein expression systems.

A SEP tag enhances the expression, solubility and yield of recombinant TEV protease without altering its activity.

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Nautiyal, Kalpana; Kuroda, Yutaka

2018-05-25

Tobacco Etch Virus (TEV) protease is used in the purification of recombinant proteins, but its usage is often hampered by solubility issues. Here, we report a short, 12-residue solubility enhancing peptide (SEP) tag attached at the C-terminus of TEV (TEV-C9R). We assessed the effects of the C9R tag on the biophysical and biochemical characteristics of TEV. The yield of HPLC purified TEV-C9R expressed in E. coli grown in 200 mL LB or TB media was between 10 and 13 mg, which was up to 6.5 times higher than the yield of the untagged TEV (untagged-TEV). TEV-C9R was active over a pH range of 5-8, which was wider than that of the commonly used thrombin, and it remained active upon incubation at 60 °C much longer than the untagged-TEV, which aggregated at this temperature. Static and dynamic light scattering demonstrated the higher solubility of purified TEV-C9R. Furthermore, the thermal unfolding of TEV-C9R, as assessed by circular dichroism at pH 4.7, was almost perfectly reversible, in contrast to that of untagged-TEV, which aggregated at high temperature. These results demonstrate the improved biophysical and biochemical characteristics of TEV-C9R originating from higher solubility and provide another example of how SEP tags can enhance enzyme solubility without altering its activity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Systematic Protein Refolding Screen Method using the DGR Approach Reveals that Time and Secondary TSA are Essential Variables

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, Yuanze; van Oosterwijk, Niels; Ali, Ameena M; Adawy, Alaa; Anindya, Atsarina L; Dömling, Alexander S S; Groves, Matthew R

2017-01-01

Refolding of proteins derived from inclusion bodies is very promising as it can provide a reliable source of target proteins of high purity. However, inclusion body-based protein production is often limited by the lack of techniques for the detection of correctly refolded protein. Thus, the

A camelid nanobody against EGFR was easily obtained through refolding of inclusion body expressed in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Li; Song, Xiaoyu; Jia, Lingyun

2017-11-01

Using anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) nanobody is a good choice for diagnoses and therapeutics for high EGFR expression diseases. In the present study, the percentage composition of anti-EGFR nanobody attained 25% of the total cell protein expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). However, almost all nanobodies were expressed as inclusion bodies. To acquire active nanobodies, a series of dilution refolding procedures were optimized after inclusion bodies were dissolved into 6 M urea and purified with immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The results showed the refolding rate of the anti-EGFR nanobodies attained to 73%, and about 100 mg nanobodies were refolded from 1 L cells under the conditions that the initial nanobody concentration was 0.3 mg/mL, the dilution speed was 2.5 mL/Min, the dilution buffer was Tris-HCl at pH 8.0, the additives were 0.2 M Arg, 5 mM reduced glutathione (GSH), and 1 mM oxidized glutathione (GSSG). Then the activity of the refolded nanobodies was confirmed. The results showed that the refolded anti-EGFR nanobodies, in a dose-dependent manner, bounded to the tumor cell surface of A431 and MCF-7 and significantly inhibited the proliferation of A431 caused by the epidermal growth factor. Our study provides a facile method to rapidly, efficiently, and massively prepare anti-EGFR antibodies and promotes anti-EGFR-based recognition in cancer diagnoses and therapeutics. © 2016 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Strategies for production of active eukaryotic proteins in bacterial expression system

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Orawan Khow; Sunutcha Suntrarachun

2012-01-01

Bacteria have long been the favorite expression system for recombinant protein production. However, the flaw of the system is that insoluble and inactive proteins are co-produced due to codon bias, protein folding, phosphorylation, glycosylation, mRNA stability and promoter strength. Factors are cited and the methods to convert to soluble and active proteins are described, for example a tight control of Escherichia coli milieu, refolding from inclusion body and through fusion technology.

Yeast expressed recombinant Hemagglutinin protein of Novel H1N1 elicits neutralising antibodies in rabbits and mice

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Athmaram TN

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Currently available vaccines for the pandemic Influenza A (H1N1 2009 produced in chicken eggs have serious impediments viz limited availability, risk of allergic reactions and the possible selection of sub-populations differing from the naturally occurring virus, whereas the cell culture derived vaccines are time consuming and may not meet the demands of rapid global vaccination required to combat the present/future pandemic. Hemagglutinin (HA based subunit vaccine for H1N1 requires the HA protein in glycosylated form, which is impossible with the commonly used bacterial expression platform. Additionally, bacterial derived protein requires extensive purification and refolding steps for vaccine applications. For these reasons an alternative heterologous system for rapid, easy and economical production of Hemagglutinin protein in its glycosylated form is required. The HA gene of novel H1N1 A/California/04/2009 was engineered for expression in Pichia pastoris as a soluble secreted protein. The full length HA- synthetic gene having α-secretory tag was integrated into P. pastoris genome through homologous recombination. The resultant Pichia clones having multiple copy integrants of the transgene expressed full length HA protein in the culture supernatant. The Recombinant yeast derived H1N1 HA protein elicited neutralising antibodies both in mice and rabbits. The sera from immunised animals also exhibited Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI activity. Considering the safety, reliability and also economic potential of Pichia expression platform, our preliminary data indicates the feasibility of using this system as an alternative for large-scale production of recombinant influenza HA protein in the face of influenza pandemic threat.

An enzyme-catalyzed multistep DNA refolding mechanism in hairpin telomere formation.

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Ke Shi

Full Text Available Hairpin telomeres of bacterial linear chromosomes are generated by a DNA cutting-rejoining enzyme protelomerase. Protelomerase resolves a concatenated dimer of chromosomes as the last step of chromosome replication, converting a palindromic DNA sequence at the junctions between chromosomes into covalently closed hairpins. The mechanism by which protelomerase transforms a duplex DNA substrate into the hairpin telomeres remains largely unknown. We report here a series of crystal structures of the protelomerase TelA bound to DNA that represent distinct stages along the reaction pathway. The structures suggest that TelA converts a linear duplex substrate into hairpin turns via a transient strand-refolding intermediate that involves DNA-base flipping and wobble base-pairs. The extremely compact di-nucleotide hairpin structure of the product is fully stabilized by TelA prior to strand ligation, which drives the reaction to completion. The enzyme-catalyzed, multistep strand refolding is a novel mechanism in DNA rearrangement reactions.

Recombinant expression of margatoxin and agitoxin-2 in Pichia pastoris: an efficient method for production of KV1.3 channel blockers.

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Raveendra Anangi

Full Text Available The K(v1.3 voltage-gated potassium channel regulates membrane potential and calcium signaling in human effector memory T cells that are key mediators of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis. Thus, subtype-specific K(v1.3 blockers have potential for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Several K(v1.3 channel blockers have been characterized from scorpion venom, all of which have an α/β scaffold stabilized by 3-4 intramolecular disulfide bridges. Chemical synthesis is commonly used for producing these disulfide-rich peptides but this approach is time consuming and not cost effective for production of mutants, fusion proteins, fluorescently tagged toxins, or isotopically labelled peptides for NMR studies. Recombinant production of K(v1.3 blockers in the cytoplasm of E. coli generally necessitates oxidative refolding of the peptides in order to form their native disulfide architecture. An alternative approach that avoids the need for refolding is expression of peptides in the periplasm of E. coli but this often produces low yields. Thus, we developed an efficient Pichia pastoris expression system for production of K(v1.3 blockers using margatoxin (MgTx and agitoxin-2 (AgTx2 as prototypic examples. The Pichia system enabled these toxins to be obtained in high yield (12-18 mg/L. NMR experiments revealed that the recombinant toxins adopt their native fold without the need for refolding, and electrophysiological recordings demonstrated that they are almost equipotent with the native toxins in blocking K(V1.3 (IC(50 values of 201±39 pM and 97 ± 3 pM for recombinant AgTx2 and MgTx, respectively. Furthermore, both recombinant toxins inhibited T-lymphocyte proliferation. A MgTx mutant in which the key pharmacophore residue K28 was mutated to alanine was ineffective at blocking K(V1.3 and it failed to inhibit T-lymphocyte proliferation. Thus, the approach described here provides an efficient method of

Protein solubility and folding enhancement by interaction with RNA.

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Seong Il Choi

Full Text Available While basic mechanisms of several major molecular chaperones are well understood, this machinery has been known to be involved in folding of only limited number of proteins inside the cells. Here, we report a chaperone type of protein folding facilitated by interaction with RNA. When an RNA-binding module is placed at the N-terminus of aggregation-prone target proteins, this module, upon binding with RNA, further promotes the solubility of passenger proteins, potentially leading to enhancement of proper protein folding. Studies on in vitro refolding in the presence of RNA, coexpression of RNA molecules in vivo and the mutants with impaired RNA binding ability suggests that RNA can exert chaperoning effect on their bound proteins. The results suggest that RNA binding could affect the overall kinetic network of protein folding pathway in favor of productive folding over off-pathway aggregation. In addition, the RNA binding-mediated solubility enhancement is extremely robust for increasing soluble yield of passenger proteins and could be usefully implemented for high-throughput protein expression for functional and structural genomic research initiatives. The RNA-mediated chaperone type presented here would give new insights into de novo folding in vivo.

Microfluidic chips with multi-junctions: an advanced tool in recovering proteins from inclusion bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Miyazaki, Masaya

2015-01-01

Active recombinant proteins are used for studying the biological functions of genes and for the development of therapeutic drugs. Overexpression of recombinant proteins in bacteria often results in the formation of inclusion bodies, which are protein aggregates with non-native conformations. Protein refolding is an important process for obtaining active recombinant proteins from inclusion bodies. However, the conventional refolding method of dialysis or dilution is time-consuming and recovered active protein yields are often low, and a cumbersome trial-and-error process is required to achieve success. To circumvent these difficulties, we used controllable diffusion through laminar flow in microchannels to regulate the denaturant concentration. This method largely aims at reducing protein aggregation during the refolding procedure. This Commentary introduces the principles of the protein refolding method using microfluidic chips and the advantage of our results as a tool for rapid and efficient recovery of active recombinant proteins from inclusion bodies.

Soluble expression and purification of the recombinant bioactive peptide precursor BPP-1 in Escherichia coli using a cELP-SUMO dual fusion system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Shengqi; Zang, Xiangyu; Yang, Zhenquan; Gao, Lu; Yin, Yongqi; Fang, Weiming

2016-02-01

A bioactive peptide precursor (BPP-1, 14.3 kDa/115AA), a newly designed polypeptide that may exert a potential antihypertensive effect in vivo, is composed of many different ACE inhibitory peptides and antioxidant peptides tandemly linked according to the restriction sites of gastrointestinal proteases. In this report, we present a novel method to obtain soluble BPP-1 in Escherichia coli using cationic elastin-like polypeptide and SUMO (cELP-SUMO) tags. The cELP-SUMO-tagged fusion protein was expressed in soluble form at 20 °C for 20 h. After purification based on the inverse transition cycling (ITC) method, the purified cELP-SUMO-CFPP fusion protein was subsequently cleaved by a SUMO protease to release the mature BPP-1. After a subsequent simple salt precipitation process, approximately 167.2 mg of recombinant BPP-1 was obtained from 1 l of bacterial culture with at least 92% purity. The molecular mass (Mr) of the recombinant BPP-1 was confirmed by MALDI-TOF MS to equal 14,347. The purified BPP-1 was subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and the resulting hydrolysates exhibited notable ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities in vitro. This report provides the first description of the soluble production of a bioactive peptide multimer with potential ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activities in E. coli using a cELP-SUMO tag. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Escherichia coli as a production host for novel enzymes from basidiomycota.

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Zelena, Katerina; Eisele, Nadine; Berger, Ralf G

2014-12-01

Many enzymes from basidiomycota have been identified and more recently characterized on the molecular level. This report summarizes the potential biotechnological applications of these enzymes and evaluates recent advances in their heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. Being one of the most widely used hosts for the production of recombinant proteins, there are, however, recurrent problems of recovering substantial yields of correctly folded and active enzymes. Various strategies for the efficient production of recombinant proteins from basidiomycetous fungi are reviewed including the current knowledge on vectors and expression strains, as well as methods for enhancing the solubility of target expression products and their purification. Research efforts towards the refolding of recombinant oxidoreductases and hydrolases are presented to illustrate successful production strategies. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combination therapy with sivelestat and recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin for ARDS and DIC patients

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Miyoshi S

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Seigo Miyoshi,1 Ryoji Ito,1 Hitoshi Katayama,1 Kentaro Dote,2 Mayuki Aibiki,3 Hironobu Hamada,1,4 Takafumi Okura,1 Jitsuo Higaki1 1Department of Cardiology, Pulmonology, Hypertension and Nephrology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, 2Intensive Care Division, Ehime University Hospital, 3Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, School of Medicine, Ehime University, Shitsukawa, Toon, Ehime, 4Department of Physical Analysis and Therapeutic Sciences, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, Japan Background: Neutrophil elastase, alveolar thrombin generation, and fibrin deposition play crucial roles in the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC. However, the usefulness of combination therapy with a selective neutrophil elastase inhibitor, sivelestat, and recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhTM for patients with ARDS and DIC remains unknown. Methods: We conducted a retrospective data analysis of 142 ARDS patients with DIC to assess the effects of sivelestat combined with rhTM. Patients were divided into four groups: control (no sivelestat or rhTM treatment, sivelestat treatment alone, rhTM treatment alone, and combined treatment with sivelestat and rhTM. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to assess subject mortality rates. The efficacy of these drugs was evaluated based on survival rate, number of ventilator-free days, and change in PaO2/FIO2 (P/F ratios and DIC scores before and at 7 days after a diagnosis of ARDS with DIC. Results: Multivariate analysis showed that patient age, combination therapy, gas exchange, organ failure, cause, associated disease score, and serum C-reactive protein levels were predictors of mortality for patients with ARDS and DIC. As compared with untreated controls, combination therapy significantly improved the 60-day survival rate of patients with ARDS and DIC

Stabilizing additives added during cell lysis aid in the solubilization of recombinant proteins.

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David J Leibly

Full Text Available Insoluble recombinant proteins are a major issue for both structural genomics and enzymology research. Greater than 30% of recombinant proteins expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli appear to be insoluble. The prevailing view is that insolubly expressed proteins cannot be easily solubilized, and are usually sequestered into inclusion bodies. However, we hypothesize that small molecules added during the cell lysis stage can yield soluble protein from insoluble protein previously screened without additives or ligands. We present a novel screening method that utilized 144 additive conditions to increase the solubility of recombinant proteins expressed in E. coli. These selected additives are natural ligands, detergents, salts, buffers, and chemicals that have been shown to increase the stability of proteins in vivo. We present the methods used for this additive solubility screen and detailed results for 41 potential drug target recombinant proteins from infectious organisms. Increased solubility was observed for 80% of the recombinant proteins during the primary and secondary screening of lysis with the additives; that is 33 of 41 target proteins had increased solubility compared with no additive controls. Eleven additives (trehalose, glycine betaine, mannitol, L-Arginine, potassium citrate, CuCl(2, proline, xylitol, NDSB 201, CTAB and K(2PO(4 solubilized more than one of the 41 proteins; these additives can be easily screened to increase protein solubility. Large-scale purifications were attempted for 15 of the proteins using the additives identified and eight (40% were prepared for crystallization trials during the first purification attempt. Thus, this protocol allowed us to recover about a third of seemingly insoluble proteins for crystallography and structure determination. If recombinant proteins are required in smaller quantities or less purity, the final success rate may be even higher.

High productivity chromatography refolding process for Hepatitis B Virus X (HBx) protein guided by statistical design of experiment studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Basu, Anindya; Leong, Susanna Su Jan

2012-02-03

The Hepatitis B Virus X (HBx) protein is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. However, consistent expression of the protein as insoluble inclusion bodies in bacteria host systems has largely hindered HBx manufacturing via economical biosynthesis routes, thereby impeding the development of anti-HBx therapeutic strategies. To eliminate this roadblock, this work reports the development of the first 'chromatography refolding'-based bioprocess for HBx using immobilised metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). This process enabled production of HBx at quantities and purity that facilitate their direct use in structural and molecular characterization studies. In line with the principles of quality by design (QbD), we used a statistical design of experiments (DoE) methodology to design the optimum process which delivered bioactive HBx at a productivity of 0.21 mg/ml/h at a refolding yield of 54% (at 10 mg/ml refolding concentration), which was 4.4-fold higher than that achieved in dilution refolding. The systematic DoE methodology adopted for this study enabled us to obtain important insights into the effect of different bioprocess parameters like the effect of buffer exchange gradients on HBx productivity and quality. Such a bioprocess design approach can play a pivotal role in developing intensified processes for other novel proteins, and hence helping to resolve validation and speed-to-market challenges faced by the biopharmaceutical industry today. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Crystal structure analysis, overexpression and refolding behaviour of a DING protein with single mutation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gai, Zuoqi; Nakamura, Akiyoshi; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Hirano, Nagisa; Tanaka, Isao; Yao, Min

2013-01-01

Crystals of a member of the DING protein family (HPBP) were obtained accidentally, and the structure was determined at 1.35 Å resolution. For further analysis, a system for preparation of HPBP was constructed and the structure of a prepared sample was confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis at 1.03 Å resolution. After crystallization of a certain protein–RNA complex, well diffracting crystals were obtained. However, the asymmetric unit of the crystal was too small to locate any components. Mass spectrometry and X-ray crystal structure analysis showed that it was a member of the DING protein family (HPBP). Surprisingly, the structure of HPBP reported previously was also determined accidentally as a contaminant, suggesting that HPBP has a strong tendency to crystallize. Furthermore, DING proteins were reported to relate in disease. These observations suggest that DING has potential for application in a wide range of research fields. To enable further analyses, a system for preparation of HPBP was constructed. As HPBP was expressed in insoluble form in Escherichia coli, it was unfolded chemically and refolded. Finally, a very high yield preparation method was constructed, in which 43 mg of HPBP was obtained from 1 L of culture. Furthermore, to evaluate the validity of refolding, its crystal structure was determined at 1.03 Å resolution. The determined structure was identical to the native structure, in which two disulfide bonds were recovered correctly and a phosphate ion was captured. Based on these results, it was concluded that the refolded HPBP recovers its structure correctly

Crystal structure analysis, overexpression and refolding behaviour of a DING protein with single mutation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gai, Zuoqi; Nakamura, Akiyoshi [Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Tanaka, Yoshikazu, E-mail: tanaka@sci.hokudai.ac.jp [Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Hirano, Nagisa [Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Tanaka, Isao; Yao, Min [Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan); Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810 (Japan)

2013-11-01

Crystals of a member of the DING protein family (HPBP) were obtained accidentally, and the structure was determined at 1.35 Å resolution. For further analysis, a system for preparation of HPBP was constructed and the structure of a prepared sample was confirmed by X-ray crystal structure analysis at 1.03 Å resolution. After crystallization of a certain protein–RNA complex, well diffracting crystals were obtained. However, the asymmetric unit of the crystal was too small to locate any components. Mass spectrometry and X-ray crystal structure analysis showed that it was a member of the DING protein family (HPBP). Surprisingly, the structure of HPBP reported previously was also determined accidentally as a contaminant, suggesting that HPBP has a strong tendency to crystallize. Furthermore, DING proteins were reported to relate in disease. These observations suggest that DING has potential for application in a wide range of research fields. To enable further analyses, a system for preparation of HPBP was constructed. As HPBP was expressed in insoluble form in Escherichia coli, it was unfolded chemically and refolded. Finally, a very high yield preparation method was constructed, in which 43 mg of HPBP was obtained from 1 L of culture. Furthermore, to evaluate the validity of refolding, its crystal structure was determined at 1.03 Å resolution. The determined structure was identical to the native structure, in which two disulfide bonds were recovered correctly and a phosphate ion was captured. Based on these results, it was concluded that the refolded HPBP recovers its structure correctly.

Factors affecting the solubility of Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Cornelius; Hobley, Timothy John; Mollerup, Jørgen

2008-01-01

A detailed study of the solubility of recombinant Bacillus halmapalus alpha-amylase has been conducted. A semi-purified preparation from a bulk crystallisation was chos en that contained six isoforms with pI-values of between 5.5 and 6.1. The solubility was strongly affected by pH and could...

Distinct symmetry and limited peptide refolding activity of the thermosomes from the acidothermophilic archaea Acidianus tengchongensis S5T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Li; Hu, Zhong-jun; Luo, Yuan-ming; Huo, Yan-wu; Ma, Qing; He, Yong-zhi; Zhang, Yu-ying; Sun, Fei; Dong, Zhi-yang

2010-01-01

Recombinant thermosomes from the Acidianus tengchongensis strain S5 T were purified to homogeneity and assembled in vitro into homo-oligomers (rATcpnα or rATcpnβ) and hetero-oligomers (rATcpnαβ). The symmetries of these complexes were determined by electron microscopy and image analysis. The rATcpnα homo-oligomer was shown to possess 8-fold symmetry while both rATcpnβ and rATcpnαβ oligomers adopted 9-fold symmetry. rATcpnαβ oligomers were shown to contain the α and β subunits in a 1:2 ratio. All of the complexes prevented the irreversible inactivation of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase at 55 o C and completely prevented the formation of aggregates during thermal inactivation of citrate synthase at 45 o C. All rATcpn complexes showed trace ATP hydrolysis activity. Furthermore, rATcpnβ sequestered fully chemically denatured substrates (GFP and thermophilic malic dehydrogenase) in vitro without refolding them in an ATP-dependent manner. This property is similar to previously reported properties of chaperonins from Sulfolobus tokodaii and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius. These features are consistent with the slow growth rates of these species of archaea in their native environment.

Escherichia coli fusion carrier proteins act as solubilizing agents for recombinant uncoupling protein 1 through interactions with GroEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Douette, Pierre; Navet, Rachel; Gerkens, Pascal; Galleni, Moreno; Levy, Daniel; Sluse, Francis E.

2005-01-01

Fusing recombinant proteins to highly soluble partners is frequently used to prevent aggregation of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Moreover, co-overexpression of prokaryotic chaperones can increase the amount of properly folded recombinant proteins. To understand the solubility enhancement of fusion proteins, we designed two recombinant proteins composed of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), a mitochondrial membrane protein, in fusion with MBP or NusA. We were able to express soluble forms of MBP-UCP1 and NusA-UCP1 despite the high hydrophobicity of UCP1. Furthermore, the yield of soluble fusion proteins depended on co-overexpression of GroEL that catalyzes folding of polypeptides. MBP-UCP1 was expressed in the form of a non-covalent complex with GroEL. MBP-UCP1/GroEL was purified and characterized by dynamic light scattering, gel filtration, and electron microscopy. Our findings suggest that MBP and NusA act as solubilizing agents by forcing the recombinant protein to pass through the bacterial chaperone pathway in the context of fusion protein

High-level expression and purification of soluble recombinant FGF21 protein by SUMO fusion in Escherichia coli

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Huang Yadong

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21 is a promising drug candidate to combat metabolic diseases. However, high-level expression and purification of recombinant FGF21 (rFGF21 in Escherichia coli (E. coli is difficult because rFGF21 forms inclusion bodies in the bacteria making it difficult to purify and obtain high concentrations of bioactive rFGF21. To overcome this problem, we fused the FGF21 with SUMO (Small ubiquitin-related modifier by polymerase chain reaction (PCR, and expressed the fused gene in E. coli BL21(DE3. Results By inducing with IPTG, SUMO-FGF21 was expressed at a high level. Its concentration reached 30% of total protein, and exceeded 95% of all soluble proteins. The fused protein was purified by DEAE sepharose FF and Ni-NTA affinity chromatography. Once cleaved by the SUMO protease, the purity of rFGF21 by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC was shown to be higher than 96% with low endotoxin level (in vivo animal experiments showed that rFGF21 produced by using this method, could decrease the concentration of plasma glucose in diabetic rats by streptozotocin (STZ injection. Conclusions This study demonstrated that SUMO, when fused with FGF21, was able to promote its soluble expression of the latter in E. coli, making it more convenient to purify rFGF21 than previously. This may be a better method to produce rFGF21 for pharmaceutical research and development.

The Effects of the Recombinant CCR5 T4 Lysozyme Fusion Protein on HIV-1 Infection.

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Qingwen Jin

Full Text Available Insertion of T4 lysozyme (T4L into the GPCR successfully enhanced GPCR protein stability and solubilization. However, the biological functions of the recombinant GPCR protein have not been analyzed.We engineered the CCR5-T4L mutant and expressed and purified the soluble recombinant protein using an E.coli expression system. The antiviral effects of this recombinant protein in THP-1 cell lines, primary human macrophages, and PBMCs from different donors were investigated. We also explored the possible mechanisms underlying the observed antiviral effects.Our data showed the biphasic inhibitory and promotion effects of different concentrations of soluble recombinant CCR5-T4L protein on R5 tropic human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1 infection in THP-1 cell lines, human macrophages, and PBMCs from clinical isolates. We demonstrated that soluble recombinant CCR5-T4L acts as a HIV-1 co-receptor, interacts with wild type CCR5, down-regulates the surface CCR5 expression in human macrophages, and interacts with CCL5 to inhibit macrophage migration. Using binding assays, we further determined that recombinant CCR5-T4L and [125I]-CCL5 compete for the same binding site on wild type CCR5.Our results suggest that recombinant CCR5-T4L protein marginally promotes HIV-1 infection at low concentrations and markedly inhibits infection at higher concentrations. This recombinant protein may be helpful in the future development of anti-HIV-1 therapeutic agents.

Efficient soluble expression of disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli in fed-batch fermentations on chemically defined minimal media.

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Gąciarz, Anna; Khatri, Narendar Kumar; Velez-Suberbie, M Lourdes; Saaranen, Mirva J; Uchida, Yuko; Keshavarz-Moore, Eli; Ruddock, Lloyd W

2017-06-15

The production of recombinant proteins containing disulfide bonds in Escherichia coli is challenging. In most cases the protein of interest needs to be either targeted to the oxidizing periplasm or expressed in the cytoplasm in the form of inclusion bodies, then solubilized and re-folded in vitro. Both of these approaches have limitations. Previously we showed that soluble expression of disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli is possible at shake flask scale with a system, known as CyDisCo, which is based on co-expression of a protein of interest along with a sulfhydryl oxidase and a disulfide bond isomerase. With CyDisCo it is possible to produce disulfide bonded proteins in the presence of intact reducing pathways in the cytoplasm. Here we scaled up production of four disulfide bonded proteins to stirred tank bioreactors and achieved high cell densities and protein yields in glucose fed-batch fermentations, using an E. coli strain (BW25113) with the cytoplasmic reducing pathways intact. Even without process optimization production of purified human single chain IgA 1 antibody fragment reached 139 mg/L and hen avidin 71 mg/L, while purified yields of human growth hormone 1 and interleukin 6 were around 1 g/L. Preliminary results show that human growth hormone 1 was also efficiently produced in fermentations of W3110 strain and when glucose was replaced with glycerol as the carbon source. Our results show for the first time that efficient production of high yields of soluble disulfide bonded proteins in the cytoplasm of E. coli with the reducing pathways intact is feasible to scale-up to bioreactor cultivations on chemically defined minimal media.

Production of recombinant proteins from Plasmodium falciparum in Escherichia coli.

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Guerra, Ángela Patricia; Calvo, Eliana Patricia; Wasserman, Moisés; Chaparro-Olaya, Jacqueline

2016-02-23

The production of recombinant proteins is essential for the characterization and functional study of proteins from Plasmodium falciparum. However, the proteins of P. falciparum are among the most challenging to express, and when expression is achieved, the recombinant proteins usually fold incorrectly and lead to the formation of inclusion bodies.  To obtain and purify four recombinant proteins and to use them as antigens to produce polyclonal antibodies. The production efficiency and solubility were evaluated as the proteins were expressed in two genetically modified strains of Escherichia coli to favor the production of heterologous proteins (BL21-CodonPlus (DE3)-RIL and BL21-pG-KJE8).  The four recombinant P. falciparum proteins corresponding to partial sequences of PfMyoA (Myosin A) and PfGAP50 (gliding associated protein 50), and the complete sequences of PfMTIP (myosin tail interacting protein) and PfGAP45 (gliding associated protein 45), were produced as glutathione S-transferase-fusion proteins, purified and used for immunizing mice.  The protein expression was much more efficient in BL21-CodonPlus, the strain that contains tRNAs that are rare in wild-type E. coli, compared to the expression in BL21-pG-KJE8. In spite of the fact that BL21-pG-KJE8 overexpresses chaperones, this strain did not minimize the formation of inclusion bodies.  The use of genetically modified strains of E. coli was essential to achieve high expression levels of the four evaluated P. falciparum proteins and lead to improved solubility of two of them. The approach used here allowed us to obtain and purify four P. falciparum proteins in enough quantity to produce polyclonal antibodies in mice, and a fair amount of two pure and soluble recombinant proteins for future assays.

Theoretical models for recombination in expanding gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Avron, Y.; Kahane, S.

1978-09-01

In laser isotope separation of atomic uranium, one is confronted with the theoretical problem of estimating the concentration of thermally ionized uranium atoms. To investigate this problem theoretical models for recombination in an expanding gas and in the absence of local thermal equilibrium have been constructed. The expansion of the gas is described by soluble models of the hydrodynamic equation, and the recombination by rate equations. General results for the freezing effect for the suitable ranges of the gas parameters are obtained. The impossibility of thermal equilibrium in expanding two-component systems is proven

Activation of human natural killer cells by the soluble form of cellular prion protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, Yeon-Jae; Sung, Pil Soo; Jang, Young-Soon; Choi, Young Joon; Park, Bum-Chan; Park, Su-Hyung; Park, Young Woo; Shin, Eui-Cheol

2015-01-01

Cellular prion protein (PrP C ) is widely expressed in various cell types, including cells of the immune system. However, the specific roles of PrP C in the immune system have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a soluble form of recombinant PrP C protein on human natural killer (NK) cells. Recombinant soluble PrP C protein was generated by fusion of human PrP C with the Fc portion of human IgG 1 (PrP C -Fc). PrP C -Fc binds to the surface of human NK cells, particularly to CD56 dim NK cells. PrP C -Fc induced the production of cytokines and chemokines and the degranulation of granzyme B from NK cells. In addition, PrP C -Fc facilitated the IL-15-induced proliferation of NK cells. PrP C -Fc induced phosphorylation of ERK-1/2 and JNK in NK cells, and inhibitors of the ERK or the JNK pathways abrogated PrP C -Fc-induced cytokine production in NK cells. In conclusion, the soluble form of recombinant PrP C -Fc protein activates human NK cells via the ERK and JNK signaling pathways. - Highlights: • Recombinant soluble PrP C (PrP C -Fc) was generated by fusion of human PrP C with IgG1 Fc portion. • PrP C -Fc protein induces the production of cytokines and degranulation from human NK cells. • PrP C -Fc protein enhances the IL-15-induced proliferation of human NK cells. • PrP C -Fc protein activates human NK cells via the ERK and JNK signaling pathways

A dual protease approach for expression and affinity purification of recombinant proteins.

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Raran-Kurussi, Sreejith; Waugh, David S

2016-07-01

We describe a new method for affinity purification of recombinant proteins using a dual protease protocol. Escherichia coli maltose binding protein (MBP) is employed as an N-terminal tag to increase the yield and solubility of its fusion partners. The MBP moiety is then removed by rhinovirus 3C protease, prior to purification, to yield an N-terminally His6-tagged protein. Proteins that are only temporarily rendered soluble by fusing them to MBP are readily identified at this stage because they will precipitate after the MBP tag is removed by 3C protease. The remaining soluble His6-tagged protein, if any, is subsequently purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Finally, the N-terminal His6 tag is removed by His6-tagged tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease to yield the native recombinant protein, and the His6-tagged contaminants are removed by adsorption during a second round of IMAC, leaving only the untagged recombinant protein in the column effluent. The generic strategy described here saves time and effort by removing insoluble aggregates at an early stage in the process while also reducing the tendency of MBP to "stick" to its fusion partners during affinity purification. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Nanobodies as novel agents for disease diagnosis and therapy

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Siontorou CG

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Christina G Siontorou Department of Industrial Management and Technology, University of Piraeus, Piraeus, Greece Abstract: The discovery of naturally occurring, heavy-chain only antibodies in Camelidae, and their further development into small recombinant nanobodies, presents attractive alternatives in drug delivery and imaging. Easily expressed in microorganisms and amenable to engineering, nanobody derivatives are soluble, stable, versatile, and have unique refolding capacities, reduced aggregation tendencies, and high-target binding capabilities. This review outlines the current state of the art in nanobodies, focusing on their structural features and properties, production, technology, and the potential for modulating immune functions and for targeting tumors, toxins, and microbes. Keywords: heavy chain antibodies, nanobodies, antibody expression, molecular display, formatting

Expression and Purification of Recombinant Proteins in Escherichia coli with a His6 or Dual His6-MBP Tag.

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Raran-Kurussi, Sreejith; Waugh, David S

2017-01-01

Rapid advances in bioengineering and biotechnology over the past three decades have greatly facilitated the production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Affinity-based methods that employ protein or peptide based tags for protein purification have been instrumental in this progress. Yet insolubility of recombinant proteins in E. coli remains a persistent problem. One way around this problem is to fuse an aggregation-prone protein to a highly soluble partner. E. coli maltose-binding protein (MBP) is widely acknowledged as a highly effective solubilizing agent. In this chapter, we describe how to construct either a His 6 - or a dual His 6 -MBP tagged fusion protein by Gateway ® recombinational cloning and how to evaluate their yield and solubility. We also describe a simple and rapid procedure to test the solubility of proteins after removing their N-terminal fusion tags by tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease digestion. The choice of whether to use a His 6 tag or a His 6 -MBP tag can be made on the basis of this solubility test.

Activation of human natural killer cells by the soluble form of cellular prion protein

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seong, Yeon-Jae [Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Hafis Clinic, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Sung, Pil Soo; Jang, Young-Soon; Choi, Young Joon [Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Bum-Chan [Aging Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Su-Hyung [Laboratory of Translational Immunology and Vaccinology, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Young Woo [Aging Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Eui-Cheol, E-mail: ecshin@kaist.ac.kr [Laboratory of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-08-21

Cellular prion protein (PrP{sup C}) is widely expressed in various cell types, including cells of the immune system. However, the specific roles of PrP{sup C} in the immune system have not been clearly elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the effects of a soluble form of recombinant PrP{sup C} protein on human natural killer (NK) cells. Recombinant soluble PrP{sup C} protein was generated by fusion of human PrP{sup C} with the Fc portion of human IgG{sub 1} (PrP{sup C}-Fc). PrP{sup C}-Fc binds to the surface of human NK cells, particularly to CD56{sup dim} NK cells. PrP{sup C}-Fc induced the production of cytokines and chemokines and the degranulation of granzyme B from NK cells. In addition, PrP{sup C}-Fc facilitated the IL-15-induced proliferation of NK cells. PrP{sup C}-Fc induced phosphorylation of ERK-1/2 and JNK in NK cells, and inhibitors of the ERK or the JNK pathways abrogated PrP{sup C}-Fc-induced cytokine production in NK cells. In conclusion, the soluble form of recombinant PrP{sup C}-Fc protein activates human NK cells via the ERK and JNK signaling pathways. - Highlights: • Recombinant soluble PrP{sup C} (PrP{sup C}-Fc) was generated by fusion of human PrP{sup C} with IgG1 Fc portion. • PrP{sup C}-Fc protein induces the production of cytokines and degranulation from human NK cells. • PrP{sup C}-Fc protein enhances the IL-15-induced proliferation of human NK cells. • PrP{sup C}-Fc protein activates human NK cells via the ERK and JNK signaling pathways.

Structure of recombinant Ves v 2 at 2.0 Angstrom resolution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skov, Lars K; Seppälä, Ulla; Coen, Jeremy J F

2006-01-01

Wasp venom from Vespula vulgaris contains three major allergens: Ves v 1, Ves v 2 and Ves v 5. Here, the cloning, expression, biochemical characterization and crystal structure determination of the hyaluronidase Ves v 2 from family 56 of the glycoside hydrolases are reported. The allergen...... was expressed in Escherichia coli as an insoluble protein and refolded and purified to obtain full enzymatic activity. Three N-glycosylation sites at Asn79, Asn99 and Asn127 were identified in Ves v 2 from a natural source by enzymatic digestions combined with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The crystal structure...... of recombinant Ves v 2 was determined at 2.0 A resolution and reveals a central (beta/alpha)(7) core that is further stabilized by two disulfide bonds (Cys19-Cys308 and Cys185-Cys197). Based on sequence alignments and structural comparison with the honeybee allergen Api m 2, it is proposed that a conserved...

A calculation of the surface recombination rate constant for hydrogen isotopes on metals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baskes, M.J.

1980-01-01

The surface recombination rate constant for hydrogen isotopes on a metal has been calculated using a simple model whose parameters may be determined by direct experimental measurements. Using the experimental values for hydrogen diffusivity, solubility, and sticking coefficient at zero surface coverage a reasonable prediction of the surface recombination constant may be made. The calculated recombination constant is in excellent agreement with experiment for bcc iron. A heuristic argument is developed which, along with the rate constant calculation, shows that surface recombination is important in those metals in which hydrogen has an exothermic heat of solution. (orig.)

Refolding, purification and crystallization of the FrpB outer membrane iron transporter from Neisseria meningitidis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saleem, Muhammad; Prince, Stephen M.; Patel, Hema; Chan, Hannah; Feavers, Ian M.; Derrick, Jeremy P.

2012-01-01

The refolding, purification and crystallization of FrpB from the meningitis pathogen Neisseria meningitidis is described. FrpB is an integral outer membrane protein from the human pathogen Neisseria meningitidis. It is a member of the TonB-dependent transporter family and promotes the uptake of iron across the outer membrane. There is also evidence that FrpB is an antigen and hence a potential component of a vaccine against meningococcal meningitis. FrpB incorporating a polyhistidine tag was overexpressed in Escherichia coli into inclusion bodies. The protein was then solubilized in urea, refolded and purified to homogeneity. Two separate antigenic variants of FrpB were crystallized by sitting-drop vapour diffusion. Crystals of the F5-1 variant diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution and belonged to space group C2, with unit-cell parameters a = 176.5, b = 79.4, c = 75.9 Å, β = 98.3°. Crystal-packing calculations suggested the presence of a monomer in the asymmetric unit. Crystals of the F3-3 variant also diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution and belonged to space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 85.3, b = 104.6, c = 269.1 Å. Preliminary analysis suggested the presence of an FrpB trimer in the asymmetric unit

Continuous desalting of refolded protein solution improves capturing in ion exchange chromatography: A seamless process.

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Walch, Nicole; Jungbauer, Alois

2017-06-01

Truly continuous biomanufacturing processes enable an uninterrupted feed stream throughout the whole production without the need for holding tanks. We have utilized microporous anion and cation exchangers into which only salts, but not proteins, can penetrate into the pores for desalting of protein solutions, while diafiltration or dilution is usually employed for feed adjustments. Anion exchange and cation exchange chromatography columns were connected in series to remove both anions and cations. To increase operation performance, a continuous process was developed comprised of four columns. Continuous mode was achieved by staggered cycle operation, where one set of columns, consisting of one anion exchange and one cation exchange column, was loaded during the regeneration of the second set. Refolding, desalting and subsequent ion exchange capturing with a scFv as the model protein was demonstrated. The refolding solution was successfully desalted resulting in a consistent conductivity below 0.5 mS/cm from initial values of 10 to 11 mS/cm. With continuous operation process time could be reduced by 39% while productivity was increased to 163% compared to batch operation. Desalting of the protein solution resulted in up to 7-fold higher binding capacities in the subsequent ion exchange capture step with conventional protein binding resins. © 2017 The Authors. Biotechnology Journal published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Efficient expression of a soluble lipid transfer protein (LTP) of Platanus orientalis using short peptide tags and structural comparison with the natural form.

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Salari, Farhad; Vahedi, Fatemeh; Chamani, Jamshidkhan; Varasteh, Abdolreza; Ketabdar, Hanieh; Sankian, Mojtaba

2015-01-01

Successful recombinant allergen-based immunotherapy has drawn a great deal of attention to use recombinant allergens for new therapeutic and/or diagnostic strategies. The Escherichia coli expression system is frequently used to produce recombinant allergens; however, protein expression in E. coli often results in inclusion bodies. Here, we focused on the expression of two recombinant soluble forms of Pla or 3 using solubility-enhancing peptide tags, human immune deficiency virus type 1 transactivator of transcription core domain and poly-arginine-lysine: rTAT-Pla or 3 and rPoly-Arg-Lys-Pla or 3. Structural characteristics and IgE reactivity of purified recombinant proteins were compared with natural Pla or 3 (nPla or 3) isolated from Platanus orientalis using circular dichroism spectra, fluorescence spectroscopy, and immunoblotting. Likewise, intrinsic viscosity and Stokes radius of the natural and recombinant Pla or 3 allergens were determined to analyze structural compactness in aqueous media. The results indicate high-level solubility and efficient expression of the fusion proteins (rTAT-Pla or 3 and rPoly-Arg-Lys-Pla or 3) compared with the wild-type recombinant. Furthermore, the similar structural characteristics and IgE-binding activities of the fusion proteins to nPla or 3 provide a promising tool for allergy diagnosis and treatment. © 2014 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Simplified Method for Rapid Purification of Soluble Histones

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Nives Ivić

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Functional and structural studies of histone-chaperone complexes, nucleosome modifications, their interactions with remodelers and regulatory proteins rely on obtaining recombinant histones from bacteria. In the present study, we show that co-expression of Xenopus laevis histone pairs leads to production of soluble H2AH2B heterodimer and (H3H42 heterotetramer. The soluble histone complexes are purified by simple chromatographic techniques. Obtained H2AH2B dimer and H3H4 tetramer are proficient in histone chaperone binding and histone octamer and nucleosome formation. Our optimized protocol enables rapid purification of multiple soluble histone variants with a remarkable high yield and simplifies histone octamer preparation. We expect that this simple approach will contribute to the histone chaperone and chromatin research. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Measurement of biologically active interleukin-1 by a soluble receptor binding assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riske, F.; Chizzonite, R.; Nunes, P.; Stern, A.S.

1990-01-01

A soluble receptor binding assay has been developed for measuring human interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), human IL-1 beta, and mouse IL-1 alpha. The assay is based on a competition between unlabeled IL-1 and 125I-labeled mouse recombinant IL-1 alpha for binding to soluble IL-1 receptor prepared from mouse EL-4 cells. The assay measures only biologically active IL-1 folded in its native conformation. The ratio of human IL-1 alpha to human IL-1 beta can be measured in the same sample by a pretreatment step which removes human IL-1 beta from samples prior to assay. This technique has been used to monitor the purification of recombinant IL-1, and may be utilized to specifically and accurately measure bioactive IL-1 in human serum and cell culture supernatants

High pH solubilization and chromatography-based renaturation and purification of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor from inclusion bodies.

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Li, Ming; Fan, Hua; Liu, Jiahua; Wang, Minhong; Wang, Lili; Wang, Chaozhan

2012-03-01

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) is a very efficient therapeutic protein drug which has been widely used in human clinics to treat cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. In this study, rhG-CSF was solubilized from inclusion bodies by using a high-pH solution containing low concentration of urea. It was found that solubilization of the rhG-CSF inclusion bodies greatly depended on the buffer pH employed; alkalic pH significantly favored the solubilization. In addition, when small amount of urea was added to the solution at high pH, the solubilization was further enhanced. After solubilization, the rhG-CSF was renatured with simultaneous purification by using weak anion exchange, strong anion exchange, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography, separately. The results indicated that the rhG-CSF solubilized by the high-pH solution containing low concentration of urea had much higher mass recovery than the one solubilized by 8 M urea when using anyone of the three refolding methods employed in this work. In the case of weak anion exchange chromatography, the high pH solubilized rhG-CSF could get a mass recovery of 73%. The strategy of combining solubilization of inclusion bodies at high pH with refolding of protein using liquid chromatography may become a routine method for protein production from inclusion bodies.

Cotranslocational processing of the protein substrate calmodulin by an AAA+ unfoldase occurs via unfolding and refolding intermediates.

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Augustyniak, Rafal; Kay, Lewis E

2018-05-22

Protein remodeling by AAA+ enzymes is central for maintaining proteostasis in a living cell. However, a detailed structural description of how this is accomplished at the level of the substrate molecules that are acted upon is lacking. Here, we combine chemical cross-linking and methyl transverse relaxation-optimized NMR spectroscopy to study, at atomic resolution, the stepwise unfolding and subsequent refolding of the two-domain substrate calmodulin by the VAT AAA+ unfoldase from Thermoplasma acidophilum By engineering intermolecular disulphide bridges between the substrate and VAT we trap the substrate at different stages of translocation, allowing structural studies throughout the translocation process. Our results show that VAT initiates substrate translocation by pulling on intrinsically unstructured N or C termini of substrate molecules without showing specificity for a particular amino acid sequence. Although the B1 domain of protein G is shown to unfold cooperatively, translocation of calmodulin leads to the formation of intermediates, and these differ on an individual domain level in a manner that depends on whether pulling is from the N or C terminus. The approach presented generates an atomic resolution picture of substrate unfolding and subsequent refolding by unfoldases that can be quite different from results obtained via in vitro denaturation experiments.

Soluble expression of recomb inant cMyc, Klf4, Oct4, and Sox2 proteins in bacteria and transduction into living cells

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Guo-Dan Liu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available AIM: To develop a new method to produce recombinant reprogramming proteins, cMyc, Klf4, Oct4, and Sox2, in soluble format with low cost for the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs. METHODS: A short polypeptide sequence derived from the HIV trans-activator of transcription protein (TAT and the nucleus localization signal (NLS polypeptide were fused to the N terminus of the reprogramming proteins and they were constructed into pCold-SUMO vector which can extremely improve the solubility of recombinant proteins. Then these vector plasmids were transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3 Chaperone competent cells for amplification. The solubility of these recombinant proteins was determined by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie brilliant blue staining. The recombinant proteins were purified by Ni-NTA resin and identified by Western blot. The transduction of these proteins into HEK 293T cells were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: These four reprogramming proteins could be produced in soluble format in pCold-SUMO expression vector system with the assistance of chaperone proteins in bacteria. The proteins were purified successfully with a purity of over 70% with a relative high transduction rate into 293 cells. CONCLUSION: The results in the present study indicate the four important reprogramming proteins, cMyc, Klf4, Oct4, and Sox2, can be produced in soluble format in bacteria with low cost. Our new method thus might be expected to greatly contribute to the future study of iPSCs.

An overview on molecular chaperones enhancing solubility of expressed recombinant proteins with correct folding.

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Mamipour, Mina; Yousefi, Mohammadreza; Hasanzadeh, Mohammad

2017-09-01

The majority of research topics declared that most of the recombinant proteins have been expressed by Escherichia coli in basic investigations. But the majority of high expressed proteins formed as inactive recombinant proteins that are called inclusion body. To overcome this problem, several methods have been used including suitable promoter, environmental factors, ladder tag to secretion of proteins into the periplasm, gene protein optimization, chemical chaperones and molecular chaperones sets. Co-expression of the interest protein with molecular chaperones is one of the common methods The chaperones are a group of proteins, which are involved in making correct folding of recombinant proteins. Chaperones are divided two groups including; cytoplasmic and periplasmic chaperones. Moreover, periplasmic chaperones and proteases can be manipulated to increase the yields of secreted proteins. In this article, we attempted to review cytoplasmic chaperones such as Hsp families and periplasmic chaperones including; generic chaperones, specialized chaperones, PPIases, and proteins involved in disulfide bond formation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Angiogenesis mediated by soluble forms of E-selectin and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1

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Koch, Alisa E.; Halloran, Margaret M.; Haskell, Catherine J.; Shah, Manisha R.; Polverini, Peter J.

1995-08-01

ENDOTHELIAL adhesion molecules facilitate the entry of leukocytes into inflamed tissues. This in turn promotes neovascularization, a process central to the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, tumour growth and wound repair1. Here we test the hypothesis that soluble endothelial adhesion molecules promote angiogenesis2á¤-4. Human recombinant soluble E-selectin and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 induced chemotaxis of human endothelial cells in vitro and were angiogenic in rat cornea. Soluble E-selectin acted on endothelial cells in part through a sialyl Lewis-X-dependent mechanism, while soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 acted on endothelial cells in part through a very late antigen (VLA)-4 dependent mechanism. The chemotactic activity of rheumatoid synovial fluid for endothelial cells, and also its angiogenic activity, were blocked by antibodies to either soluble E-selectin or soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. These results suggest a novel function for soluble endothelial adhesion molecules as mediators of angiogenesis.

Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the metal-binding protein CusF.

Science.gov (United States)

Cantu-Bustos, J Enrique; Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Galbraith, David W; McEvoy, Megan M; Zarate, Xristo

2016-05-01

Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli has been improved considerably through the use of fusion proteins, because they increase protein solubility and facilitate purification via affinity chromatography. In this article, we propose the use of CusF as a new fusion partner for expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Using a cell-free protein expression system, based on the E. coli S30 extract, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) was expressed with a series of different N-terminal tags, immobilized on self-assembled protein microarrays, and its fluorescence quantified. GFP tagged with CusF showed the highest fluorescence intensity, and this was greater than the intensities from corresponding GFP constructs that contained MBP or GST tags. Analysis of protein production in vivo showed that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein with low levels of inclusion bodies. Furthermore, fusion proteins can be exported to the cellular periplasm, if CusF contains the signal sequence. Taking advantage of its ability to bind copper ions, recombinant proteins can be purified with readily available IMAC resins charged with this metal ion, producing pure proteins after purification and tag removal. We therefore recommend the use of CusF as a viable alternative to MBP or GST as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MHC class II tetramers made from isolated recombinant α and β chains refolded with affinity-tagged peptides

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Braendstrup, Peter; Justesen, Sune Frederik Lamdahl; Osterbye, Thomas

2013-01-01

Targeting CD4+ T cells through their unique antigen-specific, MHC class II-restricted T cell receptor makes MHC class II tetramers an attractive strategy to identify, validate and manipulate these cells at the single cell level. Currently, generating class II tetramers is a specialized undertaking...... effectively limiting their use and emphasizing the need for improved methods of production. Using class II chains expressed individually in E. coli as versatile recombinant reagents, we have previously generated peptide-MHC class II monomers, but failed to generate functional class II tetramers. Adding...... a monomer purification principle based upon affinity-tagged peptides, we here provide a robust method to produce class II tetramers and demonstrate staining of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells. We also provide evidence that both MHC class II and T cell receptor molecules largely accept affinity-tagged peptides...

Expression and Purification of Soluble STAT5b/STAT3 Proteins for SH2 Domain Binding Assay.

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Asai, Akira; Takakuma, Kazuyuki

2017-01-01

When a large hydrophobic full-length protein is expressed in bacteria, it is often challenging to obtain recombinant proteins in the soluble fraction. One way to overcome this challenge is expression of deletion mutants that have improved solubility while maintaining biological activity. In this chapter, we describe a protocol for expression of truncated forms of STAT5b and STAT3 proteins that are soluble and retain SH2-mediated activity for phospho-Tyr peptide recognition.

Application of Recombinant Proteins for Serodiagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis in Humans and Dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Farahmand, Mahin; Nahrevanian, Hossein

2016-07-01

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a zoonotic disease caused by leishmania species. Dogs are considered to be the main reservoir of VL. A number of methods and antigen-based assays are used for the diagnosis of leishmaniasis. However, currently available methods are mainly based on direct examination of tissues for the presence of parasites, which is highly invasive. A variety of serological tests are commonly applied for VL diagnosis, including indirect fluorescence antibody test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), dot-ELISA, direct agglutination test, Western-blotting, and immunochromatographic test. However, when soluble antigens are used, serological tests are less specific due to cross-reactivity with other parasitic diseases. Several studies have attempted to replace soluble antigens with recombinant proteins to improve the sensitivity and the specificity of the immunodiagnostic tests. Major technological advances in recombinant antigens as reagents for the serological diagnosis of VL have led to high sensitivity and specificity of these serological tests. A great number of recombinant proteins have been shown to be effective for the diagnosis of leishmania infection in dogs, the major reservoir of L. infantum. Although few recombinant proteins with high efficacy provide reasonable results for the diagnosis of human and canine VL, more optimization is still needed for the appropriate antigens to provide high-throughput performance. This review aims to explore the application of different recombinant proteins for the serodiagnosis of VL in humans and dogs.

Soluble Collectin-12 (CL-12) Is a Pattern Recognition Molecule Initiating Complement Activation via the Alternative Pathway

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ma, Ying Jie; Hein, Estrid; Munthe-Fog, Lea

2015-01-01

and may recognize certain bacteria and fungi, leading to opsonophagocytosis. However, based on its structural and functional similarities with soluble collectins, we hypothesized the existence of a fluid-phase analog of CL-12 released from cells, which may function as a soluble pattern-recognition...... of the terminal complement complex. These results demonstrate the existence of CL-12 in a soluble form and indicate a novel mechanism by which the alternative pathway of complement may be triggered directly by a soluble pattern-recognition molecule....... nonreducing conditions it presented multimeric assembly forms. Immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis of human umbilical cord plasma enabled identification of a natural soluble form of CL-12 having an electrophoretic mobility pattern close to that of shed soluble recombinant CL-12. Soluble CL-12 could...

How to find soluble proteins: a comprehensive analysis of alpha/beta hydrolases for recombinant expression in E. coli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barth Sandra

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In screening of libraries derived by expression cloning, expression of active proteins in E. coli can be limited by formation of inclusion bodies. In these cases it would be desirable to enrich gene libraries for coding sequences with soluble gene products in E. coli and thus to improve the efficiency of screening. Previously Wilkinson and Harrison showed that solubility can be predicted from amino acid composition (Biotechnology 1991, 9(5:443–448. We have applied this analysis to members of the alpha/beta hydrolase fold family to predict their solubility in E. coli. alpha/beta hydrolases are a highly diverse family with more than 1800 proteins which have been grouped into homologous families and superfamilies. Results The predicted solubility in E. coli depends on hydrolase size, phylogenetic origin of the host organism, the homologous family and the superfamily, to which the hydrolase belongs. In general small hydrolases are predicted to be more soluble than large hydrolases, and eukaryotic hydrolases are predicted to be less soluble in E. coli than prokaryotic ones. However, combining phylogenetic origin and size leads to more complex conclusions. Hydrolases from prokaryotic, fungal and metazoan origin are predicted to be most soluble if they are of small, medium and large size, respectively. We observed large variations of predicted solubility between hydrolases from different homologous families and from different taxa. Conclusion A comprehensive analysis of all alpha/beta hydrolase sequences allows more efficient screenings for new soluble alpha/beta hydrolases by the use of libraries which contain more soluble gene products. Screening of hydrolases from families whose members are hard to express as soluble proteins in E. coli should first be done in coding sequences of organisms from phylogenetic groups with the highest average of predicted solubility for proteins of this family. The tools developed here can be used

Employment of colorimetric enzyme assay for monitoring expression and solubility of GST fusion proteins targeted to inclusion bodies.

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Mačinković, Igor S; Abughren, Mohamed; Mrkic, Ivan; Grozdanović, Milica M; Prodanović, Radivoje; Gavrović-Jankulović, Marija

2013-12-01

High levels of recombinant protein expression can lead to the formation of insoluble inclusion bodies. These complex aggregates are commonly solubilized in strong denaturants, such as 6-8M urea, although, if possible, solubilization under milder conditions could facilitate subsequent refolding and purification of bioactive proteins. Commercially available GST-tag assays are designed for quantitative measurement of GST activity under native conditions. GST fusion proteins accumulated in inclusion bodies are considered to be undetectable by such assays. In this work, solubilization of recombinantly produced proteins was performed in 4M urea. The activity of rGST was assayed in 2M urea and it was shown that rGST preserves 85% of its activity under such denaturing conditions. A colorimetric GST activity assay with 1-chloro-2, 4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) was examined for use in rapid detection of expression targeted to inclusion bodies and for the identification of inclusion body proteins which can be solubilized in low concentrations of chaotropic agents. Applicability of the assay was evaluated by tracking protein expression of two GST-fused allergens of biopharmaceutical value in E. coli, GST-Der p 2 and GST-Mus a 5, both targeted to inclusion bodies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asthma and Therapeutics: Recombinant Therapies in Asthma

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Cockcroft Donald W

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Numerous recombinant therapies are being investigated for the treatment of asthma. This report reviews the current status of several of these novel agents. Anti-immunoglobulin (IgE (omalizumab, Xolair markedly inhibits all aspects of the allergen challenge in subjects who have reduction of free serum IgE to undetectable levels. Several clinical studies in atopic asthma have demonstrated benefit by improved symptoms and lung function and a reduction in corticosteroid requirements. Early use in atopic asthmatics may be even more effective. Several approaches target interleukin (IL-4. Soluble IL-4 receptor has been shown to effectively replace inhaled corticosteroid; further studies are under way. Recombinant anti-IL-5 and recombinant IL-12 inhibit blood and sputum eosinophils and allergen-induced eosinophilia without any effect on airway responsiveness, allergen-induced airway responses, or allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness. Efalizumab, a recombinant antibody that inhibits lymphocyte trafficking, is effective in psoriasis. A bronchoprovocation study showed a reduction in allergen-induced late asthmatic response and allergen-induced eosinophilia, which suggests that it should be effective in clinical asthma. These exciting novel therapies provide not only promise of new therapies for asthma but also valuable tools for investigation of asthma mechanisms.

Inclusion bodies of recombinant Epstein-Barr virus capsid antigen p18 as potential immobilized antigens in enzyme immunoassays for detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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Lim, Chun Shen; Goh, Siang Ling; Kariapper, Leena; Krishnan, Gopala; Lim, Yat-Yuen; Ng, Ching Ching

2015-08-25

Development of indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) often utilizes synthetic peptides or recombinant proteins from Escherichia coli as immobilized antigens. Because inclusion bodies (IBs) formed during recombinant protein expression in E. coli are commonly thought as misfolded aggregates, only refolded proteins from IBs are used to develop new or in-house diagnostic assays. However, the promising utilities of IBs as nanomaterials and immobilized enzymes as shown in recent studies have led us to explore the potential use of IBs of recombinant Epstein-Barr virus viral capsid antigen p18 (VCA p18) as immobilized antigens in ELISAs for serologic detection of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Thioredoxin fusion VCA p18 (VCA-Trx) and IBs of VCA p18 without fusion tags (VCA-IBs) were purified from E. coli. The diagnostic performances of IgG/VCA-IBs, IgG/VCA-Denat-IBs (using VCA-IBs coated in 8mol/l urea), IgG/VCA-Trx, and IgG/VCA-Peptide assays were compared by screening 100 NPC case-control pairs. The IgG/VCA-Denat-IBs assay showed the best area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC: 0.802; p<0.05), while the AUCs for the IgG/VCA-IBs, IgG/VCA-Trx, and IgG/VCA-Peptide assays were comparable (AUC: 0.740, 0.727, and 0.741, respectively). We improved the diagnostic performance of the ELISA significantly using IBs of recombinant VCA p18. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Optimization of Soluble Expression and Purification of Recombinant Human Rhinovirus Type-14 3C Protease Using Statistically Designed Experiments: Isolation and Characterization of the Enzyme.

Science.gov (United States)

Antoniou, Georgia; Papakyriacou, Irineos; Papaneophytou, Christos

2017-10-01

Human rhinovirus (HRV) 3C protease is widely used in recombinant protein production for various applications such as biochemical characterization and structural biology projects to separate recombinant fusion proteins from their affinity tags in order to prevent interference between these tags and the target proteins. Herein, we report the optimization of expression and purification conditions of glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged HRV 3C protease by statistically designed experiments. Soluble expression of GST-HRV 3C protease was initially optimized by response surface methodology (RSM), and a 5.5-fold increase in enzyme yield was achieved. Subsequently, we developed a new incomplete factorial (IF) design that examines four variables (bacterial strain, expression temperature, induction time, and inducer concentration) in a single experiment. The new design called Incomplete Factorial-Strain/Temperature/Time/Inducer (IF-STTI) was validated using three GST-tagged proteins. In all cases, IF-STTI resulted in only 10% lower expression yields than those obtained by RSM. Purification of GST-HRV 3C was optimized by an IF design that examines simultaneously the effect of the amount of resin, incubation time of cell lysate with resin, and glycerol and DTT concentration in buffers, and a further 15% increase in protease recovery was achieved. Purified GST-HRV 3C protease was active at both 4 and 25 °C in a variety of buffers.

Molecular chaperone assisted expression systems: obtaining pure soluble and active recombinant proteins for structural and therapeutic purposes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Makhoba, XH

2015-09-01

Full Text Available For many years recombinant protein production has been at the center of biosciences used for structural and therapeutic purposes. The production of recombinant proteins in foreign host system such as E. coli has been a biggest challenge. This has...

“Inclonals”: IgGs and IgG-enzyme fusion proteins produced in an E. coli expression-refolding system

OpenAIRE

Hakim, Rahely; Benhar, Itai

2009-01-01

Full-length antibodies and antibodies that ferry a cargo to target cells are desired biopharmaceuticals. We describe the production of full-length IgGs and IgG-toxin fusion proteins in E. coli. In the presented examples of anti CD30 and anti EGF-receptor antibodies, the antibody heavy and light chains or toxin fusions thereof were expressed in separate bacterial cultures, where they accumulated as insoluble inclusion bodies. Following refolding and purification, high yields (up to 50 mg/L of ...

Antiviral cationic peptides as a strategy for innovation in global health therapeutics for dengue virus: high yield production of the biologically active recombinant plectasin peptide.

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Rothan, Hussin A; Mohamed, Zulqarnain; Suhaeb, Abdulrazzaq M; Rahman, Noorsaadah Abd; Yusof, Rohana

2013-11-01

Dengue virus infects millions of people worldwide, and there is no vaccine or anti-dengue therapeutic available. Antimicrobial peptides have been shown to possess effective antiviral activity against various viruses. One of the main limitations of developing these peptides as potent antiviral drugs is the high cost of production. In this study, high yield production of biologically active plectasin peptide was inexpensively achieved by producing tandem plectasin peptides as inclusion bodies in E. coli. Antiviral activity of the recombinant peptide towards dengue serotype-2 NS2B-NS3 protease (DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro) was assessed as a target to inhibit dengue virus replication in Vero cells. Single units of recombinant plectasin were collected after applying consecutive steps of refolding, cleaving by Factor Xa, and nickel column purification to obtain recombinant proteins of high purity. The maximal nontoxic dose (MNTD) of the recombinant peptide against Vero cells was 20 μM (100 μg/mL). The reaction velocity of DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro decreased significantly after increasing concentrations of recombinant plectasin were applied to the reaction mixture. Plectasin peptide noncompetitively inhibited DENV2 NS2B-NS3pro at Ki value of 5.03 ± 0.98 μM. The percentage of viral inhibition was more than 80% at the MNTD value of plectasin. In this study, biologically active recombinant plectasin which was able to inhibit dengue protease and viral replication in Vero cells was successfully produced in E. coli in a time- and cost- effective method. These findings are potentially important in the development of potent therapeutics against dengue infection.

Effect of signal peptide on stability and folding of Escherichia coli thioredoxin.

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Pranveer Singh

Full Text Available The signal peptide plays a key role in targeting and membrane insertion of secretory and membrane proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In E. coli, recombinant proteins can be targeted to the periplasmic space by fusing naturally occurring signal sequences to their N-terminus. The model protein thioredoxin was fused at its N-terminus with malE and pelB signal sequences. While WT and the pelB fusion are soluble when expressed, the malE fusion was targeted to inclusion bodies and was refolded in vitro to yield a monomeric product with identical secondary structure to WT thioredoxin. The purified recombinant proteins were studied with respect to their thermodynamic stability, aggregation propensity and activity, and compared with wild type thioredoxin, without a signal sequence. The presence of signal sequences leads to thermodynamic destabilization, reduces the activity and increases the aggregation propensity, with malE having much larger effects than pelB. These studies show that besides acting as address labels, signal sequences can modulate protein stability and aggregation in a sequence dependent manner.

Effect of signal peptide on stability and folding of Escherichia coli thioredoxin.

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Singh, Pranveer; Sharma, Likhesh; Kulothungan, S Rajendra; Adkar, Bharat V; Prajapati, Ravindra Singh; Ali, P Shaik Syed; Krishnan, Beena; Varadarajan, Raghavan

2013-01-01

The signal peptide plays a key role in targeting and membrane insertion of secretory and membrane proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In E. coli, recombinant proteins can be targeted to the periplasmic space by fusing naturally occurring signal sequences to their N-terminus. The model protein thioredoxin was fused at its N-terminus with malE and pelB signal sequences. While WT and the pelB fusion are soluble when expressed, the malE fusion was targeted to inclusion bodies and was refolded in vitro to yield a monomeric product with identical secondary structure to WT thioredoxin. The purified recombinant proteins were studied with respect to their thermodynamic stability, aggregation propensity and activity, and compared with wild type thioredoxin, without a signal sequence. The presence of signal sequences leads to thermodynamic destabilization, reduces the activity and increases the aggregation propensity, with malE having much larger effects than pelB. These studies show that besides acting as address labels, signal sequences can modulate protein stability and aggregation in a sequence dependent manner.

Recombinant allergen Lol p II: expression, purification and characterization.

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Tamborini, E; Brandazza, A; De Lalla, C; Musco, G; Siccardi, A G; Arosio, P; Sidoli, A

1995-05-01

Pollen from perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne) is a major cause of type I allergies worldwide. It contains complex mixtures of proteins, among which Lol p II is a major allergen. Previously, we have reported the cloning and sequencing of Lol p II and its expression in fusion with the heavy chain of human ferritin as carrier polypeptide (Sidoli et al., 1993, J. biol. Chem. 268, 21819-21825). Here, we describe the expression, purification and characterization of a recombinant Lol p II overproduced as a non-fusion protein in the periplasm of E. coli. The recombinant allergen was expressed in high yields and was easily purified in milligram amounts. It competed with the natural Lol p II for binding to specific IgE, and it induced allergic responses in skin prick tests, indicating to be immunologically analogous to the natural protein. Biochemical analyses indicate that recombinant Lol p II is a highly stable and soluble monomeric molecule which behaves like a small globular protein.

Study of the solubility of a modified Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase around the isoelectric point

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Faber, Cornilius; Hobley, Timothy John; Mollerup, Jørgen

2007-01-01

The solubility of a modified recombinant Bacillus licheniformis alpha-amylase (mBLA) has been studied by batch crystallization. A semi-pure preparation was chosen containing five isoforms with pI values from 6 to 7.3 (weighted average of 6.6). Small amounts (... sodium sulfate at all pH values and increased with 0.5 mol.L-1 sodium thiocyanate at pH 7 and pH 8. The effect of anions on alpha-amylase solubility followed the Hofmeister series, and only weak evidence of reversal was seen below the isoelectric point. Cations had little effect on solubility. The sign...... and magnitude of the alpha-amylase zeta potential was determined in the presence and absence of 0.1 mol.L-1 salt. Qualitatively, zeta potential correctly predicted the different salts influence on mBLA solubility....

Characterization of the 4,6-α-glucanotransferase GTFB enzyme of Lactobacillus reuteri 121 isolated from inclusion bodies.

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Bai, Yuxiang; van der Kaaij, Rachel Maria; Woortman, Albert Jan Jacob; Jin, Zhengyu; Dijkhuizen, Lubbert

2015-06-09

The GTFB enzyme of the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri 121 is a 4,6-α-glucanotransferase of glycoside hydrolase family 70 (GH70; http://www.cazy.org ). Contrary to the glucansucrases in GH70, GTFB is unable to use sucrose as substrate, but instead converts malto-oligosaccharides and starch into isomalto-/malto- polymers that may find application as prebiotics and dietary fibers. The GTFB enzyme expresses well in Escherichia coli BL21 Star (DE3), but mostly accumulates in inclusion bodies (IBs) which generally contain wrongly folded protein and inactive enzyme. Denaturation followed by refolding, as well as ncIB preparation were used for isolation of active GTFB protein from inclusion bodies. Soluble, refolded and ncIB GTFB were compared using activity assays, secondary structure analysis by FT-IR, and product analyses by NMR, HPAEC and SEC. Expression of GTFB in E. coli yielded > 100 mg/l relatively pure and active but mostly insoluble GTFB protein in IBs, regardless of the expression conditions used. Following denaturing, refolding of GTFB protein was most efficient in double distilled H2O. Also, GTFB ncIBs were active, with approx. 10 % of hydrolysis activity compared to the soluble protein. When expressed as units of activity obtained per liter E. coli culture, the total amount of ncIB GTFB expressed possessed around 180 % hydrolysis activity and 100 % transferase activity compared to the amount of soluble GTFB enzyme obtained from one liter culture. The product profiles obtained for the three GTFB enzyme preparations were similar when analyzed by HPAEC and NMR. SEC investigation also showed that these 3 enzyme preparations yielded products with similar size distributions. FT-IR analysis revealed extended β-sheet formation in ncIB GTFB providing an explanation at the molecular level for reduced GTFB activity in ncIBs. The thermostability of ncIB GTFB was relatively high compared to the soluble and refolded GTFB. In view of their relatively high yield

Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with a small metal-binding protein from Nitrosomonas europaea.

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Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

2016-02-01

Escherichia coli is still the preferred organism for large-scale production of recombinant proteins. The use of fusion proteins has helped considerably in enhancing the solubility of heterologous proteins and their purification with affinity chromatography. Here, the use of a small metal-binding protein (SmbP) from Nitrosomonas europaea is described as a new fusion protein for protein expression and purification in E. coli. Fluorescent proteins tagged at the N-terminal with SmbP showed high levels of solubility, compared with those of maltose-binding protein and glutathione S-transferase, and low formation of inclusion bodies. Using commercially available IMAC resins charged with Ni(II), highly pure recombinant proteins were obtained after just one chromatography step. Proteins may be purified from the periplasm of E. coli if SmbP contains the signal sequence at the N-terminal. After removal of the SmbP tag from the protein of interest, high-yields are obtained since SmbP is a protein of just 9.9 kDa. The results here obtained suggest that SmbP is a good alternative as a fusion protein/affinity tag for the production of soluble recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PON-Sol: prediction of effects of amino acid substitutions on protein solubility.

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Yang, Yang; Niroula, Abhishek; Shen, Bairong; Vihinen, Mauno

2016-07-01

Solubility is one of the fundamental protein properties. It is of great interest because of its relevance to protein expression. Reduced solubility and protein aggregation are also associated with many diseases. We collected from literature the largest experimentally verified solubility affecting amino acid substitution (AAS) dataset and used it to train a predictor called PON-Sol. The predictor can distinguish both solubility decreasing and increasing variants from those not affecting solubility. PON-Sol has normalized correct prediction ratio of 0.491 on cross-validation and 0.432 for independent test set. The performance of the method was compared both to solubility and aggregation predictors and found to be superior. PON-Sol can be used for the prediction of effects of disease-related substitutions, effects on heterologous recombinant protein expression and enhanced crystallizability. One application is to investigate effects of all possible AASs in a protein to aid protein engineering. PON-Sol is freely available at http://structure.bmc.lu.se/PON-Sol The training and test data are available at http://structure.bmc.lu.se/VariBench/ponsol.php mauno.vihinen@med.lu.se Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Toxoplasma gondii: biochemical and biophysical characterization of recombinant soluble dense granule proteins GRA2 and GRA6.

Science.gov (United States)

Bittame, Amina; Effantin, Grégory; Pètre, Graciane; Ruffiot, Pauline; Travier, Laetitia; Schoehn, Guy; Weissenhorn, Winfried; Cesbron-Delauw, Marie-France; Gagnon, Jean; Mercier, Corinne

2015-03-27

The most prominent structural feature of the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in which the intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii proliferates is a membranous nanotubular network (MNN), which interconnects the parasites and the PV membrane. The MNN function remains unclear. The GRA2 and GRA6 proteins secreted from the parasite dense granules into the PV have been implicated in the MNN biogenesis. Amphipathic alpha-helices (AAHs) predicted in GRA2 and an alpha-helical hydrophobic domain predicted in GRA6 have been proposed to be responsible for their membrane association, thereby potentially molding the MMN in its structure. Here we report an analysis of the recombinant proteins (expressed in detergent-free conditions) by circular dichroism, which showed that full length GRA2 displays an alpha-helical secondary structure while recombinant GRA6 and GRA2 truncated of its AAHs are mainly random coiled. Dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy showed that recombinant GRA6 and truncated GRA2 constitute a homogenous population of small particles (6-8 nm in diameter) while recombinant GRA2 corresponds to 2 populations of particles (∼8-15 nm and up to 40 nm in diameter, respectively). The unusual properties of GRA2 due to its AAHs are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An inducible expression system for high-level expression of recombinant proteins in slow growing mycobacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Leotta, Lisa; Spratt, Joanne M; Kong, Carlyn U; Triccas, James A

2015-09-01

A novel protein expression vector utilising the inducible hspX promoter of Mycobacterium tuberculosis was constructed and evaluated in this study. High-level induction of three mycobacterial antigens, comprising up to 9% of bacterial sonicate, was demonstrated in recombinant Mycobacterium bovis BCG when grown under low-oxygen tension, which serves to enhance hspX promoter activity. Recombinant proteins were efficiently purified from bacterial lysates in a soluble form by virtue of a C-terminal 6-histidine tag. Purification of the immunodominant M. tuberculosis Ag85B antigen using this system resulted in a recombinant protein that stimulated significant IFN-γ release from Ag85B-reactive T cells generated after vaccination of mice with an Ag85B-expressing vaccine. Further, the M. tuberculosis L-alanine dehydrogenase (Ald) protein purified from recombinant BCG displayed strong enzymatic activity in recombinant form. This study demonstrated that high levels of native-like recombinant mycobacterial proteins can be produced in mycobacterial hosts, and this may aid the analysis of mycobacterial protein function and the development of new treatments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Purification and refolding of anti-T-antigen single chain antibodies (scFvs) expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuasa, Noriyuki; Koyama, Tsubasa; Fujita-Yamaguchi, Yoko

2014-02-01

T-antigen (Galβ1-3GalNAcα-1-Ser/Thr) is an oncofetal antigen that is commonly expressed as a carbohydrate determinant in many adenocarcinomas. Since it is associated with tumor progression and metastasis, production of recombinant antibodies specific for T-antigen could lead to the development of cancer diagnostics and therapeutics. Previously, we isolated and characterized 11 anti-T-antigen phage clones from a phage library displaying human single-chain antibodies (scFvs) and purified one scFv protein, 1G11. More recently, we purified and characterized 1E8 scFv protein using a Drosophila S2 expression system. In the current study, four anti-T-antigen scFv genes belonging to Groups 1-4 were purified from inclusion bodies expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Inclusion bodies isolated from E. coli cells were denatured in 3.5 M Gdn-HCl. Solubilized His-tagged scFv proteins were purified using Ni(2+)-Sepharose column chromatography in the presence of 3.5 M Gdn-HCl. Purified scFv proteins were refolded according to a previously published method of step-wise dialysis. Two anti-T-antigen scFv proteins, 1E6 and 1E8 that belong to Groups 1 and 2, respectively, were produced in sufficient amounts, thus allowing further characterization of their binding activity with T-antigen. Specificity and affinity constants determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR), respectively, provided evidence that both 1E8 and 1E6 scFv proteins are T-antigen specific and suggested that 1E8 scFv protein has a higher affinity for T-antigen than 1E6 scFv protein.

Comparative immunological evaluation of recombinant Salmonella Typhimurium strains expressing model antigens as live oral vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Song-yue; Yu, Bin; Zhang, Ke; Chen, Min; Hua, Yan-Hong; Yuan, Shuofeng; Watt, Rory M; Zheng, Bo-Jian; Yuen, Kwok-Yung; Huang, Jian-Dong

2012-09-26

Despite the development of various systems to generate live recombinant Salmonella Typhimurium vaccine strains, little work has been performed to systematically evaluate and compare their relative immunogenicity. Such information would provide invaluable guidance for the future rational design of live recombinant Salmonella oral vaccines. To compare vaccine strains encoded with different antigen delivery and expression strategies, a series of recombinant Salmonella Typhimurium strains were constructed that expressed either the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or a fragment of the hemagglutinin (HA) protein from the H5N1 influenza virus, as model antigens. The antigens were expressed from the chromosome, from high or low-copy plasmids, or encoded on a eukaryotic expression plasmid. Antigens were targeted for expression in either the cytoplasm or the outer membrane. Combinations of strategies were employed to evaluate the efficacy of combined delivery/expression approaches. After investigating in vitro and in vivo antigen expression, growth and infection abilities; the immunogenicity of the constructed recombinant Salmonella strains was evaluated in mice. Using the soluble model antigen EGFP, our results indicated that vaccine strains with high and stable antigen expression exhibited high B cell responses, whilst eukaryotic expression or colonization with good construct stability was critical for T cell responses. For the insoluble model antigen HA, an outer membrane expression strategy induced better B cell and T cell responses than a cytoplasmic strategy. Most notably, the combination of two different expression strategies did not increase the immune response elicited. Through systematically evaluating and comparing the immunogenicity of the constructed recombinant Salmonella strains in mice, we identified their respective advantages and deleterious or synergistic effects. Different construction strategies were optimally-required for soluble versus

A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Expression and Solubility Screening of Two Phytases in E. coli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashok Pandey

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Microbial phytases, especially from fungal and bacterial sources, have received much attention as food additives in human nutrition and as feed supplements for monogastric animals. An effective expression screening method for recombinant production of this enzyme on a small scale is industrially desirable. An effort has been made in this work to clone and express phytase genes from Aspergillus sp. and Escherichia coli with the selected host, vector and inducer combination. Albeit the formation of insoluble inclusion bodies by fungal phytase, recombinant E. coli appA was effectively expressed in a cost-effective manner in the periplasm of BL21plysS using an inducer concentration of 0.01 mM in 4 h of growth. Enzyme was purified in three consecutive steps and functional studies were carried out.

Expression, purification and characterization of soluble red rooster laforin as a fusion protein in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, M Kathryn; Husodo, Satrio; Dukhande, Vikas V; Johnson, Mary Beth; Gentry, Matthew S

2014-04-02

The gene that encodes laforin, a dual-specificity phosphatase with a carbohydrate-binding module, is mutated in Lafora disease (LD). LD is an autosomal recessive, fatal progressive myoclonus epilepsy characterized by the intracellular buildup of insoluble, hyperphosphorylated glycogen-like particles, called Lafora bodies. Laforin dephosphorylates glycogen and other glucans in vitro, but the structural basis of its activity remains unknown. Recombinant human laforin when expressed in and purified from E. coli is largely insoluble and prone to aggregation and precipitation. Identification of a laforin ortholog that is more soluble and stable in vitro would circumvent this issue. In this study, we cloned multiple laforin orthologs, established a purification scheme for each, and tested their solubility and stability. Gallus gallus (Gg) laforin is more stable in vitro than human laforin, Gg-laforin is largely monomeric, and it possesses carbohydrate binding and phosphatase activity similar to human laforin. Gg-laforin is more soluble and stable than human laforin in vitro, and possesses similar activity as a glucan phosphatase. Therefore, it can be used to model human laforin in structure-function studies. We have established a protocol for purifying recombinant Gg-laforin in sufficient quantity for crystallographic and other biophysical analyses, in order to better understand the function of laforin and define the molecular mechanisms of Lafora disease.

Identification, cloning, and characterization of a major cat flea salivary allergen (Cte f 1).

Science.gov (United States)

McDermott, M J; Weber, E; Hunter, S; Stedman, K E; Best, E; Frank, G R; Wang, R; Escudero, J; Kuner, J; McCall, C

2000-05-01

An 18 kDa protein isolated from saliva of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis, elicits a positive intradermal skin test (IDST) in 100 and 80% of experimental and clinical flea allergic dogs, respectively. Using solid-phase enzyme-linked immuno assay (ELISA), this protein detected IgE in 100 and 80% of experimental and clinical flea allergic dogs, respectively. A cDNA (pFSI) encoding a full-length Cte f 1 protein was isolated from a C. felis salivary gland cDNA library, using a combination of PCR and hybridization screening. This cDNA is 658 bp in length, and contains an open reading frame of 528 bp. The open reading frame encodes a protein of 176 amino acids, consisting of an 18 amino acid signal sequence and a 158 amino acid mature protein. The calculated molecular weight and pI of the mature protein are 18106 Da and 9.3, respectively. The protein, named Cte f 1, is the first novel major allergen described for canine flea allergy. Recombinant Cte f 1 (rCte f 1) was expressed in Escherichia coli, Pichia pastoris and baculovirus infected Trichoplusia ni cells. Approximately, 90% of the rCte f 1 expressed in E. coli accumulated in insoluble inclusion bodies, which could be refolded to a soluble mixture of disulfide isomers with partial IgE binding activity. Small quantities of an apparently correctly refolded form of rCte f 1, which had IgE binding activity equal to the native antigen, was isolated from the soluble fraction of E. coli cells. However, P. pastoris and baculovirus infected insect cells expressed and secreted a fully processed, correctly refolded and fully active form of rCte f 1. Mass spectrometry analysis of the active forms of rCte f 1confirmed that eight intact disulfide bonds were present, matching the number observed in the native allergen. The relative ability of rCte f 1 to bind IgE in the serum of flea allergic animals, produced in these three expression systems, matched that of the native allergen. Competition ELISA demonstrated that

Production of Recombinant Antimicrobial Polymeric Protein Beta Casein-E 50-52 and Its Antimicrobial Synergistic Effects Assessment with Thymol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shohreh Fahimirad

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Accelerating emergence of antimicrobial resistance among food pathogens and consumers’ increasing demands for preservative-free foods are two contemporary challenging aspects within the food industry. Antimicrobial packaging and the use of natural preservatives are promising solutions. In the present study, we used beta-casein—one of the primary self-assembly proteins in milk with a high polymeric film production capability—as a fusion partner for the recombinant expression of E 50-52 antimicrobial peptide in Escherichia coli. The pET21a-BCN-E 50-52 construct was transformed to E. coli BL21 (DE3, and protein expression was induced under optimized conditions. Purified protein obtained from nickel affinity chromatography was refolded under optimized dialysis circumstances and concentrated to 1600 µg/mL fusion protein by ultrafiltration. Antimicrobial activities of recombinant BCN-E 50-52 performed against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus flavus, and Candida albicans. Subsequently, the synergistic effects of BCN-E 50-52 and thymol were assayed. Results of checkerboard tests showed strong synergistic activity between two compounds. Time–kill and growth kinetic studies indicated a sharp reduction of cell viability during the first period of exposure, and SEM (scanning electron microscope results validated the severe destructive effects of BCN E 50-52 and thymol in combination on bacterial cells.

Recombinant protein production data after expression in the bacterium Escherichia coli

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Enrique Cantu-Bustos

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Fusion proteins have become essential for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. The metal-binding protein CusF has shown several features that make it an attractive fusion protein and affinity tag: "Expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the metal-binding protein CusF" (Cantu-Bustos et al., 2016 [1]. Here we present accompanying data from protein expression experiments; we tested different protein tags, temperatures, expression times, cellular compartments, and concentrations of inducer in order to obtain soluble protein and low formation of inclusion bodies. Additionally, we present data from the purification of the green fluorescent protein (GFP tagged with CusF, using Ag(I metal affinity chromatography.

Recombinant IκBα-loaded curcumin nanoparticles for improved cancer therapeutics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banerjee, Subhamoy; Ghosh, Siddhartha Sankar; Sahoo, Amaresh Kumar; Chattopadhyay, Arun

2014-01-01

The field of recombinant protein therapeutics has been evolving rapidly, making significant impact on clinical applications for several diseases, including cancer. However, the functional aspects of proteins rely exclusively on their structural integrity, in which nanoparticle mediated delivery offers unique advantages over free proteins. In the present work, a novel strategy has been developed where the nanoparticles (NPs) used for the delivery of the recombinant protein could contribute to enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of the recombinant protein. The transcription factor, NFκB, involved in cell growth and its inhibitor, IκBα, regulates its proliferation. Another similar naturally available molecule, which inhibits the function of NFκB, is curcumin. Hence, we have developed a ‘green synthesis’ method for preparing water-soluble curcumin nanoparticles to stabilize recombinant IκBα protein. The NPs were characterized by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering before administration into human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and glioblastoma (U87MG) cells. Experimental results demonstrated that this combined module had enhanced therapeutic efficacy, causing apoptotic cell death, which was confirmed by cytotoxicity assay and flowcytometry analyses. The expression of apoptotic genes studied by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR delineated the molecular pathways involved in cell death. Thus, our study revealed that the functional delivery of recombinant IκBα-loaded curcumin NPs has promise as a natural-product-based protein therapeutics against cancer cells. (paper)

Recombinant IκBα-loaded curcumin nanoparticles for improved cancer therapeutics

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Subhamoy; Sahoo, Amaresh Kumar; Chattopadhyay, Arun; Sankar Ghosh, Siddhartha

2014-08-01

The field of recombinant protein therapeutics has been evolving rapidly, making significant impact on clinical applications for several diseases, including cancer. However, the functional aspects of proteins rely exclusively on their structural integrity, in which nanoparticle mediated delivery offers unique advantages over free proteins. In the present work, a novel strategy has been developed where the nanoparticles (NPs) used for the delivery of the recombinant protein could contribute to enhancing the therapeutic efficacy of the recombinant protein. The transcription factor, NFκB, involved in cell growth and its inhibitor, IκBα, regulates its proliferation. Another similar naturally available molecule, which inhibits the function of NFκB, is curcumin. Hence, we have developed a ‘green synthesis’ method for preparing water-soluble curcumin nanoparticles to stabilize recombinant IκBα protein. The NPs were characterized by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering before administration into human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) and glioblastoma (U87MG) cells. Experimental results demonstrated that this combined module had enhanced therapeutic efficacy, causing apoptotic cell death, which was confirmed by cytotoxicity assay and flowcytometry analyses. The expression of apoptotic genes studied by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR delineated the molecular pathways involved in cell death. Thus, our study revealed that the functional delivery of recombinant IκBα-loaded curcumin NPs has promise as a natural-product-based protein therapeutics against cancer cells.

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of the yeast Malassezia sympodialis allergen Mala s 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vilhelmsson, Monica; Hallberg, B. Martin; Rasool, Omid; Zargari, Arezou; Scheynius, Annika; Achour, Adnane

2006-01-01

Crystals of the M. sympodialis allergen Mala s 1 have been obtained using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. A diffraction data set has been collected from native crystals to 1.35 Å resolution. The opportunistic yeast Malassezia sympodialis can act as an allergen and elicit specific IgE- and T-cell reactivity in patients with atopic eczema. The first identified major allergen from M. sympodialis, Mala s 1, is present on the cell surface of the yeast. Recombinant Mala s 1 was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and refolded in a soluble form. Crystals of Mala s 1 were obtained in 25% PEG 8K, 0.2 M (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 . Crystals belong to space group P2 1 2 1 2, with unit-cell parameters a = 44.4, b = 163.7, c = 50.6 Å, and diffract to 1.35 Å resolution

Crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of the yeast Malassezia sympodialis allergen Mala s 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vilhelmsson, Monica, E-mail: monica.vilhelmsson@medks.ki.se [Department of Medicine, Clinical Allergy Research Unit, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (Sweden); Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm (Sweden); Hallberg, B. Martin [Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm (Sweden); Rasool, Omid; Zargari, Arezou; Scheynius, Annika [Department of Medicine, Clinical Allergy Research Unit, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (Sweden); Achour, Adnane [Center for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Stockholm (Sweden); Department of Medicine, Clinical Allergy Research Unit, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm (Sweden)

2006-02-01

Crystals of the M. sympodialis allergen Mala s 1 have been obtained using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. A diffraction data set has been collected from native crystals to 1.35 Å resolution. The opportunistic yeast Malassezia sympodialis can act as an allergen and elicit specific IgE- and T-cell reactivity in patients with atopic eczema. The first identified major allergen from M. sympodialis, Mala s 1, is present on the cell surface of the yeast. Recombinant Mala s 1 was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and refolded in a soluble form. Crystals of Mala s 1 were obtained in 25% PEG 8K, 0.2 M (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}SO{sub 4}. Crystals belong to space group P2{sub 1}2{sub 1}2, with unit-cell parameters a = 44.4, b = 163.7, c = 50.6 Å, and diffract to 1.35 Å resolution.

p55-hGRF, a short natural form of the Ras-GDP exchange factor high yield production and characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, P; Janin, J; Baudet-Nessler, S

1999-08-01

p55-hGRF, a natural short form of the guanine-nucleotide-releasing factor for p21-Ras from human brain, was expressed at high level in Escherichia coli as well as an engineered truncated form, p39-hGRF. A T7 polymerase expression system was used, resulting in the formation of insoluble cytoplasmic protein aggregates. The recombinant products were resolubilized, renatured and purified to homogeneity. The exchange activity of the refolded hGRF samples on H-Ras was comparable with that published for the soluble catalytic domain of the mouse counterpart, CDC25 Mm. Both p55-hGRF and p39-hGRF form dimers. We established a procedure to prepare and purify the complex with Ras. The results of the characterization study are consistent with a stoichiometry of 1:1 and an equilibrium between dimeric and monomeric forms of the complex.

High-yield expression in Escherichia coli, purification and application of budding yeast K2 killer protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Podoliankaitė, Monika; Lukša, Juliana; Vyšniauskis, Gintautas; Sereikaitė, Jolanta; Melvydas, Vytautas; Serva, Saulius; Servienė, Elena

2014-07-01

Saccharomyces cerevisiae K2 toxin is a highly active extracellular protein, important as a biocontrol agent for biotechnological applications in the wine industry. This protein is produced at negligible levels in yeast, making difficult to isolate it in amounts sufficient for investigation and generation of analysis tools. In this work, we demonstrate the use of a bacterial system for expression of the recombinant K2 protein, suitable for generation of antibodies specific for toxin of the yeast origin. Synthesis of the full-length S. cerevisiae K2 preprotoxin in Escherichia coli was found to be toxic to the host cell, resulting in diminished growth. Such effect was abolished by the introduction of the C-terminal truncation into K2 protein, directing it into non-toxic inclusion body fraction. The obtained protein is of limited solubility thus, facilitating the purification by simple and efficient chromatography-free procedure. The protein aggregates were successfully refolded into a soluble form yielding sufficient amounts of a tag-less truncated K2 protein suitable for polyclonal antibody production. Antibodies were raised in rabbit and found to be specific for detection of both antigen and native S. cerevisiae K2 toxin.

Refolding and characterisation of a heterologous expressed ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Owner

and amount of induction agent, and the type of media) have been successfully used to .... A photo of a micro-titre exposed on a uv-transilluminator. The filled white spots ... and pH optimum studied with wild-type and mutant Trichoderma ... active soluble or inactive insoluble baker's yeast a-glucosidase PI in. Escherichia coli ...

Analysis of the ligand binding properties of recombinant bovine liver-type fatty acid binding protein

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolf, B; Oudenampsen-Krüger, E; Börchers, T

1995-01-01

The coding part of the cDNA for bovine liver-type fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) has been amplified by RT-PCR, cloned and used for the construction of an Escherichia coli (E. coli) expression system. The recombinant protein made up to 25% of the soluble E. coli proteins and could be isolated...

Optimized conditions for high-level solubilization and purification of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

NH Computers

2011-10-10

Oct 10, 2011 ... filtration chromatography using Sephadex G-50 column. The purified protein was refolded by .... blocking with BSA, the nitrocellulose membrane was processed using rabbit monoclonal antibody raised ..... recombinant human growth hormone using radial flow chromatography. Protein Exp. Purif., 68: 54-59.

Cloning, expression, and immunological characterization of recombinant Lolium perenne allergen Lol p II.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidoli, A; Tamborini, E; Giuntini, I; Levi, S; Volonté, G; Paini, C; De Lalla, C; Siccardi, A G; Baralle, F E; Galliani, S

1993-10-15

The molecular cloning of the cDNA encoding for an isoallergenic form of Lol p II, a major rye grass (Lolium perenne) pollen allergen, was performed by polymerase chain reaction amplification on mRNA extracted from pollen. The amino acid sequence derived from the cDNA was truncated by 4 and 5 residues at the NH2- and COOH-terminal ends, respectively, and differed only in one position from that previously reported. This cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli by fusion to the carboxyl terminus of the human ferritin H-chain. The molecule was produced in high yields as a soluble protein and was easily purified. The protein retains the multimeric quaternary structure of ferritin, and it exposes on the surface the allergenic moiety, which can be recognized in Western blotting and in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay experiments by specific IgE from allergic patients. The recombinant allergen was used to analyze the sera of 26 patients allergic to L. perenne compared with control sera. The results were in good agreement with the values obtained with the radioallergosorbent test assay. In addition, histamine release experiments in whole blood from an allergic patient and skin prick tests showed that the recombinant allergen retains some of the biological properties of the natural compound. These findings indicate that the availability of homogeneous recombinant allergens may be useful for the development of more specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Moreover, this expression system may be of more general interest for producing large amounts of soluble protein domains in E. coli.

The synthesis of recombinant membrane proteins in yeast for structural studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Routledge, Sarah J; Mikaliunaite, Lina; Patel, Anjana; Clare, Michelle; Cartwright, Stephanie P; Bawa, Zharain; Wilks, Martin D B; Low, Floren; Hardy, David; Rothnie, Alice J; Bill, Roslyn M

2016-02-15

Historically, recombinant membrane protein production has been a major challenge meaning that many fewer membrane protein structures have been published than those of soluble proteins. However, there has been a recent, almost exponential increase in the number of membrane protein structures being deposited in the Protein Data Bank. This suggests that empirical methods are now available that can ensure the required protein supply for these difficult targets. This review focuses on methods that are available for protein production in yeast, which is an important source of recombinant eukaryotic membrane proteins. We provide an overview of approaches to optimize the expression plasmid, host cell and culture conditions, as well as the extraction and purification of functional protein for crystallization trials in preparation for structural studies. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A new tagging system for production of recombinant proteins in Drosophila S2 cells using the third domain of the urokinase receptor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gårdsvoll, Henrik; Hansen, Line V; Jørgensen, Thomas J D

2007-01-01

The use of protein fusion tag technology greatly facilitates detection, expression and purification of recombinant proteins, and the demands for new and more effective systems are therefore expanding. We have used a soluble truncated form of the third domain of the urokinase receptor...... as a convenient C-terminal fusion partner for various recombinant extracellular human proteins used in basic cancer research. The stability of this cystein-rich domain, which structure adopts a three-finger fold, provides an important asset for its applicability as a fusion tag for expression of recombinant...... chromatography procedure using the immobilized anti-uPAR monoclonal antibody R2. An optional enterokinase cleavage site is included between the various recombinant proteins and the linker region of the tag, which enables generation of highly pure preparations of tag-free recombinant proteins. Using this system...

A simple vector system to improve performance and utilisation of recombinant antibodies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincent Karen J

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Isolation of recombinant antibody fragments from antibody libraries is well established using technologies such as phage display. Phage display vectors are ideal for efficient display of antibody fragments on the surface of bacteriophage particles. However, they are often inefficient for expression of soluble antibody fragments, and sub-cloning of selected antibody populations into dedicated soluble antibody fragment expression vectors can enhance expression. Results We have developed a simple vector system for expression, dimerisation and detection of recombinant antibody fragments in the form of single chain Fvs (scFvs. Expression is driven by the T7 RNA polymerase promoter in conjunction with the inducible lysogen strain BL21 (DE3. The system is compatible with a simple auto-induction culture system for scFv production. As an alternative to periplasmic expression, expression directly in the cytoplasm of a mutant strain with a more oxidising cytoplasmic environment (Origami 2™ (DE3 was investigated and found to be inferior to periplasmic expression in BL21 (DE3 cells. The effect on yield and binding activity of fusing scFvs to the N terminus of maltose binding protein (a solubility enhancing partner, bacterial alkaline phosphatase (a naturally dimeric enzymatic reporter molecule, or the addition of a free C-terminal cysteine was determined. Fusion of scFvs to the N-terminus of maltose binding protein increased scFv yield but binding activity of the scFv was compromised. In contrast, fusion to the N-terminus of bacterial alkaline phosphatase led to an improved performance. Alkaline phosphatase provides a convenient tag allowing direct enzymatic detection of scFv fusions within crude extracts without the need for secondary reagents. Alkaline phosphatase also drives dimerisation of the scFv leading to an improvement in performance compared to monovalent constructs. This is illustrated by ELISA, western blot and

Recombinant Programming

OpenAIRE

Pawlak , Renaud; Cuesta , Carlos; Younessi , Houman

2004-01-01

This research report presents a promising new approach to computation called Recombinant Programming. The novelty of our approach is that it separates the program into two layers of computation: the recombination and the interpretation layer. The recombination layer takes sequences as inputs and allows the programmer to recombine these sequences through the definition of cohesive code units called extensions. The output of such recombination is a mesh that can be used by the interpretation la...

Recombiner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, Nobuo.

1983-01-01

Purpose: To shorten the pre-heating time for a recombiner and obtain a uniform temperature distribution for the charged catalyst layer in a BWR type reactor. Constitution: A pre-heating heater is disposed to the outer periphery of a vessel for a recombiner packed with catalysts for recombining hydrogen and oxygen in gases flowing through a radioactive gaseous wastes processing system. Heat pipes for transmitting the heat applied to said container to the catalyst are disposed vertically and horizontally within the container. Different length of the heat pipes are combined. In this way, pre-heating time for the recombiner before the operation start and before the system switching can be shortened and the uniform pre-heating for the inside of the recombiner is also made possible. Further, heater control in the pre-heating can be carried out effectively and with ease. (Moriyama, K.)

The disulfide-rich Metridia luciferase refolded from E. coli inclusion bodies reveals the properties of a native folded enzyme produced in insect cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Markova, Svetlana V; Larionova, Marina D; Gorbunova, Darya A; Vysotski, Eugene S

2017-10-01

The bioluminescence of a marine copepod Metridia longa is determined by a small secreted coelenterazine-dependent luciferase that uses coelenterazine as a substrate of enzymatic reaction to generate light (λ max =480nm). To date, four different isoforms of the luciferase differing in size, sequences, and properties have been cloned by functional screening. All of them contain ten conserved Cys residues that suggests up to five SS intramolecular bonds per luciferase molecule. Whereas the use of copepod luciferases as bioluminescent reporters in biomedical research in vivo is growing from year to year, their application for in vitro assays is still limited by the difficulty in obtaining significant amounts of luciferase. The most cost-effective host for producing recombinant proteins is Escherichia coli. However, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells maintain the reductive environment in cytoplasm that hinders the disulfide bond formation and consequently the proper folding of luciferase. Here we report the expression of the MLuc7 isoform of M. longa luciferase in E. coli cells and the efficient procedure for refolding from inclusion bodies yielding a high-active monomeric protein. Furthermore, in a set of identical experiments we demonstrate that bioluminescent and structural features of MLuc7 produced in bacterial cells are identical to those of MLuc7 isoform produced from culture medium of insect cells. Although the yield of high-purity protein is only 6mg/L, the application of E. coli cells to produce the luciferase is simpler and more cost-effective than the use of insect cells. We expect that the suggested technology of Metridia luciferase production allows obtaining of sufficient amounts of protein both for the development of novel in vitro analytical assays with the use of MLuc7 as a label and for structural studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Boundary mode lubrication of articular cartilage by recombinant human lubricin.

Science.gov (United States)

Gleghorn, Jason P; Jones, Aled R C; Flannery, Carl R; Bonassar, Lawrence J

2009-06-01

Lubrication of cartilage involves a variety of physical and chemical factors, including lubricin, a synovial glycoprotein that has been shown to be a boundary lubricant. It is unclear how lubricin boundary lubricates a wide range of bearings from tissue to artificial surfaces, and if the mechanism is the same for both soluble and bound lubricin. In the current study, experiments were conducted to investigate the hypothesis that recombinant human lubricin (rh-lubricin) lubricates cartilage in a dose-dependent manner and that soluble and bound fractions of rh-lubricin both contribute to the lubrication process. An rh-lubricin dose response was observed with maximal lubrication achieved at concentrations of rh-lubricin greater than 50 microg/mL. A concentration-response variable-slope model was fit to the data, and indicated that rh-lubricin binding to cartilage was not first order. The pattern of decrease in equilibrium friction coefficient indicated that aggregation of rh-lubricin or steric arrangement may regulate boundary lubrication. rh-lubricin localized at the cartilage surface was found to lubricate a cartilage-glass interface in boundary mode, as did soluble rh-lubricin at high concentrations (150 microg/mL); however, the most effective lubrication occurred when both soluble and bound rh-lubricin were present at the interface. These findings point to two distinct mechanisms by which rh-lubricin lubricates, one mechanism involving lubricin bound to the tissue surface and the other involving lubricin in solution. Copyright 2008 Orthopaedic Research Society

Expression of recombinant multi-coloured fluorescent antibodies in gor -/trxB- E. coli cytoplasm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markiv Anatoliy

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Antibody-fluorophore conjugates are invaluable reagents used in contemporary molecular cell biology for imaging, cell sorting and tracking intracellular events. However they suffer in some cases from batch to batch variation, partial loss of binding and susceptibility to photo-bleaching. In theory, these issues can all be addressed by using recombinant antibody fused directly to genetically encoded fluorescent reporters. However, single-chain fragment variable domains linked by long flexible linkers are themselves prone to disassociation and aggregation, and in some cases with isoelectric points incompatible with use in physiologically relevant milieu. Here we describe a general approach that permits fully functional intracellular production of a range of coloured fluorescent recombinant antibodies with optimally orientated VH/VL interfaces and isoelectric points compatible for use in physiological solutions at pH 7.4 with a binding site to fluorophore stoichiometry of 1:1. Results Here we report the design, assembly, intracellular bacterial production and purification of a panel of novel antibody fluorescent protein fusion constructs. The insertion of monomeric fluorescent protein derived from either Discosoma or Aequorea in-between the variable regions of anti-p185HER2-ECD antibody 4D5-8 resulted in optimal VH/VL interface interactions to create soluble coloured antibodies each with a single binding site, with isoelectric points of 6.5- 6. The fluorescent antibodies used in cell staining studies with SK-BR-3 cells retained the fluorophore properties and antibody specificity functions, whereas the conventional 4D5-8 single chain antibody with a (Gly4Ser3 linker precipitated at physiological pH 7.4. Conclusions This modular monomeric recombinant fluorescent antibody platform may be used to create a range of recombinant coloured antibody molecules for quantitative in situ, in vivo and ex vivo imaging, cell sorting and cell

A Novel Hyaluronidase from Brown Spider (Loxosceles intermedia) Venom (Dietrich's Hyaluronidase): From Cloning to Functional Characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrer, Valéria Pereira; de Mari, Thiago Lopes; Gremski, Luiza Helena; Trevisan Silva, Dilza; da Silveira, Rafael Bertoni; Gremski, Waldemiro; Chaim, Olga Meiri; Senff-Ribeiro, Andrea; Nader, Helena Bonciani; Veiga, Silvio Sanches

2013-01-01

Loxoscelism is the designation given to clinical symptoms evoked by Loxosceles spider's bites. Clinical manifestations include skin necrosis with gravitational spreading and systemic disturbs. The venom contains several enzymatic toxins. Herein, we describe the cloning, expression, refolding and biological evaluation of a novel brown spider protein characterized as a hyaluronidase. Employing a venom gland cDNA library, we cloned a hyaluronidase (1200 bp cDNA) that encodes for a signal peptide and a mature protein. Amino acid alignment revealed a structural relationship with members of hyaluronidase family, such as scorpion and snake species. Recombinant hyaluronidase was expressed as N-terminal His-tag fusion protein (∼45 kDa) in inclusion bodies and activity was achieved using refolding. Immunoblot analysis showed that antibodies that recognize the recombinant protein cross-reacted with hyaluronidase from whole venom as well as an anti-venom serum reacted with recombinant protein. Recombinant hyaluronidase was able to degrade purified hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS), while dermatan sulfate (DS) and heparan sulfate (HS) were not affected. Zymograph experiments resulted in ∼45 kDa lytic zones in hyaluronic acid (HA) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) substrates. Through in vivo experiments of dermonecrosis using rabbit skin, the recombinant hyaluronidase was shown to increase the dermonecrotic effect produced by recombinant dermonecrotic toxin from L. intermedia venom (LiRecDT1). These data support the hypothesis that hyaluronidase is a “spreading factor”. Recombinant hyaluronidase provides a useful tool for biotechnological ends. We propose the name Dietrich's Hyaluronidase for this enzyme, in honor of Professor Carl Peter von Dietrich, who dedicated his life to studying proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans. PMID:23658852

Recombinant expression and functional analysis of proteases from Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bacillus anthracis, and Yersinia pestis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pieper Rembert

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Uncharacterized proteases naturally expressed by bacterial pathogens represents important topic in infectious disease research, because these enzymes may have critical roles in pathogenicity and cell physiology. It has been observed that cloning, expression and purification of proteases often fail due to their catalytic functions which, in turn, cause toxicity in the E. coli heterologous host. Results In order to address this problem systematically, a modified pipeline of our high-throughput protein expression and purification platform was developed. This included the use of a specific E. coli strain, BL21(DE3 pLysS to tightly control the expression of recombinant proteins and various expression vectors encoding fusion proteins to enhance recombinant protein solubility. Proteases fused to large fusion protein domains, maltosebinding protein (MBP, SP-MBP which contains signal peptide at the N-terminus of MBP, disulfide oxidoreductase (DsbA and Glutathione S-transferase (GST improved expression and solubility of proteases. Overall, 86.1% of selected protease genes including hypothetical proteins were expressed and purified using a combination of five different expression vectors. To detect novel proteolytic activities, zymography and fluorescence-based assays were performed and the protease activities of more than 46% of purified proteases and 40% of hypothetical proteins that were predicted to be proteases were confirmed. Conclusions Multiple expression vectors, employing distinct fusion tags in a high throughput pipeline increased overall success rates in expression, solubility and purification of proteases. The combinatorial functional analysis of the purified proteases using fluorescence assays and zymography confirmed their function.

Improved expression of recombinant plant-made hEGF.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, David Rhys; Walmsley, Amanda Maree

2014-11-01

The yield of recombinant hEGF was increased approximately tenfold through a range of optimisations. Further, the recombinant protein was found to have biological activity comparable to commercial hEGF. Human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) is a powerful mitogen that can enhance the healing of a wide range of injuries, including burns, cuts, diabetic ulcers and gastric ulcers. However, despite its clinical value, hEGF is only consistently used for the treatment of chronic diabetic ulcers due to its high cost. In this study, hEGF was transiently expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and targeted to the apoplast, ER and vacuole. Several other approaches were also included in a stepwise fashion to identify the optimal conditions for the expression of recombinant hEGF. Expression was found to be highest in the vacuole, while targeting hEGF to the ER caused a decrease in total soluble protein (TSP). Using a codon optimised sequence was found to increase vacuolar targeted hEGF yield by ~34 %, while it was unable to increase the yield of ER targeted hEGF. The use of the P19 silencing inhibitor was able to further increase expression by over threefold, and using 5-week-old plants significantly increased expression compared to 4- or 6-week-old-plants. The combined effect of these optimisations increased expression tenfold over the initial apoplast targeted construct to an average yield of 6.24 % of TSP. The plant-made hEGF was then shown to be equivalent to commercial E. coli derived hEGF in its ability to promote the proliferation of mouse keratinocytes. This study supports the potential for plants to be used for the commercial production of hEGF, and identifies a potential limitation for the further improvement of recombinant protein yields.

Effects of geminate and bimolecular recombination on the performance of polymeric-small molecular solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schubert, Marcel; Yin, Chunhong; Castellani, Mauro; Neher, Dieter [University of Potsdam, Institute of Physics and Astronomy, 14476 Potsdam-Golm (Germany); Sellinger, Alan [IMRE, 3 Research Link, 117602 Singapore (Singapore)

2009-07-01

Many physical properties of organic photovoltaics are related to the nature of the geminate pair, an intermediate state that forms after dissociation of photogenerated excitons and prior to free charge carrier generation. Whereas it was found that photocurrent generation is dominated by the strong field dependent process of geminate pair dissociation, the recombination of uncorrelated free charge carriers and the formation of space charge seem to play a minor role in the prominent P3HT/PCBM combination. The situation may change, when using different D/A combinations or other soluble acceptor molecules. We present organic solar cells comprising a novel small molecule based on 2-vinyl-4,5-dicyanoimidazole (Vinazene) as acceptor and M3EH-PPV as donor. While bilayer devices show promising results with a fill factor up to 57 %, the IU-characteristics of bulk heterojunction devices are dominated by bimolecular recombination and space charge effects even at moderate illumination intensities. Photo-CELIV measurements were performed to study the bimolecular recombination in detail. By combining photo-CELIV results with PL and IU measurements we are able to analyze the interrelation of recombination losses, free charge carrier generation and exciplex formation.

Using llama derived single domain antibodies to target botulinum neurotoxins

Science.gov (United States)

Swain, Marla D.; Anderson, George P.; Bernstein, Rachael D.; Liu, Jinny L.; Goldman, Ellen R.

2010-04-01

Llama serum contains both conventional IgG as well as unique forms of antibody that contain only heavy chains where antigen binding is mediated through a single variable domain. These variable domains can be expressed recombinantly and are referred to as single domain antibodies (sdAb). SdAb are among the smallest known naturally derived antigen binding fragments, possess good solubility, thermal stability, and can refold after heat and chemical denaturation. Llamas were immunized with either BoNT A or B toxoid and phage display libraries prepared. Single domain antibodies (sdAb) that were able to detect botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) serotypes A and B were selected from their respective libraries. Here, the binders obtained by panning the BoNT B library on either BoNT B toxoid or BoNT B complex toxoid coated plates or BoNT B toxin coupled microspheres are described. Using these panning methods, we selected for binders that showed specificity for BoNT B. Phage displayed binders were screened, moved to a protein expression vector and soluble sdAb was produced. Using a Luminex flow cytometer binders were evaluated in direct binding assays. We have exploited the unique properties of sdAb and used them as biological recognition elements in immuno-based sensors that can detect BoNT B.

The evaluation of the factors that cause aggregation during recombinant expression in E. coli is simplified by the employment of an aggregation-sensitive reporter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martinez Lucia

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The yields of soluble recombinant proteins expressed in bacteria are often low due to the tendency of the heterologous proteins to form aggregates. Therefore, aggregation reporters have been envisaged to simplify the comparison among different expression conditions and to speed up the identification of suitable protocols that improve the solubility. The probe we used is composed by an IbpAB promoter specifically activated by protein aggregates fused to a sequence coding the β-galactosidase, the activity of which becomes, therefore, indicative of the aggregation degree. Results The collected data show that the probe is reliable in terms of reproducibility inside a range of experimental conditions and faster and more sensitive than the analysis methods based on SDS-PAGE and successive western blot. The β-galactosidase probe was useful to identify which parameters could influence the aggregation of the model proteins and to set up an optimized expression protocol. The effect of growth temperature, induction modality, co-expression with molecular chaperones and addition of osmolytes on the accumulation of aggregates were evaluated following the β-galactosidase activity. Interestingly, a significant correlation was observed between estimated decreased aggregation and higher yields of soluble protein. We also compared a set of expression vectors with various regulative features and found that the single characteristics, like promoter, copy number or polymerase, were not relevant for controlling the recombinant protein aggregation whilst the crucial factor resulted being the total expression rate of the system. Conclusion The aggregation reporter used in our experiments represents a useful tool to evaluate the different factors that can be modulated to optimize a recombinant expression protocol. Furthermore, the rapid estimation of the aggregation degree enables to discriminate this from other causes responsible for scarce

Optimizing HIV-1 protease production in Escherichia coli as fusion protein

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piubelli Luciano

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV is the etiological agent in AIDS and related diseases. The aspartyl protease encoded by the 5' portion of the pol gene is responsible for proteolytic processing of the gag-pol polyprotein precursor to yield the mature capsid protein and the reverse transcriptase and integrase enzymes. The HIV protease (HIV-1Pr is considered an attractive target for designing inhibitors which could be used to tackle AIDS and therefore it is still the object of a number of investigations. Results A recombinant human immunodeficiency virus type 1 protease (HIV-1Pr was overexpressed in Escherichia coli cells as a fusion protein with bacterial periplasmic protein dithiol oxidase (DsbA or glutathione S-transferase (GST, also containing a six-histidine tag sequence. Protein expression was optimized by designing a suitable HIV-1Pr cDNA (for E. coli expression and to avoid autoproteolysis and by screening six different E. coli strains and five growth media. The best expression yields were achieved in E. coli BL21-Codon Plus(DE3-RIL host and in TB or M9 medium to which 1% (w/v glucose was added to minimize basal expression. Among the different parameters assayed, the presence of a buffer system (based on phosphate salts and a growth temperature of 37°C after adding IPTG played the main role in enhancing protease expression (up to 10 mg of chimeric DsbA:HIV-1Pr/L fermentation broth. GST:HIVPr was in part (50% produced as soluble protein while the overexpressed DsbA:HIV-1Pr chimeric protein largely accumulated in inclusion bodies as unprocessed fusion protein. A simple refolding procedure was developed on HiTrap Chelating column that yielded a refolded DsbA:HIV-1Pr with a > 80% recovery. Finally, enterokinase digestion of resolubilized DsbA:HIV-1Pr gave more than 2 mg of HIV-1Pr per liter of fermentation broth with a purity ≤ 80%, while PreScission protease cleavage of soluble GST:HIVPr yielded ~ 0.15 mg of pure HIV-1

Recombinant Passenger Proteins Can Be Conveniently Purified by One-Step Affinity Chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hua-zhen; Chu, Zhi-zhan; Chen, Chang-chao; Cao, Ao-cheng; Tong, Xin; Ouyang, Can-bin; Yuan, Qi-hang; Wang, Mi-nan; Wu, Zhong-kun; Wang, Hai-hong; Wang, Sheng-bin

2015-01-01

Fusion tag is one of the best available tools to date for enhancement of the solubility or improvement of the expression level of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. Typically, two consecutive affinity purification steps are often necessitated for the purification of passenger proteins. As a fusion tag, acyl carrier protein (ACP) could greatly increase the soluble expression level of Glucokinase (GlcK), α-Amylase (Amy) and GFP. When fusion protein ACP-G2-GlcK-Histag and ACP-G2-Amy-Histag, in which a protease TEV recognition site was inserted between the fusion tag and passenger protein, were coexpressed with protease TEV respectively in E. coli, the efficient intracellular processing of fusion proteins was achieved. The resulting passenger protein GlcK-Histag and Amy-Histag accumulated predominantly in a soluble form, and could be conveniently purified by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. However, the fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag was processed incompletely by the protease TEV coexpressed in vivo, and a large portion of the resulting target protein GFP-Histag aggregated in insoluble form, indicating that the intracellular processing may affect the solubility of cleaved passenger protein. In this context, the soluble fusion protein ACP-GFP-Histag, contained in the supernatant of E. coli cell lysate, was directly subjected to cleavage in vitro by mixing it with the clarified cell lysate of E. coli overexpressing protease TEV. Consequently, the resulting target protein GFP-Histag could accumulate predominantly in a soluble form, and be purified conveniently by one-step Ni-chelating chromatography. The approaches presented here greatly simplify the purification process of passenger proteins, and eliminate the use of large amounts of pure site-specific proteases.

Plutonium solubilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puigdomnech, I.; Bruno, J.

1991-02-01

Thermochemical data has been selected for plutonium oxide, hydroxide, carbonate and phosphate equilibria. Equilibrium constants have been evaluated in the temperature range 0 to 300 degrees C at a pressure of 1 bar to T≤100 degrees C and at the steam saturated pressure at higher temperatures. Measured solubilities of plutonium that are reported in the literature for laboratory experiments have been collected. Solubility data on oxides, hydroxides, carbonates and phosphates have been selected. No solubility data were found at temperatures higher than 60 degrees C. The literature solubility data have been compared with plutonium solubilities calculated with the EQ3/6 geochemical modelling programs, using the selected thermodynamic data for plutonium. (authors)

Photoionization and Recombination

Science.gov (United States)

Nahar, Sultana N.

2000-01-01

Theoretically self-consistent calculations for photoionization and (e + ion) recombination are described. The same eigenfunction expansion for the ion is employed in coupled channel calculations for both processes, thus ensuring consistency between cross sections and rates. The theoretical treatment of (e + ion) recombination subsumes both the non-resonant recombination ("radiative recombination"), and the resonant recombination ("di-electronic recombination") processes in a unified scheme. In addition to the total, unified recombination rates, level-specific recombination rates and photoionization cross sections are obtained for a large number of atomic levels. Both relativistic Breit-Pauli, and non-relativistic LS coupling, calculations are carried out in the close coupling approximation using the R-matrix method. Although the calculations are computationally intensive, they yield nearly all photoionization and recombination parameters needed for astrophysical photoionization models with higher precision than hitherto possible, estimated at about 10-20% from comparison with experimentally available data (including experimentally derived DR rates). Results are electronically available for over 40 atoms and ions. Photoionization and recombination of He-, and Li-like C and Fe are described for X-ray modeling. The unified method yields total and complete (e+ion) recombination rate coefficients, that can not otherwise be obtained theoretically or experimentally.

Evaluation of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for measurements of soluble HLA-G protein.

Science.gov (United States)

Rasmussen, M; Dahl, M; Buus, S; Djurisic, S; Ohlsson, J; Hviid, T V F

2014-08-01

The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class Ib molecule, HLA-G, has gained increased attention because of its assumed important role in immune regulation. The HLA-G protein exists in several soluble isoforms. Most important are the actively secreted HLA-G5 full-length isoform generated by alternative splicing retaining intron 4 with a premature stop codon, and the cleavage of full-length membrane-bound HLA-G1 from the cell surface, so-called soluble HLA-G1 (sHLA-G1). A specific and sensitive immunoassay for measurements of soluble HLA-G is mandatory for conceivable routine testing and research projects. We report a novel method, a competitive immunoassay, for measuring HLA-G5/sHLA-G1 in biological fluids. The sHLA-G immunoassay is based upon a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) principle. It includes a recombinant sHLA-G1 protein in complex with β2-microglobulin and a peptide as a standard, biotinylated recombinant sHLA-G1 as an indicator, and the MEM-G/9 anti-HLA-G monoclonal antibody (mAb) as the capture antibody. The specificity and sensitivity of the assay were evaluated. Testing with different recombinant HLA class I proteins and different anti-HLA class I mAbs showed that the sHLA-G immunoassay was highly specific. Optimal combinations of competitor sHLA-G1 and capture mAb concentrations were determined. Two versions of the assay were tested. One with a relatively wide dynamic range from 3.1 to 100.0 ng/ml, and another more sensitive version ranging from 1.6 to 12.5 ng/ml. An intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) of 15.5% at 88 ng/ml and an inter-assay CV of 23.1% at 39 ng/ml were determined. An assay based on the competitive sHLA-G ELISA may be important for measurements of sHLA-G proteins in several conditions: assisted reproduction, organ transplantation, cancer, and certain pregnancy complications, both in research studies and possibly in the future also for clinical routine use. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley

Information encoded in non-native states drives substrate-chaperone pairing.

Science.gov (United States)

Mapa, Koyeli; Tiwari, Satyam; Kumar, Vignesh; Jayaraj, Gopal Gunanathan; Maiti, Souvik

2012-09-05

Many proteins refold in vitro through kinetic folding intermediates that are believed to be by-products of native-state centric evolution. These intermediates are postulated to play only minor roles, if any, in vivo because they lack any information related to translation-associated vectorial folding. We demonstrate that refolding intermediate of a test protein, generated in vitro, is able to find its cognate chaperone, from the whole complement of Escherichia coli soluble chaperones. Cognate chaperone-binding uniquely alters the conformation of non-native substrate. Importantly, precise chaperone targeting of substrates are maintained as long as physiological molar ratios of chaperones remain unaltered. Using a library of different chaperone substrates, we demonstrate that kinetically trapped refolding intermediates contain sufficient structural features for precise targeting to cognate chaperones. We posit that evolution favors sequences that, in addition to coding for a functional native state, encode folding intermediates with higher affinity for cognate chaperones than noncognate ones. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synthesis of water-soluble curcumin derivatives and their inhibition on lysozyme amyloid fibrillation

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Sujuan; Peng, Xixi; Cui, Liangliang; Li, Tongtong; Yu, Bei; Ma, Gang; Ba, Xinwu

2018-02-01

The potential application of curcumin was heavily limited in biomedicine because of its poor solubility in pure water. To circumvent the detracting feature, two novel water-soluble amino acid modified curcumin derivatives (MLC and DLC) have been synthesized through the condensation reaction between curcumin and Nα-Fmoc-Nε-Boc-L-lysine. Benefiting from the enhanced solubility of 3.32 × 10- 2 g/mL for MLC and 4.66 × 10- 2 g/mL for DLC, the inhibition effects of the as-prepared derivatives on the amyloid fibrillation of lysozyme (HEWL) were investigated detaily in water solution. The obtained results showed that the amyloid fibrillation of HEWL was inhibited to a great extent when the concentrations of MLC and DLC reach to 20.139 mM and 49.622 mM, respectively. The fluorescence quenching upon the addition of curcumin to HEWL provide a support for static and dynamic recombination quenching process. The binding driving force was assigned to classical hydrophobic interaction between curcumin derivatives and HEWL. In addition, UV-Vis absorption and circular dichroism (CD) spectra confirmed the change of the conformation of HEWL.

High yield cell-free production of integral membrane proteins without refolding or detergents.

Science.gov (United States)

Wuu, Jessica J; Swartz, James R

2008-05-01

Integral membrane proteins act as critical cellular components and are important drug targets. However, difficulties in producing membrane proteins have hampered investigations of structure and function. In vivo production systems are often limited by cell toxicity, and previous in vitro approaches have required unnatural folding pathways using detergents or lipid solutions. To overcome these limitations, we present an improved cell-free expression system which produces high yields of integral membrane proteins without the use of detergents or refolding steps. Our cell-free reaction activates an Escherichia coli-derived cell extract for transcription and translation. Purified E. coli inner membrane vesicles supply membrane-bound components and the lipid environment required for insertion and folding. Using this system, we demonstrated successful synthesis of two complex integral membrane transporters, the tetracycline pump (TetA) and mannitol permease (MtlA), in yields of 570+/-50 microg/mL and 130+/-30 microg/mL of vesicle-associated protein, respectively. These yields are up to 400 times typical in vivo concentrations. Insertion and folding of these proteins are verified by sucrose flotation, protease digestion, and activity assays. Whereas TetA incorporates efficiently into vesicle membranes with over two-thirds of the synthesized protein being inserted, MtlA yields appear to be limited by insufficient concentrations of a membrane-associated chaperone.

Enhancement in production of recombinant two-chain Insulin Glargine by over-expression of Kex2 protease in Pichia pastoris.

Science.gov (United States)

Sreenivas, Suma; Krishnaiah, Sateesh M; Govindappa, Nagaraja; Basavaraju, Yogesh; Kanojia, Komal; Mallikarjun, Niveditha; Natarajan, Jayaprakash; Chatterjee, Amarnath; Sastry, Kedarnath N

2015-01-01

Glargine is an analog of Insulin currently being produced by recombinant DNA technology using two different hosts namely Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. Production from E. coli involves the steps of extraction of inclusion bodies by cell lysis, refolding, proteolytic cleavage and purification. In P. pastoris, a single-chain precursor with appropriate disulfide bonding is secreted to the medium. Downstream processing currently involves use of trypsin which converts the precursor into two-chain final product. The use of trypsin in the process generates additional impurities due to presence of Lys and Arg residues in the Glargine molecule. In this study, we describe an alternate approach involving over-expression of endogenous Kex2 proprotein convertase, taking advantage of dibasic amino acid sequence (Arg-Arg) at the end of B-chain of Glargine. KEX2 gene over-expression in Pichia was accomplished by using promoters of varying strengths to ensure production of greater levels of fully functional two-chain Glargine product, confirmed by HPLC and mass analysis. In conclusion, this new production process involving Kex2 protease over-expression improves the downstream process efficiency, reduces the levels of impurities generated and decreases the use of raw materials.

Protein recovery from inclusion bodies of Escherichia coli using mild solubilization process.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Anupam; Upadhyay, Vaibhav; Upadhyay, Arun Kumar; Singh, Surinder Mohan; Panda, Amulya Kumar

2015-03-25

Formation of inclusion bodies in bacterial hosts poses a major challenge for large scale recovery of bioactive proteins. The process of obtaining bioactive protein from inclusion bodies is labor intensive and the yields of recombinant protein are often low. Here we review the developments in the field that are targeted at improving the yield, as well as quality of the recombinant protein by optimizing the individual steps of the process, especially solubilization of the inclusion bodies and refolding of the solubilized protein. Mild solubilization methods have been discussed which are based on the understanding of the fact that protein molecules in inclusion body aggregates have native-like structure. These methods solubilize the inclusion body aggregates while preserving the native-like protein structure. Subsequent protein refolding and purification results in high recovery of bioactive protein. Other parameters which influence the overall recovery of bioactive protein from inclusion bodies have also been discussed. A schematic model describing the utility of mild solubilization methods for high throughput recovery of bioactive protein has also been presented.

Bacterial expression of human kynurenine 3-monooxygenase: Solubility, activity, purification☆

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, K.; Mole, D.J.; Binnie, M.; Homer, N.Z.M.; Zheng, X.; Yard, B.A.; Iredale, J.P.; Auer, M.; Webster, S.P.

2014-01-01

Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) is an enzyme central to the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism. KMO has been implicated as a therapeutic target in several disease states, including Huntington’s disease. Recombinant human KMO protein production is challenging due to the presence of transmembrane domains, which localise KMO to the outer mitochondrial membrane and render KMO insoluble in many in vitro expression systems. Efficient bacterial expression of human KMO would accelerate drug development of KMO inhibitors but until now this has not been achieved. Here we report the first successful bacterial (Escherichia coli) expression of active FLAG™-tagged human KMO enzyme expressed in the soluble fraction and progress towards its purification. PMID:24316190

Issues concerning the determination of solubility products of sparingly soluble crystalline solids. Solubility of HfO2(cr)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rai, Dhanpat; Kitamura, Akira; Rosso, Kevin M.; Sasaki, Takayuki; Kobayashi, Taishi

2016-01-01

Solubility studies were conducted with HfO 2 (cr) solid as a function HCl and ionic strength ranging from 2.0 to 0.004 mol kg -1 . These studies involved (1) using two different amounts of the solid phase, (2) acid washing the bulk solid phase, (3) preheating the solid phase to 1400 C, and (4) heating amorphous HfO 2 (am) suspensions to 90 C to ascertain whether the HfO 2 (am) converts to HfO 2 (cr) and to determine the solubility from the oversaturation direction. Based on the results of these treatments it is concluded that the HfO 2 (cr) contains a small fraction of less crystalline, but not amorphous, material [HfO 2 (lcr)] and this, rather than the HfO 2 (cr), is the solubility-controlling phase in the range of experimental variables investigated in this study. The solubility data are interpreted using both the Pitzer and SIT models and they provide log 10 K 0 values of -(59.75±0.35) and -(59.48±0.41), respectively, for the solubility product of HfO 2 (lcr)[HfO 2 (lcr) + 2H 2 O ↔ Hf 4+ + 4OH - ]. The log 10 of the solubility product of HfO 2 (cr) is estimated to be < -63. The observation of a small fraction of less crystalline higher solubility material is consistent with the general picture that mineral surfaces are often structurally and/or compositionally imperfect leading to a higher solubility than the bulk crystalline solid. This study stresses the urgent need, during interpretation of solubility data, of taking precautions to make certain that the observed solubility behavior for sparingly-soluble solids is assigned to the proper solid phase.

Drosophila UNC-45 prevents heat-induced aggregation of skeletal muscle myosin and facilitates refolding of citrate synthase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Melkani, Girish C.; Lee, Chi F.; Cammarato, Anthony [Department of Biology and the Molecular Biology Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-4614 (United States); Bernstein, Sanford I., E-mail: sbernst@sciences.sdsu.edu [Department of Biology and the Molecular Biology Institute, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182-4614 (United States)

2010-05-28

UNC-45 belongs to the UCS (UNC-45, CRO1, She4p) domain protein family, whose members interact with various classes of myosin. Here we provide structural and biochemical evidence that Escherichia coli-expressed Drosophila UNC-45 (DUNC-45) maintains the integrity of several substrates during heat-induced stress in vitro. DUNC-45 displays chaperone function in suppressing aggregation of the muscle myosin heavy meromyosin fragment, the myosin S-1 motor domain, {alpha}-lactalbumin and citrate synthase. Biochemical evidence is supported by electron microscopy, which reveals the first structural evidence that DUNC-45 prevents inter- or intra-molecular aggregates of skeletal muscle heavy meromyosin caused by elevated temperatures. We also demonstrate for the first time that UNC-45 is able to refold a denatured substrate, urea-unfolded citrate synthase. Overall, this in vitro study provides insight into the fate of muscle myosin under stress conditions and suggests that UNC-45 protects and maintains the contractile machinery during in vivo stress.

Recombiner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osumi, Morimichi.

1979-01-01

Purpose: To provide a recombiner which is capable of converting hydrogen gas into water by use of high-frequency heating at comparatively low temperatures and is safe and cheap in cost. Constitution: Hydrogen gas is introduced from an outer pipeline to the main structure of a recombiner, and when it passes through the vicinity of the central part of the recombiner, it is reacted with copper oxide (CuO 2 ) heated to a temperature more than 300 0 C by a high-frequency heater, and converted gently into water by reduction operation (2H 2 + CuO 2 → Cu + 2H 2 O). The thus prepared water is exhausted through the outer pipeline to a suppression pool. A part of hydrogen gas which has not been converted completely into water by the reaction and is remaining as hydrogen is recovered through exhaust nozzles and again introduced into the main structure of the recombiner. (Yoshino, Y.)

Cloning, overexpression, and characterization of cobrotoxin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh, H.-C.; Kumar, Thallampuranam Krishnaswamy S.; Yu Chin

2004-01-01

Cobrotoxin (CBTX) is a highly toxic short neurotoxin, isolated from the Taiwan cobra (Naja naja atra) venom. In the present study for the first time we report the cloning and expression of CBTX in high yields (12 mg/L) in Escherichia coli. CBTX fused to the IgG-binding domain of protein A (IgG-CBTX) was expressed in the soluble form. The misfolded CBTX portion (of the overexpressed fusion protein) was refolded under optimal redox conditions. The fusion protein (IgG-CBTX) was observed to undergo autocatalytic cleavage to yield CBTX with additional 5 amino acids upstream of its N-terminal end. The far UV and near UV circular dichroism spectra of the recombinant CBTX were identical to those of the toxin isolated from the crude venom source. Recombinant CBTX was isotope labeled ( 15 N and 13 C) and all the resonances ( 1 H, 13 C, and 15 N) in the protein have been unambiguously assigned. 1 H- 15 N HSQC spectrum of recombinant CBTX revealed that the protein is in a biologically active conformation. 1 H- 15 N chemical shift perturbation data showed that recombinant CBTX binds to a peptide derived from the α7 subunit of the Torpedo acetylcholine receptor (AchR) with high affinity. The AchR peptide is found to bind to residues located at the tip of Loop-2 in CBTX. The results of the present study provide an avenue to understand the structural basis for the high toxicity exhibited by CBTX. In addition, complete resonance assignments in CBTX (reported in this study) are expected to trigger intensive research towards the design of new pharmacological agents against certain neural disorders

Lipid-protein nanodiscs for cell-free production of integral membrane proteins in a soluble and folded state: comparison with detergent micelles, bicelles and liposomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lyukmanova, E N; Shenkarev, Z O; Khabibullina, N F; Kopeina, G S; Shulepko, M A; Paramonov, A S; Mineev, K S; Tikhonov, R V; Shingarova, L N; Petrovskaya, L E; Dolgikh, D A; Arseniev, A S; Kirpichnikov, M P

2012-03-01

Production of integral membrane proteins (IMPs) in a folded state is a key prerequisite for their functional and structural studies. In cell-free (CF) expression systems membrane mimicking components could be added to the reaction mixture that promotes IMP production in a soluble form. Here lipid-protein nanodiscs (LPNs) of different lipid compositions (DMPC, DMPG, POPC, POPC/DOPG) have been compared with classical membrane mimicking media such as detergent micelles, lipid/detergent bicelles and liposomes by their ability to support CF synthesis of IMPs in a folded and soluble state. Three model membrane proteins of different topology were used: homodimeric transmembrane (TM) domain of human receptor tyrosine kinase ErbB3 (TM-ErbB3, 1TM); voltage-sensing domain of K(+) channel KvAP (VSD, 4TM); and bacteriorhodopsin from Exiguobacterium sibiricum (ESR, 7TM). Structural and/or functional properties of the synthesized proteins were analyzed. LPNs significantly enhanced synthesis of the IMPs in a soluble form regardless of the lipid composition. A partial disintegration of LPNs composed of unsaturated lipids was observed upon co-translational IMP incorporation. Contrary to detergents the nanodiscs resulted in the synthesis of ~80% active ESR and promoted correct folding of the TM-ErbB3. None of the tested membrane mimetics supported CF synthesis of correctly folded VSD, and the protocol of the domain refolding was developed. The use of LPNs appears to be the most promising approach to CF production of IMPs in a folded state. NMR analysis of (15)N-Ile-TM-ErbB3 co-translationally incorporated into LPNs shows the great prospects of this membrane mimetics for structural studies of IMPs produced by CF systems. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recombinant expression of a functional myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xinyi; Hernick, Marcy

2015-10-01

Myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS, E.C. 5.5.1.4) catalyzes the first step in inositol production-the conversion of glucose-6-phosphate (Glc-6P) to myo-inositol-1-phosphate. While the three dimensional structure of MIPS from Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been solved, biochemical studies examining the in vitro activity have not been reported to date. Herein we report the in vitro activity of mycobacterial MIPS expressed in E. coli and Mycobacterium smegmatis. Recombinant expression in E. coli yields a soluble protein capable of binding the NAD(+) cofactor; however, it has no significant activity with the Glc-6P substrate. In contrast, recombinant expression in M. smegmatis mc(2)4517 yields a functionally active protein. Examination of structural data suggests that MtMIPS expressed in E. coli adopts a fold that is missing a key helix containing two critical (conserved) Lys side chains, which likely explains the inability of the E. coli expressed protein to bind and turnover the Glc-6P substrate. Recombinant expression in M. smegmatis may yield a protein that adopts a fold in which this key helix is formed enabling proper positioning of important side chains, thereby allowing for Glc-6P substrate binding and turnover. Detailed mechanistic studies may be feasible following optimization of the recombinant MIPS expression protocol in M. smegmatis.

Anti-soluble liver antigen (SLA) antibodies in chronic HCV infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitozzi, Susana; Lapierre, Pascal; Djilali-Saiah, Idriss; Marceau, Gabriel; Beland, Kathie; Alvarez, Fernando

2004-05-01

Hepatitis C infection is associated with autoimmune disorders, such as the production of autoantibodies. Anti-LKM1 and anti-LC1, immunomarkers of type 2 autoimmune hepatitis, have been previously associated with a HCV infection. Anti-Soluble-Liver-Antigen autoantibodies (SLA) are specifically associated with type 1 and type 2 autoimmune hepatitis and more closely related to patients who relapse after steroid therapy. The recent molecular cloning of the soluble liver antigen provides the opportunity to develop more specific tests for the detection of antibodies against it. The aim of this work is to characterize anti-soluble-liver autoantibodies in sera from patients chronically infected by HCV. A recombinant cDNA from activated Jurkat cells coding for the full length tRNP(Ser)Sec/SLA antigen was obtained. ELISA, Western Blot and immunoprecipitation tests were developed and used to search for linear and conformational epitopes recognized by anti-SLA antibodies in sera from patients chronically infected by HCV. Anti-soluble liver antigen antibodies were found in sera from 10.4% of HCV-infected patients. The prevalence was significantly increased to 27% when anti-LKM1 was also present. Most anti-SLA reactivity was directed against conformational epitopes on the antigen. The means titers by ELISA were lower than those obtained in type 2 AIH. The result of autoantibody isotyping showed a subclass restriction to IgG1 and also IgG4. This study shows the presence of anti-SLA antibodies in approximately 10% of HCV infected patients. The prevalence of SLA autoantibodies in HCV infected patients increases when LKM1 autoantibodies are also present. The relationship between the prevalence of this characteristic autoimmune hepatitis autoantibody and the implication of an autoimmune phenomenon in the liver injury of patients chronically infected by HCV needs further investigation.

Spontaneous Unfolding-Refolding of Fibronectin Type III Domains Assayed by Thiol Exchange: THERMODYNAMIC STABILITY CORRELATES WITH RATES OF UNFOLDING RATHER THAN FOLDING.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Riddhi; Ohashi, Tomoo; Erickson, Harold P; Oas, Terrence G

2017-01-20

Globular proteins are not permanently folded but spontaneously unfold and refold on time scales that can span orders of magnitude for different proteins. A longstanding debate in the protein-folding field is whether unfolding rates or folding rates correlate to the stability of a protein. In the present study, we have determined the unfolding and folding kinetics of 10 FNIII domains. FNIII domains are one of the most common protein folds and are present in 2% of animal proteins. FNIII domains are ideal for this study because they have an identical seven-strand β-sandwich structure, but they vary widely in sequence and thermodynamic stability. We assayed thermodynamic stability of each domain by equilibrium denaturation in urea. We then assayed the kinetics of domain opening and closing by a technique known as thiol exchange. For this we introduced a buried Cys at the identical location in each FNIII domain and measured the kinetics of labeling with DTNB over a range of urea concentrations. A global fit of the kinetics data gave the kinetics of spontaneous unfolding and refolding in zero urea. We found that the folding rates were relatively similar, ∼0.1-1 s -1 , for the different domains. The unfolding rates varied widely and correlated with thermodynamic stability. Our study is the first to address this question using a set of domains that are structurally homologous but evolved with widely varying sequence identity and thermodynamic stability. These data add new evidence that thermodynamic stability correlates primarily with unfolding rate rather than folding rate. The study also has implications for the question of whether opening of FNIII domains contributes to the stretching of fibronectin matrix fibrils. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Galectin-1 as a fusion partner for the production of soluble and folded human {beta}-1,4-galactosyltransferase-T7 in E. coli

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pasek, Marta [Structural Glycobiology Section, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 2170 (United States); Boeggeman, Elizabeth; Ramakrishnan, Boopathy [Structural Glycobiology Section, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 2170 (United States); Basic Science Program, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 2170 (United States); Qasba, Pradman K., E-mail: qasba@helix.nih.gov [Structural Glycobiology Section, SAIC-Frederick, Inc., Center for Cancer Research Nanobiology Program, Center for Cancer Research, NCI-Frederick, Frederick, MD 2170 (United States)

2010-04-09

The expression of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli often leads to inactive aggregated proteins known as the inclusion bodies. To date, the best available tool has been the use of fusion tags, including the carbohydrate-binding protein; e.g., the maltose-binding protein (MBP) that enhances the solubility of recombinant proteins. However, none of these fusion tags work universally with every partner protein. We hypothesized that galectins, which are also carbohydrate-binding proteins, may help as fusion partners in folding the mammalian proteins in E. coli. Here we show for the first time that a small soluble lectin, human galectin-1, one member of a large galectin family, can function as a fusion partner to produce soluble folded recombinant human glycosyltransferase, {beta}-1,4-galactosyltransferase-7 ({beta}4Gal-T7), in E. coli. The enzyme {beta}4Gal-T7 transfers galactose to xylose during the synthesis of the tetrasaccharide linker sequence attached to a Ser residue of proteoglycans. Without a fusion partner, {beta}4Gal-T7 is expressed in E. coli as inclusion bodies. We have designed a new vector construct, pLgals1, from pET-23a that includes the sequence for human galectin-1, followed by the Tev protease cleavage site, a 6x His-coding sequence, and a multi-cloning site where a cloned gene is inserted. After lactose affinity column purification of galectin-1-{beta}4Gal-T7 fusion protein, the unique protease cleavage site allows the protein {beta}4Gal-T7 to be cleaved from galectin-1 that binds and elutes from UDP-agarose column. The eluted protein is enzymatically active, and shows CD spectra comparable to the folded {beta}4Gal-T1. The engineered galectin-1 vector could prove to be a valuable tool for expressing other proteins in E. coli.

A single-chain fusion molecule consisting of peptide, major histocompatibility gene complex class I heavy chain and beta2-microglobulin can fold partially correctly, but binds peptide inefficiently

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sylvester-Hvid, C; Buus, S

1999-01-01

of a recombinant murine MHC-I molecule, which could be produced in large amounts in bacteria. The recombinant MHC-I protein was expressed as a single molecule (PepSc) consisting of the antigenic peptide linked to the MHC-I heavy chain and further linked to human beta2-microglobulin (hbeta2m). The PepSc molecule...... electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Serological analysis revealed the presence of some, but not all, MHC-I-specific epitopes. Biochemically, PepSc could bind peptide, however, rather ineffectively. We suggest that a partially correctly refolded MHC-I has been obtained....

Polymerization kinetics of wheat gluten upon thermosetting. A mechanistic model.

Science.gov (United States)

Domenek, Sandra; Morel, Marie-Hélène; Bonicel, Joëlle; Guilbert, Stéphane

2002-10-09

Size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was carried out on wheat gluten-glycerol blends subjected to different heat treatments. The elution profiles were analyzed in order to follow the solubility loss of protein fractions with specific molecular size. Owing to the known biochemical changes involved during the heat denaturation of gluten, a mechanistic mathematical model was developed, which divided the protein denaturation into two distinct reaction steps: (i) reversible change in protein conformation and (ii) protein precipitation through disulfide bonding between initially SDS-soluble and SDS-insoluble reaction partners. Activation energies of gluten unfolding, refolding, and precipitation were calculated with the Arrhenius law to 53.9 kJ x mol(-1), 29.5 kJ x mol(-1), and 172 kJ x mol(-1), respectively. The rate of protein solubility loss decreased as the cross-linking reaction proceeded, which may be attributed to the formation of a three-dimensional network progressively hindering the reaction. The enhanced susceptibility to aggregation of large molecules was assigned to a risen reaction probability due to their higher number of cysteine residues and to the increased percentage of unfolded and thereby activated proteins as complete protein refolding seemed to be an anticooperative process.

Issues concerning the determination of solubility products of sparingly soluble crystalline solids. Solubility of HfO{sub 2}(cr)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rai, Dhanpat [Rai Enviro-Chem, LLC, Yachats, OR (United States); Kitamura, Akira [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Ibaraki (Japan); Rosso, Kevin M. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA (United States); Sasaki, Takayuki; Kobayashi, Taishi [Kyoto Univ. (Japan)

2016-11-01

Solubility studies were conducted with HfO{sub 2}(cr) solid as a function HCl and ionic strength ranging from 2.0 to 0.004 mol kg{sup -1}. These studies involved (1) using two different amounts of the solid phase, (2) acid washing the bulk solid phase, (3) preheating the solid phase to 1400 C, and (4) heating amorphous HfO{sub 2}(am) suspensions to 90 C to ascertain whether the HfO{sub 2}(am) converts to HfO{sub 2}(cr) and to determine the solubility from the oversaturation direction. Based on the results of these treatments it is concluded that the HfO{sub 2}(cr) contains a small fraction of less crystalline, but not amorphous, material [HfO{sub 2}(lcr)] and this, rather than the HfO{sub 2}(cr), is the solubility-controlling phase in the range of experimental variables investigated in this study. The solubility data are interpreted using both the Pitzer and SIT models and they provide log{sub 10} K{sup 0} values of -(59.75±0.35) and -(59.48±0.41), respectively, for the solubility product of HfO{sub 2}(lcr)[HfO{sub 2}(lcr) + 2H{sub 2}O ↔ Hf{sup 4+} + 4OH{sup -}]. The log{sub 10} of the solubility product of HfO{sub 2}(cr) is estimated to be < -63. The observation of a small fraction of less crystalline higher solubility material is consistent with the general picture that mineral surfaces are often structurally and/or compositionally imperfect leading to a higher solubility than the bulk crystalline solid. This study stresses the urgent need, during interpretation of solubility data, of taking precautions to make certain that the observed solubility behavior for sparingly-soluble solids is assigned to the proper solid phase.

Toxicity evaluation of e-juice and its soluble aerosols generated by electronic cigarettes using recombinant bioluminescent bacteria responsive to specific cellular damages.

Science.gov (United States)

Bharadwaj, Shiv; Mitchell, Robert J; Qureshi, Anjum; Niazi, Javed H

2017-04-15

Electronic-cigarettes (e-cigarette) are widely used as an alternative to traditional cigarettes but their safety is not well established. Herein, we demonstrate and validate an analytical method to discriminate the deleterious effects of e-cigarette refills (e-juice) and soluble e-juice aerosol (SEA) by employing stress-specific bioluminescent recombinant bacterial cells (RBCs) as whole-cell biosensors. These RBCs carry luxCDABE-operon tightly controlled by promoters that specifically induced to DNA damage (recA), superoxide radicals (sodA), heavy metals (copA) and membrane damage (oprF). The responses of the RBCs following exposure to various concentrations of e-juice/SEA was recorded in real-time that showed dose-dependent stress specific-responses against both the e-juice and vaporized e-juice aerosols produced by the e-cigarette. We also established that high doses of e-juice (4-folds diluted) lead to cell death by repressing the cellular machinery responsible for repairing DNA-damage, superoxide toxicity, ion homeostasis and membrane damage. SEA also caused the cellular damages but the cells showed enhanced bioluminescence expression without significant growth inhibition, indicating that the cells activated their global defense system to repair these damages. DNA fragmentation assay also revealed the disintegration of total cellular DNA at sub-toxic doses of e-juice. Despite their state of matter, the e-juice and its aerosols induce cytotoxicity and alter normal cellular functions, respectively that raises concerns on use of e-cigarettes as alternative to traditional cigarette. The ability of RBCs in detecting both harmful effects and toxicity mechanisms provided a fundamental understanding of biological response to e-juice and aerosols. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Encapsulation of β-carotene within ferritin nanocages greatly increases its water-solubility and thermal stability.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Lingli; Bai, Guangling; Yang, Rui; Zang, Jiachen; Zhou, Ting; Zhao, Guanghua

2014-04-15

Carotenoids may play a number of potential health benefits for human. However, their use in food industry is limited mostly because of their poor water-solubility and low thermal stability. Ferritins are widely distributed in nature with a shell-like structure which offers a great opportunity to improve the water-solubility and thermal stability of the carotenoids by encapsulation. In this work, recombinant human H-chain ferritin (rHuHF) was prepared and used to encapsulate β-carotene, a typical compound among carotenoids, by taking advantage of the reversible dissociation and reassembly characteristic of apoferritin in different pH environments. Results from high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), UV/Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicated that β-carotene molecules were successfully encapsulated within protein cages with a β-carotene/protein molar ratio of 12.4-1. Upon such encapsulation, these β-carotene-containing apoferritin nanocomposites were water-soluble. Interestingly, the thermal stability of the β-carotene encapsulated within apoferritin nanocages was markedly improved as compared to free β-carotene. These new properties might be favourable to the utilisation of β-carotene in food industry. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gas solubilities widespread applications

CERN Document Server

Gerrard, William

1980-01-01

Gas Solubilities: Widespread Applications discusses several topics concerning the various applications of gas solubilities. The first chapter of the book reviews Henr's law, while the second chapter covers the effect of temperature on gas solubility. The third chapter discusses the various gases used by Horiuti, and the following chapters evaluate the data on sulfur dioxide, chlorine data, and solubility data for hydrogen sulfide. Chapter 7 concerns itself with solubility of radon, thoron, and actinon. Chapter 8 tackles the solubilities of diborane and the gaseous hydrides of groups IV, V, and

Bacterial expression of human kynurenine 3-monooxygenase: solubility, activity, purification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, K; Mole, D J; Binnie, M; Homer, N Z M; Zheng, X; Yard, B A; Iredale, J P; Auer, M; Webster, S P

2014-03-01

Kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) is an enzyme central to the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan metabolism. KMO has been implicated as a therapeutic target in several disease states, including Huntington's disease. Recombinant human KMO protein production is challenging due to the presence of transmembrane domains, which localise KMO to the outer mitochondrial membrane and render KMO insoluble in many in vitro expression systems. Efficient bacterial expression of human KMO would accelerate drug development of KMO inhibitors but until now this has not been achieved. Here we report the first successful bacterial (Escherichia coli) expression of active FLAG™-tagged human KMO enzyme expressed in the soluble fraction and progress towards its purification. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genome-wide recombination rate variation in a recombination map of cotton.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Chao; Li, Ximei; Zhang, Ruiting; Lin, Zhongxu

2017-01-01

Recombination is crucial for genetic evolution, which not only provides new allele combinations but also influences the biological evolution and efficacy of natural selection. However, recombination variation is not well understood outside of the complex species' genomes, and it is particularly unclear in Gossypium. Cotton is the most important natural fibre crop and the second largest oil-seed crop. Here, we found that the genetic and physical maps distances did not have a simple linear relationship. Recombination rates were unevenly distributed throughout the cotton genome, which showed marked changes along the chromosome lengths and recombination was completely suppressed in the centromeric regions. Recombination rates significantly varied between A-subgenome (At) (range = 1.60 to 3.26 centimorgan/megabase [cM/Mb]) and D-subgenome (Dt) (range = 2.17 to 4.97 cM/Mb), which explained why the genetic maps of At and Dt are similar but the physical map of Dt is only half that of At. The translocation regions between A02 and A03 and between A04 and A05, and the inversion regions on A10, D10, A07 and D07 indicated relatively high recombination rates in the distal regions of the chromosomes. Recombination rates were positively correlated with the densities of genes, markers and the distance from the centromere, and negatively correlated with transposable elements (TEs). The gene ontology (GO) categories showed that genes in high recombination regions may tend to response to environmental stimuli, and genes in low recombination regions are related to mitosis and meiosis, which suggested that they may provide the primary driving force in adaptive evolution and assure the stability of basic cell cycle in a rapidly changing environment. Global knowledge of recombination rates will facilitate genetics and breeding in cotton.

Expression of human DNA polymerase β in Escherichia coli and characterization of the recombinant enzyme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbotts, J.; SenGupta, D.N.; Zmudzka, B.; Widen, S.G.; Notario, V.; Wilson, S.H.

1988-01-01

The coding region of a human β-polymerase cDNA, predicting a 335 amino acid protein, was subcloned in the Escherichia coli expression plasmid pRC23. After induction of transformed cells, the crude soluble extract was found to contain a new protein immunoreactive with β-polymerase antibody and corresponding in size to the protein deduced from the cDNA. This protein was purified in a yield of 1-2 mg/50 g of cells. The recombinant protein had about the same DNA polymerase specific activity as β-polymerase purified from mammalian tissues, and template-primer specificity and immunological properties of the recombinant polymerase were similar to those of natural β-polymerases. The purified enzyme was free of nuclease activity. The authors studied detailed catalytic properties of the recombinant β-polymerase using defined template-primer systems. The results indicate that this β-polymerase is essentially identical with natural β-polymerases. The recombinant enzyme is distributive in mode of synthesis and is capable of detecting changes in the integrity of the single-stranded template, such as methylated bases and a double-stranded region. The enzyme recognizes a template region four to seven bases downstream of the primer 3' end and utilizes alternative primers if this downstream template region is double stranded. The enzyme is unable to synthesize past methylated bases N 3 -methyl-dT or O 6 -methyl-dG

Recombinant protein expression of Moringa oleifera lectin in methylotrophic yeast as active coagulant for sustainable high turbid water treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Abd Wahid, Muhamad Azhar; Megat Mohd Noor, Megat Johari; Goto, Masafumi; Sugiura, Norio; Othman, Nor'azizi; Zakaria, Zuriati; Ahmad Mohammed, Thamer; Jusoh, Ahmad; Hara, Hirofumi

2017-08-01

The natural coagulant Moringa oleifera lectin (MoL) as cationic protein is a promising candidate in coagulation process of water treatment plant. Introducing the gene encoding MoL into a host, Pichia pastoris, to secrete soluble recombinant protein is assessed in this study. Initial screening using PCR confirmed the insertion of MoL gene, and SDS-PAGE analysis detected the MoL protein at 8 kDa. Cultured optimization showed the highest MoL protein at 520 mg/L was observed at 28 °C for 144 h of culturing by induction in 1% methanol. Approximately, 0.40 mg/mL of recombinant MoL protein showed 95 ± 2% turbidity removal of 1% kaolin suspension. In 0.1% kaolin suspension, the concentration of MoL at 10 μg/mL exhibits the highest turbidity reduction at 68 ± 1%. Thus, recombinant MoL protein from P. pastoris is an effective coagulant for water treatment.

Fine-Scale Recombination Maps of Fungal Plant Pathogens Reveal Dynamic Recombination Landscapes and Intragenic Hotspots.

Science.gov (United States)

Stukenbrock, Eva H; Dutheil, Julien Y

2018-03-01

Meiotic recombination is an important driver of evolution. Variability in the intensity of recombination across chromosomes can affect sequence composition, nucleotide variation, and rates of adaptation. In many organisms, recombination events are concentrated within short segments termed recombination hotspots. The variation in recombination rate and positions of recombination hotspot can be studied using population genomics data and statistical methods. In this study, we conducted population genomics analyses to address the evolution of recombination in two closely related fungal plant pathogens: the prominent wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici and a sister species infecting wild grasses Z. ardabiliae We specifically addressed whether recombination landscapes, including hotspot positions, are conserved in the two recently diverged species and if recombination contributes to rapid evolution of pathogenicity traits. We conducted a detailed simulation analysis to assess the performance of methods of recombination rate estimation based on patterns of linkage disequilibrium, in particular in the context of high nucleotide diversity. Our analyses reveal overall high recombination rates, a lack of suppressed recombination in centromeres, and significantly lower recombination rates on chromosomes that are known to be accessory. The comparison of the recombination landscapes of the two species reveals a strong correlation of recombination rate at the megabase scale, but little correlation at smaller scales. The recombination landscapes in both pathogen species are dominated by frequent recombination hotspots across the genome including coding regions, suggesting a strong impact of recombination on gene evolution. A significant but small fraction of these hotspots colocalize between the two species, suggesting that hotspot dynamics contribute to the overall pattern of fast evolving recombination in these species. Copyright © 2018 Stukenbrock and Dutheil.

Optimalisation of expression conditions for production of round-leaf sundew chitinase (Drosera rotundifolia L. in three E. coli expression strains

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Rajninec

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Round-leaf sundew (Drosera rotundifolia L., family Droseraceae, genus Drosera, is one of a few plant species with a strong antifungal potential. Chitinases of carnivorous plants play an important role in decomposition of chitin-containing cell structures of insect prey. The cell wall of many phytopathogenic fungi also contains chitin, which can be utilized by chitinases, thus round-leaf sundew represents an interesting gene source for plant biotechnology. The purpose of this study was to compare the suitability of 3 different E. coli expression strains (E. coli BL21- CodonPlus® (DE3-RIPL, E. coli ArcticExpress (DE3RIL and E. coli SHuffle® T7 for production and isolation of heterologous round-leaf sundew chitinase (DrChit. Results showed that the recombinant protein was successfully expressed in all three strains, but occurred in insoluble protein fraction. To get the DrChit protein into soluble protein fraction some modifications concerning to induction temperatures and concentration of the IPTG inductor were tested. In addition, composition of lysis buffer has been modified with supplementation of strong non-ionic detergents, Triton® X100 and Tween® 20, respectively. As these modifications didn’t increase the amount of the DrChit protein in soluble fraction, therefore, its isolation under denaturing conditions and subsequent refolding for activity assays is recommended.

Production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli tagged with the fusion protein CusF3H.

Science.gov (United States)

Vargas-Cortez, Teresa; Morones-Ramirez, Jose Ruben; Balderas-Renteria, Isaias; Zarate, Xristo

2017-04-01

Recombinant protein expression in the bacterium Escherichia coli still is the number one choice for large-scale protein production. Nevertheless, many complications can arise using this microorganism, such as low yields, the formation of inclusion bodies, and the requirement for difficult purification steps. Most of these problems can be solved with the use of fusion proteins. Here, the use of the metal-binding protein CusF3H+ is described as a new fusion protein for recombinant protein expression and purification in E. coli. We have previously shown that CusF produces large amounts of soluble protein, with low levels of formation of inclusion bodies, and that proteins can be purified using IMAC resins charged with Cu(II) ions. CusF3H+ is an enhanced variant of CusF, formed by the addition of three histidine residues at the N-terminus. These residues then can bind Ni(II) ions allowing improved purity after affinity chromatography. Expression and purification of Green Fluorescent Protein tagged with CusF3H+ showed that the mutation did not alter the capacity of the fusion protein to increase protein expression, and purity improved considerably after affinity chromatography with immobilized nickel ions; high yields are obtained after tag-removal since CusF3H+ is a small protein of just 10 kDa. Furthermore, the results of experiments involving expression of tagged proteins having medium to large molecular weights indicate that the presence of the CusF3H+ tag improves protein solubility, as compared to a His-tag. We therefore endorse CusF3H+ as a useful alternative fusion protein/affinity tag for production of recombinant proteins in E. coli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Construction and screening of phage antibody libraries against epidermal growth factor receptor and soluble expression of single chain Fv].

Science.gov (United States)

Sheng, Wei-Jin; Miao, Qing-Fang; Zhen, Yong-Su

2009-06-01

Recent studies have shown that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is an important target for cancer therapy. The present study prepared single chain Fv (scFv) directed against EGFR. Balb/c mice were immunized by human carcinoma A431 cells, and total RNA of the splenic cells was extracted. VH and VL gene fragments were amplified by RT-PCR and further joined into scFv gene with a linker, then scFv gene fragments were ligated into the phagemid vector pCANTAB 5E. The phagemid containing scFv were transformed into electro-competent E. coli TG1 cells. The recombinant phage antibody library was constructed through rescuing the transformed cells with help phage M13K07. The specified recombinant phages were enriched through 5 rounds of affinity panning and the anti-EGFR phage scFv clones were screened and identified with ELISA. A total of 48 clones from the library were selected randomly and 45 clones were identified positive. After infecting E. coli HB2151 cells with one positive clone, soluble recombinant antibodies about 27 kD were produced and located in the periplasm and the supernatant. The result of sequencing showed that the scFv gene was 768 bp, which encoded 256 amino acid residues. VH and VL including 3 CDRs and 4 FRs, respectively, were all homologous to mouse Ig. The soluble scFv showed the specific binding activity to purified EGFR and EGFR located in carcinoma cell membrane. The successful preparation of anti-EGFR scFv will provide an EGFR targeted molecule for the development of antibody-based drugs and biological therapy of cancer.

Anti-Neuroblastoma Properties of a Recombinant Sunflower Lectin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela Pinedo

2017-01-01

Full Text Available According to their sugar recognition specificity, plant lectins are proposed as bioactive proteins with potential in cancer treatment and diagnosis. Helja is a mannose-specific jacalin-like lectin from sunflower which was shown to inhibit the growth of certain fungi. Here, we report its recombinant expression in a prokaryotic system and its activity in neurobalstoma cells. Helja coding sequence was fused to the pET-32 EK/LIC, the enterokinase/Ligation-independent cloning vector and a 35 kDa protein was obtained in Escherichia coli representing Helja coupled to thioredoxin (Trx. The identity of this protein was verified using anti-Helja antibodies. This chimera, named Trx-rHelja, was enriched in the soluble bacterial extracts and was purified using Ni+2-Sepharose and d-mannose-agarose chromatography. Trx-rHelja and the enterokinase-released recombinant Helja (rHelja both displayed toxicity on human SH-SY5Y neuroblastomas. rHelja decreased the viability of these tumor cells by 75% according to the tetrazolium reduction assay, and microscopic analyses revealed that the cell morphology was disturbed. Thus, the stellate cells of the monolayer became spheroids and were isolated. Our results indicate that rHelja is a promising tool for the development of diagnostic or therapeutic methods for neuroblastoma cells, the most common solid tumors in childhood.

Genetic Recombination

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehouse, H. L. K.

1973-01-01

Discusses the mechanisms of genetic recombination with particular emphasis on the study of the fungus Sordaria brevicollis. The study of recombination is facilitated by the use of mutants of this fungus in which the color of the ascospores is affected. (JR)

Utilizing protein-lean coproducts from corn containing recombinant pharmaceutical proteins for ethanol production.

Science.gov (United States)

Paraman, Ilankovan; Moeller, Lorena; Scott, M Paul; Wang, Kan; Glatz, Charles E; Johnson, Lawrence A

2010-10-13

Protein-lean fractions of corn (maize) containing recombinant (r) pharmaceutical proteins were evaluated as a potential feedstock to produce fuel ethanol. The levels of residual r-proteins in the coproduct, distillers dry grains with solubles (DDGS), were determined. Transgenic corn lines containing recombinant green fluorescence protein (r-GFP) and a recombinant subunit vaccine of Escherichia coli enterotoxin (r-LTB), primarily expressed in endosperm, and another two corn lines containing recombinant human collagen (r-CIα1) and r-GFP, primarily expressed in germ, were used as model systems. The kernels were either ground and used for fermentation or dry fractionated to recover germ-rich fractions prior to grinding for fermentation. The finished beers of whole ground kernels and r-protein-spent endosperm solids contained 127-139 and 138-155 g/L ethanol concentrations, respectively. The ethanol levels did not differ among transgenic and normal corn feedstocks, indicating the residual r-proteins did not negatively affect ethanol production. r-Protein extraction and germ removal also did not negatively affect fermentation of the remaining mass. Most r-proteins were inactivated during the mashing process used to prepare corn for fermentation. No functionally active r-GFP or r-LTB proteins were found after fermentation of the r-protein-spent solids; however, a small quantity of residual r-CIα1 was detected in DDGS, indicating that the safety of DDGS produced from transgenic grain for r-protein production needs to be evaluated for each event. Protease treatment during fermentation completely hydrolyzed the residual r-CIα1, and no residual r-proteins were detectable in DDGS.

Cohnella amylopullulanases: Biochemical characterization of two recombinant thermophilic enzymes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Zebardast Roodi

Full Text Available Some industries require newer, more efficient recombinant enzymes to accelerate their ongoing biochemical reactions in harsh environments with less replenishment. Thus, the search for native enzymes from extremophiles that are suitable for use under industrial conditions is a permanent challenge for R & D departments. Here and toward such discoveries, two sequences homologous to amylopullulanases (EC 3.2.1.41, GH57 from an endogenous Cohnella sp., [Coh00831 (KP335161; 1998 bp and Coh01133 (KP335160: 3678 bp] were identified. The genes were heterologously expressed in E. coli to both determine their type and further characterize their properties. The isolated DNA was PCR amplified with gene specific primers and cloned in pET28a, and the recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3. The temperatures and pH optima of purified recombinants Coh 01133 and Coh 00831 enzymes were 70°C and 8, and 60°C and 6, respectively. These enzymes are stable more than 90% in 60°C and 50°C for 90 min respectively. The major reactions released sugars which could be fractionated by HPLC analysis, from soluble starch were mainly maltose (G2, maltotriose (G3 and maltotetraose (G4. The enzymes hydrolyzed pullulan to maltotriose (G3 only. Enzyme activities for both proteins were improved in the availability of Mn2+, Ba2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ and reduced in the presence of Fe2+, Li2+, Na2+, Triton X100 and urea. Moreover, Co2+, K+, and Cu2+ had a negative effect only on Coh 01133 enzyme.

Cohnella amylopullulanases: Biochemical characterization of two recombinant thermophilic enzymes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zebardast Roodi, Fatemeh; Aminzadeh, Saeed; Farrokhi, Naser; Karkhane, AliAsghar; Haghbeen, Kamahldin

2017-01-01

Some industries require newer, more efficient recombinant enzymes to accelerate their ongoing biochemical reactions in harsh environments with less replenishment. Thus, the search for native enzymes from extremophiles that are suitable for use under industrial conditions is a permanent challenge for R & D departments. Here and toward such discoveries, two sequences homologous to amylopullulanases (EC 3.2.1.41, GH57) from an endogenous Cohnella sp., [Coh00831 (KP335161; 1998 bp) and Coh01133 (KP335160: 3678 bp)] were identified. The genes were heterologously expressed in E. coli to both determine their type and further characterize their properties. The isolated DNA was PCR amplified with gene specific primers and cloned in pET28a, and the recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The temperatures and pH optima of purified recombinants Coh 01133 and Coh 00831 enzymes were 70°C and 8, and 60°C and 6, respectively. These enzymes are stable more than 90% in 60°C and 50°C for 90 min respectively. The major reactions released sugars which could be fractionated by HPLC analysis, from soluble starch were mainly maltose (G2), maltotriose (G3) and maltotetraose (G4). The enzymes hydrolyzed pullulan to maltotriose (G3) only. Enzyme activities for both proteins were improved in the availability of Mn2+, Ba2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ and reduced in the presence of Fe2+, Li2+, Na2+, Triton X100 and urea. Moreover, Co2+, K+, and Cu2+ had a negative effect only on Coh 01133 enzyme.

Differential Targeting of Hsp70 Heat Shock Proteins HSPA6 and HSPA1A with Components of a Protein Disaggregation/Refolding Machine in Differentiated Human Neuronal Cells following Thermal Stress

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Ian R. Brown

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Heat shock proteins (Hsps co-operate in multi-protein machines that counter protein misfolding and aggregation and involve DNAJ (Hsp40, HSPA (Hsp70, and HSPH (Hsp105α. The HSPA family is a multigene family composed of inducible and constitutively expressed members. Inducible HSPA6 (Hsp70B' is found in the human genome but not in the genomes of mouse and rat. To advance knowledge of this little studied HSPA member, the targeting of HSPA6 to stress-sensitive neuronal sites with components of a disaggregation/refolding machine was investigated following thermal stress. HSPA6 targeted the periphery of nuclear speckles (perispeckles that have been characterized as sites of transcription. However, HSPA6 did not co-localize at perispeckles with DNAJB1 (Hsp40-1 or HSPH1 (Hsp105α. At 3 h after heat shock, HSPA6 co-localized with these members of the disaggregation/refolding machine at the granular component (GC of the nucleolus. Inducible HSPA1A (Hsp70-1 and constitutively expressed HSPA8 (Hsc70 co-localized at nuclear speckles with components of the machine immediately after heat shock, and at the GC layer of the nucleolus at 1 h with DNAJA1 and BAG-1. These results suggest that HSPA6 exhibits targeting features that are not apparent for HSPA1A and HSPA8.

Efficient protein production method for NMR using soluble protein tags with cold shock expression vector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayashi, Kokoro; Kojima, Chojiro

2010-01-01

The E. coli protein expression system is one of the most useful methods employed for NMR sample preparation. However, the production of some recombinant proteins in E. coli is often hampered by difficulties such as low expression level and low solubility. To address these problems, a modified cold-shock expression system containing a glutathione S-transferase (GST) tag, the pCold-GST system, was investigated. The pCold-GST system successfully expressed 9 out of 10 proteins that otherwise could not be expressed using a conventional E. coli expression system. Here, we applied the pCold-GST system to 84 proteins and 78 proteins were successfully expressed in the soluble fraction. Three other cold-shock expression systems containing a maltose binding protein tag (pCold-MBP), protein G B1 domain tag (pCold-GB1) or thioredoxin tag (pCold-Trx) were also developed to improve the yield. Additionally, we show that a C-terminal proline tag, which is invisible in 1 H- 15 N HSQC spectra, inhibits protein degradation and increases the final yield of unstable proteins. The purified proteins were amenable to NMR analyses. These data suggest that pCold expression systems combined with soluble protein tags can be utilized to improve the expression and purification of various proteins for NMR analysis.

Fundamental Studies of Recombinant Hydrogenases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, Michael W. [Univ. of Georgia, Athens, GA (United States)

2014-01-25

This research addressed the long term goals of understanding the assembly and organization of hydrogenase enzymes, of reducing them in size and complexity, of determining structure/function relationships, including energy conservation via charge separation across membranes, and in screening for novel H2 catalysts. A key overall goal of the proposed research was to define and characterize minimal hydrogenases that are produced in high yields and are oxygen-resistant. Remarkably, in spite of decades of research carried out on hydrogenases, it is not possible to readily manipulate or design the enzyme using molecular biology approaches since a recombinant form produced in a suitable host is not available. Such resources are essential if we are to understand what constitutes a “minimal” hydrogenase and design such catalysts with certain properties, such as resistance to oxygen, extreme stability and specificity for a given electron donor. The model system for our studies is Pyrococcus furiosus, a hyperthermophile that grows optimally at 100°C, which contains three different nickel-iron [NiFe-] containing hydrogenases. Hydrogenases I and II are cytoplasmic while the other, MBH, is an integral membrane protein that functions to both evolve H2 and pump protons. Three important breakthroughs were made during the funding period with P. furiosus soluble hydrogenase I (SHI). First, we produced an active recombinant form of SHI in E. coli by the co-expression of sixteen genes using anaerobically-induced promoters. Second, we genetically-engineered P. furiosus to overexpress SHI by an order of magnitude compared to the wild type strain. Third, we generated the first ‘minimal’ form of SHI, one that contained two rather than four subunits. This dimeric form was stable and active, and directly interacted with a pyruvate-oxidizing enzyme with any intermediate electron carrier. The research resulted in five peer-reviewed publications.

Administration of Recombinant Soluble Urokinase Receptor Per Se Is Not Sufficient to Induce Podocyte Alterations and Proteinuria in Mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cathelin, Dominique; Placier, Sandrine; Ploug, Michael

2014-01-01

characterized forms of recombinant suPAR produced by eukaryotic cells were administered over the short or long term to wild-type (WT) mice. In accordance with the previous study, the delivered suPARs are deposited in the glomeruli. However, such deposition of either form of suPAR in the kidney did not result...

ESPRIT: an automated, library-based method for mapping and soluble expression of protein domains from challenging targets.

Science.gov (United States)

Yumerefendi, Hayretin; Tarendeau, Franck; Mas, Philippe J; Hart, Darren J

2010-10-01

Expression of sufficient quantities of soluble protein for structural biology and other applications is often a very difficult task, especially when multimilligram quantities are required. In order to improve yield, solubility or crystallisability of a protein, it is common to subclone shorter genetic constructs corresponding to single- or multi-domain fragments. However, it is not always clear where domain boundaries are located, especially when working on novel targets with little or no sequence similarity to other proteins. Several methods have been described employing aspects of directed evolution to the recombinant expression of challenging proteins. These combine the construction of a random library of genetic constructs of a target with a screening or selection process to identify solubly expressing protein fragments. Here we review several datasets from the ESPRIT (Expression of Soluble Proteins by Random Incremental Truncation) technology to provide a view on its capabilities. Firstly, we demonstrate how it functions using the well-characterised NF-kappaB p50 transcription factor as a model system. Secondly, application of ESPRIT to the challenging PB2 subunit of influenza polymerase has led to several novel atomic resolution structures; here we present an overview of the screening phase of that project. Thirdly, analysis of the human kinase TBK1 is presented to show how the ESPRIT technology rapidly addresses the compatibility of challenging targets with the Escherichia coli expression system.

Characterization of humoral responses to soluble trimeric HIV gp140 from a clade A Ugandan field isolate.

Science.gov (United States)

Visciano, Maria Luisa; Tagliamonte, Maria; Stewart-Jones, Guillaume; Heyndrickx, Leo; Vanham, Guido; Jansson, Marianne; Fomsgaard, Anders; Grevstad, Berit; Ramaswamy, Meghna; Buonaguro, Franco M; Tornesello, Maria Lina; Biswas, Priscilla; Scarlatti, Gabriella; Buonaguro, Luigi

2013-07-08

Trimeric soluble forms of HIV gp140 envelope glycoproteins represent one of the closest molecular structures compared to native spikes present on intact virus particles. Trimeric soluble gp140 have been generated by several groups and such molecules have been shown to induce antibodies with neutralizing activity against homologous and heterologous viruses. In the present study, we generated a recombinant trimeric soluble gp140, derived from a previously identified Ugandan A-clade HIV field isolate (gp14094UG018). Antibodies elicited in immunized rabbits show a broad binding pattern to HIV envelopes of different clades. An epitope mapping analysis reveals that, on average, the binding is mostly focused on the C1, C2, V3, V5 and C5 regions. Immune sera show neutralization activity to Tier 1 isolates of different clades, demonstrating cross clade neutralizing activity which needs to be further broadened by possible structural modifications of the clade A gp14094UG018. Our results provide a rationale for the design and evaluation of immunogens and the clade A gp14094UG018 shows promising characteristics for potential involvement in an effective HIV vaccine with broad activity.

Identification of the hemoglobin scavenger receptor/CD163 as a natural soluble protein in plasma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Holger Jon; Peterslund, Niels Anker; Graversen, Jonas Heilskov

2002-01-01

enabled identification of a soluble plasma form of HbSR (sHbSR) having an electrophoretic mobility equal to that of recombinant HbSR consisting of the extracellular domain (scavenger receptor cysteine-rich 1-9). A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was established and used to measure the s...... a level of sHbSR above the range of healthy persons. Patients with myelomonocytic leukemias and pneumonia/sepsis exhibited the highest levels (up to 67.3 mg/L). In conclusion, sHbSR is an abundant plasma protein potentially valuable in monitoring patients with infections and myelomonocytic leukemia....

Neptunium (IV) oxalate solubility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luerkens, D.W.

1983-07-01

The equilibrium solubility of neptunium (IV) oxalate in nitric/oxalic acid solutions was determined at 22 0 C, 45 0 C, and 60 0 C. The concentrations of nitric/oxalic acid solutions represented a wide range of free oxalate ion concentration. A mathematical solubility model was developed which is based on the formation of the known complexes of neptunium (IV) oxalate. the solubility model uses a simplified concentration parameter which is proportional to the free oxalate ion concentration. The solubility model can be used to estimate the equilibrium solubility of neptunium (IV) oxalate over a wide range of oxalic and nitric acid concentrations at each temperature

Simple and Efficient Purification of Recombinant Proteins Using the Heparin-Binding Affinity Tag.

Science.gov (United States)

Jayanthi, Srinivas; Gundampati, Ravi Kumar; Kumar, Thallapuranam Krishnaswamy Suresh

2017-11-01

Heparin, a member of the glycosaminoglycan family, is known to interact with more than 400 different types of proteins. For the past few decades, significant progress has been made to understand the molecular details involved in heparin-protein interactions. Based on the structural knowledge available from the FGF1-heparin interaction studies, we have designed a novel heparin-binding peptide (HBP) affinity tag that can be used for the simple, efficient, and cost-effective purification of recombinant proteins of interest. HBP-tagged fusion proteins can be purified by heparin Sepharose affinity chromatography using a simple sodium chloride gradient to elute the bound fusion protein. In addition, owing to the high density of positive charges on the HBP tag, recombinant target proteins are preferably expressed in their soluble forms. The purification of HBP-fusion proteins can also be achieved in the presence of chemical denaturants, including urea. Additionally, polyclonal antibodies raised against the affinity tag can be used to detect HBP-fused target proteins with high sensitivity. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Recombinant expression of homodimeric 660 kDa human thyroglobulin in soybean seeds: an alternative source of human thyroglobulin.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Rebecca; Hudson, Laura C; Lambirth, Kevin C; Luth, Diane; Wang, Kan; Bost, Kenneth L; Piller, Kenneth J

2011-07-01

Soybean seeds possess many qualities that make them ideal targets for the production of recombinant proteins. However, one quality often overlooked is their ability to stockpile large amounts of complex storage proteins. Because of this characteristic, we hypothesized that soybean seeds would support recombinant expression of large and complex proteins that are currently difficult or impossible to express using traditional plant and non-plant-based host systems. To test this hypothesis, we transformed soybeans with a synthetic gene encoding human thyroglobulin (hTG)-a 660 kDa homodimeric protein that is widely used in the diagnostic industry for screening and detection of thyroid disease. In the absence of a recombinant system that can produce recombinant hTG, research and diagnostic grade hTG continues to be purified from cadaver and surgically removed thyroid tissue. These less-than-ideal tissue sources lack uniform glycosylation and iodination and therefore introduce variability when purified hTG is used in sensitive ELISA screens. In this study, we report the successful expression of recombinant hTG in soybean seeds. Authenticity of the soy-derived protein was demonstrated using commercial ELISA kits developed specifically for the detection of hTG in patient sera. Western analyses and gel filtration chromatography demonstrated that recombinant hTG and thyroid-purified hTG are biologically similar with respect to size, mass, charge and subunit interaction. The recombinant protein was stable over three generations and accumulated to ~1.5% of total soluble seed protein. These results support our hypothesis that soybeans represent a practical alternative to traditional host systems for the expression of large and complex proteins.

Uranium solubility and solubility controls in selected Needle's Eye groundwaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falck, W.E.; Hooker, P.J.

1991-01-01

The solubility control of uranium in selected groundwater samples from the cliff and sediments at the Needle's Eye natural analogue site is investigated using the speciation code PHREEQE and the CHEMVAL thermodynamic database (release 3). Alkali-earth bearing uranyl carbonate secondary minerals are likely to exert influence on the solubility . Other candidates are UO 2 and arsenates, depending on the prevailing redox conditions. In the absence of literature data, solubility products for important arsenates have been estimated from analogy with other arsenates and phosphates. Phosphates themselves are unlikely to exert control owing to their comparatively high solubilities. The influence of seawater flooding into the sediments is also discussed. The importance of uranyl arsenates in the retardation of uranium in shallow sediments has been demonstrated in theory, but there are some significant gaps in the thermodynamic databases used. (author)

The Use of Soluble Transferrin Receptor in the Detection of rHuEPO abuse in Sports

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donovan McGrowder

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Erythropoietin (EPO increases the number of circulating erythrocytes and muscle oxygenation. The recombinant forms of EPO have indiscriminately been used by athletes, mainly in endurance sports to increase their erythrocytes concentration, thus generating a better delivery of oxygen to the muscle tissue. The administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO except for therapeutic use was prohibited by the International Olympic Committee (IOC and its unauthorized use considered as doping. In the last few years, a number of studies using parameters indicative of accelerated erythropoiesis have investigated a number of indirect methods for the detection of rHuEPO abuse. No single indirect marker has been found that can satisfactorily demonstrated rHuEPO misuse. Soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR is a new marker of iron status and erythropoietic activity. It has been included in multivariable blood testing models for the detection of performance enhancing EPO abuse in sports. Indirect markers of altered erythropoiesis give reliable evidence of current or discontinued rHuEPO usage. This review describes the physical, biological and pharmacokinetic properties of endogenous EPO and its recombinant form. It also discusses the available strategies for the detection of rHuEPO abuse in sports, involving the use of sTfR concentration directly or in mathematical multivariate models.

Smart sustainable bottle (SSB) system for E. coli based recombinant protein production.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhaopeng; Carstensen, Bettina; Rinas, Ursula

2014-11-05

Recombinant proteins are usually required in laboratories interested in the protein but not in the production process itself. Thus, technical equipment which is easy to handle and straight forward protein production procedures are of great benefit to those laboratories. Companies selling single use cultivation bags and bioreactors are trying to satisfy at least part of these needs. However, single-use systems can contribute to major costs which might be acceptable when "good manufacturing practices" are required but not acceptable for most laboratories facing tight funding. The assembly and application of a simple self-made "smart sustainable bottle" (SSB) system for E. coli based protein production is presented. The core of the SSB system is a 2-L glass bottle which is operated at constant temperature, air flow, and stirrer speed without measurement and control of pH and dissolved oxygen. Oxygen transfer capacities are in the range as in conventional bioreactors operated at intermediate aeration rates and by far exceed those found in conventional shaking flasks and disposable bioreactors. The SSB system was applied for the production of various recombinant proteins using T7-based expression systems and a defined autoinduction medium. The production performance regarding amount and solubility of proteins with robust and delicate properties was as good as in state-of-the-art stirred tank commercial bioreactors. The SSB system represents a low cost protein production device applicable for easy, effective, and reproducible recombinant protein production.

Surface expression, single-channel analysis and membrane topology of recombinant Chlamydia trachomatis Major Outer Membrane Protein

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McClafferty Heather

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Chlamydial bacteria are obligate intracellular pathogens containing a cysteine-rich porin (Major Outer Membrane Protein, MOMP with important structural and, in many species, immunity-related roles. MOMP forms extensive disulphide bonds with other chlamydial proteins, and is difficult to purify. Leaderless, recombinant MOMPs expressed in E. coli have yet to be refolded from inclusion bodies, and although leadered MOMP can be expressed in E. coli cells, it often misfolds and aggregates. We aimed to improve the surface expression of correctly folded MOMP to investigate the membrane topology of the protein, and provide a system to display native and modified MOMP epitopes. Results C. trachomatis MOMP was expressed on the surface of E. coli cells (including "porin knockout" cells after optimizing leader sequence, temperature and medium composition, and the protein was functionally reconstituted at the single-channel level to confirm it was folded correctly. Recombinant MOMP formed oligomers even in the absence of its 9 cysteine residues, and the unmodified protein also formed inter- and intra-subunit disulphide bonds. Its topology was modeled as a (16-stranded β-barrel, and specific structural predictions were tested by removing each of the four putative surface-exposed loops corresponding to highly immunogenic variable sequence (VS domains, and one or two of the putative transmembrane strands. The deletion of predicted external loops did not prevent folding and incorporation of MOMP into the E. coli outer membrane, in contrast to the removal of predicted transmembrane strands. Conclusions C. trachomatis MOMP was functionally expressed on the surface of E. coli cells under newly optimized conditions. Tests of its predicted membrane topology were consistent with β-barrel oligomers in which major immunogenic regions are displayed on surface-exposed loops. Functional surface expression, coupled with improved understanding of MOMP

Preparation and evaluation of a hydrophilic interaction and cation-exchange chromatography stationary phase modified with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Caifeng; Yuan, Jie; Wang, Zhiying; Wang, Siyao; Yuan, Chenchen; Wang, Lili

2018-04-20

In this work, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) was used as a ligand to prepare a novel mixed-mode chromatography (MMC) stationary phase by the thiol-ene click reaction onto silica (MPC-silica). It was found that this MPC-silica showed the retention characteristics of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) and weak cation exchange chromatography (WCX) under suitable mobile phase conditions. In detail, acidic and basic hydrophilic compounds and puerarin from pueraria were separated quickly with HILIC mode. Meanwhile, six standard proteins were allowed to reach baseline separation in WCX mode, and protein separation from egg white was also achieved with this mode. In addition, reduced/denatured lysozyme could be refolded with the MPC-silica column. In the meantime, the MPC-silica has been applied for refolding with simultaneous purification of recombinant human Delta-like1-RGD (rhDll1-RGD) expressed in Escherichia coli. The results show that the mass recovery and purity of rhDll1-RGD could reach 63.4% and 97% by one step, respectively. Furthermore, the reporter assay results demonstrated that refolded with simultaneously purified rhDll1-RGD could efficiently activate the signalling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. In general, this MPC-silica has good resolution and selectivity in the separation of polar compounds and protein samples in different high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) modes, and it successfully achieved refolding with simultaneous purification of denatured protein. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient system of artificial oil bodies for functional expression and purification of recombinant nattokinase in Escherichia coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Chung-Jen; Chen, Hong-Chen; Chao, Yun-Peng; Tzen, Jason T C

2005-06-15

Nattokinase, a serine protease, and pronattokinase, when expressed in Escherichia coli, formed insoluble aggregates without enzymatic activity. For functional expression and purification, nattokinase or pronattokinase was first overexpressed in E. coli as an insoluble recombinant protein linked to the C terminus of oleosin, a structural protein of seed oil bodies, by an intein fragment. Artificial oil bodies were reconstituted with triacylglycerol, phospholipid, and the insoluble recombinant protein thus formed. Soluble nattokinase was subsequently released through self-splicing of intein induced by temperature alteration, with the remaining oleosin-intein residing in oil bodies and the leading propeptide of pronattokinase, when present, spontaneously cleaved in the process. Active nattokinase with fibrinolytic activity was harvested by concentrating the supernatant. Nattokinase released from oleosin-intein-pronattokinase exhibited 5 times higher activity than that released from oleosin-intein-nattokinase, although the production yields were similar in both cases. Furthermore, active nattokinase could be harvested in the same system by fusing pronattokinase to the N terminus of oleosin via a different intein linker, with self-splicing induced by 1,4-dithiothreitol. These results have shown a great potential of this system for bacterial expression and purification of functional recombinant proteins.

Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila

Science.gov (United States)

Smukowski Heil, Caiti S.; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A.F.

2015-01-01

Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human–chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. PMID:26430062

Recombinant spider silk genetically functionalized with affinity domains.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansson, Ronnie; Thatikonda, Naresh; Lindberg, Diana; Rising, Anna; Johansson, Jan; Nygren, Per-Åke; Hedhammar, My

2014-05-12

Functionalization of biocompatible materials for presentation of active protein domains is an area of growing interest. Herein, we describe a strategy for functionalization of recombinant spider silk via gene fusion to affinity domains of broad biotechnological use. Four affinity domains of different origin and structure; the IgG-binding domains Z and C2, the albumin-binding domain ABD, and the biotin-binding domain M4, were all successfully produced as soluble silk fusion proteins under nondenaturing purification conditions. Silk films and fibers produced from the fusion proteins were demonstrated to be chemically and thermally stable. Still, the bioactive domains are concluded to be folded and accessible, since their respective targets could be selectively captured from complex samples, including rabbit serum and human plasma. Interestingly, materials produced from mixtures of two different silk fusion proteins displayed combined binding properties, suggesting that tailor-made materials with desired stoichiometry and surface distributions of several binding domains can be produced. Further, use of the IgG binding ability as a general mean for presentation of desired biomolecules could be demonstrated for a human vascular endothelial growth factor (hVEGF) model system, via a first capture of anti-VEGF IgG to silk containing the Z-domain, followed by incubation with hVEGF. Taken together, this study demonstrates the potential of recombinant silk, genetically functionalized with affinity domains, for construction of biomaterials capable of presentation of almost any desired biomolecule.

Laser-induced electron--ion recombination used to study enhanced spontaneous recombination during electron cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schramm, U.; Wolf, A.; Schuess ler, T.; Habs, D.; Schwalm, D.; Uwira, O.; Linkemann, J.; Mueller, A.

1997-01-01

Spontaneous recombination of highly charged ions with free electrons in merged velocity matched electron and ion beams has been observed in earlier experiments to occur at rates significantly higher than predicted by theoretical estimates. To study this enhanced spontaneous recombination, laser induced recombination spectra were measured both in velocity matched beams and in beams with well defined relative velocities, corresponding to relative electron-ion detuning energies ranging from 1 meV up to 6.5 meV where the spontaneous recombination enhancement was found to be strongly reduced. Based on a comparison with simplified calculations, the development of the recombination spectra for decreasing detuning energies indicates additional contributions at matched velocities which could be related to the energy distribution of electrons causing the spontaneous recombination rate enhancement

Effects of nuclear mutations for recombination and repair functions and of caffeine on mitochondrial recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraenkel, A.H.M.

1974-01-01

Studies of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms indicate that pathways governing repair of damage to nuclear DNA caused by x-ray or ultraviolet irradiation overlap with those controlling recombination. Fourteen nuclear mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were tested in order to determine whether these mutant genes affected mitochondrial recombination. None of the mutations studied significantly affected mitochondrial recombination. The nuclear recombination and repair pathways studied do not overlap with the nuclear pathway which controls recombination of mitochondrial DNA. A second set of experiments was designed to test the effect of caffeine on both nuclear and mitochondrial recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. (U.S.)

Cloning of Soluble Human Stem Cell Factor in pET-26b(+) Vector.

Science.gov (United States)

Asghari, Salman; Shekari Khaniani, Mahmoud; Darabi, Masood; Mansoori Derakhshan, Sima

2014-01-01

Stem cell factor (SCF) plays an important role in the survival, proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells. Potential therapeutic applications of SCF include hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, exvivo stem/progenitor cell expansion, gene therapy, and immunotherapy. Considering the cost and problem in accessibility of this product in Iran, clears the importance of indigenizing production of rhSCF. In the present work, we describe the construction of the soluble rhSCF expression vector in pET-26b (+) with periplasmic localization potential. Following PCR amplification of human SCF ORF, it is cloned in pET-26b (+) vector in NcoI and XhoI sites. The recombinant construct was transformed into BL21 (DE3) Ecoli strains. The construction of recombinant vector was verified by colony PCR and sequence analysis of pET26b-hSCF vector. Sequence analyses proved that human SCF ORF has been inserted into NcoI and XhoI site with correct orientation downstream of strong T7 promotor and showed no nucleotide errors. The SCF ORF was successfully cloned in pET-26b (+) expression vector and is ready for future production of SCF protein.

Recombinant Newcastle disease virus (NDV/Anh-IL-2 expressing human IL-2 as a potential candidate for suppresses growth of hepatoma therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunzhou Wu

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Newcastle disease virus (NDV have shown oncolytic therapeutic efficacy in preclinical study and are currently approved for clinical trials. NDV Anhinga strain which is a mesogenic strain should be classified as lytic strain and has a therapeutic efficacy in hepatocellular cancer. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of NDV Anhinga strain to elicit immune reaction in vivo and the possibility for using as a vaccine vector for expressing tumor therapeutic factors. Interleukin-2 (IL-2 could boost the immune response against the tumor cells. Therefore, we use NDV Anhinga strain as backbone to construct a recombinant virus (NDV/Anh-IL-2 expressing IL-2. The virus growth curve showed that the production of recombinant NDV/Anh-IL-2 was slightly delayed compared to the wild type. The NDV/Anh-IL-2 strain could express soluble IL-2 and effectively inhibit the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma in vivo. 60 days post-treatment, mice which were completely cured by previous treatment were well protected when rechallenged with the same tumor cell. From the H&E-stained sections, intense infiltration of lymphocyte was observed in the NDV Anhinga strain treated group, especially in NDV/Anh-IL-2 group. The NDV Anhinga strain could not only kill the tumor directly, but could also elicit immune reaction and a potent immunological memory when killing tumor in vivo. In conclusion, the Anhinga strain could be an effective vector for tumor therapy; the recombinant NDV/Anh-IL-2 strain expressing soluble IL-2 is a promising candidate for hepatoma therapy.

Recombining without Hotspots: A Comprehensive Evolutionary Portrait of Recombination in Two Closely Related Species of Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Smukowski Heil, Caiti S; Ellison, Chris; Dubin, Matthew; Noor, Mohamed A F

2015-10-01

Meiotic recombination rate varies across the genome within and between individuals, populations, and species in virtually all taxa studied. In almost every species, this variation takes the form of discrete recombination hotspots, determined in some mammals by a protein called PRDM9. Hotspots and their determinants have a profound effect on the genomic landscape, and share certain features that extend across the tree of life. Drosophila, in contrast, are anomalous in their absence of hotspots, PRDM9, and other species-specific differences in the determination of recombination. To better understand the evolution of meiosis and general patterns of recombination across diverse taxa, we present a truly comprehensive portrait of recombination across time, combining recently published cross-based contemporary recombination estimates from each of two sister species with newly obtained linkage-disequilibrium-based historic estimates of recombination from both of these species. Using Drosophila pseudoobscura and Drosophila miranda as a model system, we compare recombination rate between species at multiple scales, and we suggest that Drosophila replicate the pattern seen in human-chimpanzee in which recombination rate is conserved at broad scales. We also find evidence of a species-wide recombination modifier(s), resulting in both a present and historic genome-wide elevation of recombination rates in D. miranda, and identify broad scale effects on recombination from the presence of an inversion. Finally, we reveal an unprecedented view of the distribution of recombination in D. pseudoobscura, illustrating patterns of linked selection and where recombination is taking place. Overall, by combining these estimation approaches, we highlight key similarities and differences in recombination between Drosophila and other organisms. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Hydrogen solubility measurements of analyzed tall oil fractions and a solubility model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uusi-Kyyny, Petri; Pakkanen, Minna; Linnekoski, Juha; Alopaeus, Ville

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Hydrogen solubility was measured in four tall oil fractions between 373 and 597 K. • Continuous flow synthetic isothermal and isobaric method was used. • A Henry’s law model was developed for the distilled tall oil fractions. • The complex composition of the samples was analyzed and is presented. - Abstract: Knowledge of hydrogen solubility in tall oil fractions is important for designing hydrotreatment processes of these complex nonedible biobased materials. Unfortunately measurements of hydrogen solubility into these fractions are missing in the literature. This work reports hydrogen solubility measured in four tall oil fractions between 373 and 597 K and at pressures from 5 to 10 MPa. Three of the fractions were distilled tall oil fractions their resin acids contents are respectively 2, 20 and 23 in mass-%. Additionally one fraction was a crude tall oil (CTO) sample containing sterols as the main neutral fraction. Measurements were performed using a continuous flow synthetic isothermal and isobaric method based on the visual observation of the bubble point. Composition of the flow was changed step-wise for the bubble point composition determination. We assume that the tall oil fractions did not react during measurements, based on the composition analysis performed before and after the measurements. Additionally the densities of the fractions were measured at atmospheric pressure from 293.15 to 323.15 K. A Henry’s law model was developed for the distilled tall oil fractions describing the solubility with an absolute average deviation of 2.1%. Inputs of the solubility model are temperature, total pressure and the density of the oil at 323.15 K. The solubility of hydrogen in the CTO sample can be described with the developed model with an absolute average deviation of 3.4%. The solubility of hydrogen increases both with increasing pressure and/or increasing temperature. The more dense fractions of the tall oil exhibit lower hydrogen

Therapeutic Recombinant Monoclonal Antibodies

Science.gov (United States)

Bakhtiar, Ray

2012-01-01

During the last two decades, the rapid growth of biotechnology-derived techniques has led to a myriad of therapeutic recombinant monoclonal antibodies with significant clinical benefits. Recombinant monoclonal antibodies can be obtained from a number of natural sources such as animal cell cultures using recombinant DNA engineering. In contrast to…

Single-Step Purification and Characterization of A Recombinant Serine Proteinase Inhibitor from Transgenic Plants.

Science.gov (United States)

Jha, Shweta; Agarwal, Saurabh; Sanyal, Indraneel; Amla, D V

2016-05-01

Expression of recombinant therapeutic proteins in transgenic plants has a tremendous impact on safe and economical production of biomolecules for biopharmaceutical industry. The major limitation in their production is downstream processing of recombinant protein to obtain higher yield and purity of the final product. In this study, a simple and rapid process has been developed for purification of therapeutic recombinant α1-proteinase inhibitor (rα1-PI) from transgenic tomato plants, which is an abundant serine protease inhibitor in human serum and chiefly inhibits the activity of neutrophil elastase in lungs. We have expressed rα1-PI with modified synthetic gene in transgenic tomato plants at a very high level (≃3.2 % of total soluble protein). The heterologous protein was extracted with (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, followed by chromatographic separation on different matrices. However, only immunoaffinity chromatography resulted into homogenous preparation of rα1-PI with 54 % recovery. The plant-purified rα1-PI showed molecular mass and structural conformation comparable to native serum α1-PI, as shown by mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy. The results of elastase inhibition assay revealed biological activity of the purified rα1-PI protein. This work demonstrates a simple and efficient one-step purification of rα1-PI from transgenic plants, which is an essential prerequisite for further therapeutic development.

Soni-removal of nucleic acids from inclusion bodies.

Science.gov (United States)

Neerathilingam, Muniasamy; Mysore, Sumukh; Gandham, Sai Hari A

2014-05-23

Inclusion bodies (IBs) are commonly formed in Escherichia coli due to over expression of recombinant proteins in non-native state. Isolation, denaturation and refolding of these IBs is generally performed to obtain functional protein. However, during this process IBs tend to form non-specific interactions with sheared nucleic acids from the genome, thus getting carried over into downstream processes. This may hinder the refolding of IBs into their native state. To circumvent this, we demonstrate a methodology termed soni-removal which involves disruption of nucleic acid-inclusion body interaction using sonication; followed by solvent based separation. As opposed to conventional techniques that use enzymes and column-based separations, soni-removal is a cost effective alternative for complete elimination of buried and/or strongly bound short nucleic acid contaminants from IBs. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Soluble Form of Canine Transferrin Receptor Inhibits Canine Parvovirus Infection In Vitro and In Vivo

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Jiexia; Pan, Sumin; Liang, Shuang; Zhong, Zhenyu; He, Ying; Lin, Hongyu; Li, Wenyan; Wang, Liyue; Li, Xiujin; Zhong, Fei

2013-01-01

Canine parvovirus (CPV) disease is an acute, highly infectious disease threatening the dog-raising industry. So far there are no effective therapeutic strategies to control this disease. Although the canine transferrin receptor (TfR) was identified as a receptor for CPV infection, whether extracellular domain of TfR (called soluble TfR (sTfR)) possesses anti-CPV activities remains elusive. Here, we used the recombinant sTfR prepared from HEK293T cells with codon-optimized gene structure to investigate its anti-CPV activity both in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicated that codon optimization could significantly improve sTfR expression in HEK293T cells. The prepared recombinant sTfR possessed a binding activity to both CPV and CPV VP2 capsid proteins and significantly inhibited CPV infection of cultured feline F81 cells and decreased the mortality of CPV-infected dogs, which indicates that the sTfR has the anti-CPV activity both in vitro and in vivo. PMID:24089666

Soluble Form of Canine Transferrin Receptor Inhibits Canine Parvovirus Infection In Vitro and In Vivo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiexia Wen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Canine parvovirus (CPV disease is an acute, highly infectious disease threatening the dog-raising industry. So far there are no effective therapeutic strategies to control this disease. Although the canine transferrin receptor (TfR was identified as a receptor for CPV infection, whether extracellular domain of TfR (called soluble TfR (sTfR possesses anti-CPV activities remains elusive. Here, we used the recombinant sTfR prepared from HEK293T cells with codon-optimized gene structure to investigate its anti-CPV activity both in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicated that codon optimization could significantly improve sTfR expression in HEK293T cells. The prepared recombinant sTfR possessed a binding activity to both CPV and CPV VP2 capsid proteins and significantly inhibited CPV infection of cultured feline F81 cells and decreased the mortality of CPV-infected dogs, which indicates that the sTfR has the anti-CPV activity both in vitro and in vivo.

Pure Phase Solubility Limits: LANL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

C. Stockman

2001-01-01

The natural and engineered system at Yucca Mountain (YM) defines the site-specific conditions under which one must determine to what extent the engineered and the natural geochemical barriers will prevent the release of radioactive material from the repository. Most important mechanisms for retention or enhancement of radionuclide transport include precipitation or co-precipitation of radionuclide-bearing solid phases (solubility limits), complexation in solution, sorption onto surfaces, colloid formation, and diffusion. There may be many scenarios that could affect the near-field environment, creating chemical conditions more aggressive than the conditions presented by the unperturbed system (such as pH changes beyond the range of 6 to 9 or significant changes in the ionic strength of infiltrated waters). For an extended period of time, the near-field water composition may be quite different and more extreme in pH, ionic strength, and CO 2 partial pressure (or carbonate concentration) than waters at some distance from the repository. Reducing conditions, high pH (up to 11), and low carbonate concentration may be present in the near-field after reaction of infiltrating groundwater with engineered barrier systems, such as cementitious materials. In the far-field, conditions are controlled by the rock-mass buffer providing a near-neutral, oxidizing, low-ionic-strength environment that controls radionuclide solubility limits and sorption capacities. There is the need for characterization of variable chemical conditions that affect solubility, speciation, and sorption reactions. Modeling of the groundwater chemistry is required and leads to an understanding of solubility and speciation of the important radionuclides. Because experimental studies cannot be performed under the numerous potential chemical conditions, solubility limitations must rely on geochemical modeling of the radionuclide's chemistry. Fundamental thermodynamic properties, such as solubility products

Pure Phase Solubility Limits: LANL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

C. Stockman

2001-01-26

The natural and engineered system at Yucca Mountain (YM) defines the site-specific conditions under which one must determine to what extent the engineered and the natural geochemical barriers will prevent the release of radioactive material from the repository. Most important mechanisms for retention or enhancement of radionuclide transport include precipitation or co-precipitation of radionuclide-bearing solid phases (solubility limits), complexation in solution, sorption onto surfaces, colloid formation, and diffusion. There may be many scenarios that could affect the near-field environment, creating chemical conditions more aggressive than the conditions presented by the unperturbed system (such as pH changes beyond the range of 6 to 9 or significant changes in the ionic strength of infiltrated waters). For an extended period of time, the near-field water composition may be quite different and more extreme in pH, ionic strength, and CO{sub 2} partial pressure (or carbonate concentration) than waters at some distance from the repository. Reducing conditions, high pH (up to 11), and low carbonate concentration may be present in the near-field after reaction of infiltrating groundwater with engineered barrier systems, such as cementitious materials. In the far-field, conditions are controlled by the rock-mass buffer providing a near-neutral, oxidizing, low-ionic-strength environment that controls radionuclide solubility limits and sorption capacities. There is the need for characterization of variable chemical conditions that affect solubility, speciation, and sorption reactions. Modeling of the groundwater chemistry is required and leads to an understanding of solubility and speciation of the important radionuclides. Because experimental studies cannot be performed under the numerous potential chemical conditions, solubility limitations must rely on geochemical modeling of the radionuclide's chemistry. Fundamental thermodynamic properties, such as solubility

Effect of cyclodextrin complexation on the aqueous solubility and solubility/dose ratio of praziquantel.

Science.gov (United States)

Maragos, Stratos; Archontaki, Helen; Macheras, Panos; Valsami, Georgia

2009-01-01

Praziquantel (PZQ), the primary drug of choice in the treatment of schistosomiasis, is a highly lipophilic drug that possesses high permeability and low aqueous solubility and is, therefore, classified as a Class II drug according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS). In this work, beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) were used in order to determine whether increasing the aqueous solubility of a drug by complexation with CDs, a BCS-Class II compound like PZQ could behave as BCS-Class I (highly soluble/highly permeable) drug. Phase solubility and the kneading and lyophilization techniques were used for inclusion complex preparation; solubility was determined by UV spectroscopy. The ability of the water soluble polymer polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP) to increase the complexation and solubilization efficiency of beta-CD and HP-beta-CD for PZQ was examined. Results showed significant improvement of PZQ solubility in the presence of both cyclodextrins but no additional effect in the presence of PVP. The solubility/dose ratios values of PZQ-cyclodextrin complexes calculated considering the low (150 mg) and the high dose (600 mg) of PZQ, used in practice, indicate that PZQ complexation with CDs may result in drug dosage forms that would behave as a BCS-Class I depending on the administered dose.

Expression, refolding and crystallizations of the Grb2-like (GADS) C-terminal SH3 domain complexed with a SLP-76 motif peptide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faravelli, Alessandro; Dimasi, Nazzareno

2005-01-01

Several crystals of the Grb2-like C-terminal SH3 domain in complex with a motif peptide from the SLP-76 protein were obtained and characterized. The Grb2-like adaptor protein GADS is composed of an N-terminal SH3 domain, an SH2 domain, a proline-rich region and a C-terminal SH3 domain. GADS interacts through its C-terminal SH3 domain with the adaptor protein SLP-76, thus recruiting this protein and other associated molecules to the linker for activation of T-cell (LAT) protein. The DNA encoding the C-terminal SH3 domain of GADS (GADS-cSH3) was assembled synthetically using a recursive PCR technique and the protein was overexpressed in Escherichia coli, refolded and purified. Several crystals of this domain in complex with the SLP-76 peptide were obtained and characterized

The production, purification and crystallization of a soluble form of the nonclassical MHC HLA-G: the essential role of cobalt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clements, Craig S.; Kjer-Nielsen, Lars; Kostenko, Lyudmila; McCluskey, James; Rossjohn, Jamie

2005-01-01

X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.9 Å from crystals of HLA-G. Cobalt ions were found to be essential for the production of diffracting crystals. HLA-G is a nonclassical class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule that is primarily expressed at the foetal–maternal interface. Although the role of HLA-G has not been fully elucidated, current evidence suggests it protects the foetus from the maternal immune response. In this report, HLA-G (44 kDa) is characterized by expression in Escherichia coli. The inclusion bodies were refolded in complex with a peptide derived from histone H2A (RIIPRHLQL), purified and subsequently crystallized. Correct refolding was determined using two conformation-dependent antibodies. Cobalt ions were shown to be an essential ingredient for obtaining diffraction-quality crystals. The crystals, which diffracted to 1.9 Å resolution, belonged to space group P3 2 2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = b = 77.15, c = 151.72 Å

Oral formulation strategies to improve solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs.

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Singh, Abhishek; Worku, Zelalem Ayenew; Van den Mooter, Guy

2011-10-01

In the past two decades, there has been a spiraling increase in the complexity and specificity of drug-receptor targets. It is possible to design drugs for these diverse targets with advances in combinatorial chemistry and high throughput screening. Unfortunately, but not entirely unexpectedly, these advances have been accompanied by an increase in the structural complexity and a decrease in the solubility of the active pharmaceutical ingredient. Therefore, the importance of formulation strategies to improve the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs is inevitable, thus making it crucial to understand and explore the recent trends. Drug delivery systems (DDS), such as solid dispersions, soluble complexes, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS), nanocrystals and mesoporous inorganic carriers, are discussed briefly in this review, along with examples of marketed products. This article provides the reader with a concise overview of currently relevant formulation strategies and proposes anticipated future trends. Today, the pharmaceutical industry has at its disposal a series of reliable and scalable formulation strategies for poorly soluble drugs. However, due to a lack of understanding of the basic physical chemistry behind these strategies, formulation development is still driven by trial and error.

Efficient protein production method for NMR using soluble protein tags with cold shock expression vector

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Hayashi, Kokoro [Fujifilm Corporation, Analysis Technology Center (Japan); Kojima, Chojiro, E-mail: kojima@protein.osaka-u.ac.j [Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Graduate School of Biological Sciences (Japan)

2010-11-15

The E. coli protein expression system is one of the most useful methods employed for NMR sample preparation. However, the production of some recombinant proteins in E. coli is often hampered by difficulties such as low expression level and low solubility. To address these problems, a modified cold-shock expression system containing a glutathione S-transferase (GST) tag, the pCold-GST system, was investigated. The pCold-GST system successfully expressed 9 out of 10 proteins that otherwise could not be expressed using a conventional E. coli expression system. Here, we applied the pCold-GST system to 84 proteins and 78 proteins were successfully expressed in the soluble fraction. Three other cold-shock expression systems containing a maltose binding protein tag (pCold-MBP), protein G B1 domain tag (pCold-GB1) or thioredoxin tag (pCold-Trx) were also developed to improve the yield. Additionally, we show that a C-terminal proline tag, which is invisible in {sup 1}H-{sup 15}N HSQC spectra, inhibits protein degradation and increases the final yield of unstable proteins. The purified proteins were amenable to NMR analyses. These data suggest that pCold expression systems combined with soluble protein tags can be utilized to improve the expression and purification of various proteins for NMR analysis.

The solubility-permeability interplay and its implications in formulation design and development for poorly soluble drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahan, Arik; Miller, Jonathan M

2012-06-01

While each of the two key parameters of oral drug absorption, the solubility and the permeability, has been comprehensively studied separately, the relationship and interplay between the two have been largely ignored. For instance, when formulating a low-solubility drug using various solubilization techniques: what are we doing to the apparent permeability when we increase the solubility? Permeability is equal to the drug's diffusion coefficient through the membrane times the membrane/aqueous partition coefficient divided by the membrane thickness. The direct correlation between the intestinal permeability and the membrane/aqueous partitioning, which in turn is dependent on the drug's apparent solubility in the GI milieu, suggests that the solubility and the permeability are closely associated, exhibiting a certain interplay between them, and the current view of treating the one irrespectively of the other may not be sufficient. In this paper, we describe the research that has been done thus far, and present new data, to shed light on this solubility-permeability interplay. It has been shown that decreased apparent permeability accompanies the solubility increase when using different solubilization methods. Overall, the weight of the evidence indicates that the solubility-permeability interplay cannot be ignored when using solubility-enabling formulations; looking solely at the solubility enhancement that the formulation enables may be misleading with regards to predicting the resulting absorption, and hence, the solubility-permeability interplay must be taken into account to strike the optimal solubility-permeability balance, in order to maximize the overall absorption.

TRAIL-coated lipid-nanoparticles overcome resistance to soluble recombinant TRAIL in non-small cell lung cancer cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Miguel, Diego; Gallego-Lleyda, Ana; Erviti-Ardanaz, Sandra; Anel, Alberto; Martinez-Lostao, Luis; Ayuso, José María; Fernández, Luis José; Ochoa, Ignacio; Pazo-Cid, Roberto; Del Agua, Celia

2016-01-01

Purpose. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one the types of cancer with higher prevalence and mortality. Apo2-Ligand/TRAIL is a TNF family member able to induce apoptosis in tumor cells but not in normal cells. It has been tested in clinical trials against different types of human cancer including NSCLC. However, results of clinical trials have shown a limited efficacy of TRAIL-based therapies. Recently we have demonstrated that artificial lipid nanoparticles coated with bioactive Apo2L/TRAIL (LUV-TRAIL) greatly improved TRAIL cytotoxic ability being capable of killing chemoresistant hematological cancer cells. In the present work we have extended the study to NSCLC. Methods/patients. LUV-TRAIL-induced cytotoxicity was assessed on different NSCLC cell lines with different sensitivity to soluble TRAIL and on primary human tumor cells from three patients suffering from NSCLC cancer. We also tested LUV-TRAIL-cytotoxic ability in combination with several anti-tumor agents. Results. LUV-TRAIL exhibited a greater cytotoxic effect compared to soluble TRAIL both in A549 cells and primary human NSCLC cells. LUV-TRAIL-induced cell death was dependent on caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation. Moreover, combination of LUV-TRAIL with other anti-tumor agents such as flavopiridol, and SNS-032 clearly enhanced LUV-TRAIL-induced cytotoxicity against NSCLC cancer cells. Conclusion. The novel formulation of TRAIL based on displaying it on the surface of lipid nanoparticles greatly increases its anti-tumor activity and has clinical potential in cancer treatment. (paper)

Recombination every day: abundant recombination in a virus during a single multi-cellular host infection.

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Remy Froissart

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Viral recombination can dramatically impact evolution and epidemiology. In viruses, the recombination rate depends on the frequency of genetic exchange between different viral genomes within an infected host cell and on the frequency at which such co-infections occur. While the recombination rate has been recently evaluated in experimentally co-infected cell cultures for several viruses, direct quantification at the most biologically significant level, that of a host infection, is still lacking. This study fills this gap using the cauliflower mosaic virus as a model. We distributed four neutral markers along the viral genome, and co-inoculated host plants with marker-containing and wild-type viruses. The frequency of recombinant genomes was evaluated 21 d post-inoculation. On average, over 50% of viral genomes recovered after a single host infection were recombinants, clearly indicating that recombination is very frequent in this virus. Estimates of the recombination rate show that all regions of the genome are equally affected by this process. Assuming that ten viral replication cycles occurred during our experiment-based on data on the timing of coat protein detection-the per base and replication cycle recombination rate was on the order of 2 x 10(-5 to 4 x 10(-5. This first determination of a virus recombination rate during a single multi-cellular host infection indicates that recombination is very frequent in the everyday life of this virus.

Isolation and expression of recombinant antibody fragments to the biological warfare pathogen Brucella melitensis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayhurst, Andrew; Happe, Scott; Mabry, Robert; Koch, Zephyr; Iverson, Brent L; Georgiou, George

2003-05-01

Brucella melitensis is a highly infectious animal pathogen able to cause a recurring debilitating disease in humans and is therefore high on the list of biological warfare agents. Immunoglobulin genes from mice immunized with gamma-irradiated B. melitensis strain 16M were used to construct a library that was screened by phage display against similarly prepared bacteria. The selected phage particles afforded a strong enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) signal against gamma-irradiated B. melitensis cells. However, extensive efforts to express the respective single chain antibody variable region fragment (scFv) in soluble form failed due to: (i) poor solubility and (ii) in vivo degradation of the c-myc tag used for the detection of the recombinant antibodies. Both problems could be addressed by: (i) fusing a human kappa light chain constant domain (Ck) chain to the scFv to generate single chain antibody fragment (scAb) antibody fragments and (ii) by co-expression of the periplasmic chaperone Skp. While soluble, functional antibodies could be produced in this manner, phage-displaying scFvs or scAbs were still found to be superior ELISA reagents for immunoassays, due to the large signal amplification afforded by anti-phage antibodies. The isolated phage antibodies were shown to be highly specific to B. melitensis and did not recognize Yersinia pseudotuberculosis in contrast to the existing diagnostic monoclonal YST 9.2.1.

High level extracellular production of a recombinant alkaline catalase in E. coli BL21 under ethanol stress and its application in hydrogen peroxide removal after cotton fabrics bleaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Zhenxiao; Zheng, Hongchen; Zhao, Xingya; Li, Shufang; Xu, Jianyong; Song, Hui

2016-08-01

The effects of induction parameters, osmolytes and ethanol stress on the productivity of the recombinant alkaline catalase (KatA) in Escherichia coli BL21 (pET26b-KatA) were investigated. The yield of soluble KatA was significantly enhanced by 2% ethanol stress. And a certain amount of Triton X-100 supplementation could markedly improved extracellular ratio of KatA. A total soluble catalase activity of 78,762U/mL with the extracellular ratio of 92.5% was achieved by fed-batch fermentation in a 10L fermentor, which was the highest yield so far. The purified KatA showed high stability at 50°C and pH 6-10. Application of KatA for elimination of H2O2 after cotton fabrics bleaching led to less consumption of water, steam and electric power by 25%, 12% and 16.7% respectively without productivity and quality losing of cotton fabrics. Thus, the recombinant KatA is a promising candidate for industrial production and applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Head-To-Head Comparison of Different Solubility-Enabling Formulations of Etoposide and Their Consequent Solubility-Permeability Interplay.

Science.gov (United States)

Beig, Avital; Miller, Jonathan M; Lindley, David; Carr, Robert A; Zocharski, Philip; Agbaria, Riad; Dahan, Arik

2015-09-01

The purpose of this study was to conduct a head-to-head comparison of different solubility-enabling formulations, and their consequent solubility-permeability interplay. The low-solubility anticancer drug etoposide was formulated in several strengths of four solubility-enabling formulations: hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, the cosolvent polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400), the surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate, and an amorphous solid dispersion formulation. The ability of these formulations to increase the solubility of etoposide was investigated, followed by permeability studies using the parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) and examination of the consequent solubility-permeability interplay. All formulations significantly increased etoposide's apparent solubility. The cyclodextrin-, surfactant-, and cosolvent-based formulations resulted in a concomitant decreased permeability that could be modeled directly from the proportional increase in the apparent solubility. On the contrary, etoposide permeability remained constant when using the ASD formulation, irrespective of the increased apparent solubility provided by the formulation. In conclusion, supersaturation resulting from the amorphous form overcomes the solubility-permeability tradeoff associated with other formulation techniques. Accounting for the solubility-permeability interplay may allow to develop better solubility-enabling formulations, thereby maximizing the overall absorption of lipophilic orally administered drugs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

Recombinant human proinsulin from transgenic corn endosperm: solvent screening and extraction studies

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C. S. Farinas

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Recombinant pharmaceutical proteins are being produced in different systems such as bacteria and mammalian cell cultures. The use of transgenic plants as bioreactors has recently arisen as an alternative system offering many practical and economic advantages. However, finding an optimum strategy for the downstream processing (DSP of recombinant proteins from plants still remains a challenge. In this work, we studied the extraction of recombinant human proinsulin (rhProinsulin produced in the endosperm of transgenic corn seeds. An efficient extraction solvent was selected and the effects of temperature, solvent-to-solid ratio, time, and impeller rotational speed on the extraction were evaluated using an experimental design. After an extraction kinetics study, temperature was further evaluated to maximize rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts and to minimize the native corn components carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, and proteins. A high efficiency condition for extracting rhProinsulin with the selected solvent - 50 mM sodium bicarbonate buffer pH 10.0 and 5 mM DTT - was an extraction time of 2 h at a solvent-to-solid ratio of 10:1 and 25º C. The maximum rhProinsulin concentration in the extracts at that condition was 18.87 mg l-1 or 0.42% of the total soluble protein. These values are within the range in which the production of pharmaceutical proteins in plants can be competitive with other expression systems. The results presented provide information for the development of an additional production platform for the hormone insulin.

Protective efficacy of Newcastle disease virus expressing soluble trimeric hemagglutinin against highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza in chickens and mice.

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Lisette A H M Cornelissen

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV causes a highly contagious often fatal disease in poultry, resulting in significant economic losses in the poultry industry. HPAIV H5N1 also poses a major public health threat as it can be transmitted directly from infected poultry to humans. One effective way to combat avian influenza with pandemic potential is through the vaccination of poultry. Several live vaccines based on attenuated Newcastle disease virus (NDV that express influenza hemagglutinin (HA have been developed to protect chickens or mammalian species against HPAIV. However, the zoonotic potential of NDV raises safety concerns regarding the use of live NDV recombinants, as the incorporation of a heterologous attachment protein may result in the generation of NDV with altered tropism and/or pathogenicity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study we generated recombinant NDVs expressing either full length, membrane-anchored HA of the H5 subtype (NDV-H5 or a soluble trimeric form thereof (NDV-sH5(3. A single intramuscular immunization with NDV-sH5(3 or NDV-H5 fully protected chickens against disease after a lethal challenge with H5N1 and reduced levels of virus shedding in tracheal and cloacal swabs. NDV-sH5(3 was less protective than NDV-H5 (50% vs 80% protection when administered via the respiratory tract. The NDV-sH5(3 was ineffective in mice, regardless of whether administered oculonasally or intramuscularly. In this species, NDV-H5 induced protective immunity against HPAIV H5N1, but only after oculonasal administration, despite the poor H5-specific serum antibody response it elicited. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Although NDV expressing membrane anchored H5 in general provided better protection than its counterpart expressing soluble H5, chickens could be fully protected against a lethal challenge with H5N1 by using the latter NDV vector. This study thus provides proof of concept for the use of recombinant

Regulation of Meiotic Recombination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gregory p. Copenhaver

2011-11-09

Meiotic recombination results in the heritable rearrangement of DNA, primarily through reciprocal exchange between homologous chromosome or gene conversion. In plants these events are critical for ensuring proper chromosome segregation, facilitating DNA repair and providing a basis for genetic diversity. Understanding this fundamental biological mechanism will directly facilitate trait mapping, conventional plant breeding, and development of genetic engineering techniques that will help support the responsible production and conversion of renewable resources for fuels, chemicals, and the conservation of energy (1-3). Substantial progress has been made in understanding the basal recombination machinery, much of which is conserved in organisms as diverse as yeast, plants and mammals (4, 5). Significantly less is known about the factors that regulate how often and where that basal machinery acts on higher eukaryotic chromosomes. One important mechanism for regulating the frequency and distribution of meiotic recombination is crossover interference - or the ability of one recombination event to influence nearby events. The MUS81 gene is thought to play an important role in regulating the influence of interference on crossing over. The immediate goals of this project are to use reverse genetics to identify mutants in two putative MUS81 homologs in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, characterize those mutants and initiate a novel forward genetic screen for additional regulators of meiotic recombination. The long-term goal of the project is to understand how meiotic recombination is regulated in higher eukaryotes with an emphasis on the molecular basis of crossover interference. The ability to monitor recombination in all four meiotic products (tetrad analysis) has been a powerful tool in the arsenal of yeast geneticists. Previously, the qrt mutant of Arabidopsis, which causes the four pollen products of male meiosis to remain attached, was developed as a facile system

Activity of the Human Rhinovirus 3C Protease Studied in Various Buffers, Additives and Detergents Solutions for Recombinant Protein Production.

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Raheem Ullah

Full Text Available Proteases are widely used to remove affinity and solubility tags from recombinant proteins to avoid potential interference of these tags with the structure and function of the fusion partner. In recent years, great interest has been seen in use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease owing to its stringent sequence specificity and enhanced activity. Like other proteases, activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease can be affected in part by the buffer components and additives that are generally employed for purification and stabilization of proteins, hence, necessitate their removal by tedious and time-consuming procedures before proteolysis can occur. To address this issue, we examined the effect of elution buffers used for common affinity based purifications, salt ions, stability/solubility and reducing agents, and detergents on the activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease using three different fusion proteins at 4°C, a temperature of choice for purification of many proteins. The results show that the human rhinovirus 3C protease performs better at 4°C than the frequently used tobacco etch virus protease and its activity was insensitive to most of the experimental conditions tested. Though number of fusion proteins tested is limited, we expect that these finding will facilitate the use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease in recombinant protein production for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications.

Activity of the Human Rhinovirus 3C Protease Studied in Various Buffers, Additives and Detergents Solutions for Recombinant Protein Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Raheem; Shah, Majid Ali; Tufail, Soban; Ismat, Fouzia; Imran, Muhammad; Iqbal, Mazhar; Mirza, Osman; Rhaman, Moazur

2016-01-01

Proteases are widely used to remove affinity and solubility tags from recombinant proteins to avoid potential interference of these tags with the structure and function of the fusion partner. In recent years, great interest has been seen in use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease owing to its stringent sequence specificity and enhanced activity. Like other proteases, activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease can be affected in part by the buffer components and additives that are generally employed for purification and stabilization of proteins, hence, necessitate their removal by tedious and time-consuming procedures before proteolysis can occur. To address this issue, we examined the effect of elution buffers used for common affinity based purifications, salt ions, stability/solubility and reducing agents, and detergents on the activity of the human rhinovirus 3C protease using three different fusion proteins at 4°C, a temperature of choice for purification of many proteins. The results show that the human rhinovirus 3C protease performs better at 4°C than the frequently used tobacco etch virus protease and its activity was insensitive to most of the experimental conditions tested. Though number of fusion proteins tested is limited, we expect that these finding will facilitate the use of the human rhinovirus 3C protease in recombinant protein production for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications.

Biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin using recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase from Bifidobacterium breve.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ru; Zhang, Bian-Ling; Xie, Tao; Li, Gu-Cai; Tuo, Yi; Xiang, Yu-Ting

2015-06-01

To biotransform rutin into isoquercitrin. A α-L-rhamnosidase from Bifidobacterium breve was produced by using Escherichia coli BL21 for biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin. The enzyme was purified by Ni(2+)-NTA chromatography to yield a soluble protein with a specific activity of 56 U protein mg(-1). The maximum enzyme activities were at pH 6.5, 55 °C, 20 mM rutin, and 1.2 U enzyme ml(-1). Under optimal conditions, the half-life of the enzyme was 96 h. The K m and V max values were 2.2 mM, 56.4 μmol mg(-1) min(-1) and 2.1 mM, 57.5 μmol mg(-1) min(-1) using pNP-Rha and rutin as substrates, respectively. The kinetic behavior indicated that the recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase has good catalytic performance for producing isoquercitrin. 20 mM rutin was biotransformed into 18.25 and 19.87 mM isoquercitrin after 60 and 240 min. The specific biotransformation of rutin to isoquercitrin using recombinant α-L-rhamnosidase from B. breve is a feasible method for use in industrial processes.

Indomethacin solubility estimation in 1,4-dioxane + water mixtures by the extended hildebrand solubility approach

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Miller A Ruidiaz

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Extended Hildebrand Solubility Approach (EHSA was successfully applied to evaluate the solubility of Indomethacin in 1,4-dioxane + water mixtures at 298.15 K. An acceptable correlation-performance of EHSA was found by using a regular polynomial model in order four of the W interaction parameter vs. solubility parameter of the mixtures (overall deviation was 8.9%. Although the mean deviation obtained was similar to that obtained directly by means of an empiric regression of the experimental solubility vs. mixtures solubility parameters, the advantages of EHSA are evident because it requires physicochemical properties easily available for drugs.

Recombination of cluster ions

Science.gov (United States)

Johnsen, Rainer

1993-01-01

Some of our recent work on molecular band emissions from recombination of molecular dimer ions (N4(+) and CO(+) CO) is discussed. Much of the experimental work was done by Y. S. Cao; the results on N4(+) recombination have been published. A brief progress report is given on our ongoing measurements of neutral products of recombination using the flowing-afterglow Langmuir-probe technique in conjunction with laser-induced fluorescence.

Solubility behavior and biopharmaceutical classification of novel high-solubility ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin pharmaceutical derivatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Breda, Susana A; Jimenez-Kairuz, Alvaro F; Manzo, Ruben H; Olivera, María E

2009-04-17

The hydrochlorides of the 1:3 aluminum:norfloxacin and aluminum:ciprofloxacin complexes were characterized according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) premises in comparison with their parent compounds. The pH-solubility profiles of the complexes were experimentally determined at 25 and 37 degrees C in the range of pH 1-8 and compared to that of uncomplexed norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Both complexes are clearly more soluble than the antibiotics themselves, even at the lowest solubility pHs. The increase in solubility was ascribed to the species controlling solubility, which were analyzed in the solid phases at equilibrium at selected pHs. Additionally, permeability was set as low, based on data reported in the scientific literature regarding oral bioavailability, intestinal and cell cultures permeabilities and also considering the influence of stoichiometric amounts of aluminum. The complexes fulfill the BCS criterion to be classified as class 3 compounds (high solubility/low permeability). Instead, the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) currently used in solid dosage forms, norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, proved to be BCS class 4 (low solubility/low permeability). The solubility improvement turns the complexes as potential biowaiver candidates from the scientific point of view and may be a good way for developing more dose-efficient formulations. An immediate release tablet showing very rapid dissolution was obtained. Its dissolution profile was compared to that of the commercial ciprofloxacin hydrochloride tablets allowing to dissolution of the complete dose at a critical pH such as 6.8.

In vivo production of recombinant proteins using occluded recombinant AcMNPV-derived baculovirus vectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guijarro-Pardo, Eva; Gómez-Sebastián, Silvia; Escribano, José M

2017-12-01

Trichoplusia ni insect larvae infected with vectors derived from the Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), are an excellent alternative to insect cells cultured in conventional bioreactors to produce recombinant proteins because productivity and cost-efficiency reasons. However, there is still a lot of work to do to reduce the manual procedures commonly required in this production platform that limit its scalability. To increase the scalability of this platform technology, a current bottleneck to be circumvented in the future is the need of injection for the inoculation of larvae with polyhedrin negative baculovirus vectors (Polh-) because of the lack of oral infectivity of these viruses, which are commonly used for production in insect cell cultures. In this work we have developed a straightforward alternative to obtain orally infective vectors derived from AcMNPV and expressing recombinant proteins that can be administered to the insect larvae (Trichoplusia ni) by feeding, formulated in the insect diet. The approach developed was based on the use of a recombinant polyhedrin protein expressed by a recombinant vector (Polh+), able to co-occlude any recombinant Polh- baculovirus vector expressing a recombinant protein. A second alternative was developed by the generation of a dual vector co-expressing the recombinant polyhedrin protein and the foreign gene of interest to obtain the occluded viruses. Additionally, by the incorporation of a reporter gene into the helper Polh+ vector, it was possible the follow-up visualization of the co-occluded viruses infection in insect larvae and will help to homogenize infection conditions. By using these methodologies, the production of recombinant proteins in per os infected larvae, without manual infection procedures, was very similar in yield to that obtained by manual injection of recombinant Polh- AcMNPV-based vectors expressing the same proteins. However, further analyses will be required for a

Functional single-wall carbon nanotube nanohybrids--associating SWNTs with water-soluble enzyme model systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Guldi, Dirk M; Rahman, G M Aminur; Jux, Norbert; Balbinot, Domenico; Hartnagel, Uwe; Tagmatarchis, Nikos; Prato, Maurizio

2005-07-13

We succeeded in integrating single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), several water-soluble pyrene derivatives (pyrene(-)), which bear negatively charged ionic headgroups, and a series of water-soluble metalloporphyrins (MP(8+)) into functional nanohybrids through a combination of associative van der Waals and electrostatic interactions. The resulting SWNT/pyrene(-) and SWNT/pyrene(-)/MP(8+) were characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic means and were found to form stable nanohybrid structures in aqueous media. A crucial feature of our SWNT/pyrene(-) and SWNT/pyrene(-)/MP(8)(+) is that an efficient exfoliation of the initial bundles brings about isolated nanohybrid structures. When the nanohybrid systems are photoexcited with visible light, a rapid intrahybrid charge separation causes the reduction of the electron-accepting SWNT and, simultaneously, the oxidation of the electron-donating MP(8)(+). Transient absorption measurements confirm that the radical ion pairs are long-lived, with lifetimes in the microsecond range. Particularly beneficial are charge recombination dynamics that are located deep in the Marcus-inverted region. We include, for the first time, work devoted to exploring and testing FeP(8)(+) and CoP(8)(+) in donor-acceptor nanohybrids.

Recombination pattern reanalysis of some HIV-1 circulating recombination forms suggest the necessity and difficulty of revision.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lei Jia

Full Text Available Recombination is one of the major mechanisms underlying the generation of HIV-1 variability. Currently 61 circulating recombinant forms of HIV-1 have been identified. With the development of recombination detection techniques and accumulation of HIV-1 reference stains, more accurate mosaic structures of circulating recombinant forms (CRFs, like CRF04 and CRF06, have undergone repeated analysis and upgrades. Such revisions may also be necessary for other CRFs. Unlike previous studies, whose results are based primarily on a single recombination detection program, the current study was based on multiple recombination analysis, which may have produced more impartial results.Representative references of 3 categories of intersubtype recombinants were selected, including BC recombinants (CRF07 and CRF08, BG recombinants (CRF23 and CRF24, and BF recombinants (CRF38 and CRF44. They were reanalyzed in detail using both the jumping profile hidden Markov model and RDP3.The results indicate that revisions and upgrades are very necessary and the entire re-analysis suggested 2 types of revision: (i length of inserted fragments; and (ii number of inserted fragments. The reanalysis also indicated that determination of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer should be performed with more caution.Results indicated that the involvement of multiple recombination detection programs is very necessary. Additionally, results suggested two major challenges, one involving the difficulty of accurately determining the locations of breakpoints and the second involving identification of small regions of about 200 bases or fewer with greater caution. Both indicate the complexity of HIV-1 recombination. The resolution would depend critically on development of a recombination analysis algorithm, accumulation of HIV-1 stains, and a higher sequencing quality. With the changes in recombination pattern, phylogenetic relationships of some CRFs may also change. All these results may

Expression, refolding and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of equine MHC class I molecule complexed with an EIAV-Env CTL epitope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Shugang; Qi, Jianxun; Liu, Jun; Chen, Rong; Pan, Xiaocheng; Li, Xiaoying; Gao, Feng; Xia, Chun

2011-01-01

The equine MHC class I molecule was crystallized in complex with β 2 -microglobulin and a CTL epitope and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 2.3 Å resolution. In order to clarify the structure and the peptide-presentation characteristics of the equine major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecule, a complex of equine MHC class I molecule (ELA-A1 haplotype, 7-6 allele) with mouse β 2 -microglobulin and the cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) epitope Env-RW12 (RVEDVTNTAEYW) derived from equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) envelope protein (residues 195–206) was refolded and crystallized. The crystal, which belonged to space group P2 1 , diffracted to 2.3 Å resolution and had unit-cell parameters a = 82.5, b = 71.4, c = 99.8 Å, β = 102.9°. The crystal structure contained two molecules in the asymmetric unit. These results should help to determine the first equine MHC class I molecule structure presenting an EIAV CTL epitope

In vitro maturation of Drosophila melanogaster Spätzle protein with refolded Easter reveals a novel cleavage site within the prodomain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ursel, Christian; Fandrich, Uwe; Hoffmann, Anita; Sieg, Torsten; Ihling, Christian; Stubbs, Milton T

2013-08-01

Dorsoventral patterning during Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis is mediated by a well-defined gradient of the mature NGF-like ligand Spätzle. Easter, the ultimate protease of a ventrally-restricted serine protease cascade, plays a key role in the regulation of the morphogenic gradient, catalyzing the activation cleavage of proSpätzle. As a result of alternative splicing, proSpätzle exists in multiple isoforms, almost all of which differ only in their prodomain. Although this domain is unstructured in isolation, it has a stabilizing influence on the mature cystine knot domain and is involved in the binding to the Toll receptor. Here, we report the expression and refolding of Easter, and show that the renatured enzyme performs the activation cleavage of two Spätzle isoforms. We determine the affinity of the prodomain for the cystine knot domain, and show that Easter performs a previously unknown secondary cleavage in each prodomain.

Efficient Production of an Engineered Apoptin from Chicken Anemia Virus in a Recombinant E. coli for Tumor Therapeutic Applications

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Lee Meng-Shiou

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Apoptin, a nonstructural protein encoded by the VP3 gene of chicken anemia virus (CAV, has been shown to not only induce apoptosis when introduced into the precursors of chicken thymocytes, but has been found to specifically kill human cancer cells, tumor cell and transformed cells without affecting the proliferation of normal cells. This tumor-specific apoptotic characteristic of the protein potentially may allow the development of a protein drug that has applications in tumor therapy. However, several major problems, which include poor expression and poor protein solubility, have hampered the production of apoptin in bacteria. Results Significantly increased expression of recombinant full-length apoptin that originated from chicken anemia virus was demonstrated using an E. coli expression system. The CAV VP3 gene was fused with a synthetic sequence containing a trans-acting activator of transcription (TAT protein transduction domain (PTD. The resulting construct was cloned into various different expression vectors and these were then expressed in various E. coli strains. The expression of the TAT-Apoptin in E. coli was significantly increased when TAT-Apoptin was fused with GST-tag rather than a His-tag. When the various rare amino acid codons of apoptin were optimized, the expression level of the GST-TAT-Apoptinopt in E. coli BL21(DE3 was significantly further increased. The highest protein expression level obtained was 8.33 g/L per liter of bacterial culture after induction with 0.1 mM IPTG for 4 h at 25 °C. Moreover, approximately 90% of the expressed GST-TAT-Apoptinopt under these conditions was soluble. After purification by GST affinity chromatography, the purified recombinant TAT-Apoptinopt protein was used to evaluate the recombinant protein’s apoptotic activity on tumor cells. The results demonstrated that the E. coli-expressed GST-TAT-apoptinopt showed apoptotic activity and was able to induce human

Soluble cysteine-rich tick saliva proteins Salp15 and Iric-1 from E. coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolb, Philipp; Vorreiter, Jolanta; Habicht, Jüri; Bentrop, Detlef; Wallich, Reinhard; Nassal, Michael

2015-01-01

Ticks transmit numerous pathogens, including borreliae, which cause Lyme disease. Tick saliva contains a complex mix of anti-host defense factors, including the immunosuppressive cysteine-rich secretory glycoprotein Salp15 from Ixodes scapularis ticks and orthologs like Iric-1 from Ixodes ricinus. All tick-borne microbes benefit from the immunosuppression at the tick bite site; in addition, borreliae exploit the binding of Salp15 to their outer surface protein C (OspC) for enhanced transmission. Hence, Salp15 proteins are attractive targets for anti-tick vaccines that also target borreliae. However, recombinant Salp proteins are not accessible in sufficient quantity for either vaccine manufacturing or for structural characterization. As an alternative to low-yield eukaryotic systems, we investigated cytoplasmic expression in Escherichia coli, even though this would not result in glycosylation. His-tagged Salp15 was efficiently expressed but insoluble. Among the various solubility-enhancing protein tags tested, DsbA was superior, yielding milligram amounts of soluble, monomeric Salp15 and Iric-1 fusions. Easily accessible mutants enabled epitope mapping of two monoclonal antibodies that, importantly, cross-react with glycosylated Salp15, and revealed interaction sites with OspC. Free Salp15 and Iric-1 from protease-cleavable fusions, despite limited solubility, allowed the recording of (1)H-(15)N 2D NMR spectra, suggesting partial folding of the wild-type proteins but not of Cys-free variants. Fusion to the NMR-compatible GB1 domain sufficiently enhanced solubility to reveal first secondary structure elements in (13)C/(15)N double-labeled Iric-1. Together, E. coli expression of appropriately fused Salp15 proteins may be highly valuable for the molecular characterization of the function and eventually the 3D structure of these medically relevant tick proteins.

Electron-ion recombination in merged beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolf, A.; Habs, D.; Lampert, A.; Neumann, R.; Schramm, U.; Schuessler, T.; Schwalm, D.

1993-01-01

Detailed studies of recombination processes between electrons and highly charged ions have become possible by recent improvements of merged-beams experiments. We discuss in particular measurements with stored cooled ion beams at the Test Storage Ring (TSR) in Heidelberg. The cross section of dielectronic recombination was measured with high energy resolution for few-electron systems up to the nuclear charge of Cu at a relative energy up to 2.6 keV. At low energy (∼0.1 eV) total recombination rates of several ions were measured and compared with calculated radiative recombination rates. Laser-stimulated recombination of protons and of C 6+ ions was investigated as a function of the photon energy using visible radiation. Both the total recombination rates and the stimulated recombination spectra indicate that in spite of the short interaction time in merged beams, also collisional capture of electrons into weakly bound levels (related to three-body recombination) could be important

Multiple barriers to recombination between divergent HIV-1 variants revealed by a dual-marker recombination assay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolaitchik, Olga A; Galli, Andrea; Moore, Michael D

2011-01-01

Recombination is a major force for generating human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) diversity and produces numerous recombinants circulating in the human population. We previously established a cell-based system using green fluorescent protein gene (gfp) as a reporter to study the mechanisms...... of HIV-1 recombination. We now report an improved system capable of detecting recombination using authentic viral sequences. Frameshift mutations were introduced into the gag gene so that parental viruses do not express full-length Gag; however, recombination can generate a progeny virus that expresses...

Cloning of Soluble Human Stem Cell Factor in pET-26b(+ Vector

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Salman Asghari

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Stem cell factor (SCF plays an important role in the survival, proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells. Potential therapeutic applications of SCF include hematopoietic stem cell mobilization, exvivo stem/progenitor cell expansion, gene therapy, and immunotherapy. Considering the cost and problem in accessibility of this product in Iran, clears the importance of indigenizing production of rhSCF. In the present work, we describe the construction of the soluble rhSCF expression vector in pET-26b (+ with periplasmic localization potential. Methods: Following PCR amplification of human SCF ORF, it is cloned in pET-26b (+ vector in NcoI and XhoI sites. The recombinant construct was transformed into BL21 (DE3 Ecoli strains. Results: The construction of recombinant vector was verified by colony PCR and sequence analysis of pET26b-hSCF vector. Sequence analyses proved that human SCF ORF has been inserted into NcoI and XhoI site with correct orientation downstream of strong T7 promotor and showed no nucleotide errors. Conclusion: The SCF ORF was successfully cloned in pET-26b (+ expression vector and is ready for future production of SCF protein.

Oxygen-hydrogen recombination system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Shuichiro; Takejima, Masaki.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To avoid reduction in the performance of catalyst used for an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner in the off gas processing system of a nuclear reactor. Constitution: A thermometer is provided for the detection of temperature in an oxygen-hydrogen recombiner. A cooling pipe is provided in the recombiner and cooling medium is introduced externally. The cooling medium may be water or air. In accordance with the detection value from the thermometer, ON-OFF control is carried out for a valve to control the flow rate of the cooling medium thereby rendering the temperature in the recombiner to a predetermined value. This can prevent the catalyst from being exposed to high temperature and avoid the reduction in the performance of the catalyst. (Ikeda, J.)

Reversible thermal denaturation of immobilized rhodanese

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horowitz, P.; Bowman, S.

1987-01-01

For the first time, the enzyme rhodanese had been refolded after thermal denaturation. This was previously not possible because of the strong tendency for the soluble enzyme to aggregate at temperatures above 37 degrees C. The present work used rhodanese that was covalently coupled to a solid support under conditions that were found to preserve enzyme activity. Rhodanese was immobilized using an N-hydroxymalonimidyl derivative of Sepharose containing a 6-carbon spacer. The number of immobilized competent active sites was measured by using [ 35 S]SO 3 (2-) to form an active site persulfide that is the obligatory catalytic intermediate. Soluble enzyme was irreversibly inactivated in 10 min at 52 degrees C. The immobilized enzyme regained at least 30% of its original activity even after boiling for 20 min. The immobilized enzyme had a Km and Vmax that were each approximately 3 times higher than the corresponding values for the native enzyme. After preincubation at high temperatures, progress curves for the immobilized enzyme showed induction periods of up to 5 min before attaining apparently linear steady states. The pH dependence of the activity was the same for both the soluble and the immobilized enzyme. These results indicate significant stabilization of rhodanese after immobilization, and instabilities caused by adventitious solution components are not the sole reasons for irreversibility of thermal denaturation seen with the soluble enzyme. The results are consistent with models for rhodanese that invoke protein association as a major cause of inactivation of the enzyme. Furthermore, the induction period in the progress curves is consistent with studies which show that rhodanese refolding proceeds through intermediate states

A novel prokaryotic vector for identification and selection of recombinants: Direct use of the vector for expression studies in E. coli

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Apte-Deshpande Anjali

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The selection of bacterial recombinants that harbour a desired insert, has been a key factor in molecular cloning and a series of screening procedures need to be performed for selection of clones carrying the genes of interest. The conventional cloning techniques are reported to have problems such as screening high number of colonies, generation of false positives, setting up of control ligation mix with vector alone etc. Results We describe the development of a novel dual cloning/expression vector, which enables to screen the recombinants directly and expression of the gene of interest. The vector contains Green fluorescence protein (GFP as the reporter gene and is constructed in such a way that the E. coli cells upon transformation with this vector does not show any fluorescence, but readily fluoresce upon insertion of a foreign gene of interest. The same construct could be easily used for screening of the clones and expression studies by mere switching to specific hosts. Conclusions This is the first vector reported that takes the property of colour or fluorescence to be achieved only upon cloning while all the other vectors available commercially show loss of colour or loss of fluorescence upon cloning. As the fluorescence of GFP depends on the solubility of the protein, the intensity of the fluorescence would also indicate the extent of solubility of the expressed target protein.

Argon solubility in liquid steel

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boom, R; Dankert, O; Van Veen, A; Kamperman, AA

2000-01-01

Experiments have been performed to establish the solubility of argon in liquid interstitial-free steel. The solubility appears to be lower than 0.1 at ppb, The results are in line with argon solubilities reported in the literature on liquid iron. Semiempirical theories and calculations based on the

Hydrogen recombiner development at AECL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dewit, W.A.; Koroll, G.W.; Loesel Sitar, J.; Graham, W.R.C.

1997-01-01

Catalytic recombiners have been developed at AECL for the purpose of hydrogen removal in post-accident nuclear containment buildings. The recombiners are based on a particular catalyst designed by AECL which has extraordinary resistance to fouling from water and water vapour and a large thermodynamic range of operation. The catalysts were developed, originally, for the purpose of heavy water manufacturing by way of a catalytic exchange process. Application of these catalyst materials in recombiners for containment applications began in the late 1980's. The first application was a passive recombiner, qualified for use in control of radiolytic hydrogen in the headspace of a pool-type experimental reactor of AECL design in 1988. The passive, or natural convection recombiner concept has continued development to commercial stage for application in power reactor containments. This paper reviews the AECL recombiner development, describes the current model and shows results from tests of full-scale recombiners in the Large Scale Vented Combustion Test Facility at AECL-WL. The AECL recombiner is designed for compactness and ease of engineering into containment. The design is a simple, open-ended rectangular enclosure with catalyst elements arranged inside to promote optimum convective flow driven by heat of recombination at the catalyst surface. Self start, as evidenced by catalyst heating and initiation of flow, is achieved in less than 1% hydrogen, with available oxygen, at room temperature and 100% relative humidity. This low temperature start-up in condensing atmospheres is viewed as the most challenging condition for wet-proofing effectiveness. Cold start-up is a vital performance requirement in containments, such as CANDU, where engineered air-cooling systems are operating and where long-term hydrogen control is required, after containment atmospheres have cooled. Once started, the removal capacity scales linearly with the inlet cross-section area and the partial

On the relict recombination lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bershtejn, I.N.; Bernshtejn, D.N.; Dubrovich, V.K.

1977-01-01

Accurate numerical calculation of intensities and profiles of hydrogen recombination lines of cosmological origin is made. Relie radiation distortions stipulated by recombination quantum release at the irrevocable recombination are investigated. Mean number calculation is given for guantums educing for one irrevocably-lost electron. The account is taken of the educed quantums interraction with matter. The main quantum-matter interrraction mechanisms are considered: electronic blow broadening; free-free, free-bound, bound-bound absorptions Recombination dynamics is investigated depending on hydrogen density and total density of all the matter kinds in the Universe

Late replicating domains are highly recombining in females but have low male recombination rates: implications for isochore evolution.

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Catherine J Pink

Full Text Available In mammals sequences that are either late replicating or highly recombining have high rates of evolution at putatively neutral sites. As early replicating domains and highly recombining domains both tend to be GC rich we a priori expect these two variables to covary. If so, the relative contribution of either of these variables to the local neutral substitution rate might have been wrongly estimated owing to covariance with the other. Against our expectations, we find that sex-averaged recombination rates show little or no correlation with replication timing, suggesting that they are independent determinants of substitution rates. However, this result masks significant sex-specific complexity: late replicating domains tend to have high recombination rates in females but low recombination rates in males. That these trends are antagonistic explains why sex-averaged recombination is not correlated with replication timing. This unexpected result has several important implications. First, although both male and female recombination rates covary significantly with intronic substitution rates, the magnitude of this correlation is moderately underestimated for male recombination and slightly overestimated for female recombination, owing to covariance with replicating timing. Second, the result could explain why male recombination is strongly correlated with GC content but female recombination is not. If to explain the correlation between GC content and replication timing we suppose that late replication forces reduced GC content, then GC promotion by biased gene conversion during female recombination is partly countered by the antagonistic effect of later replicating sequence tending increase AT content. Indeed, the strength of the correlation between female recombination rate and local GC content is more than doubled by control for replication timing. Our results underpin the need to consider sex-specific recombination rates and potential covariates in

Students’ misconceptions on solubility equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Setiowati, H.; Utomo, S. B.; Ashadi

2018-05-01

This study investigated the students’ misconceptions of the solubility equilibrium. The participants of the study consisted of 164 students who were in the science class of second year high school. Instrument used is two-tier diagnostic test consisting of 15 items. Responses were marked and coded into four categories: understanding, misconception, understand little without misconception, and not understanding. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 45 students according to their written responses which reflected different perspectives, to obtain a more elaborated source of data. Data collected from multiple methods were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Based on the data analysis showed that the students misconceptions in all areas in solubility equilibrium. They had more misconceptions such as in the relation of solubility and solubility product, common-ion effect and pH in solubility, and precipitation concept.

In vivo modification of tyrosine residues in recombinant mussel adhesive protein by tyrosinase co-expression in Escherichia coli

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Choi Yoo

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In nature, mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs show remarkable adhesive properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Thus, they have been considered promising adhesive biomaterials for various biomedical and industrial applications. However, limited production of natural MAPs has hampered their practical applications. Recombinant production in bacterial cells could be one alternative to obtain useable amounts of MAPs, although additional post-translational modification of tyrosine residues into 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-alanine (Dopa and Dopaquinone is required. The superior properties of MAPs are mainly attributed to the introduction of quinone-derived intermolecular cross-links. To solve this problem, we utilized a co-expression strategy of recombinant MAP and tyrosinase in Escherichia coli to successfully modify tyrosine residues in vivo. Results A recombinant hybrid MAP, fp-151, was used as a target for in vivo modification, and a dual vector system of pET and pACYC-Duet provided co-expression of fp-151 and tyrosinase. As a result, fp-151 was over-expressed and mainly obtained from the soluble fraction in the co-expression system. Without tyrosinase co-expression, fp-151 was over-expressed in an insoluble form in inclusion bodies. The modification of tyrosine residues in the soluble-expressed fp-151 was clearly observed from nitroblue tetrazolium staining and liquid-chromatography-mass/mass spectrometry analyses. The purified, in vivo modified, fp-151 from the co-expression system showed approximately 4-fold higher bulk-scale adhesive strength compared to in vitro tyrosinase-treated fp-151. Conclusion Here, we reported a co-expression system to obtain in vivo modified MAP; additional in vitro tyrosinase modification was not needed to obtain adhesive properties and the in vivo modified MAP showed superior adhesive strength compared to in vitro modified protein. It is expected that this co-expression strategy will accelerate

Production of recombinant cholesterol oxidase containing covalently bound FAD in Escherichia coli

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Molla Gianluca

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cholesterol oxidase is an alcohol dehydrogenase/oxidase flavoprotein that catalyzes the dehydrogenation of C(3-OH of cholesterol. It has two major biotechnological applications, i.e. in the determination of serum (and food cholesterol levels and as biocatalyst providing valuable intermediates for industrial steroid drug production. Cholesterol oxidases of type I are those containing the FAD cofactor tightly but not covalently bound to the protein moiety, whereas type II members contain covalently bound FAD. This is the first report on the over-expression in Escherichia coli of type II cholesterol oxidase from Brevibacterium sterolicum (BCO. Results Design of the plasmid construct encoding the mature BCO, optimization of medium composition and identification of the best cultivation/induction conditions for growing and expressing the active protein in recombinant E. coli cells, concurred to achieve a valuable improvement: BCO volumetric productivity was increased from ~500 up to ~25000 U/L and its crude extract specific activity from 0.5 up to 7.0 U/mg protein. Interestingly, under optimal expression conditions, nearly 55% of the soluble recombinant BCO is produced as covalently FAD bound form, whereas the protein containing non-covalently bound FAD is preferentially accumulated in insoluble inclusion bodies. Conclusions Comparison of our results with those published on non-covalent (type I COs expressed in recombinant form (either in E. coli or Streptomyces spp., shows that the fully active type II BCO can be produced in E. coli at valuable expression levels. The improved over-production of the FAD-bound cholesterol oxidase will support its development as a novel biotool to be exploited in biotechnological applications.

Development of soluble and immobilized biocatalysts based on a recombinant thermostable ß-fructosidase enabling complete sucrose inversion at pasteurization temperatures

OpenAIRE

Menéndez, Carmen; Martínez, Duniesky; Trujillo, Luis E; Ramírez, Ricardo; Sobrino, Alina; Cutiño-Ávila, Bessy V; Basabe, Liliana; del Monte-Martínez, Alberto; Pérez, Enrique R; Hernández, Lázaro

2014-01-01

Biocatalysts for the industrial production of invert sugar are preferred to stably operate at high sucrose concentrations and pasteurization temperatures. Thermotoga maritima ß-fructosidase (BfrA) is more thermostable and less susceptible to substrate inhibition than the current commercial invertase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In this research, the non-saccharolytic host Pichia pastoris was engineered for BfrA production. Fed-batch fermentation of the recombinant yeast for 72 h using cane ...

Auger recombination in sodium iodide

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, Andrew; Kioupakis, Emmanouil; Åberg, Daniel; Schleife, André

2014-03-01

Scintillators are an important tool used to detect high energy radiation - both in the interest of national security and in medicine. However, scintillator detectors currently suffer from lower energy resolutions than expected from basic counting statistics. This has been attributed to non-proportional light yield compared to incoming radiation, but the specific mechanism for this non-proportionality has not been identified. Auger recombination is a non-radiative process that could be contributing to the non-proportionality of scintillating materials. Auger recombination comes in two types - direct and phonon-assisted. We have used first-principles calculations to study Auger recombination in sodium iodide, a well characterized scintillating material. Our findings indicate that phonon-assisted Auger recombination is stronger in sodium iodide than direct Auger recombination. Computational resources provided by LLNL and NERSC. Funding provided by NA-22.

Regulation of homologous recombination in eukaryotes

OpenAIRE

Heyer, Wolf-Dietrich; Ehmsen, Kirk T.; Liu, Jie

2010-01-01

Homologous recombination is required for accurate chromosome segregation during the first meiotic division and constitutes a key repair and tolerance pathway for complex DNA damage including DNA double-stranded breaks, interstrand crosslinks, and DNA gaps. In addition, recombination and replication are inextricably linked, as recombination recovers stalled and broken replication forks enabling the evolution of larger genomes/replicons. Defects in recombination lead to genomic instability and ...

The Solubility Parameters of Ionic Liquids

Science.gov (United States)

Marciniak, Andrzej

2010-01-01

The Hildebrand’s solubility parameters have been calculated for 18 ionic liquids from the inverse gas chromatography measurements of the activity coefficients at infinite dilution. Retention data were used for the calculation. The solubility parameters are helpful for the prediction of the solubility in the binary solvent mixtures. From the solubility parameters, the standard enthalpies of vaporization of ionic liquids were estimated. PMID:20559495

The Solubility Parameters of Ionic Liquids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Marciniak

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The Hildebrand’s solubility parameters have been calculated for 18 ionic liquids from the inverse gas chromatography measurements of the activity coefficients at infinite dilution. Retention data were used for the calculation. The solubility parameters are helpful for the prediction of the solubility in the binary solvent mixtures. From the solubility parameters, the standard enthalpies of vaporization of ionic liquids were estimated.

Solubility of sparingly soluble drug derivatives of anthranilic acid.

Science.gov (United States)

Domańska, Urszula; Pobudkowska, Aneta; Pelczarska, Aleksandra

2011-03-24

This work is a continuation of our systematic study of the solubility of pharmaceuticals (Pharms). All substances here are derivatives of anthranilic acid, and have an anti-inflammatory direction of action (niflumic acid, flufenamic acid, and diclofenac sodium). The basic thermal properties of pure Pharms, i.e., melting and glass-transition temperatures as well as the enthalpy of melting, have been measured with the differential scanning microcalorimetry technique (DSC). Molar volumes have been calculated with the Barton group contribution method. The equilibrium mole fraction solubilities of three pharmaceuticals were measured in a range of temperatures from 285 to 355 K in three important solvents for Pharm investigations: water, ethanol, and 1-octanol using a dynamic method and spectroscopic UV-vis method. The experimental solubility data have been correlated by means of the commonly known G(E) equation: the NRTL, with the assumption that the systems studied here have revealed simple eutectic mixtures. pK(a) precise measurement values have been investigated with the Bates-Schwarzenbach spectrophotometric method. © 2011 American Chemical Society

High-level transient expression of recombinant protein in lettuce.

Science.gov (United States)

Joh, Lawrence D; Wroblewski, Tadeusz; Ewing, Nicholas N; VanderGheynst, Jean S

2005-09-30

Transient expression following agroinfiltration of plant tissue was investigated as a system for producing recombinant protein. As a model system, Agrobacterium tumefaciens containing the beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene was vacuum infiltrated into lettuce leaf disks. Infiltration with a suspension of 10(9) colony forming units/mL followed by incubation for 72 h at 22 degrees C in continuous darkness produced a maximum of 0.16% GUS protein based on dry tissue or 1.1% GUS protein based on total soluble protein. This compares favorably to expression levels for commercially manufactured GUS protein from transgenic corn seeds. A. tumefaciens culture medium pH between 5.6 and 7.0 and surfactant concentrations lettuce to produce GUS protein more rapidly, but final levels did not exceed the GUS production in leaves incubated in continuous darkness after 72 h at 22 degrees C. The kinetics of GUS expression during incubation in continuous light and dark were represented well using a logistic model, with rate constants of 0.30 and 0.29/h, respectively. To semi-quantitatively measure the GUS expression in large numbers of leaf disks, a photometric enhancement of the standard histochemical staining method was developed. A linear relationship with an R2 value of 0.90 was determined between log10 (% leaf darkness) versus log10 (GUS activity). Although variability in expression level was observed, agroinfiltration appears to be a promising technology that could potentially be scaled up to produce high-value recombinant proteins in planta. Copyright 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Prediction of the solubility in lipidic solvent mixture: Investigation of the modeling approach and thermodynamic analysis of solubility.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Shruti V; Patel, Sarsvatkumar

2015-09-18

Self-micro emulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS) is one of the methods to improve solubility and bioavailability of poorly soluble drug(s). The knowledge of the solubility of pharmaceuticals in pure lipidic solvents and solvent mixtures is crucial for designing the SMEDDS of poorly soluble drug substances. Since, experiments are very time consuming, a model, which allows for solubility predictions in solvent mixtures based on less experimental data is desirable for efficiency. Solvents employed were Labrafil® M1944CS and Labrasol® as lipidic solvents; Capryol-90®, Capryol-PGMC® and Tween®-80 as surfactants; Transcutol® and PEG-400 as co-solvents. Solubilities of both drugs were determined in single solvent systems at temperature (T) range of 283-333K. In present study, we investigated the applicability of the thermodynamic model to understand the solubility behavior of drugs in the lipiodic solvents. By using the Van't Hoff and general solubility theory, the thermodynamic functions like Gibbs free energy, enthalpy and entropy of solution, mixing and solvation for drug in single and mixed solvents were understood. The thermodynamic parameters were understood in the framework of drug-solvent interaction based on their chemical similarity and dissimilarity. Clotrimazole and Fluconazole were used as active ingredients whose solubility was measured in single solvent as a function of temperature and the data obtained were used to derive mathematical models which can predict solubility in multi-component solvent mixtures. Model dependent parameters for each drug were calculated at each temperature. The experimental solubility data of solute in mixed solvent system were measured experimentally and further correlated with the calculates values obtained from exponent model and log-linear model of Yalkowsky. The good correlation was observed between experimental solubility and predicted solubility. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

VapC from the leptospiral VapBC toxin-antitoxin module displays ribonuclease activity on the initiator tRNA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandre P Y Lopes

Full Text Available The prokaryotic ubiquitous Toxin-Antitoxin (TA operons encode a stable toxin and an unstable antitoxin. The most accepted hypothesis of the physiological function of the TA system is the reversible cessation of cellular growth under stress conditions. The major TA family, VapBC is present in the spirochaete Leptospira interrogans. VapBC modules are classified based on the presence of a predicted ribonucleasic PIN domain in the VapC toxin. The expression of the leptospiral VapC in E. coli promotes a strong bacterial growth arrestment, making it difficult to express the recombinant protein. Nevertheless, we showed that long term induction of expression in E. coli enabled the recovery of VapC in inclusion bodies. The recombinant protein was successfully refolded by high hydrostatic pressure, providing a new method to obtain the toxin in a soluble and active form. The structural integrity of the recombinant VapB and VapC proteins was assessed by circular dichroism spectroscopy. Physical interaction between the VapC toxin and the VapB antitoxin was demonstrated in vivo and in vitro by pull down and ligand affinity blotting assays, respectively, thereby indicating the ultimate mechanism by which the activity of the toxin is regulated in bacteria. The predicted model of the leptospiral VapC structure closely matches the Shigella's VapC X-ray structure. In agreement, the ribonuclease activity of the leptospiral VapC was similar to the activity described for Shigella's VapC, as demonstrated by the cleavage of tRNAfMet and by the absence of unspecific activity towards E. coli rRNA. This finding suggests that the cleavage of the initiator transfer RNA may represent a common mechanism to a larger group of bacteria and potentially configures a mechanism of post-transcriptional regulation leading to the inhibition of global translation.

Recombination coefficients in extrinsic n-InSb

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, W.; Groh, H.; Huebner, K.

1976-01-01

The bulk recombination coefficients for linear recombination via recombination centers as well as for direct recombination have been determined measuring the conductivity decay after two-photon absorption with a CO 2 laser. The Suhl effect was applied to measure the surface recombination velocity. The corresponding literature is discussed and compared with our results. We conclude that two different kinds of recombination centers are possible in n-InSb, with energy levels (0.1-0.12)eV above the valence band, or (0.14-0.2)eV respectively. (orig.) [de

Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of the soluble domain of PPA0092, a putative nitrite reductase from Propionibacterium acnes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nojiri, Masaki; Shirota, Felicia; Hira, Daisuke; Suzuki, Shinnichiro

2009-01-01

The soluble domain of a putative copper-containing nitrite reductase from P. acnes has been overexpressed, purified and crystallized. The crystal belonged to space group P2 1 3 and diffracted to 2.4 Å resolution. The soluble domain (residues 483–913) of PPA0092, a putative copper-containing nitrite reductase from Propionibacterium acnes KPA171202, has been overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The purified recombinant protein was crystallized using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. X-ray diffraction data were collected and processed to a maximum resolution of 2.4 Å. The crystal belonged to space group P2 1 3, with unit-cell parameters a = b = c = 108.63 Å. Preliminary diffraction data show that one molecule is present in the asymmetric unit; this corresponds to a V M of 2.1 Å 3 Da −1

Electron-ion recombination rates for merged-beams experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pajek, M.

1994-01-01

Energy dependence of the electron-ion recombination rates are studied for different recombination processes (radiative recombination, three-body recombination, dissociative recombination) for Maxwellian relative velocity distribution of arbitrary asymmetry. The results are discussed in context of the electron-ion merged beams experiments in cooling ion storage rings. The question of indication of a possible contribution of the three-body recombination to the measured recombination rates versus relative energy is particularly addressed. Its influence on the electron beam temperature derived from the energy dependence of recombination rate is discussed

Electron-ion recombination at low energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersen, L.H.

1993-01-01

The work is based on results obtained with a merged-beams experiment. A beam of electronics with a well characterized density and energy distribution was merged with a fast, monoenergetic ion beam. Results have been obtained for radiative recombination and dielectronic recombination at low relative energies (0 to ∼70eV). The obtained energy resolution was improved by about a factor of 30. High vacuum technology was used to suppress interactions with electrons from the environments. The velocity distribution of the electron beam was determined. State-selective dielectronic-recombination measurements were performable. Recombination processes were studied. The theoretical background for radiative recombination and Kramers' theory are reviewed. The quantum mechanical result and its relation to the semiclassical theory is discussed. Radiative recombination was also measured with several different non-bare ions, and the applicability of the semiclassical theory to non-bare ions was investigated. The use of an effective charge is discussed. For dielectronic recombination, the standard theoretical approach in the isolated resonance and independent-processes approximation is debated. The applicability of this method was tested. The theory was able to reproduce most of the experimental data except when the recombination process was sensitive to couplings between different electronic configurations. The influence of external perturbing electrostatic fields is discussed. (AB) (31 refs.)

Construction and characterization of human rotavirus recombinant VP8* subunit parenteral vaccine candidates.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Xiaobo; Cao, Dianjun; Jones, Ronald W; Li, Jianping; Szu, Shousun; Hoshino, Yasutaka

2012-09-21

Two currently licensed live oral rotavirus vaccines (Rotarix® and RotaTeq®) are highly efficacious against severe rotavirus diarrhea. However, the efficacy of such vaccines in selected low-income African and Asian countries is much lower than that in middle or high-income countries. Additionally, these two vaccines have recently been associated with rare case of intussusception in vaccinated infants. We developed a novel recombinant subunit parenteral rotavirus vaccine which may be more effective in low-income countries and also avert the potential problem of intussusception. Truncated recombinant VP8* (ΔVP8*) protein of human rotavirus strain Wa P[8], DS-1 P[4] or 1076 P[6] expressed in Escherichia coli was highly soluble and was generated in high yield. Guinea pigs hyperimmunized intramuscularly with each of the ΔVP8* proteins (i.e., P[8], P[4] or P[6]) developed high levels of homotypic as well as variable levels of heterotypic neutralizing antibodies. Moreover, the selected ΔVP8* proteins when administered to mice at a clinically relevant dosage, route and schedule, elicited high levels of serum anti-VP8* IgG and/or neutralizing antibodies. Our data indicated that the ΔVP8* proteins may be a plausible additional candidate as new parenteral rotavirus vaccines. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Solubility of Carbon in Nanocrystalline -Iron

OpenAIRE

Alexander Kirchner; Bernd Kieback

2012-01-01

A thermodynamic model for nanocrystalline interstitial alloys is presented. The equilibrium solid solubility of carbon in -iron is calculated for given grain size. Inside the strained nanograins local variation of the carbon content is predicted. Due to the nonlinear relation between strain and solubility, the averaged solubility in the grain interior increases with decreasing grain size. The majority of the global solubility enhancement is due to grain boundary enrichment however. Therefor...

Intrinsic solubility estimation and pH-solubility behavior of cosalane (NSC 658586), an extremely hydrophobic diprotic acid.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatesh, S; Li, J; Xu, Y; Vishnuvajjala, R; Anderson, B D

1996-10-01

The selection of cosalane (NSC 658586) by the National Cancer Institute for further development as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of AIDS led to the exploration of the solubility behavior of this extremely hydrophobic drug, which has an intrinsic solubility (S0 approaching 1 ng/ml. This study describes attempts to reliably measure the intrinsic solubility of cosalane and examine its pH-solubility behavior. S0 was estimated by 5 different strategies: (a) direct determination in an aqueous suspension: (b) facilitated dissolution; (c) estimation from the octanol/water partition coefficient and octanol solubility (d) application of an empirical equation based on melting point and partition coefficient; and (e) estimation from the hydrocarbon solubility and functional group contributions for transfer from hydrocarbon to water. S0 estimates using these five methods varied over a 5 x 107-fold range Method (a) yielded the highest values, two-orders of magnitude greater than those obtained by method (b) (facilitated dissolution. 1.4 +/- 0.5 ng/ml). Method (c) gave a value 20-fold higher while that from method (d) was in fair agreement with that from facilitated dissolution. Method (e) yielded a value several orders-of-magnitude lower than other methods. A molecular dynamics simulation suggests that folded conformations not accounted for by group contributions may reduce cosalane's effective hydrophobicity. Ionic equilibria calculations for this weak diprotic acid suggested a 100-fold increase in solubility per pH unit increase. The pH-solubility profile of cosalane at 25 degrees C agreed closely with theory. These studies highlight the difficulty in determining solubility of very poorly soluble compounds and the possible advantage of the facilitated dissolution method. The diprotic nature of cosalane enabled a solubility enhancement of > 107-fold by simple pH adjustment.

Recombinant Innovation and Endogenous Transitions

OpenAIRE

Koen Frenken; Luis R. Izquierdo; Paolo Zeppini

2012-01-01

We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create “short-cuts” which reduce switching costs allowing agents to escape a technological lock-in. As a result, recombinant innovations speed up technological progress allowing transitions that are impossible with only branching ...

Interface recombination influence on carrier transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konin, A

2013-01-01

A theory of interface recombination in the semiconductor–semiconductor junction is developed. The interface recombination rate dependence on the nonequilibrium carrier densities is derived on the basis of a model in which the interface recombination occurs through the mechanism of trapping. The general relation between the interface recombination parameters at small carrier density deviation from the equilibrium ones is obtained. The validity of this relation is proved considering the generation of the Hall electric field in the extrinsic semiconductor sample. The anomalous Hall electromotive force in a weak magnetic field was investigated and interpreted by means of a new interface recombination model. The experimental data corroborate the developed theory. (paper)

Caenorhabditis briggsae recombinant inbred line genotypes reveal inter-strain incompatibility and the evolution of recombination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph A Ross

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is an emerging model organism that allows evolutionary comparisons with C. elegans and exploration of its own unique biological attributes. To produce a high-resolution C. briggsae recombination map, recombinant inbred lines were generated from reciprocal crosses between two strains and genotyped at over 1,000 loci. A second set of recombinant inbred lines involving a third strain was also genotyped at lower resolution. The resulting recombination maps exhibit discrete domains of high and low recombination, as in C. elegans, indicating these are a general feature of Caenorhabditis species. The proportion of a chromosome's physical size occupied by the central, low-recombination domain is highly correlated between species. However, the C. briggsae intra-species comparison reveals striking variation in the distribution of recombination between domains. Hybrid lines made with the more divergent pair of strains also exhibit pervasive marker transmission ratio distortion, evidence of selection acting on hybrid genotypes. The strongest effect, on chromosome III, is explained by a developmental delay phenotype exhibited by some hybrid F2 animals. In addition, on chromosomes IV and V, cross direction-specific biases towards one parental genotype suggest the existence of cytonuclear epistatic interactions. These interactions are discussed in relation to surprising mitochondrial genome polymorphism in C. briggsae, evidence that the two strains diverged in allopatry, the potential for local adaptation, and the evolution of Dobzhansky-Muller incompatibilities. The genetic and genomic resources resulting from this work will support future efforts to understand inter-strain divergence as well as facilitate studies of gene function, natural variation, and the evolution of recombination in Caenorhabditis nematodes.

Molecular requirements for radiation-activated recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevens, Craig W.; Zeng Ming; Stamato, Thomas; Cerniglia, George

1997-01-01

Purpose/Objective: The major stumbling block to successful gene therapy today is poor gene transfer. We hypothesized that ionizing radiation might activate cellular recombination, and so improve stable gene transfer. We further hypothesized that known DNA-damage-repair proteins might also be important in radiation-activated recombination. Materials and Methods: The effect of irradiation on stable gene transfer efficiency was determined in human (A549 and 39F) and rodent (NIH/3T3) cell lines. Continuous low dose rate and multiple radiation fractions were also tested. Nuclear extracts were made and the effect of irradiation on inter-plasmid recombination/ligation determined. Multiple DNA damage-repair deficient cell lines were tested for radiation-activated recombination. Results: A significant radiation dose-dependent improvement in stable plasmid transfection (by as much as 1300 fold) is demonstrated in neoplastic and primary cells. An improvement in transient plasmid transfection is also seen, with as much as 85% of cells transiently expressing b-galactosidase (20-50 fold improvement). Stable transfection is only improved for linearized or nicked plasmids. Cells have improved gene transfer for at least 96 hours after irradiation. Both fractionated and continuous low dose rate irradiation are effective at improving stable gene transfer in mammalian cells, thus making relatively high radiation dose delivery clinically feasible. Inter-plasmid recombination is radiation dose dependent in nuclear extract assays, and the type of overhang (3', 5' or blunt end) significantly affects recombination efficiency and the type of product. The most common end-joining activity involves filling-in of the overhang followed by blunt end ligation. Adenovirus is a linear, double stranded DNA virus. We demonstrate that adenoviral infection efficiency is increased by irradiation. The duration of transgene expression is lengthened because the virus integrates with high efficiency (∼10

The Induction of Recombinant Protein Bodies in Different Subcellular Compartments Reveals a Cryptic Plastid-Targeting Signal in the 27-kDa γ-Zein Sequence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hofbauer, Anna; Peters, Jenny; Arcalis, Elsa [Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Rademacher, Thomas [Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Lampel, Johannes [Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Eudes, François [Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB (Canada); Vitale, Alessandro [Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, National Research Council (CNR), Milan (Italy); Stoger, Eva, E-mail: eva.stoger@boku.ac.at [Department of Applied Genetics and Cell Biology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Austria)

2014-12-11

Naturally occurring storage proteins such as zeins are used as fusion partners for recombinant proteins because they induce the formation of ectopic storage organelles known as protein bodies (PBs) where the proteins are stabilized by intermolecular interactions and the formation of disulfide bonds. Endogenous PBs are derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we have used different targeting sequences to determine whether ectopic PBs composed of the N-terminal portion of mature 27 kDa γ-zein added to a fluorescent protein could be induced to form elsewhere in the cell. The addition of a transit peptide for targeting to plastids causes PB formation in the stroma, whereas in the absence of any added targeting sequence PBs were typically associated with the plastid envelope, revealing the presence of a cryptic plastid-targeting signal within the γ-zein cysteine-rich domain. The subcellular localization of the PBs influences their morphology and the solubility of the stored recombinant fusion protein. Our results indicate that the biogenesis and budding of PBs does not require ER-specific factors and therefore, confirm that γ-zein is a versatile fusion partner for recombinant proteins offering unique opportunities for the accumulation and bioencapsulation of recombinant proteins in different subcellular compartments.

The Induction of Recombinant Protein Bodies in Different Subcellular Compartments Reveals a Cryptic Plastid-Targeting Signal in the 27-kDa γ-Zein Sequence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hofbauer, Anna; Peters, Jenny; Arcalis, Elsa; Rademacher, Thomas; Lampel, Johannes; Eudes, François; Vitale, Alessandro; Stoger, Eva

2014-01-01

Naturally occurring storage proteins such as zeins are used as fusion partners for recombinant proteins because they induce the formation of ectopic storage organelles known as protein bodies (PBs) where the proteins are stabilized by intermolecular interactions and the formation of disulfide bonds. Endogenous PBs are derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Here, we have used different targeting sequences to determine whether ectopic PBs composed of the N-terminal portion of mature 27 kDa γ-zein added to a fluorescent protein could be induced to form elsewhere in the cell. The addition of a transit peptide for targeting to plastids causes PB formation in the stroma, whereas in the absence of any added targeting sequence PBs were typically associated with the plastid envelope, revealing the presence of a cryptic plastid-targeting signal within the γ-zein cysteine-rich domain. The subcellular localization of the PBs influences their morphology and the solubility of the stored recombinant fusion protein. Our results indicate that the biogenesis and budding of PBs does not require ER-specific factors and therefore, confirm that γ-zein is a versatile fusion partner for recombinant proteins offering unique opportunities for the accumulation and bioencapsulation of recombinant proteins in different subcellular compartments.

Recombinant pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase, recombinant dirigent protein, and methods of use

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Norman G.; Davin, Laurence B.; Dinkova-Kostova, Albena T.; Fujita, Masayuki; Gang, David R.; Sarkanen, Simo; Ford, Joshua D.

2001-04-03

Dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases have been isolated, together with cDNAs encoding dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. Accordingly, isolated DNA sequences are provided which code for the expression of dirigent proteins and pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases. In other aspects, replicable recombinant cloning vehicles are provided which code for dirigent proteins or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases or for a base sequence sufficiently complementary to at least a portion of dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase DNA or RNA to enable hybridization therewith. In yet other aspects, modified host cells are provided that have been transformed, transfected, infected and/or injected with a recombinant cloning vehicle and/or DNA sequence encoding dirigent protein or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductase. Thus, systems and methods are provided for the recombinant expression of dirigent proteins and/or pinoresinol/lariciresinol reductases.

Functional Assembly of Soluble and Membrane Recombinant Proteins of Mammalian NADPH Oxidase Complex.

Science.gov (United States)

Souabni, Hajer; Ezzine, Aymen; Bizouarn, Tania; Baciou, Laura

2017-01-01

Activation of phagocyte cells from an innate immune system is associated with a massive consumption of molecular oxygen to generate highly reactive oxygen species (ROS) as microbial weapons. This is achieved by a multiprotein complex, the so-called NADPH oxidase. The activity of phagocyte NADPH oxidase relies on an assembly of more than five proteins, among them the membrane heterodimer named flavocytochrome b 558 (Cytb 558 ), constituted by the tight association of the gp91 phox (also named Nox2) and p22 phox proteins. The Cytb 558 is the membrane catalytic core of the NADPH oxidase complex, through which the reducing equivalent provided by NADPH is transferred via the associated prosthetic groups (one flavin and two hemes) to reduce dioxygen into superoxide anion. The other major proteins (p47 phox , p67 phox , p40 phox , Rac) requisite for the complex activity are cytosolic proteins. Thus, the NADPH oxidase functioning relies on a synergic multi-partner assembly that in vivo can be hardly studied at the molecular level due to the cell complexity. Thus, a cell-free assay method has been developed to study the NADPH oxidase activity that allows measuring and eventually quantifying the ROS generation based on optical techniques following reduction of cytochrome c. This setup is a valuable tool for the identification of protein interactions, of crucial components and additives for a functional enzyme. Recently, this method was improved by the engineering and the production of a complete recombinant NADPH oxidase complex using the combination of purified proteins expressed in bacterial and yeast host cells. The reconstitution into artificial membrane leads to a fully controllable system that permits fine functional studies.

On the americium oxalate solubility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zakolupin, S.A.; Korablin, Eh.V.

1977-01-01

The americium oxalate solubility at different nitric (0.0-1 M) and oxalic (0.0-0.4 M) acid concentrations was investigated in the temperature range from 14 to 60 deg C. The dependence of americium oxalate solubility on the oxalic acid concentration was determined. Increasing oxalic acid concentration was found to reduce the americium oxalate solubility. The dependence of americium oxalate solubility on the oxalic acid concentration was noted to be a minimum at low acidity (0.1-0.3 M nitric acid). This is most likely due to Am(C 2 O 4 ) + , Am(C 2 O 4 ) 2 - and Am(C 2 O 4 ) 3 3- complex ion formation which have different unstability constants. On the basis of the data obtained, a preliminary estimate was carried out for the product of americium oxalate solubility in nitric acid medium (10 -29 -10 -31 ) and of the one in water (6.4x10 -20 )

Population inversion in recombining hydrogen plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furukane, Utaro; Yokota, Toshiaki; Oda, Toshiatsu.

1978-11-01

The collisional-radiative model is applied to a recombining hydrogen plasma in order to investigate the plasma condition in which the population inversion between the energy levels of hydrogen can be generated. The population inversion is expected in a plasma where the three body recombination has a large contribution to the recombining processes and the effective recombination rate is beyond a certain value for a given electron density and temperature. Calculated results are presented in figures and tables. (author)

Consequences of recombination on traditional phylogenetic analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schierup, M H; Hein, J

2000-01-01

We investigate the shape of a phylogenetic tree reconstructed from sequences evolving under the coalescent with recombination. The motivation is that evolutionary inferences are often made from phylogenetic trees reconstructed from population data even though recombination may well occur (mt......DNA or viral sequences) or does occur (nuclear sequences). We investigate the size and direction of biases when a single tree is reconstructed ignoring recombination. Standard software (PHYLIP) was used to construct the best phylogenetic tree from sequences simulated under the coalescent with recombination....... With recombination present, the length of terminal branches and the total branch length are larger, and the time to the most recent common ancestor smaller, than for a tree reconstructed from sequences evolving with no recombination. The effects are pronounced even for small levels of recombination that may...

Solubilities of uranium for TILA-99

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ollila, K.; Ahonen, L.

1998-11-01

This report presents the evaluation of the uranium solubilities in the reference waters of TILA-99. The behaviour of uranium has been discussed separately in the near-field and far-field conditions. The bentonite/groundwater interactions have been considered in the compositions of the fresh and saline near-field reference waters. The far-field groundwaters' compositions include fresh, brackish, saline and very saline, almost brine-type compositions. The pH and redox conditions, as the main parameters affecting the solubilities, are considered. A literature study was made in order to obtain information on the recent dissolution and leaching experiments of UO 2 and spent fuel. The latest literature includes studies on UO 2 solubility under anoxic conditions, in which the methods for simulating the reducing conditions of deep groundwater have been improved. Studies on natural uraninite and its alteration products give a valuable insight into the long-term behaviour of spent fuel. Also the solubility equilibria for some relevant poorly known uranium minerals have been determined. The solubilities of the selected solubility-limiting phases were calculated using the geochemical code, EQ3/6. The NEA database for uranium was the basis for the modelling. The recently extended and updated SR '97 database was used for comparison. The solubility products for uranophane were taken from the latest literature. The recommended values for solubilities were given after a comparison between the calculated solubilities, experimental information and measured concentrations in natural groundwaters. The experiments include several UO 2 dissolution studies in synthetic groundwaters with compositions close to the reference groundwaters. (author)

Solubilities of uranium for TILA-99

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ollila, K. [VTT Chemical Technology, Espoo (Finland); Ahonen, L. [Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

1998-11-01

This report presents the evaluation of the uranium solubilities in the reference waters of TILA-99. The behaviour of uranium has been discussed separately in the near-field and far-field conditions. The bentonite/groundwater interactions have been considered in the compositions of the fresh and saline near-field reference waters. The far-field groundwaters` compositions include fresh, brackish, saline and very saline, almost brine-type compositions. The pH and redox conditions, as the main parameters affecting the solubilities, are considered. A literature study was made in order to obtain information on the recent dissolution and leaching experiments of UO{sub 2} and spent fuel. The latest literature includes studies on UO{sub 2} solubility under anoxic conditions, in which the methods for simulating the reducing conditions of deep groundwater have been improved. Studies on natural uraninite and its alteration products give a valuable insight into the long-term behaviour of spent fuel. Also the solubility equilibria for some relevant poorly known uranium minerals have been determined. The solubilities of the selected solubility-limiting phases were calculated using the geochemical code, EQ3/6. The NEA database for uranium was the basis for the modelling. The recently extended and updated SR `97 database was used for comparison. The solubility products for uranophane were taken from the latest literature. The recommended values for solubilities were given after a comparison between the calculated solubilities, experimental information and measured concentrations in natural groundwaters. The experiments include several UO{sub 2} dissolution studies in synthetic groundwaters with compositions close to the reference groundwaters. (author) 81 refs.

The effects of disordered structure on the solubility and dissolution rates of some hydrophilic, sparingly soluble drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Mosharraf, M; Sebhatu, T; Nyström, C

1999-01-15

The effects of experimental design on the apparent solubility of two sparingly soluble hydrophilic compounds (barium sulphate and calcium carbonate) were studied in this paper. The apparent solubility appeared to be primarily dependent on the amount of solute added to the solvent in each experiment, increasing with increased amounts. This effect seems to be due to the existence of a peripheral disordered layer. However physico-chemical methods used in the present study were not able to unambiguously verify the existence of any disorder in the solid state structure of the drugs. At higher proportions of solute to solvent, the solubility reached a plateau corresponding to the solubility of the disordered or amorphous molecular form of the material. Milling the powders caused the plateau to be reached at lower proportions of solute to solvent, since this further disordered the surface of the drug particles. It was also found that the apparent solubility of the drugs tested decreased after storage at high relative humidities. A model for describing the effects of a disordered surface layer of varying thickness and continuity on the solubility of a substance is presented. This model may be used as a method for detection of minute amount of disorder, where no other technique is capable of detecting the disordered structure. It is suggested that recrystallisation of the material occurs via slow solid-state transition at the surface of the drug particle; this would slowly reduce the apparent solubility of the substance at the plateau level to the thermodynamically stable value. A biphasic dissolution rate profile was obtained. The solubility of the disordered surface of the particles appeared to be the rate-determining factor during the initial dissolution phase, while the solubility of the crystalline core was the rate-determining factor during the final slower phase.

Determination of radionuclide solubility limits to be used in SR 97. Uncertainties associated to calculated solubilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruno, J.; Cera, E.; Duro, L.; Jordana, S. [QuantiSci S.L., Barcelona (Spain); Pablo, J. de [DEQ-UPC, Barcelona (Spain); Savage, D. [QuantiSci Ltd., Henley-on-Thames (United Kingdom)

1997-12-01

The thermochemical behaviour of 24 critical radionuclides for the forthcoming SR97 PA exercise is discussed. The available databases are reviewed and updated with new data and an extended database for aqueous and solid species of the radionuclides of interest is proposed. We have calculated solubility limits for the radionuclides of interest under different groundwater compositions. A sensitivity analysis of the calculated solubilities with the composition of the groundwater is presented. Besides selecting the most likely solubility limiting phases, in this work we have used coprecipitation approaches in order to calculate more realistic solubility limits for minor radionuclides, such as Ra, Am and Cm. The comparison between the calculated solubilities and the concentrations measured in relevant natural systems (NA) and in spent fuel leaching experiments helps to assess the validity of the methodology used and to derive source term concentrations for the radionuclides studied. The uncertainties associated to the solubilities of the main radionuclides involved in the spent nuclear fuel have also been discussed in this work. The variability of the groundwater chemistry; redox conditions and temperature of the system have been considered the main factors affecting the solubilities. In this case, a sensitivity analysis has been performed in order to study solubility changes as a function of these parameters. The uncertainties have been calculated by including the values found in a major extent in typical granitic groundwaters. The results obtained from this analysis indicate that there are some radionuclides which are not affected by these parameters, i.e. Ag, Cm, Ho, Nb, Ni, Np, Pu, Se, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tc and U

Novel electrosprayed nanospherules for enhanced aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble fenofibrate.

Science.gov (United States)

Yousaf, Abid Mehmood; Mustapha, Omer; Kim, Dong Wuk; Kim, Dong Shik; Kim, Kyeong Soo; Jin, Sung Giu; Yong, Chul Soon; Youn, Yu Seok; Oh, Yu-Kyoung; Kim, Jong Oh; Choi, Han-Gon

2016-01-01

The purpose of the present research was to develop a novel electrosprayed nanospherule providing the most optimized aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability for poorly water-soluble fenofibrate. Numerous fenofibrate-loaded electrosprayed nanospherules were prepared with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Labrafil(®) M 2125 as carriers using the electrospray technique, and the effect of the carriers on drug solubility and solvation was assessed. The solid state characterization of an optimized formulation was conducted by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses. Oral bioavailability in rats was also evaluated for the formulation of an optimized nanospherule in comparison with free drug and a conventional fenofibrate-loaded solid dispersion. All of the electrosprayed nanospherule formulations had remarkably enhanced aqueous solubility and dissolution compared with free drug. Moreover, Labrafil M 2125, a surfactant, had a positive influence on the solubility and dissolution of the drug in the electrosprayed nanospherule. Increases were observed as the PVP/drug ratio increased to 4:1, but higher ratios gave no significant increases. In particular, an electrosprayed nanospherule composed of fenofibrate, PVP, and Labrafil M 2125 at the weight ratio of 1:4:0.5 resulted in a particle size of water-soluble fenofibrate.

Desaturation reactions catalyzed by soluble methane monooxygenase.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Y; Lipscomb, J D

2001-09-01

Soluble methane monooxygenase (MMO) is shown to be capable of catalyzing desaturation reactions in addition to the usual hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions. Dehydrogenated products are generated from MMO-catalyzed oxidation of certain substrates including ethylbenzene and cyclohexadienes. In the reaction of ethylbenzene, desaturation of ethyl C-H occurred along with the conventional hydroxvlations of ethyl and phenyl C-Hs. As a result, styrene is formed together with ethylphenols and phenylethanols. Similarly, when 1,3- and 1,4-cyclohexadienes were used as substrates, benzene was detected as a product in addition to the corresponding alcohols and epoxides. In all cases, reaction conditions were found to significantly affect the distribution among the different products. This new activity of MMO is postulated to be associated with the chemical properties of the substrates rather than fundamental changes in the nature of the oxygen and C-H activation chemistries. The formation of the desaturated products is rationalized by formation of a substrate cationic intermediate, possibly via a radical precursor. The cationic species is then proposed to partition between recombination (alcohol formation) and elimination (alkene production) pathways. This novel function of MMO indicates close mechanistic kinship between the hydroxylation and desaturation reactions catalyzed by the nonheme diiron clusters.

Density dependence of dielectronic recombination in selenium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagelstein, P.L.; Rosen, M.D.; Jacobs, V.L.

1986-01-01

Dielectronic recombination has been found to be the dominant recombination process in the determination of the ionization balance of selenium near the Ne-like sequence under conditions relevant to the exploding-foil EUV laser plasmas. The dielectronic recombination process tends to populate excited levels, and these levels in turn are more susceptible to subsequent excitation and ionization than are the ground-state ions. If one defines an effective recombination rate which includes, in addition to the primary recombination, the subsequent excitation and ionization of the additional excited-state population due to the primary recombination, then this effective recombination rate can be density-sensitive at relatively low electron density. We present results for this effective dielectronic recombination rate at an electron density of 3 x 10/sup 20/ electrons/cm 3 for recombination from Ne-like to Na-like selenium and from F-like to Ne-like selenium. In the former case, the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec at 1.0 keV, which is to be compared with the zero-density value of 2.8 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. In the latter case (F-like to Ne-like), the effective recombination rate coefficient is found to be 1.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec, which is substantially reduced from the zero-density result of 3.3 x 10/sup -11/ cm 3 /sec. We have examined the effects of dielectronic recombination on the laser gain of the dominant Ne-like 3p-3s transitions and have compared our results with those presented by Whitten et al. [Phys. Rev. A 33, 2171 (1986)

Retrograde curves of solidus and solubility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasil'ev, M.V.

1979-01-01

The investigation was concerned with the constitutional diagrams of the eutectic type with ''retrograde solidus'' and ''retrograde solubility curve'' which must be considered as diagrams with degenerate monotectic transformation. The solidus and the solubility curves form a retrograde curve with a common retrograde point representing the solubility maximum. The two branches of the Aetrograde curve can be described with the aid of two similar equations. Presented are corresponding equations for the Cd-Zn system and shown is the possibility of predicting the run of the solubility curve

SequenceLDhot: detecting recombination hotspots.

Science.gov (United States)

Fearnhead, Paul

2006-12-15

There is much local variation in recombination rates across the human genome--with the majority of recombination occurring in recombination hotspots--short regions of around approximately 2 kb in length that have much higher recombination rates than neighbouring regions. Knowledge of this local variation is important, e.g. in the design and analysis of association studies for disease genes. Population genetic data, such as that generated by the HapMap project, can be used to infer the location of these hotspots. We present a new, efficient and powerful method for detecting recombination hotspots from population data. We compare our method with four current methods for detecting hotspots. It is orders of magnitude quicker, and has greater power, than two related approaches. It appears to be more powerful than HotspotFisher, though less accurate at inferring the precise positions of the hotspot. It was also more powerful than LDhot in some situations: particularly for weaker hotspots (10-40 times the background rate) when SNP density is lower (maths.lancs.ac.uk/~fearnhea/Hotspot.

Interlaboratory validation of small-scale solubility and dissolution measurements of poorly water-soluble drugs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Sara B. E.; Alvebratt, Caroline; Bevernage, Jan

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the interlaboratory variability in determination of apparent solubility (Sapp) and intrinsic dissolution rate (IDR) using a miniaturized dissolution instrument. Three poorly water-soluble compounds were selected as reference compounds and measured at m...

Production of soluble Neprilysin by endothelial cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuruppu, Sanjaya; Rajapakse, Niwanthi W.; Minond, Dmitriy; Smith, A. Ian

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A soluble full-length form of Neprilysin exists in media of endothelial cells. • Exosomal release is the key mechanism for the production of soluble Neprilysin. • Inhibition of ADAM-17 by specific inhibitors reduce Neprilysin release. • Exosome mediated release of Neprilysin is dependent on ADAM-17 activity. - Abstract: A non-membrane bound form of Neprilysin (NEP) with catalytic activity has the potential to cleave substrates throughout the circulation, thus leading to systemic effects of NEP. We used the endothelial cell line Ea.hy926 to identify the possible role of exosomes and A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease 17 (ADAM-17) in the production of non-membrane bound NEP. Using a bradykinin based quenched fluorescent substrate (40 μM) assay, we determined the activity of recombinant human NEP (rhNEP; 12 ng), and NEP in the media of endothelial cells (10% v/v; after 24 h incubation with cells) to be 9.35 ± 0.70 and 6.54 ± 0.41 μmols of substrate cleaved over 3 h, respectively. The presence of NEP in the media was also confirmed by Western blotting. At present there are no commercially available inhibitors specific for ADAM-17. We therefore synthesised two inhibitors TPI2155-14 and TPI2155-17, specific for ADAM-17 with IC 50 values of 5.36 and 4.32 μM, respectively. Treatment of cells with TPI2155-14 (15 μM) and TPI2155-17 (4.3 μM) resulted in a significant decrease in NEP activity in media (62.37 ± 1.43 and 38.30 ± 4.70, respectively as a % of control; P < 0.0001), implicating a possible role for ADAM-17 in NEP release. However, centrifuging media (100,000g for 1 h at 4 °C) removed all NEP activity from the supernatant indicating the likely role of exosomes in the release of NEP. Our data therefore indicated for the first time that NEP is released from endothelial cells via exosomes, and that this process is dependent on ADAM-17

Experimental evolution across different thermal regimes yields genetic divergence in recombination fraction but no divergence in temperature associated plastic recombination.

Science.gov (United States)

Kohl, Kathryn P; Singh, Nadia D

2018-04-01

Phenotypic plasticity is pervasive in nature. One mechanism underlying the evolution and maintenance of such plasticity is environmental heterogeneity. Indeed, theory indicates that both spatial and temporal variation in the environment should favor the evolution of phenotypic plasticity under a variety of conditions. Cyclical environmental conditions have also been shown to yield evolved increases in recombination frequency. Here, we use a panel of replicated experimental evolution populations of D. melanogaster to test whether variable environments favor enhanced plasticity in recombination rate and/or increased recombination rate in response to temperature. In contrast to expectation, we find no evidence for either enhanced plasticity in recombination or increased rates of recombination in the variable environment lines. Our data confirm a role of temperature in mediating recombination fraction in D. melanogaster, and indicate that recombination is genetically and plastically depressed under lower temperatures. Our data further suggest that the genetic architectures underlying plastic recombination and population-level variation in recombination rate are likely to be distinct. © 2018 The Author(s). Evolution © 2018 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Solubility limits of importance to leaching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogard, A.; Bentley, G.; Bryant, E.; Duffy, C.; Grisham, J.; Norris, E.; Orth, C.; Thomas, K.

1981-01-01

The solubilities of some radionuclides, especially rare earths and actinides, may be an important and controlling factor in leaching of waste forms. These solubilities should be measured accurately as a function of pH and not as a part of a multicomponent system. Individual solubilities should be measured as a function of temperature to determine if a kinetic effect is being observed in the data. A negative temperature coefficient of solubility for actinides and rare earths in water would have important consequences for nuclear reactor safety and for the management of nuclear wastes

A Novel Recombinant DNA System for High Efficiency Affinity Purification of Proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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Brian H. Carrick

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Isolation of endogenous proteins from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been facilitated by inserting encoding polypeptide affinity tags at the C-termini of chromosomal open reading frames (ORFs using homologous recombination of DNA fragments. Tagged protein isolation is limited by a number of factors, including high cost of affinity resins for bulk isolation and low concentration of ligands on the resin surface, leading to low isolation efficiencies and trapping of contaminants. To address this, we have created a recombinant “CelTag” DNA construct from which PCR fragments can be created to easily tag C-termini of S. cerevisiae ORFs using selection for a nat1 marker. The tag has a C-terminal cellulose binding module to be used in the first affinity step. Microgranular cellulose is very inexpensive and has an effectively continuous ligand on its surface, allowing rapid, highly efficient purification with minimal background. Cellulose-bound proteins are released by specific cleavage of an included site for TEV protease, giving nearly pure product. The tag can be lifted from the recombinant DNA construct either with or without a 13x myc epitope tag between the target ORF and the TEV protease site. Binding of CelTag protein fusions to cellulose is stable to high salt, nonionic detergents, and 1 M urea, allowing stringent washing conditions to remove loosely associated components, as needed, before specific elution. It is anticipated that this reagent could allow isolation of protein complexes from large quantities of yeast extract, including soluble, membrane-bound, or nucleic acid-associated assemblies.

Recombinant expression and purification of the RNA-binding LARP6 proteins from fish genetic model organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Castro, José M; Horn, Daniel A; Pu, Xinzhu; Lewis, Karen A

2017-06-01

The RNA-binding proteins that comprise the La-related protein (LARP) superfamily have been implicated in a wide range of cellular functions, from tRNA maturation to regulation of protein synthesis. To more expansively characterize the biological function of the LARP6 subfamily, we have recombinantly expressed the full-length LARP6 proteins from two teleost fish, platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) and zebrafish (Danio rerio). The yields of the recombinant proteins were enhanced to >2 mg/L using a tandem approach of an N-terminal His 6 -SUMO tag and an iterative solubility screening assay to identify structurally stabilizing buffer components. The domain topologies of the purified fish proteins were probed with limited proteolysis. The fish proteins contain an internal, protease-resistant 40 kDa domain, which is considerably more stable than the comparable domain from the human LARP6 protein. The fish proteins are therefore a lucrative model system in which to study both the evolutionary divergence of this family of La-related proteins and the structure and conformational dynamics of the domains that comprise the LARP6 protein. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cytokine-like factor-1, a novel soluble protein, shares homology with members of the cytokine type I receptor family.

Science.gov (United States)

Elson, G C; Graber, P; Losberger, C; Herren, S; Gretener, D; Menoud, L N; Wells, T N; Kosco-Vilbois, M H; Gauchat, J F

1998-08-01

In this report we describe the identification, cloning, and expression pattern of human cytokine-like factor 1 (hCLF-1) and the identification and cloning of its murine homologue. They were identified from expressed sequence tags using amino acid sequences from conserved regions of the cytokine type I receptor family. Human CLF-1 and murine CLF-1 shared 96% amino acid identity and significant homology with many cytokine type I receptors. CLF-1 is a secreted protein, suggesting that it is either a soluble subunit within a cytokine receptor complex, like the soluble form of the IL-6R alpha-chain, or a subunit of a multimeric cytokine, e.g., IL-12 p40. The highest levels of hCLF-1 mRNA were observed in lymph node, spleen, thymus, appendix, placenta, stomach, bone marrow, and fetal lung, with constitutive expression of CLF-1 mRNA detected in a human kidney fibroblastic cell line. In fibroblast primary cell cultures, CLF-1 mRNA was up-regulated by TNF-alpha, IL-6, and IFN-gamma. Western blot analysis of recombinant forms of hCLF-1 showed that the protein has the tendency to form covalently linked di- and tetramers. These results suggest that CLF-1 is a novel soluble cytokine receptor subunit or part of a novel cytokine complex, possibly playing a regulatory role in the immune system and during fetal development.

The extent and importance of intragenic recombination

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de Silva Eric

2004-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract We have studied the recombination rate behaviour of a set of 140 genes which were investigated for their potential importance in inflammatory disease. Each gene was extensively sequenced in 24 individuals of African descent and 23 individuals of European descent, and the recombination process was studied separately in the two population samples. The results obtained from the two populations were highly correlated, suggesting that demographic bias does not affect our population genetic estimation procedure. We found evidence that levels of recombination correlate with levels of nucleotide diversity. High marker density allowed us to study recombination rate variation on a very fine spatial scale. We found that about 40 per cent of genes showed evidence of uniform recombination, while approximately 12 per cent of genes carried distinct signatures of recombination hotspots. On studying the locations of these hotspots, we found that they are not always confined to introns but can also stretch across exons. An investigation of the protein products of these genes suggested that recombination hotspots can sometimes separate exons belonging to different protein domains; however, this occurs much less frequently than might be expected based on evolutionary studies into the origins of recombination. This suggests that evolutionary analysis of the recombination process is greatly aided by considering nucleotide sequences and protein products jointly.

Recombination epoch revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krolik, J.H.

1989-01-01

Previous studies of cosmological recombination have shown that this process produces as a by-product a highly superthermal population of Ly-alpha photons which retard completion of recombination. Cosmological redshifting was thought to determine the frequency distribution of the photons, while two-photon decay of hydrogen's 2s state was thought to control their numbers. It is shown here that frequency diffusion due to photon scattering dominate the cosmological redshift in the frequency range near line center which fixes the ratio of ground state to excited state population, while incoherent scattering into the far-red damping wing effectively destroys Ly-alpha photons as a rate which is competitive with two-photon decay. The former effect tends to hold back recombination, while the latter tends to accelerate it; the net results depends on cosmological parameters, particularly the combination Omega(b) h/sq rt (2q0), where Omega(b) is the fraction of the critical density provided by baryons. 18 references

Recombination of Globally Circulating Varicella-Zoster Virus

Science.gov (United States)

Depledge, Daniel P.; Kundu, Samit; Atkinson, Claire; Brown, Julianne; Haque, Tanzina; Hussaini, Yusuf; MacMahon, Eithne; Molyneaux, Pamela; Papaevangelou, Vassiliki; Sengupta, Nitu; Koay, Evelyn S. C.; Tang, Julian W.; Underhill, Gillian S.; Grahn, Anna; Studahl, Marie; Breuer, Judith; Bergström, Tomas

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is a human herpesvirus, which during primary infection typically causes varicella (chicken pox) and establishes lifelong latency in sensory and autonomic ganglia. Later in life, the virus may reactivate to cause herpes zoster (HZ; also known as shingles). To prevent these diseases, a live-attenuated heterogeneous vaccine preparation, vOka, is used routinely in many countries worldwide. Recent studies of another alphaherpesvirus, infectious laryngotracheitis virus, demonstrate that live-attenuated vaccine strains can recombine in vivo, creating virulent progeny. These findings raised concerns about using attenuated herpesvirus vaccines under conditions that favor recombination. To investigate whether VZV may undergo recombination, which is a prerequisite for VZV vaccination to create such conditions, we here analyzed 115 complete VZV genomes. Our results demonstrate that recombination occurs frequently for VZV. It thus seems that VZV is fully capable of recombination if given the opportunity, which may have important implications for continued VZV vaccination. Although no interclade vaccine-wild-type recombinant strains were found, intraclade recombinants were frequently detected in clade 2, which harbors the vaccine strains, suggesting that the vaccine strains have already been involved in recombination events, either in vivo or in vitro during passages in cell culture. Finally, previous partial and complete genomic studies have described strains that do not cluster phylogenetically to any of the five established clades. The additional VZV strains sequenced here, in combination with those previously published, have enabled us to formally define a novel sixth VZV clade. IMPORTANCE Although genetic recombination has been demonstrated to frequently occur for other human alphaherpesviruses, herpes simplex viruses 1 and 2, only a few ancient and isolated recent recombination events have hitherto been demonstrated for VZV. In the

Functional properties of the recombinant kringle-2 domain of tissue plasminogen activator produced in Escherichia coli

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelm, O.G.; Jaskunas, S.R.; Vlahos, C.J.; Bang, N.U.

1990-01-01

The kringle-2 domain (residues 176-262) of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant peptide, which concentrated in cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, was isolated, solubilized, chemically refolded, and purified by affinity chromatography on lysine-Sepharose to apparent homogeneity. [35S]Cysteine-methionine-labeled polypeptide was used to study the interactions of kringle-2 with lysine, fibrin, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. The kringle-2 domain bound to lysine-Sepharose and to preformed fibrin with a Kd = 104 +/- 6.2 microM (0.86 +/- 0.012 binding site) and a Kd = 4.2 +/- 1.05 microM (0.80 +/- 0.081 binding site), respectively. Competition experiments and direct binding studies showed that the kringle-2 domain is required for the formation of the ternary t-PA-plasminogen-intact fibrin complex and that the association between the t-PA kringle-2 domain and fibrin does not require plasmin degradation of fibrin and exposure of new COOH-terminal lysine residues. We also observed that kringle-2 forms a complex with highly purified guanidine-activated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, dissociable by 0.2 M epsilon-aminocaproic acid. The kringle-2 polypeptide significantly inhibited tissue plasminogen activator/plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 interaction. The kringle-2 domain bound to plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 in a specific and saturable manner with a Kd = 0.51 +/- 0.055 microM (0.35 +/- 0.026 binding site). Therefore, the t-PA kringle-2 domain is important for the interaction of t-PA not only with fibrin, but also with plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and thus represents a key structure in the regulation of fibrinolysis

Uranyl Oxalate Solubility

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leturcq, G.; Costenoble, S.; Grandjean, S. [CEA Marcoule DEN/DRCP/SCPS/LCA - BP17171 - 30207 Bagnols sur Ceze cedex (France)

2008-07-01

The solubility of uranyl oxalate was determined at ambient temperature by precipitation in oxalic-nitric solutions, using an initial uranyl concentration of 0.1 mol/L. Oxalic concentration varied from 0.075 to 0.3 mol/L while nitric concentration ranged between 0.75 and 3 mol/L. Dissolution tests, using complementary oxalic-nitric media, were carried out for 550 hours in order to study the kinetic to reach thermodynamic equilibrium. Similar solubility values were reached by dissolution and precipitation. Using the results, it was possible to draw the solubility surface versus oxalic and nitric concentrations and to determine both the apparent solubility constant of UO{sub 2}C{sub 2}O{sub 4}, 3H{sub 2}O (Ks) and the apparent formation constant of the first uranyl-oxalate complex UO{sub 2}C{sub 2}O{sub 4} (log {beta}1), for ionic strengths varying between 1 and 3 mol/L. Ks and log {beta}1 values were found to vary from 1.9 10{sup -8} to 9.2 10{sup -9} and from 5.95 to 6.06, respectively, when ionic strength varied from 1 to 3 mol/L. A second model may fit our data obtained at an ionic strength of 3 mol/L suggesting as reported by Moskvin et al. (1959) that no complexes are formed for [H{sup +}] at 3 M. The Ks value would then be 1.3 10{sup -8}. (authors)

A lipase with broad temperature range from an alkaliphilic gamma-proteobacterium isolated in Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Mariane; Larsen, Dorte Møller; Stougaard, Peter

2010-01-01

A gamma-proteobacterium related to the genera Alteromonadales and Pseudomonadales , isolated from a cold and alkaline environment in Greenland, has been shown to produce a lipase active between 5 ° C and 80 ° C, with optimal activity at 55 ° C and pH 8. PCR-based screening of genomic DNA from...... the isolated bacterium, followed by genome walking, resulted in two complete open reading frames, which were predicted to encode a lipase and its helper protein, a lipase foldase. The amino acid sequence derived for the lipase showed resemblance to lipases from Pseudomonas , Rhodoferax, Aeromonas and Vibrio...... . The two genes were cloned into different expression systems in E. coli with or without a putative secretion sequence, but despite the fact that both recombinant lipase and lipase foldase were observed on SDS–PAGE, no recombinant lipase activity was detected. Attempts to refold the recombinant lipase...

BIOTECHNOLOGY OF RECOMBINANT HORMONES IN DOPING

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Biljana Vitošević

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Recombinant DNA technology has allowed rapid progress in creating biosynthetic gene products for the treatment of many diseases. In this way it can produce large amounts of hormone, which is intended for the treatment of many pathological conditions. Recombinant hormones that are commonly used are insulin, growth hormone and erythropoietin. Precisely because of the availability of these recombinant hormones, it started their abuse by athletes. Experiments in animal models confirmed the potential effects of some of these hormones in increasing physical abilities, which attracted the attention of athletes who push the limits of their competitive capability by such manipulation. The risks of the use of recombinant hormones in doping include serious consequences for the health of athletes. Methods of detection of endogenous hormones from recombined based on the use of a monoclonal antibodies, capillary zone electrophoresis and protein biomarkers

[Expression, purification and antibody preparation of recombinat SARS-CoV X5 protein].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Li-Na; Kong, Jian-Qiang; Zhu, Ping; Du, Guan-Hua; Wang, Wei; Cheng, Ke-Di

2008-11-01

X5 protein is one of the putative unknown proteins of SARS-CoV. The recombinant protein has been successfully expressed in E. coli in the form of insoluble inclusion body. The inclusion body was dissolved in high concentration of urea. Affinity Chromatography was preformed to purify the denatured protein, and then the product was refolded in a series of gradient solutions of urea. The purified protein was obtained with the purity of > 95% and the yield of 93.3 mg x L(-1). Polyclonal antibody of this protein was obtained, and Western blotting assay indicated that the X5 protein has the strong property of antigen. Sixty-eight percent of the recombinant protein sequence was confirmed by LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis.

Solubility behavior of narcotic analgesics in aqueous media: solubilities and dissociation constants of morphine, fentanyl, and sufentanil.

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, S D; Flynn, G L

1989-02-01

The pH dependence of the aqueous solubility of morphine, fentanyl, and sufentanil was investigated at 35 degrees C. Dissociation constants and corresponding pKa' values of the drugs were obtained from measured free-base solubilities (determined at high pH's) and the concentrations of saturated solutions at intermediate pH's. Morphine, fentanyl, and sufentanil exhibited pKa' values of 8.08, 8.99, and 8.51, respectively. Over the pH range of 5 to 12.5 the apparent solubilities are determined by the intrinsic solubility of the free base plus the concentration of ionized drug necessary to satisfy the dissociation equilibrium at a given pH. Consequently, the drug concentrations of saturated aqueous solutions fall off precipitously as the pH is raised and ionization is suppressed. Further, at low pH's the aqueous solubility of morphine increased in a linear fashion with increases in the molar strength of citric acid which was added to acidify the medium, suggesting the formation of a soluble morphine-citrate complex.

Solubility studies of Np(IV)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yingjie; Yao Jun; Jiao Haiyang; Ren Lihong; Zhou Duo; Fan Xianhua

2001-01-01

The solubility of Np(IV) in simulated underground water and redistilled water has been measured with the variations of pH(6-12) and storage time (0-100 d) in the presence of reductant (Na 2 S 2 O 4 , metallic Fe). All experiments are performed in a low oxygen concentration glove box containing high purity Ar(99.99%), with an oxygen content of less than 5 x 10 -6 mol/mol. Experimental results show that the variation of pH in solution has little effect on the solubility of Np(IV) in the two kinds of water; the measured solubility of Np(IV) is affected by the composition of solution; with Na 2 S 2 O 4 as a reductant, the solubility of Np(IV) in simulated underground water is (9.23 +- 0.48) x 10 -10 mol/L, and that in redistilled water is (8.31 +- 0.35) x 10 -10 mol/L; with metallic Fe as a reductant, the solubility of Np(IV) in simulated underground water is (1.85 +- 0.56) x 10 -9 mol/L, and that in redistilled water is (1.48 +- 0.66) x 10 -9 mol/L

Delayed recombination and cosmic parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galli, Silvia; Melchiorri, Alessandro; Bean, Rachel; Silk, Joseph

2008-01-01

Current cosmological constraints from cosmic microwave background anisotropies are typically derived assuming a standard recombination scheme, however additional resonance and ionizing radiation sources can delay recombination, altering the cosmic ionization history and the cosmological inferences drawn from the cosmic microwave background data. We show that for recent observations of the cosmic microwave background anisotropy, from the Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe satellite mission (WMAP) 5-year survey and from the arcminute cosmology bolometer array receiver experiment, additional resonance radiation is nearly degenerate with variations in the spectral index, n s , and has a marked effect on uncertainties in constraints on the Hubble constant, age of the universe, curvature and the upper bound on the neutrino mass. When a modified recombination scheme is considered, the redshift of recombination is constrained to z * =1078±11, with uncertainties in the measurement weaker by 1 order of magnitude than those obtained under the assumption of standard recombination while constraints on the shift parameter are shifted by 1σ to R=1.734±0.028. From the WMAP5 data we obtain the following constraints on the resonance and ionization sources parameters: ε α i <0.058 at 95% c.l.. Although delayed recombination limits the precision of parameter estimation from the WMAP satellite, we demonstrate that this should not be the case for future, smaller angular scales measurements, such as those by the Planck satellite mission.

Meiotic recombination in human oocytes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edith Y Cheng

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Studies of human trisomies indicate a remarkable relationship between abnormal meiotic recombination and subsequent nondisjunction at maternal meiosis I or II. Specifically, failure to recombine or recombination events located either too near to or too far from the centromere have been linked to the origin of human trisomies. It should be possible to identify these abnormal crossover configurations by using immunofluorescence methodology to directly examine the meiotic recombination process in the human female. Accordingly, we initiated studies of crossover-associated proteins (e.g., MLH1 in human fetal oocytes to analyze their number and distribution on nondisjunction-prone human chromosomes and, more generally, to characterize genome-wide levels of recombination in the human female. Our analyses indicate that the number of MLH1 foci is lower than predicted from genetic linkage analysis, but its localization pattern conforms to that expected for a crossover-associated protein. In studies of individual chromosomes, our observations provide evidence for the presence of "vulnerable" crossover configurations in the fetal oocyte, consistent with the idea that these are subsequently translated into nondisjunctional events in the adult oocyte.

Solubility of Nd in brine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili, F.I.; Symeopoulos, V.; Chen, J.F.; Choppin, G.R.

1994-01-01

The solubility of Nd(III) has been measured at 23±3 C in a synthetic brine at pcH 6.4, 8.4, 10.4 and 12.4. The brine consisted predominantly of (Na+K)Cl and MgCl 2 with an ionic strength of 7.8 M (9.4 m) a solid compound of Nd(III) at each pcH was assigned from X-ray diffraction patterns. The log values of the experimental solubilities decrease fomr -3 at pcH 6.4 to -5.8 at pcH 8.4; at pcH 10.4 and 12.4 the solubility was below the detection limit of -7.5. The experimental solubility does not follow closely the variation with pcH estimated from modeling of the species in solution in equilibrium with the Nd solid using S.I.T. (orig.)

Electron - ion recombination processes - an overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahn, Yukap

1997-01-01

Extensive theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out for the past 20 years on electron - ion recombination processes, as they are applied to the analysis of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. We review the basic understanding gained through these efforts, with emphasis on some of the more recent progress made in recombination theory as the recombining system is affected by time-dependent electric fields and plasma particles at low temperature. Together with collisional ionization and excitation processes, recombination is important in determining ionization balance and excited-state population in non-equilibrium plasmas. The radiation emitted by plasmas is usually the principal medium with which to study the plasma condition, as it is produced mainly during the recombination and decay of excited states of ions inside the plasma. This is especially true when the plasma under study is not readily accessible by direct probes, as in astrophysical plasmas. Moreover, external probes may sometimes cause undesirable disturbances of the plasma. Electron-ion recombination proceeds in several different modes. The direct modes include three-body recombination (TBR) and one-step radiative recombination (RR), all to the ground- and singly-excited states of the target ions. By contrast, the indirect resonant mode is a two-step dielectronic recombination (DR), which proceeds first with the formation of doubly-excited states by radiationless excitation/capture. The resonant states thus formed may relax by autoionization and/or radiative cascades. For more exotic modes of recombination, we consider off-shell dielectronic recombination (radiative DR = RDR), in which an electron capture is accompanied by simultaneous radiative emission and excitation of the target ion. Some discussion on attachment of electrons to neutral atoms, resulting in the formation of negative ions, is also given. When resonance states involve one or more electrons in high Rydberg states

Controlled Release from Recombinant Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Robert; Poursaid, Azadeh; Ghandehari, Hamidreza

2014-01-01

Recombinant polymers provide a high degree of molecular definition for correlating structure with function in controlled release. The wide array of amino acids available as building blocks for these materials lend many advantages including biorecognition, biodegradability, potential biocompatibility, and control over mechanical properties among other attributes. Genetic engineering and DNA manipulation techniques enable the optimization of structure for precise control over spatial and temporal release. Unlike the majority of chemical synthetic strategies used, recombinant DNA technology has allowed for the production of monodisperse polymers with specifically defined sequences. Several classes of recombinant polymers have been used for controlled drug delivery. These include, but are not limited to, elastin-like, silk-like, and silk-elastinlike proteins, as well as emerging cationic polymers for gene delivery. In this article, progress and prospects of recombinant polymers used in controlled release will be reviewed. PMID:24956486

Thermodynamic approach to improving solubility prediction of co-crystals in comparison with individual poorly soluble components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perlovich, German L.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Thermodynamic approach for solubility improvement of co-crystal was developed. • The graphical technique for estimation of co-crystal solubility was elaborated. • Hydration enthalpies of some drugs and amino acids were calculated. • Applicability/operability of the approach was exemplified by some drugs and amino acids. - Abstract: A novel thermodynamic approach to compare poorly soluble components (active pharmaceutical ingredient (API)) both in co-crystals and individual compounds was developed. An algorithm of choosing potential co-crystals with improved solubility characteristics on the basis of the known solvation/hydration API and co-former enthalpies is described. The applicability and operability of the algorithm were tested exemplified by some drugs and amino acids

Maltose-binding protein enhances secretion of recombinant human granzyme B accompanied by in vivo processing of a precursor MBP fusion protein.

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Benjamin Dälken

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The apoptosis-inducing serine protease granzyme B (GrB is an important factor contributing to lysis of target cells by cytotoxic lymphocytes. Expression of enzymatically active GrB in recombinant form is a prerequisite for functional analysis and application of GrB for therapeutic purposes. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We investigated the influence of bacterial maltose-binding protein (MBP fused to GrB via a synthetic furin recognition motif on the expression of the MBP fusion protein also containing an N-terminal α-factor signal peptide in the yeast Pichia pastoris. MBP markedly enhanced the amount of GrB secreted into culture supernatant, which was not the case when GrB was fused to GST. MBP-GrB fusion protein was cleaved during secretion by an endogenous furin-like proteolytic activity in vivo, liberating enzymatically active GrB without the need of subsequent in vitro processing. Similar results were obtained upon expression of a recombinant fragment of the ErbB2/HER2 receptor protein or GST as MBP fusions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that combination of MBP as a solubility enhancer with specific in vivo cleavage augments secretion of processed and functionally active proteins from yeast. This strategy may be generally applicable to improve folding and increase yields of recombinant proteins.

Maltose-Binding Protein Enhances Secretion of Recombinant Human Granzyme B Accompanied by In Vivo Processing of a Precursor MBP Fusion Protein

Science.gov (United States)

Dälken, Benjamin; Jabulowsky, Robert A.; Oberoi, Pranav; Benhar, Itai; Wels, Winfried S.

2010-01-01

Background The apoptosis-inducing serine protease granzyme B (GrB) is an important factor contributing to lysis of target cells by cytotoxic lymphocytes. Expression of enzymatically active GrB in recombinant form is a prerequisite for functional analysis and application of GrB for therapeutic purposes. Methods and Findings We investigated the influence of bacterial maltose-binding protein (MBP) fused to GrB via a synthetic furin recognition motif on the expression of the MBP fusion protein also containing an N-terminal α-factor signal peptide in the yeast Pichia pastoris. MBP markedly enhanced the amount of GrB secreted into culture supernatant, which was not the case when GrB was fused to GST. MBP-GrB fusion protein was cleaved during secretion by an endogenous furin-like proteolytic activity in vivo, liberating enzymatically active GrB without the need of subsequent in vitro processing. Similar results were obtained upon expression of a recombinant fragment of the ErbB2/HER2 receptor protein or GST as MBP fusions. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that combination of MBP as a solubility enhancer with specific in vivo cleavage augments secretion of processed and functionally active proteins from yeast. This strategy may be generally applicable to improve folding and increase yields of recombinant proteins. PMID:21203542

Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

1998-01-01

The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the

Low Dose Total Body Irradiation Combined With Recombinant CD19-Ligand × Soluble TRAIL Fusion Protein is Highly Effective Against Radiation-resistant B-precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Mice

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Fatih M. Uckun

2015-04-01

Full Text Available In high-risk remission B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BPL patients, relapse rates have remained high post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT even after the use of very intensive total body irradiation (TBI-based conditioning regimens, especially in patients with a high “minimal residual disease” (MRD burden. New agents capable of killing radiation-resistant BPL cells and selectively augmenting their radiation sensitivity are therefore urgently needed. We report preclinical proof-of-principle that the potency of radiation therapy against BPL can be augmented by combining radiation with recombinant human CD19-Ligand × soluble TRAIL (“CD19L–sTRAIL” fusion protein. CD19L–sTRAIL consistently killed radiation-resistant primary leukemia cells from BPL patients as well as BPL xenograft cells and their leukemia-initiating in vivo clonogenic fraction. Low dose total body irradiation (TBI combined with CD19L–sTRAIL was highly effective against (1 xenografted CD19+ radiochemotherapy-resistant human BPL in NOD/SCID (NS mice challenged with an otherwise invariably fatal dose of xenograft cells derived from relapsed BPL patients as well as (2 radiation-resistant advanced stage CD19+ murine BPL with lymphomatous features in CD22ΔE12xBCR-ABL double transgenic mice. We hypothesize that the incorporation of CD19L–sTRAIL into the pre-transplant TBI regimens of patients with very high-risk BPL will improve their survival outcome after HSCT.

First-principles study of Frenkel pair recombination in tungsten

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin, Shi-Yao; Jin, Shuo; Li, Yu-Hao; Zhou, Hong-Bo; Zhang, Ying; Lu, Guang-Hong

2017-01-01

The recombination of one Frenkel pair in tungsten has been investigated through first-principles simulation. Two different recombination types have been identified: instantaneous and thermally activated. The small recombination barriers for thermally activated recombination cases indicate that recombination can occur easily with a slightly increased temperature. For both of the two recombination types, recombination occurs through the self-interstitial atom moving towards the vacancy. The recombination process can be direct or through replacement sequences, depending on the vertical distance between the vacancy and the 〈1 1 1〉 line of self-interstitial atom pair.

Containment air circulation for optimal hydrogen recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spinks, N.; Krause, M.

1997-01-01

An accepted first-line defense for hydrogen mitigation is to design for the hydrogen to be rapidly mixed with the containment atmosphere and diluted to below flammability concentrations. Then, as hydrogen continues to be produced in the longer term, recombiners can be used to remove hydrogen: recombiners can be located in forced-air ducts or passive recombiners can be distributed within containment and the heat of recombination used to promote local air circulation. However, this principle does not eliminate the possibility of high hydrogen concentrations at locations removed from the recombiners. An improvement on this strategy is to arrange for a specific, buoyancy-driven, overall circulation of the containment atmosphere such that the recombiners can be located within the recirculation flow, immediately downstream of the hydrogen source. This would make the mixing process more predictable and solve the mass-transfer problem associated with distributed recombiners. Ideally, the recombiners would be located just above the hydrogen source so that the heat of recombination would assist the overall circulation. In this way, the hydrogen would be removed as close as possible to the source, thereby minimizing the amount of hydrogen immediately downstream of the source and reducing the hydrogen concentration to acceptable levels at other locations. Such a strategy requires the containment volume to be divided into an upflow path, past the hydrogen source and the recombiner, and a downflow path to complete the circuit. The flow could be generated actively using fans or passively using buoyancy forces arising from the difference in density of gases in the upfiow and downflow paths; the gases in the downflow path being cooled at an elevated heat sink. (author)

Recombination properties of dislocations in GaN

Science.gov (United States)

Yakimov, Eugene B.; Polyakov, Alexander Y.; Lee, In-Hwan; Pearton, Stephen J.

2018-04-01

The recombination activity of threading dislocations in n-GaN with different dislocation densities and different doping levels was studied using electron beam induced current (EBIC). The recombination velocity on a dislocation, also known as the dislocation recombination strength, was calculated. The results suggest that dislocations in n-GaN giving contrast in EBIC are charged and surrounded by a space charge region, as evidenced by the observed dependence of dislocation recombination strength on dopant concentration. For moderate (below ˜108 cm-2) dislocation densities, these defects do not primarily determine the average diffusion length of nonequilibrium charge carriers, although locally, dislocations are efficient recombination sites. In general, it is observed that the effect of the growth method [standard metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), epitaxial lateral overgrowth versions of MOCVD, and hydride vapor phase epitaxy] on the recombination activity of dislocations is not very pronounced, although the average diffusion lengths can widely differ for various samples. The glide of basal plane dislocations at room temperature promoted by low energy electron irradiation does not significantly change the recombination properties of dislocations.

CONSTRUCTION, EXPRESSION AND PURIFICATION OF RECOMBINANT PRE-MATURE PEPTIDE OF PLANTARICIN F FROM Lactobacillus plantarum S34 IN Escherichia coli

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Kusdianawati Kusdianawati

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Plantaricin is one of bacteriocins that have the potential to be used as food preservative. Plantaricin is safe for human consumption because it can be easily degraded by proteolytic enzymes. The objective of this study was to express and purify recombinant pre-mature peptide of plantaricin F from Lactobacillus plantarum S34 in Escherichia coli. Plantaricin gene-specific primer was used to obtain pln F structural gene amplicon from L. plantarum S34. This amplicon was cloned in pET32a vector and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3 pLysS. Pre-mature plantaricin F peptide was expressed as Histagged-fusion protein and separated by Co2+-chelating affinity chromatography. L. plantarum S34-derived pre-mature plantaricin F peptide fused with thioredoxin-(His6tag had successfully been expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3 pLysS using pET32a as an expression vector. The fused recombinant pln F as pre-mature state expressed had a molecular mass of +24 kDa, meanwhile the fused recombinant that contained only the leader peptide of pln F appeared as +20 kDa based on SDS-PAGE separations. The optimal production of fused recombinant pln F as soluble fraction was obtained when culture condition was added with 0.5 mM of IPTG and incubated at 22°C for 5 hours (OD~1. Furthermore, the expression of fused recombinant pln F as its pre-mature peptide pointed out that the pln F’s leader peptide could be proteolytically cleaved by a system in heterologous cells. Overall, heterologous pln F production as pre-mature peptide fused with thioredoxin-(His6tag had been well established. From this research, we expect plantaricin F can be expressed and purified in E. coli.

Oligonucleotide recombination enabled site-specific mutagenesis in bacteria

Science.gov (United States)

Recombineering refers to a strategy for engineering DNA sequences using a specialized mode of homologous recombination. This technology can be used for rapidly constructing precise changes in bacterial genome sequences in vivo. Oligo recombination is one type of recombineering that uses ssDNA olig...

Recombination: the good, the bad and the variable.

Science.gov (United States)

Stapley, Jessica; Feulner, Philine G D; Johnston, Susan E; Santure, Anna W; Smadja, Carole M

2017-12-19

Recombination, the process by which DNA strands are broken and repaired, producing new combinations of alleles, occurs in nearly all multicellular organisms and has important implications for many evolutionary processes. The effects of recombination can be good , as it can facilitate adaptation, but also bad when it breaks apart beneficial combinations of alleles, and recombination is highly variable between taxa, species, individuals and across the genome. Understanding how and why recombination rate varies is a major challenge in biology. Most theoretical and empirical work has been devoted to understanding the role of recombination in the evolution of sex-comparing between sexual and asexual species or populations. How recombination rate evolves and what impact this has on evolutionary processes within sexually reproducing organisms has received much less attention. This Theme Issue focusses on how and why recombination rate varies in sexual species, and aims to coalesce knowledge of the molecular mechanisms governing recombination with our understanding of the evolutionary processes driving variation in recombination within and between species. By integrating these fields, we can identify important knowledge gaps and areas for future research, and pave the way for a more comprehensive understanding of how and why recombination rate varies. © 2017 The Authors.

Heterologous Expression of the Carrot Hsp17.7 gene Increased Growth, Cell Viability, and Protein Solubility in Transformed Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) under Heat, Cold, Acid, and Osmotic Stress Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Eunhye; Kim, Minhye; Park, Yunho; Ahn, Yeh-Jin

2017-08-01

In industrial fermentation of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), culture conditions are often modified from the optimal growth conditions of the cells to maintain large-scale cultures and/or to increase recombinant protein production. However, altered growth conditions can be stressful to yeast cells resulting in reduced cell growth and viability. In this study, a small heat shock protein gene from carrot (Daucus carota L.), Hsp17.7, was inserted into the yeast genome via homologous recombination to increase tolerance to stress conditions that can occur during industrial culture. A DNA construct, Translational elongation factor gene promoter-carrot Hsp17.7 gene-Phosphoribosyl-anthranilate isomerase gene (an auxotrophic marker), was generated by a series of PCRs and introduced into the chromosome IV of the yeast genome. Immunoblot analysis showed that carrot Hsp17.7 accumulated in the transformed yeast cell lines. Growth rates and cell viability of these cell lines were higher than control cell lines under heat, cold, acid, and hyperosmotic stress conditions. Soluble protein levels were higher in the transgenic cell lines than control cell lines under heat and cold conditions, suggesting the molecular chaperone function of the recombinant Hsp17.7. This study showed that a recombinant DNA construct containing a HSP gene from carrot was successfully expressed in yeast by homologous recombination and increased tolerances to abiotic stress conditions.

Solubility database for TILA-99

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vuorinen, U.; Carlsson, T. [VTT Chemical Technology, Espoo (Finland); Kulmala, S.; Hakanen, M. [Helsinki Univ. (Finland). Lab. of Radiochemistry; Ahonen, L. [Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo (Finland)

1998-11-01

The safety assessment of spent fuel disposal requires solubility values for several elements estimated in Finnish disposal conditions. In Finland four sites (Haestholmen, Kivetty, Olkiluoto and Romuvaara) are investigated for the disposal of spent fuel. Haestholmen and OLkiluoto are onshore sites, while Kivetty and Romuvaara are inland sites. Based on groundwater analysis and classification according to salinity at the planned disposal depth mainly fresh groundwater is encountered at Kivetty and Romuvaara, while brackish and saline water-types are met at Haestholmen and Olkiluoto. Very saline, almost brine-type water ({approx}70 g/l) has been found in the deepest parts of the investigated bedrock at one of the sites (Olkiluoto). The reference waters and conditions were chosen according to the water-types. The considered reference conditions incorporated both the near- and far-field, and both oxidizing and reducing conditions were considered. In the reference conditions, the changes in solubilities were also estimated as caused by possible variations in the pH, carbonate content and redox conditions. Uranium, which is the main component of spent fuel is dealt with in a separate report presenting the solubility of uranium and spent fuel dissolution. In this work the solubilities of all the other elements of concern (Am, Cu, Nb, Np, Pa, Pd, Pu, Ra, Se, Sn, Tc, Zr, Cm, Ni, Sr, Th, C, Cl, Cs, Fe, Ho, I, and Sm) in the safety assessment are considered. Some discussion on the corrosion of the spent fuel canister is also presented. For the estimation of solubilities of the elements in question, literature data was collected that mainly comprised experimentally measured concentrations. The sources used were spent fuel experiments, concentrations measured in solubility measurements, natural concentrations and concentrations from natural analogue sites (especially Palmottu and Hyrkkoelae in Finland) as well as the concentrations measured at the Finnish investigation sites

Solubility database for TILA-99

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vuorinen, U.; Carlsson, T.; Kulmala, S.; Hakanen, M.

1998-11-01

The safety assessment of spent fuel disposal requires solubility values for several elements estimated in Finnish disposal conditions. In Finland four sites (Haestholmen, Kivetty, Olkiluoto and Romuvaara) are investigated for the disposal of spent fuel. Haestholmen and OLkiluoto are onshore sites, while Kivetty and Romuvaara are inland sites. Based on groundwater analysis and classification according to salinity at the planned disposal depth mainly fresh groundwater is encountered at Kivetty and Romuvaara, while brackish and saline water-types are met at Haestholmen and Olkiluoto. Very saline, almost brine-type water (∼70 g/l) has been found in the deepest parts of the investigated bedrock at one of the sites (Olkiluoto). The reference waters and conditions were chosen according to the water-types. The considered reference conditions incorporated both the near- and far-field, and both oxidizing and reducing conditions were considered. In the reference conditions, the changes in solubilities were also estimated as caused by possible variations in the pH, carbonate content and redox conditions. Uranium, which is the main component of spent fuel is dealt with in a separate report presenting the solubility of uranium and spent fuel dissolution. In this work the solubilities of all the other elements of concern (Am, Cu, Nb, Np, Pa, Pd, Pu, Ra, Se, Sn, Tc, Zr, Cm, Ni, Sr, Th, C, Cl, Cs, Fe, Ho, I, and Sm) in the safety assessment are considered. Some discussion on the corrosion of the spent fuel canister is also presented. For the estimation of solubilities of the elements in question, literature data was collected that mainly comprised experimentally measured concentrations. The sources used were spent fuel experiments, concentrations measured in solubility measurements, natural concentrations and concentrations from natural analogue sites (especially Palmottu and Hyrkkoelae in Finland) as well as the concentrations measured at the Finnish investigation sites. The

Genetic recombination of the hepatitis C virus: clinical implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Morel, V; Fournier, C; François, C; Brochot, E; Helle, F; Duverlie, G; Castelain, S

2011-02-01

Genetic recombination is a well-known feature of RNA viruses that plays a significant role in their evolution. Although recombination is well documented for Flaviviridae family viruses, the first natural recombinant strain of hepatitis C virus (HCV) was identified as recently as 2002. Since then, a few other natural inter-genotypic, intra-genotypic and intra-subtype recombinant HCV strains have been described. However, the frequency of recombination may have been underestimated because not all known HCV recombinants are screened for in routine practice. Furthermore, the choice of treatment regimen and its predictive outcome remain problematic as the therapeutic strategy for HCV infection is genotype dependent. HCV recombination also raises many questions concerning its mechanisms and effects on the epidemiological and physiopathological features of the virus. This review provides an update on recombinant HCV strains, the process that gives rise to recombinants and clinical implications of recombination. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Cell biology of mitotic recombination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lisby, Michael; Rothstein, Rodney

2015-01-01

Homologous recombination provides high-fidelity DNA repair throughout all domains of life. Live cell fluorescence microscopy offers the opportunity to image individual recombination events in real time providing insight into the in vivo biochemistry of the involved proteins and DNA molecules as w...

Overview of milling techniques for improving the solubility of poorly water-soluble drugs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhi Hui Loh

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Milling involves the application of mechanical energy to physically break down coarse particles to finer ones and is regarded as a “top–down” approach in the production of fine particles. Fine drug particulates are especially desired in formulations designed for parenteral, respiratory and transdermal use. Most drugs after crystallization may have to be comminuted and this physical transformation is required to various extents, often to enhance processability or solubility especially for drugs with limited aqueous solubility. The mechanisms by which milling enhances drug dissolution and solubility include alterations in the size, specific surface area and shape of the drug particles as well as milling-induced amorphization and/or structural disordering of the drug crystal (mechanochemical activation. Technology advancements in milling now enable the production of drug micro- and nano-particles on a commercial scale with relative ease. This review will provide a background on milling followed by the introduction of common milling techniques employed for the micronization and nanonization of drugs. Salient information contained in the cited examples are further extracted and summarized for ease of reference by researchers keen on employing these techniques for drug solubility and bioavailability enhancement.

Test tube systems with cutting/recombination operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freund, R. [Technische Universitaet Wien (Austria); Csuhaj-Varju, E. [Computer and Automation Institute, Budapest (Hungary); Wachtler, F. [Universitaet Wien (Austria)

1996-12-31

We introduce test tube systems based on operations that are closely related to the splicing operations, i.e. we consider the operations of cutting a string at a specific site into two pieces with marking them at the cut ends and of recombining two strings with specifically marked endings. Whereas in the splicing of two strings these strings are cut at specific sites and the cut pieces are recombined immediately in a crosswise way, in CR(cutting/recombination)-schemes cutting can happen independently from recombining the cut pieces. Test tube systems based on these operations of cutting and recombination turn out to have maximal generative power even if only very restricted types of input filters for the test tubes are used for the redistribution of the contents of the test tubes after a period of cuttings and recombinations in the test tubes. 10 refs.

Atomic excitation and recombination in external fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nayfeh, M.H.; Clark, C.W.

1985-01-01

This volume offers a timely look at Rydberg states of atoms in external fields and dielectronic recombination. Each topic provides authoritative coverage, presents a fresh account of a flourishing field of current atomic physics and introduces new opportunities for discovery and development. Topics considered include electron-atom scattering in external fields; observations of regular and irregular motion as exemplified by the quadratic zeeman effect and other systems; Rydberg atoms in external fields and the Coulomb geometry; crossed-field effects in the absorption spectrum of lithium in a magnetic field; precise studies of static electric field ionization; widths and shapes of stark resonances in sodium above the saddle point; studies of electric field effects and barium autoionizing resonances; autoionization and dielectronic recombination in plasma electric microfields; dielectronic recombination measurements on multicharged ions; merged beam studies of dielectronic recombination; Rydberg atoms and dielectronic recombination in astrophysics; and observations on dielectronic recombination

Genetic evidence for inducibility of recombination competence in yeast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabre, F.; Roman, H.

1977-01-01

Recombination between unirradiated chromosomes was induced by UV or x-ray irradiation of haploids followed by a mating with heteroallelic diploids of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The selected event of intragenic recombination did not involve the participation of the irradiated chromosome and apparently was not caused by lesions introduced into the unirradiated chromosomes by some indirect process. The results favor the idea that recombination is repressed in the majority of vegetative cells and that one effect of radiation is the release of some factor(s) necessary for recombination. Consequently, the proportion of competent cells (i.e., cells able to recombine) in the population increases. This competent state seems necessary not only for the recombinational repair of radiation-induced lesions but also, since recombinants are produced in the absence of such lesions, for spontaneous recombination. Photoreactivation of the UV-irradiated haploids led to a decrease in the production of recombinants. Hence, lesions in the DNA appear to be responsible for the induction of the recombinational ability

Three-body recombination of cold fermionic atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suno, H; Esry, B D; Greene, Chris H

2003-01-01

Recombination of identical, spin-polarized fermions in cold three-body collisions is investigated. We parametrize the mechanisms for recombination in terms of the 'scattering volume' V p and another length scale r 0 . Model two-body interactions were used within the framework of the adiabatic hyperspherical representation. We examine the recombination rate K 3 as a function of the collision energy E for various values of V p . Not only do we consider the dominant J Π = 1 + case, but also the next-leading order contributions from J Π = 1 - and 3 - . We discuss the behaviour near a two-body resonance and the expected universality of fermionic recombination. Comparisons with boson recombination are considered in detail

Recombination Modulates How Selection Affects Linked Sites in Drosophila

Science.gov (United States)

McGaugh, Suzanne E.; Heil, Caiti S. S.; Manzano-Winkler, Brenda; Loewe, Laurence; Goldstein, Steve; Himmel, Tiffany L.; Noor, Mohamed A. F.

2012-01-01

One of the most influential observations in molecular evolution has been a strong association between local recombination rate and nucleotide polymorphisms across the genome. This is interpreted as evidence for ubiquitous natural selection. The alternative explanation, that recombination is mutagenic, has been rejected by the absence of a similar association between local recombination rate and nucleotide divergence between species. However, many recent studies show that recombination rates are often very different even in closely related species, questioning whether an association between recombination rate and divergence between species has been tested satisfactorily. To circumvent this problem, we directly surveyed recombination across approximately 43% of the D. pseudoobscura physical genome in two separate recombination maps and 31% of the D. miranda physical genome, and we identified both global and local differences in recombination rate between these two closely related species. Using only regions with conserved recombination rates between and within species and accounting for multiple covariates, our data support the conclusion that recombination is positively related to diversity because recombination modulates Hill–Robertson effects in the genome and not because recombination is predominately mutagenic. Finally, we find evidence for dips in diversity around nonsynonymous substitutions. We infer that at least some of this reduction in diversity resulted from selective sweeps and examine these dips in the context of recombination rate. PMID:23152720

Noble gases solubility in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crovetto, Rosa; Fernandez Prini, Roberto.

1980-07-01

The available experimental data of solubility of noble gases in water for temperatures smaller than 330 0 C have been critically surveyed. Due to the unique structure of the solvent, the solubility of noble gases in water decreases with temperature passing through a temperature of minimum solubility which is different for each gas, and then increases at higher temperatures. As aresult of the analysis of the experimental data and of the features of the solute-solvent interaction, a generalized equation is proposed which enables thecalculation of Henry's coefficient at different temperatures for all noble gases. (author) [es

Recombinational repair: workshop summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard-Flanders, P.

1983-01-01

Recombinational repair may or may not be synonymous with postreplication repair. Considerable progress has been made in the study of the relevant enzymes, particularly those from bacteria. In this workshop we focus on the recombination enzyme RecA protein. What structural changes take place in the protein and in DNA during repair. How does homologous pairing take place. How is ATP hydrolysis coupled to the stand exchange reaction and the formation of heteroduplx DNA. Turning to another enzyme needed for certain kinds of bacterial recombination, we will ask whether the purified recB protein and recC protein complement each other and are sufficient for exonuclease V activity. In higher cells, we would like to know whether sister exchanges, which occur in bacteria after uv irradiation, are also seen in animal cells

Solubility of xenon in amino-acid solutions. II. Nine less-soluble amino acids

Science.gov (United States)

Kennan, Richard P.; Himm, Jeffrey F.; Pollack, Gerald L.

1988-05-01

Ostwald solubility (L) of xenon gas, as the radioisotope 133Xe, has been measured as a function of solute concentration, at 25.0 °C, in aqueous solutions of nine amino acids. The amino-acid concentrations investigated covered much of their solubility ranges in water, viz., asparagine monohydrate (0-0.19 M), cysteine (0-1.16 M), glutamine (0-0.22 M), histidine (0-0.26 M), isoleucine (0-0.19 M), methionine (0-0.22 M), serine (0-0.38 M), threonine (0-1.4 M), and valine (0-0.34 M). We have previously reported solubility results for aqueous solutions of six other, generally more soluble, amino acids (alanine, arginine, glycine, hydroxyproline, lysine, and proline), of sucrose and sodium chloride. In general, L decreases approximately linearly with increasing solute concentration in these solutions. If we postulate that the observed decreases in gas solubility are due to hydration, the results under some assumptions can be used to calculate hydration numbers (H), i.e., the number of H2O molecules associated with each amino-acid solute molecule. The average values of hydration number (H¯) obtained at 25.0 °C are 15.3±1.5 for asparagine, 6.8±0.3 for cysteine, 11.5±1.1 for glutamine, 7.3±0.7 for histidine, 5.9±0.4 for isoleucine, 10.6±0.8 for methionine, 11.2±1.3 for serine, 7.7± 1.0 for threonine, and 6.6±0.6 for valine. We have also measured the temperature dependence of solubility L(T) from 5-40 °C for arginine, glycine, and proline, and obtained hydration numbers H¯(T) in this range. Between 25-40 °C, arginine has an H¯ near zero. This may be evidence for an attractive interaction between xenon and arginine molecules in aqueous solution.

Recombinant vaccines: experimental and applied aspects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorenzen, Niels

1999-01-01

Development of vaccines for aquaculture fish represent an important applied functional aspect of fish immunology research. Particularly in the case of recombinant vaccines, where a single antigen is usually expected to induce immunity to a specific pathogen, knowledge of mechanisms involved...... in induction of a protective immune response may become vital. The few recombinant vaccines licensd so far, despite much research during the last decade, illustrate that this is not a straightforward matter. However, as vaccine technology as well as our knowledge of the fish immune system is steadily improved......, these fields will open up a number of interesting research objectives of mutual benefit. Recent aspects of recombinant protein vaccines, live recombinant vaccines and DNA vaccines are discussed....

Identification of protective pneumococcal T(H17 antigens from the soluble fraction of a killed whole cell vaccine.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristin L Moffitt

Full Text Available Mucosal or parenteral immunization with a killed unencapsulated pneumococcal whole cell antigen (WCA with an adjuvant protects mice from colonization by a T(H17 CD4+ cell-mediated mechanism. Using preparative SDS gels, we separated the soluble proteins that compose the WCA in order to identify fractions that were immunogenic and protective. We screened these fractions for their ability to stimulate IL-17A secretion from splenocytes obtained from mice immunized with WCA and adjuvant. We identified 12 proteins within the stimulatory fractions by mass spectrometry; these proteins were then cloned, recombinantly expressed and purified using an Escherichia coli expression system. The ability of these proteins to induce IL-17A secretion was then evaluated by stimulation of mouse splenocytes. Of the four most stimulatory proteins, three were protective in a mouse pneumococcal serotype 6B colonization model. This work thus describes a method for identifying immunogenic proteins from the soluble fraction of pneumococcus and shows that several of the proteins identified protect mice from colonization when used as mucosal vaccines. We propose that, by providing protection against pneumococcal colonization, one or more of these proteins may serve as components of a multivalent pneumococcal vaccine.

Mitigating Mitochondrial Genome Erosion Without Recombination.

Science.gov (United States)

Radzvilavicius, Arunas L; Kokko, Hanna; Christie, Joshua R

2017-11-01

Mitochondria are ATP-producing organelles of bacterial ancestry that played a key role in the origin and early evolution of complex eukaryotic cells. Most modern eukaryotes transmit mitochondrial genes uniparentally, often without recombination among genetically divergent organelles. While this asymmetric inheritance maintains the efficacy of purifying selection at the level of the cell, the absence of recombination could also make the genome susceptible to Muller's ratchet. How mitochondria escape this irreversible defect accumulation is a fundamental unsolved question. Occasional paternal leakage could in principle promote recombination, but it would also compromise the purifying selection benefits of uniparental inheritance. We assess this tradeoff using a stochastic population-genetic model. In the absence of recombination, uniparental inheritance of freely-segregating genomes mitigates mutational erosion, while paternal leakage exacerbates the ratchet effect. Mitochondrial fusion-fission cycles ensure independent genome segregation, improving purifying selection. Paternal leakage provides opportunity for recombination to slow down the mutation accumulation, but always at a cost of increased steady-state mutation load. Our findings indicate that random segregation of mitochondrial genomes under uniparental inheritance can effectively combat the mutational meltdown, and that homologous recombination under paternal leakage might not be needed. Copyright © 2017 by the Genetics Society of America.

Determination of soluble protein contents from RVNRL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Manshol Wan Zin; Nurulhuda Othman

1996-01-01

This project was carried out to determine the soluble protein contents on RVNRL film vulcanisates, with respect to the RVNRL storage time, gamma irradiation dose absorbed by the latex and the effect of different leaching time and leaching conditions. These three factors are important in the hope to determine the best possible mean of minimizing the soluble protein contents in products made from RVNRL. Within the nine months storage period employed in the study, the results show that, the longer the storage period the less the soluble protein extracted from the film samples. Gamma irradiation dose absorbed by the samples, between 5.3 kGy to 25.2 kGy seems to influence the soluble protein contents of the RVNRL films vulcanisates. The higher the dose the more was the soluble protein extracted from the film samples. At an absorbed dose of 5.3 kGy and 25.2 kGy, the soluble contents were 0. 198 mg/ml and 0.247 mg/ml respectively. At a fixed leaching temperature, the soluble proteins increases with leaching time and at a fixed leaching time, the soluble proteins increases with leaching temperature. ne highest extractable protein contents was determined at a leaching time of 10 minutes and leaching temperature of 90'C The protein analysis were done by using Modified Lowry Method

Overcoming the solubility limit with solubility-enhancement tags: successful applications in biomolecular NMR studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Pei; Wagner, Gerhard

2010-01-01

Although the rapid progress of NMR technology has significantly expanded the range of NMR-trackable systems, preparation of NMR-suitable samples that are highly soluble and stable remains a bottleneck for studies of many biological systems. The application of solubility-enhancement tags (SETs) has been highly effective in overcoming solubility and sample stability issues and has enabled structural studies of important biological systems previously deemed unapproachable by solution NMR techniques. In this review, we provide a brief survey of the development and successful applications of the SET strategy in biomolecular NMR. We also comment on the criteria for choosing optimal SETs, such as for differently charged target proteins, and recent new developments on NMR-invisible SETs.

Solubility of Tc(IV) oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, D.J.; Fan, X.H.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: The deep geological disposal of the high level radioactive wastes is expected to be a safer disposal method in most countries. The long-lived fission product 99 Tc is present in large quantities in nuclear wastes and its chemical behavior in aqueous solution is of considerable interest. Under the reducing conditions, expected to exist in a deep geological repository, it is generally predicted that technetium will be present as TcO 2 .nH 2 O. The solubility of Tc(IV) is used as a source term in performance assessment of radioactive waste repository. Technetium oxide was prepared by reduction of a technetate solution with Sn 2+ . The solubility of Tc(IV) oxide has been determined in simulated groundwater and re-distilled water under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The effects of pH and CO 3 2- concentration of solution on solubility of Tc(IV) oxide were studied. The concentration of total technetium and Tc(IV) species in the solutions were periodically determined by separating the oxidized and reduced technetium species using a solvent extraction procedure and counting the beta activity of the 99 Tc with a liquid scintillation counter. The experimental results show that the rate of oxidation of Tc(IV) in simulated groundwater and re-distilled water is about (1.49∼1.86) x 10 -9 mol/(L.d) under aerobic conditions, but Tc(IV) in simulated groundwater and re-distilled water is not oxidized under anaerobic conditions. Under aerobic or anaerobic conditions the solubility of Tc(IV) oxide in simulated groundwater and re-distilled water is equal on the whole after centrifugation or ultrafiltration. The solubility of Tc(IV) oxide decreases with the increase of pH at pH 10 and is pH independent in the range 2 -8 to 10 -9 mol/L at 2 3 2- concentration. These data could be used to estimate the Tc(IV) solubility for cases where solubility limits transport of technetium in reducing environments of high-level waste repositories. (authors)

Effect of composition of simulated intestinal media on the solubility of poorly soluble compounds investigated by design of experiments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Cecilie Maria; Feng, Kung-I; Leithead, Andrew

2018-01-01

The composition of the human intestinal fluids varies both intra- and inter-individually. This will influence the solubility of orally administered drug compounds, and hence, the absorption and efficacy of compounds displaying solubility limited absorption. The purpose of this study was to assess...... studies feasible compared to single SIF solubility studies. Applying this DoE approach will lead to a better understanding of the impact of intestinal fluid composition on the solubility of a given drug compound....

The effect of a single recombination event

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schierup, Mikkel Heide; Jensen, Thomas Mailund; Wiuf, Carsten

We investigate the variance in how visible a single recombination event is in a SNP data set as a function of the type of recombination event and its age. Data is simulated under the coalescent with recombination and inference is by the popular composite likelihood methods. The major determinant...

Purification and properties of recombinant exopolyphosphatase PPN1 and effects of its overexpression on polyphosphate in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreeva, Nadeshda; Trilisenko, Ludmila; Kulakovskaya, Tatiana; Dumina, Maria; Eldarov, Michail

2015-01-01

Inorganic polyphosphate performs many regulatory functions in living cells. The yeast exopolyphosphatase PPN1 is an enzyme with multiple cellular localization and probably variable functions. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain with overexpressed PPN1 was constructed for large-scale production of the enzyme and for studying the effect of overproduction on polyphosphate metabolism. The ΔPPN1 strain was transformed by the vector containing this gene under a strong constitutive promoter of glycerol aldehyde-triphosphate dehydrogenase of S. cerevisiae. Exopolyphosphatase activity in the transformant increased 28- and 11-fold compared to the ΔPPN1 and parent strains, respectively. The content of acid-soluble polyphosphate decreased ∼6-fold and the content of acid-insoluble polyphosphate decreased ∼2.5-fold in the cells of the transformant compared to the ΔPPN1 strain. The recombinant enzyme was purified. The substrate specificity, cation requirement, and inhibition by heparin were found to be similar to native PPN1. The molecular mass of a subunit (∼33 kD) and the amino acid sequence of the recombinant enzyme were the same as in mature PPN1. The recombinant enzyme was localized mainly in the cytoplasm (40%) and vacuoles (20%). The overproducer strain had no growths defects under phosphate deficiency or phosphate excess. In contrast to the parent strains accumulating polyphosphate, the transformant accumulated orthophosphate under phosphate surplus. Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

pH-metric solubility. 3. Dissolution titration template method for solubility determination.

Science.gov (United States)

Avdeef, A; Berger, C M

2001-12-01

The main objective of this study was to develop an effective potentiometric saturation titration protocol for determining the aqueous intrinsic solubility and the solubility-pH profile of ionizable molecules, with the specific aim of overcoming incomplete dissolution conditions, while attempting to shorten the data collection time. A modern theory of dissolution kinetics (an extension of the Noyes-Whitney approach) was applied to acid-base titration experiments. A thermodynamic method was developed, based on a three-component model, to calculate interfacial, diffusion-layer, and bulk-water reactant concentrations in saturated solutions of ionizable compounds perturbed by additions of acid/base titrant, leading to partial dissolution of the solid material. Ten commercial drugs (cimetidine, diltiazem hydrochloride, enalapril maleate, metoprolol tartrate, nadolol, propoxyphene hydrochloride, quinine hydrochloride, terfenadine, trovafloxacin mesylate, and benzoic acid) were chosen to illustrate the new titration methodology. It was shown that the new method is about 10 times faster in determining equilibrium solubility constants, compared to the traditional saturation shake-flask methods.

Sibutramine characterization and solubility, a theoretical study

Science.gov (United States)

Aceves-Hernández, Juan M.; Nicolás Vázquez, Inés; Hinojosa-Torres, Jaime; Penieres Carrillo, Guillermo; Arroyo Razo, Gabriel; Miranda Ruvalcaba, René

2013-04-01

Solubility data from sibutramine (SBA) in a family of alcohols were obtained at different temperatures. Sibutramine was characterized by using thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction technique. Solubility data were obtained by the saturation method. The van't Hoff equation was used to obtain the theoretical solubility values and the ideal solvent activity coefficient. No polymorphic phenomena were found from the X-ray diffraction analysis, even though this compound is a racemic mixture of (+) and (-) enantiomers. Theoretical calculations showed that the polarisable continuum model was able to reproduce the solubility and stability of sibutramine molecule in gas phase, water and a family of alcohols at B3LYP/6-311++G (d,p) level of theory. Dielectric constant, dipolar moment and solubility in water values as physical parameters were used in those theoretical calculations for explaining that behavior. Experimental and theoretical results were compared and good agreement was obtained. Sibutramine solubility increased from methanol to 1-octanol in theoretical and experimental results.

Albinism-causing mutations in recombinant human tyrosinase alter intrinsic enzymatic activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolinska, Monika B; Kovaleva, Elena; Backlund, Peter; Wingfield, Paul T; Brooks, Brian P; Sergeev, Yuri V

2014-01-01

Tyrosinase (TYR) catalyzes the rate-limiting, first step in melanin production and its gene (TYR) is mutated in many cases of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA1), an autosomal recessive cause of childhood blindness. Patients with reduced TYR activity are classified as OCA1B; some OCA1B mutations are temperature-sensitive. Therapeutic research for OCA1 has been hampered, in part, by the absence of purified, active, recombinant wild-type and mutant human enzymes. The intra-melanosomal domain of human tyrosinase (residues 19-469) and two OCA1B related temperature-sensitive mutants, R422Q and R422W were expressed in insect cells and produced in T. ni larvae. The short trans-membrane fragment was deleted to avoid potential protein insolubility, while preserving all other functional features of the enzymes. Purified tyrosinase was obtained with a yield of >1 mg per 10 g of larval biomass. The protein was a monomeric glycoenzyme with maximum enzyme activity at 37°C and neutral pH. The two purified mutants when compared to the wild-type protein were less active and temperature sensitive. These differences are associated with conformational perturbations in secondary structure. The intramelanosomal domains of recombinant wild-type and mutant human tyrosinases are soluble monomeric glycoproteins with activities which mirror their in vivo function. This advance allows for the structure - function analyses of different mutant TYR proteins and correlation with their corresponding human phenotypes; it also provides an important tool to discover drugs that may improve tyrosinase activity and treat OCA1.

Albinism-causing mutations in recombinant human tyrosinase alter intrinsic enzymatic activity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika B Dolinska

Full Text Available Tyrosinase (TYR catalyzes the rate-limiting, first step in melanin production and its gene (TYR is mutated in many cases of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA1, an autosomal recessive cause of childhood blindness. Patients with reduced TYR activity are classified as OCA1B; some OCA1B mutations are temperature-sensitive. Therapeutic research for OCA1 has been hampered, in part, by the absence of purified, active, recombinant wild-type and mutant human enzymes.The intra-melanosomal domain of human tyrosinase (residues 19-469 and two OCA1B related temperature-sensitive mutants, R422Q and R422W were expressed in insect cells and produced in T. ni larvae. The short trans-membrane fragment was deleted to avoid potential protein insolubility, while preserving all other functional features of the enzymes. Purified tyrosinase was obtained with a yield of >1 mg per 10 g of larval biomass. The protein was a monomeric glycoenzyme with maximum enzyme activity at 37°C and neutral pH. The two purified mutants when compared to the wild-type protein were less active and temperature sensitive. These differences are associated with conformational perturbations in secondary structure.The intramelanosomal domains of recombinant wild-type and mutant human tyrosinases are soluble monomeric glycoproteins with activities which mirror their in vivo function. This advance allows for the structure - function analyses of different mutant TYR proteins and correlation with their corresponding human phenotypes; it also provides an important tool to discover drugs that may improve tyrosinase activity and treat OCA1.

Ideal gas solubilities and solubility selectivities in a binary mixture of room-temperature ionic liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Finotello, Alexia; Bara, Jason E; Narayan, Suguna; Camper, Dean; Noble, Richard D

2008-02-28

This study focuses on the solubility behaviors of CO2, CH4, and N2 gases in binary mixtures of imidazolium-based room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) using 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([C2mim][Tf2N]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C2mim][BF4]) at 40 degrees C and low pressures (approximately 1 atm). The mixtures tested were 0, 25, 50, 75, 90, 95, and 100 mol % [C2mim][BF4] in [C2mim][Tf2N]. Results show that regular solution theory (RST) can be used to describe the gas solubility and selectivity behaviors in RTIL mixtures using an average mixture solubility parameter or an average measured mixture molar volume. Interestingly, the solubility selectivity, defined as the ratio of gas mole fractions in the RTIL mixture, of CO2 with N2 or CH4 in pure [C2mim][BF4] can be enhanced by adding 5 mol % [C2mim][Tf2N].

Recombination rate plasticity: revealing mechanisms by design

Science.gov (United States)

Sefick, Stephen; Rushton, Chase

2017-01-01

For over a century, scientists have known that meiotic recombination rates can vary considerably among individuals, and that environmental conditions can modify recombination rates relative to the background. A variety of external and intrinsic factors such as temperature, age, sex and starvation can elicit ‘plastic’ responses in recombination rate. The influence of recombination rate plasticity on genetic diversity of the next generation has interesting and important implications for how populations evolve. Further, many questions remain regarding the mechanisms and molecular processes that contribute to recombination rate plasticity. Here, we review 100 years of experimental work on recombination rate plasticity conducted in Drosophila melanogaster. We categorize this work into four major classes of experimental designs, which we describe via classic studies in D. melanogaster. Based on these studies, we highlight molecular mechanisms that are supported by experimental results and relate these findings to studies in other systems. We synthesize lessons learned from this model system into experimental guidelines for using recent advances in genotyping technologies, to study recombination rate plasticity in non-model organisms. Specifically, we recommend (1) using fine-scale genome-wide markers, (2) collecting time-course data, (3) including crossover distribution measurements, and (4) using mixed effects models to analyse results. To illustrate this approach, we present an application adhering to these guidelines from empirical work we conducted in Drosophila pseudoobscura. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Evolutionary causes and consequences of recombination rate variation in sexual organisms’. PMID:29109222

Recombination analysis based on the complete genome of bocavirus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Shengxia

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Bocavirus include bovine parvovirus, minute virus of canine, porcine bocavirus, gorilla bocavirus, and Human bocaviruses 1-4 (HBoVs. Although recent reports showed that recombination happened in bocavirus, no systematical study investigated the recombination of bocavirus. The present study performed the phylogenetic and recombination analysis of bocavirus over the complete genomes available in GenBank. Results confirmed that recombination existed among bocavirus, including the likely inter-genotype recombination between HBoV1 and HBoV4, and intra-genotype recombination among HBoV2 variants. Moreover, it is the first report revealing the recombination that occurred between minute viruses of canine.

Affinity-based, biophysical methods to detect and analyze ligand binding to recombinant proteins: matching high information content with high throughput.

Science.gov (United States)

Holdgate, Geoff A; Anderson, Malcolm; Edfeldt, Fredrik; Geschwindner, Stefan

2010-10-01

Affinity-based technologies have become impactful tools to detect, monitor and characterize molecular interactions using recombinant target proteins. This can aid the understanding of biological function by revealing mechanistic details, and even more importantly, enables the identification of new improved ligands that can modulate the biological activity of those targets in a desired fashion. The selection of the appropriate technology is a key step in that process, as each one of the currently available technologies offers a characteristic type of biophysical information about the ligand-binding event. Alongside the indisputable advantages of each of those technologies they naturally display diverse restrictions that are quite frequently related to the target system to be studied but also to the affinity, solubility and molecular size of the ligands. This paper discusses some of the theoretical and experimental aspects of the most common affinity-based methods, what type of information can be gained from each one of those approaches, and what requirements as well as limitations are expected from working with recombinant proteins on those platforms and how those can be optimally addressed.

Solubility of carbohydrates in heavy water.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Marcus V C; Carvalho, Larissa V C; Sabadini, Edvaldo

2012-05-15

The solubility of several mono-(glucose and xylose), di-(sucrose and maltose), tri-(raffinose) and cyclic (α-cyclodextrin) saccharides in H(2)O and in D(2)O were measured over a range of temperatures. The solution enthalpies for the different carbohydrates in the two solvents were determined using the vant' Hoff equation and the values in D(2)O are presented here for the first time. Our findings indicate that the replacement of H(2)O by D(2)O remarkably decreases the solubilities of the less soluble carbohydrates, such as maltose, raffinose and α-cyclodextrin. On the other hand, the more soluble saccharides, glucose, xylose, and sucrose, are practically insensitive to the H/D replacement in water. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

FASEB Summer Research Conference. Genetic Recombination and Chromosome Rearrangements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jinks-Robertson, Sue

2002-02-01

The 2001 meeting entitled ''Genetic Recombination and Genome Rearrangements'' was held July 21-26 in Snowmass, Colorado. The goal of the meeting was to bring together scientists using diverse approaches to study all aspects of genetic recombination. This goal was achieved by integrating talks covering the genetics, biochemistry and structural biology of homologous recombination, site-specific recombination, and nonhomologous recombination. The format of the meeting consisted of a keynote address on the opening evening, two formal plenary sessions on each of the four full meeting days, a single afternoon workshop consisting of short talks chosen from among submitted abstracts, and afternoon poster sessions on each of the four full meeting days. The eight plenary session were entitled: (1) Recombination Mechanisms, (2) Prokaryotic Recombination, (3) Repair and Recombination, (4) Site-specific Recombination and Transposition, (5) Eukaryotic Recombination I, (6) Genome Rearrangements, (7) Meiosis, and (8) Eukaryotic Recombination II. Each session included a mix of genetic, biochemical and structural talks; talks were limited to 20 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of very lively, general discussion. Much of the data presented in the plenary sessions was unpublished, thus providing attendees with the most up-to-date knowledge of this rapidly-moving field.

Hadron Correlations and Parton Recombination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fries, R.J. [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)]. E-mail: rjfries@comp.tamu.edu

2007-02-15

Parton recombination has been found to be an extremely useful model to understand hadron production at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. It is particularly important to explore its connections with hard processes. This article reviews some of the aspects of the quark recombination model and places particular emphasis on hadron correlations.

Soluble extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN, EMN) regulates cancer-related cellular functions by homotypic interactions with surface CD147.

Science.gov (United States)

Knutti, Nadine; Kuepper, Michael; Friedrich, Karlheinz

2015-11-01

EMMPRIN (extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer) is a widely expressed glycoprotein and a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily which exists in both a membrane-spanning and a soluble form. Homotypic interactions of EMMPRIN underlie its multiple roles in normal development and pathological situations such as viral infections, Alzheimer's disease and cancer. This study employed a recombinant soluble, fully glycosylated EMMPRIN domain (rhsEMN) as a tool to characterize the structural basis of EMMPRIN-EMMPRIN receptor (EMNR) contacts and their functional effects on MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells. rhsEMN did not form dimers in solution but bound to surface EMMPRIN (EMN) on MCF-7 cells with high affinity and was readily internalized. The interaction interface for the homotypic contact was localized to the N-terminal Ig domain. rhsEMN exerted a stimulatory effect on proliferation of MCF-7 cells whereas it reduced cell migration in a dose-dependent manner. These effects were accompanied by an upregulation of endogenous EMMPRIN as well as of matrix metalloproteinase-14 (MMP-14), a membrane-bound protease involved in the extracellular release of soluble EMMPRIN, indicating a regulatory feedback mechanism. The proliferation-promoting activity of rhsEMN was mimicked by a novel functional antibody directed to EMMPRIN, underscoring that crosslinking of cell surface EMMPRIN (EMNR) is crucial for eliciting intracellular signalling. Addressing malignancy-related signal transduction in HEK-293 cells, we could show that rhsEMN triggers the oncogenic Wnt pathway. © 2015 FEBS.

Exceptionally high levels of recombination across the honey bee genome.

Science.gov (United States)

Beye, Martin; Gattermeier, Irene; Hasselmann, Martin; Gempe, Tanja; Schioett, Morten; Baines, John F; Schlipalius, David; Mougel, Florence; Emore, Christine; Rueppell, Olav; Sirviö, Anu; Guzmán-Novoa, Ernesto; Hunt, Greg; Solignac, Michel; Page, Robert E

2006-11-01

The first draft of the honey bee genome sequence and improved genetic maps are utilized to analyze a genome displaying 10 times higher levels of recombination (19 cM/Mb) than previously analyzed genomes of higher eukaryotes. The exceptionally high recombination rate is distributed genome-wide, but varies by two orders of magnitude. Analysis of chromosome, sequence, and gene parameters with respect to recombination showed that local recombination rate is associated with distance to the telomere, GC content, and the number of simple repeats as described for low-recombining genomes. Recombination rate does not decrease with chromosome size. On average 5.7 recombination events per chromosome pair per meiosis are found in the honey bee genome. This contrasts with a wide range of taxa that have a uniform recombination frequency of about 1.6 per chromosome pair. The excess of recombination activity does not support a mechanistic role of recombination in stabilizing pairs of homologous chromosome during chromosome pairing. Recombination rate is associated with gene size, suggesting that introns are larger in regions of low recombination and may improve the efficacy of selection in these regions. Very few transposons and no retrotransposons are present in the high-recombining genome. We propose evolutionary explanations for the exceptionally high genome-wide recombination rate.

Three-particle recombination at low temperature: QED approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharyya, S.; Roy, A.

2001-01-01

A theoretical study of three-body recombination of proton in presence of a spectator electron with electronic beam at near-zero temperature is presented using field theory and invariant Lorentz gauge. Contributions from the Feynman diagrams of different orders give an insight into the physics of the phenomena. Recombination rate coefficient is obtained for low lying principal quantum number n = 1 to 10. At a fixed ion beam temperature (300 K) recombination rate coefficient is found to increase in general with n, having a flat and a sharp peak at quantum states 3 to 5, respectively. In absence of any theoretical and experimental results for low temperature formation of H-atom by three-body recombination at low lying quantum states, we have presented the theoretical results of Stevefelt and group for three-body recombination of deuteron with electron along with the present results. Three-body recombination of antihydrogen in antiproton-positron plasma is expected to yield similar result as that for three-body recombination of hydrogen formation in proton-electron plasma. The necessity for experimental investigation of low temperature three-body recombination at low quantum states is stressed. (author)

Novel electrosprayed nanospherules for enhanced aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble fenofibrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yousaf AM

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abid Mehmood Yousaf,1,2 Omer Mustapha,1 Dong Wuk Kim,1 Dong Shik Kim,1 Kyeong Soo Kim,1 Sung Giu Jin,1 Chul Soon Yong,3 Yu Seok Youn,4 Yu-Kyoung Oh,5 Jong Oh Kim,3 Han-Gon Choi1 1College of Pharmacy and Institute of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Hanyang University, Ansan, Gyeonggi, South Korea; 2Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Central Punjab, Johar, Lahore, Pakistan; 3College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyongsan, North Gyeongsang, 4School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Gyeonggi, 5College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea Purpose: The purpose of the present research was to develop a novel electrosprayed nanospherule providing the most optimized aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability for poorly water-soluble fenofibrate.Methods: Numerous fenofibrate-loaded electrosprayed nanospherules were prepared with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP and Labrafil® M 2125 as carriers using the electrospray technique, and the effect of the carriers on drug solubility and solvation was assessed. The solid state characterization of an optimized formulation was conducted by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses. Oral bioavailability in rats was also evaluated for the formulation of an optimized nanospherule in comparison with free drug and a conventional fenofibrate-loaded solid dispersion.Results: All of the electrosprayed nanospherule formulations had remarkably enhanced aqueous solubility and dissolution compared with free drug. Moreover, Labrafil M 2125, a surfactant, had a positive influence on the solubility and dissolution of the drug in the electrosprayed nanospherule. Increases were observed as the PVP/drug ratio increased to 4:1, but higher ratios gave no significant increases. In particular, an electrosprayed nanospherule composed of fenofibrate, PVP, and Labrafil M 2125 at the weight ratio of 1

Ligand binding and antigenic properties of a human neonatal Fc receptor with mutation of two unpaired cysteine residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Jan T; Justesen, Sune; Fleckenstein, Burkhard

2008-01-01

knowledge gives incentives for the design of IgG and albumin-based diagnostics and therapeutics. To study FcRn in vitro and to select and characterize FcRn binders, large quantities of soluble human FcRn are needed. In this report, we explored the impact of two free cysteine residues (C48 and C251......) of the FcRn heavy chain on the overall structure and function of soluble human FcRn and described an improved bacterial production strategy based on removal of these residues, yielding approximately 70 mg.L(-1) of fermentation of refolded soluble human FcRn. The structural and functional integrity...... was proved by CD, surface plasmon resonance and MALDI-TOF peptide mapping analyses. The strategy may generally be translated to the large-scale production of other major histocompatibility complex class I-related molecules with nonfunctional unpaired cysteine residues. Furthermore, the anti-FcRn response...

Water-soluble dietary fibers and cardiovascular disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Theuwissen, Elke; Mensink, Ronald P

2008-05-23

One well-established way to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) is to lower serum LDL cholesterol levels by reducing saturated fat intake. However, the importance of other dietary approaches, such as increasing the intake of water-soluble dietary fibers is increasingly recognized. Well-controlled intervention studies have now shown that four major water-soluble fiber types-beta-glucan, psyllium, pectin and guar gum-effectively lower serum LDL cholesterol concentrations, without affecting HDL cholesterol or triacylglycerol concentrations. It is estimated that for each additional gram of water-soluble fiber in the diet serum total and LDL cholesterol concentrations decrease by -0.028 mmol/L and -0.029 mmol/L, respectively. Despite large differences in molecular structure, no major differences existed between the different types of water-soluble fiber, suggesting a common underlying mechanism. In this respect, it is most likely that water-soluble fibers lower the (re)absorption of in particular bile acids. As a result hepatic conversion of cholesterol into bile acids increases, which will ultimately lead to increased LDL uptake by the liver. Additionally, epidemiological studies suggest that a diet high in water-soluble fiber is inversely associated with the risk of CVD. These findings underlie current dietary recommendations to increase water-soluble fiber intake.

Transport of soluble species in backfill and rock

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambre, P.L.; Lee, W.W.L.; Light, W.B.; Pigford, T.H.

1992-03-01

In this report we study the release and transport of soluble species from spent nuclear fuel. By soluble species we mean a fraction of certain fission product species. Our previously developed methods for calculating release rates of solubility-limited species need to be revised for these soluble species. Here we provide methods of calculating release rates of soluble species directly into rock and into backfill and then into rock. Section 2 gives a brief discussion of the physics of fission products dissolution from U0 2 spent fuel. Section 3 presents the mathematics for calculating release rates of soluble species into backfill and then into rock. The calculation of release rates directly into rock is a special case. Section 4 presents numerical illustrations of the analytic results

Activated recombinant adenovirus proteinases

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Carl W.; Mangel, Walter F.

1999-08-10

This application describes methods and expression constructs for producing activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases. Purified activatable recombinant adenovirus proteinases and methods of purification are described. Activated adenovirus proteinases and methods for obtaining activated adenovirus proteinases are further included. Isolated peptide cofactors of adenovirus proteinase activity, methods of purifying and identifying said peptide cofactors are also described. Antibodies immunoreactive with adenovirus proteinases, immunospecific antibodies, and methods for preparing them are also described. Other related methods and materials are also described.

Hadron correlations from recombination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fries, Rainer J [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (United States)

2005-01-01

Quark recombination is a successful model to describe the hadronization of a deconfined quark gluon plasma. Jet-like dihadron correlations measured at RHIC provide a challenge for this picture. We discuss how correlations between hadrons can arise from correlations between partons before hadronization. An enhancement of correlations through the recombination process, similar to the enhancement of elliptic flow is found. Hot spots from completely or partially quenched jets are a likely source of such parton correlations.

X-ray- and TEM-induced mitotic recombination in Drosophila melanogaster: Unequal and sister-strand recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, H.J.

1975-01-01

Twin mosaic spots of dark-apricot and light-apricot ommatidia were found in the eyes of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females, of wsup(a) males, of females homozygous for In(1)sc 4 , wsup(a) and of attached-X females homozygous for wsup(a). The flies were raised from larvae which had been treated with 1,630 R of X-rays at the age of 48-52 hours. An additional group of wsup(a)/wsup(a) females and wsup(a) males came from larvae that had been fed with triethylene melamine (TEM) at the age of 22-24 hours. The twin spots apparently were the result of induced unequal mitotic recombination, i.e. from unequal sister-strand recombination in the males and from unequal sister-strand recombination as well as, possibly, unequal recombination between homologous strands in the females. That is, a duplication resulted in wsup(a)Dpwsup(a)/wsup(a) dark-apricto ommatidia and the corresponding deficiency in an adjacent area of wsup(a)/Dfwsup(a) light-apricot ommatidia. In an additional experiment sister-strand mitotic recombination in the ring-X chromosome of ring-X/rod-X females heterozygous for w and wsup(co) is believed to be the cause for X-ray induced single mosaic spots that show the phenotype of the rod-X marker. (orig.) [de

Solubility limits on radionuclide dissolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kerrisk, J.F.

1984-12-31

This paper examines the effects of solubility in limiting dissolution rates of a number of important radionuclides from spent fuel and high-level waste. Two simple dissolution models were used for calculations that would be characteristics of a Yucca Mountain repository. A saturation-limited dissolution model, in which the water flowing through the repository is assumed to be saturated with each waste element, is very conservative in that it overestimates dissolution rates. A diffusion-limited dissolution model, in which element-dissolution rates are limited by diffusion of waste elements into water flowing past the waste, is more realistic, but it is subject to some uncertainty at this time. Dissolution rates of some elements (Pu, Am, Sn, Th, Zr, Sm) are always limited by solubility. Dissolution rates of other elements (Cs, Tc, Np, Sr, C, I) are never solubility limited; their release would be limited by dissolution of the bulk waste form. Still other elements (U, Cm, Ni, Ra) show solubility-limited dissolution under some conditions. 9 references, 3 tables.

Two novel porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) recombinants from a natural recombinant and distinct subtypes of PEDV variants.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Nanhua; Li, Shuangjie; Zhou, Rongyun; Zhu, Meiqin; He, Shan; Ye, Mengxue; Huang, Yucheng; Li, Shuai; Zhu, Cong; Xia, Pengpeng; Zhu, Jianzhong

2017-10-15

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) causes devastating impact on global pig-breeding industry and current vaccines have become not effective against the circulating PEDV variants since 2011. During the up-to-date investigation of PEDV prevalence in Fujian China 2016, PEDV was identified in vaccinated pig farms suffering severe diarrhea while other common diarrhea-associated pathogens were not detected. Complete genomes of two PEDV representatives (XM1-2 and XM2-4) were determined. Genomic comparison showed that these two viruses share the highest nucleotide identities (99.10% and 98.79%) with the 2011 ZMDZY strain, but only 96.65% and 96.50% nucleotide identities with the attenuated CV777 strain. Amino acid alignment of spike (S) proteins indicated that they have the similar mutation, insertion and deletion pattern as other Chinese PEDV variants but also contain several unique substitutions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 2016 PEDV variants belong to the cluster of recombination strains but form a new branch. Recombination detection suggested that both XM1-2 and XM2-4 are inter-subgroup recombinants with breakpoints within ORF1b. Remarkably, the natural recombinant HNQX-3 isolate serves as a parental virus for both natural recombinants identified in this study. This up-to-date investigation provides the direct evidence that natural recombinants may serve as parental viruses to generate recombined PEDV progenies that are probably associated with the vaccination failure. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Rapid generation of markerless recombinant MVA vaccines by en passant recombineering of a self-excising bacterial artificial chromosome.

Science.gov (United States)

Cottingham, Matthew G; Gilbert, Sarah C

2010-09-01

The non-replicating poxviral vector modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) is currently a leading candidate for development of novel recombinant vaccines against globally important diseases. The 1980s technology for making recombinant MVA (and other poxviruses) is powerful and robust, but relies on rare recombination events in poxviral-infected cells. In the 21st century, it has become possible to apply bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology to poxviruses, as first demonstrated by B. Moss' lab in 2002 for vaccinia virus. A similar BAC clone of MVA was subsequently derived, but while recombination-mediated genetic engineering for rapid production was used of deletion mutants, an alternative method was required for efficient insertion of transgenes. Furthermore "markerless" viruses, which carry no trace of the selectable marker used for their isolation, are increasingly required for clinical trials, and the viruses derived via the new method contained the BAC sequence in their genomic DNA. Two methods are adapted to MVA-BAC to provide more rapid generation of markerless recombinants in weeks rather than months. "En passant" recombineering is applied to the insertion of a transgene expression cassette and the removal of the selectable marker in bacteria; and a self-excising variant of MVA-BAC is constructed, in which the BAC cassette region is rapidly and efficiently lost from the viral genome following rescue of the BAC into infectious virus. These methods greatly facilitate and accelerate production of recombinant MVA, including markerless constructs. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recombinant Nox4 cytosolic domain produced by a cell or cell-free base systems exhibits constitutive diaphorase activity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nguyen, Minh Vu Chuong, E-mail: mvchuong@yahoo.fr [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France); Zhang, Leilei [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France); Lhomme, Stanislas; Mouz, Nicolas [PX' Therapeutics, MINATEC/Batiment de Haute Technologie, Grenoble (France); Lenormand, Jean-Luc [HumProTher Laboratory, TheReX/TIMC-IMAG UMR 5525 CNRS UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, UFR de Medecine, Domaine de la Merci, 38706 La Tronche (France); Lardy, Bernard; Morel, Francoise [GREPI AGIM FRE 3405 CNRS-UJF, Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble (France)

2012-03-16

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A comparison of two bacterial cell and cell-free protein expression systems is presented. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Soluble and active truncated Nox4 proteins are produced. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Nox4 has a constitutive diaphorase activity which is independent of cytosolic factors. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Isoform Nox4B is unable to initiate the first electronic transfer step. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Findings contribute to the understanding of the mechanism of Nox4 oxidase activity. -- Abstract: The membrane protein NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase Nox4 constitutively generates reactive oxygen species differing from other NADPH oxidases activity, particularly in Nox2 which needs a stimulus to be active. Although the precise mechanism of production of reactive oxygen species by Nox2 is well characterized, the electronic transfer throughout Nox4 remains unclear. Our study aims to investigate the initial electronic transfer step (diaphorase activity) of the cytosolic tail of Nox4. For this purpose, we developed two different approaches to produce soluble and active truncated Nox4 proteins. We synthesized soluble recombinant proteins either by in vitro translation or by bacteria induction. While proteins obtained by bacteria induction demonstrate an activity of 4.4 {+-} 1.7 nmol/min/nmol when measured against iodonitro tetrazolium chloride and 20.5 {+-} 2.8 nmol/min/nmol with cytochrome c, the soluble proteins produced by cell-free expression system exhibit a diaphorase activity with a turn-over of 26 {+-} 2.6 nmol/min/nmol when measured against iodonitro tetrazolium chloride and 48 {+-} 20.2 nmol/min/nmol with cytochrome c. Furthermore, the activity of the soluble proteins is constitutive and does not need any stimulus. We also show that the cytosolic tail of the isoform Nox4B lacking the first NADPH binding site is unable to demonstrate any diaphorase activity pointing out the

Pulsed Dilution Method for the Recovery of Aggregated Mouse TNF-α

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merat Mahmoodi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Background: The expression of mouse tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α in Escherichia coli is a favorable way to get high yield of protein; however, the formation of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies, which is the consequence of insoluble accumulated proteins, is a major obstacle in this system. To overcome this obstacle, we used a pulsed dilution method to convert the product to its native conformation. Methods: Reducing agent and guanidine hydrochloride were used to solubilize inclusion bodies formed after TNF-(α expression. Then, the refolding procedure was performed by pulsed dilution of the denatured protein into a refolding buffer. The properly-folded protein was purified by metal affinity chromatography. Results: SDS-PAGE showed a 19.9 kDa band related to the mature TNF-(α protein. The protein was recognized by anti-mouse TNF-(α on western blots. The final concentration of the purified recombinant TNF-(α was 62.5 μg/mL. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the efficiency of this method to produce a high yield of folded mature TNF- (α.

Mechanisms and factors that influence high frequency retroviral recombination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga

2011-01-01

With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse...... transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity...... of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment...

Induction of homologous recombination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Simon, J R; Moore, P D

1988-09-01

We have investigated the effects of UV irradiation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in order to distinguish whether UV-induced recombination results from the induction of enzymes required for homologous recombination, or the production of substrate sites for recombination containing regions of DNA damage. We utilized split-dose experiments to investigate the induction of proteins required for survival, gene conversion, and mutation in a diploid strain of S. cerevisiae. We demonstrate that inducing doses of UV irradiation followed by a 6 h period of incubation render the cells resistant to challenge doses of UV irradiation. The effects of inducing and challenge doses of UV irradiation upon interchromosomal gene conversion and mutation are strictly additive. Using the yeast URA3 gene cloned in non-replicating single- and double-stranded plasmid vectors that integrate into chromosomal genes upon transformation, we show that UV irradiation of haploid yeast cells and homologous plasmid DNA sequences each stimulate homologous recombination approximately two-fold, and that these effects are additive. Non-specific DNA damage has little effect on the stimulation of homologous recombination, as shown by studies in which UV-irradiated heterologous DNA was included in transformation/recombination experiments. We further demonstrate that the effect of competing single- and double-stranded heterologous DNA sequences differs in UV-irradiated and unirradiated cells, suggesting an induction of recombinational machinery in UV-irradiated S. cerevisiae cells.

Recombinant HAP Phytase of the Thermophilic Mold Sporotrichum thermophile: Expression of the Codon-Optimized Phytase Gene in Pichia pastoris and Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranjan, Bibhuti; Satyanarayana, T

2016-02-01

The codon-optimized phytase gene of the thermophilic mold Sporotrichum thermophile (St-Phy) was expressed in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant P. pastoris harboring the phytase gene (rSt-Phy) yielded a high titer of extracellular phytase (480 ± 23 U/mL) on induction with methanol. The recombinant phytase production was ~40-fold higher than that of the native fungal strain. The purified recombinant phytase (rSt-Phy) has the molecular mass of 70 kDa on SDS-PAGE, with K m and V max (calcium phytate), k cat and k cat/K m values of 0.147 mM and 183 nmol/mg s, 1.3 × 10(3)/s and 8.84 × 10(6)/M s, respectively. Mg(2+) and Ba(2+) display a slight stimulatory effect, while other cations tested exert inhibitory action on phytase. The enzyme is inhibited by chaotropic agents (guanidinium hydrochloride, potassium iodide, and urea), Woodward's reagent K and 2,3-bunatedione, but resistant to both pepsin and trypsin. The rSt-Phy is useful in the dephytinization of broiler feeds efficiently in simulated gut conditions of chick leading to the liberation of soluble inorganic phosphate with concomitant mitigation in antinutrient effects of phytates. The addition of vanadate makes it a potential candidate for generating haloperoxidase, which has several applications.

Spectrum Recombination.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenslade, Thomas B., Jr.

1984-01-01

Describes several methods of executing lecture demonstrations involving the recombination of the spectrum. Groups the techniques into two general classes: bringing selected portions of the spectrum together using lenses or mirrors and blurring the colors by rapid movement or foreshortening. (JM)

Genetic analysis of variation in human meiotic recombination.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reshmi Chowdhury

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The number of recombination events per meiosis varies extensively among individuals. This recombination phenotype differs between female and male, and also among individuals of each gender. In this study, we used high-density SNP genotypes of over 2,300 individuals and their offspring in two datasets to characterize recombination landscape and to map the genetic variants that contribute to variation in recombination phenotypes. We found six genetic loci that are associated with recombination phenotypes. Two of these (RNF212 and an inversion on chromosome 17q21.31 were previously reported in the Icelandic population, and this is the first replication in any other population. Of the four newly identified loci (KIAA1462, PDZK1, UGCG, NUB1, results from expression studies provide support for their roles in meiosis. Each of the variants that we identified explains only a small fraction of the individual variation in recombination. Notably, we found different sequence variants associated with female and male recombination phenotypes, suggesting that they are regulated by different genes. Characterization of genetic variants that influence natural variation in meiotic recombination will lead to a better understanding of normal meiotic events as well as of non-disjunction, the primary cause of pregnancy loss.

Recombination in Avian Gamma-Coronavirus Infectious Bronchitis Virus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark W. Jackwood

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Recombination in the family Coronaviridae has been well documented and is thought to be a contributing factor in the emergence and evolution of different coronaviral genotypes as well as different species of coronavirus. However, there are limited data available on the frequency and extent of recombination in coronaviruses in nature and particularly for the avian gamma-coronaviruses where only recently the emergence of a turkey coronavirus has been attributed solely to recombination. In this study, the full-length genomes of eight avian gamma-coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus (IBV isolates were sequenced and along with other full-length IBV genomes available from GenBank were analyzed for recombination. Evidence of recombination was found in every sequence analyzed and was distributed throughout the entire genome. Areas that have the highest occurrence of recombination are located in regions of the genome that code for nonstructural proteins 2, 3 and 16, and the structural spike glycoprotein. The extent of the recombination observed, suggests that this may be one of the principal mechanisms for generating genetic and antigenic diversity within IBV. These data indicate that reticulate evolutionary change due to recombination in IBV, likely plays a major role in the origin and adaptation of the virus leading to new genetic types and strains of the virus.

Hydrogen solubility in austenite of Fe-Ni-Cr alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhirnova, V.V.; Mogutnov, B.M.; Tomilin, I.A.

1981-01-01

Hydrogen solubility in Fe-Ni-Cr alloys at 600-1000 deg C is determined. Hydrogen solubility in ternary alloys can not be predicted on the basis of the data on its solubility in binary Fe-Ni, Fe-Cr alloys. Chromium and nickel effect on hydrogen solubility in iron is insignificant in comparison with the effect of these elements on carbon or nitrogen solubility [ru

Carcinogenicity assessment of water-soluble nickel compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodman, Julie E; Prueitt, Robyn L; Dodge, David G; Thakali, Sagar

2009-01-01

IARC is reassessing the human carcinogenicity of nickel compounds in 2009. To address the inconsistencies among results from studies of water-soluble nickel compounds, we conducted a weight-of-evidence analysis of the relevant epidemiological, toxicological, and carcinogenic mode-of-action data. We found the epidemiological evidence to be limited, in that some, but not all, data suggest that exposure to soluble nickel compounds leads to increased cancer risk in the presence of certain forms of insoluble nickel. Although there is no evidence that soluble nickel acts as a complete carcinogen in animals, there is limited evidence that suggests it may act as a tumor promoter. The mode-of-action data suggest that soluble nickel compounds will not be able to cause genotoxic effects in vivo because they cannot deliver sufficient nickel ions to nuclear sites of target cells. Although the mode-of-action data suggest several possible non-genotoxic effects of the nickel ion, it is unclear whether soluble nickel compounds can elicit these effects in vivo or whether these effects, if elicited, would result in tumor promotion. The mode-of-action data equally support soluble nickel as a promoter or as not being a causal factor in carcinogenesis at all. The weight of evidence does not indicate that soluble nickel compounds are complete carcinogens, and there is only limited evidence that they could act as tumor promoters.

The unconventional xer recombination machinery of Streptococci/Lactococci

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Le Bourgeois, Pascal; Bugarel, Marie; Campo, Nathalie; Daveran-Mingot, Marie-Line; Labonte, Jessica; Lanfranchi, Daniel; Lautier, Thomas; Pages, Carine; Ritzenthaler, Paul

Homologous recombination between circular sister chromosomes during DNA replication in bacteria can generate chromosome dimers that must be resolved into monomers prior to cell division. In Escherichia coli, dimer resolution is achieved by site-specific recombination, Xer recombination, involving

Solubility study of Tc(IV) oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, D.J.; Fan, X.H.

2005-01-01

The deep geological disposal of the high level radioactive wastes is expected to be a safer disposal method in most countries. The long-lived fission product 99 Tc is present in large quantities in nuclear wastes and its chemical behavior in aqueous solution is of considerable interest. Under oxidizing conditions technetium exists as the anionic species TcO 4 - whereas under the reducing conditions, expected to exist in a deep geological repository, it is generally predicted that technetium will be present as TcO 2 ·nH 2 O. Hence, the mobility of Tc(IV) in reducing groundwater may be limited by the solubility of TcO 2 ·nH 2 O under these conditions. Due to this fact it is important to investigate the solubility of TcO 2 ·nH 2 O. The solubility determines the release of radionuclides from waste form and is used as a source term in radionuclide migration analysis in performance assessment of radioactive waste repository. Technetium oxide was prepared by reduction of a technetate solution with Sn 2 + . The solubility of Tc(IV) oxide has been determined in simulated groundwater and redistilled water under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The effects of pH and CO 3 2- concentration of solution on solubility of Tc(IV) oxide were studied. The concentration of total technetium and Tc(IV) species in the solutions were periodically determined by separating the oxidized and reduced technetium species using a solvent extraction procedure and counting the beta activity of the 99 Tc with a liquid scintillation counter. The experimental results show that the rate of oxidation of Tc(IV) in simulated groundwater and redistilled water is about (1.49-1.86) x 10 -9 mol/(L·d) under aerobic conditions, but Tc(IV) in simulated groundwater and redistilled water is not oxidized under anaerobic conditions. Under aerobic or anaerobic conditions the solubility of Tc(IV) oxide in simulated groundwater and redistilled water is equal on the whole after centrifugation or ultrafiltration. The

Graded Recombination Layers for Multijunction Photovoltaics

KAUST Repository

Koleilat, Ghada I.; Wang, Xihua; Sargent, Edward H.

2012-01-01

it to achieve multicolor and spectrally tunable behavior. In series-connected current-matched multijunction devices, the recombination layers must allow the hole current from one cell to recombine, with high efficiency and low voltage loss, with the electron

V(D)J recombination frequency is affected by the sequence interposed between a pair of recombination signals: sequence comparison reveals a putative recombinational enhancer element

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roch, F A; Hobi, R; Berchtold, M W

1997-01-01

respectively, can markedly affect the frequency of V(D)J recombination. We report that the entire Emu, the Emu core as well as its flanking 5' and 3' matrix associated regions (5' and 3' MARs) upregulate V(D)J recombination while the downstream section of the 3' MAR of Emu does not. Also, prokaryotic sequences...

Improvement of the photovoltaic parameters of perovskite solar cells using a reduced-graphene-oxide-modified titania layer and soluble copper phthalocyanine as a hole transporter.

Science.gov (United States)

Nouri, Esmaiel; Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza; Xu, Zong-Xiang; Dracopoulos, Vassilios; Lianos, Panagiotis

2018-01-24

Functional perovskite solar cells can be made by using a simple, inexpensive and stable soluble tetra-n-butyl-substituted copper phthalocyanine (CuBuPc) as a hole transporter. In the present study, TiO 2 /reduced graphene oxide (T/RGO) hybrids were synthesized via an in situ solvothermal process and used as electron acceptor/transport mediators in mesoscopic perovskite solar cells based on soluble CuBuPc as a hole transporter and on graphene oxide (GO) as a buffer layer. The impact of the RGO content on the optoelectronic properties of T/RGO hybrids and on the solar cell performance was studied, suggesting improved electron transport characteristics and photovoltaic parameters. An enhanced electron lifetime and recombination resistance led to an increase in the short circuit current density, open circuit voltage and fill factor. The device based on a T/RGO mesoporous layer with an optimal RGO content of 0.2 wt% showed 22% higher photoconversion efficiency and higher stability compared with pristine TiO 2 -based devices.

Bio-equivalent doses of recombinent HCG and recombinent LH during ovarian stimulation result in similar oestradiol output

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alsbjerg, Birgit; Elbaek, Helle Olesen; Laursen, Rita Jakubcionyte

2017-01-01

In nature, HCG is secreted by the implanting embryo from peri-implantation and onwards. In contrast, LH is mandatory for steroidogenesis and follicular development during the follicular phase, working in synergy with FSH. Moreover, LH is mandatory for the function of the corpus luteum. Although LH...... and HCG bind to the same receptor, significant molecular, structural and functional differences exist, inducing differences in bioactivity. This randomized controlled study compared the effect of recombinant FSH stimulation combined with daily either micro-dose recombinant HCG or recombinant LH...

Mechanisms and Factors that Influence High Frequency Retroviral Recombination

Science.gov (United States)

Delviks-Frankenberry, Krista; Galli, Andrea; Nikolaitchik, Olga; Mens, Helene; Pathak, Vinay K.; Hu, Wei-Shau

2011-01-01

With constantly changing environmental selection pressures, retroviruses rely upon recombination to reassort polymorphisms in their genomes and increase genetic diversity, which improves the chances for the survival of their population. Recombination occurs during DNA synthesis, whereby reverse transcriptase undergoes template switching events between the two copackaged RNAs, resulting in a viral recombinant with portions of the genetic information from each parental RNA. This review summarizes our current understanding of the factors and mechanisms influencing retroviral recombination, fidelity of the recombination process, and evaluates the subsequent viral diversity and fitness of the progeny recombinant. Specifically, the high mutation rates and high recombination frequencies of HIV-1 will be analyzed for their roles in influencing HIV-1 global diversity, as well as HIV-1 diagnosis, drug treatment, and vaccine development. PMID:21994801

Recombinant innovation and endogenous technological transitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frenken, K.; Izquierdo, L.R.; Zeppini, P.

2012-01-01

We propose a model of technological transitions based on two different types of innovations. Branching innovations refer to technological improvements along a particular path, while recombinant innovations represent fusions of multiple paths. Recombinant innovations create "short-cuts" which reduce

Solubility of cefoxitin acid in different solvent systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan, Fuhong; Wang, Yongli; Xiao, Liping; Huang, Qiaoyin; Xu, Jinchao; Jiang, Chen; Hao, Hongxun

2016-01-01

Highlights: • The solubility of cefoxitin acid in different solvent systems was measured. • Three models were used to correlate the solubility data. • The dissolution enthalpy of the dissolution process was calculated. - Abstract: Cefoxitin acid is one kind of important pharmaceutical intermediate. Its solubility is crucial for designing and optimizing the crystallization processes. In this work, the solubility of cefoxitin acid in organic solvents (methanol, acetonitrile, ethanol, isopropanol, n-propanol and ethyl acetate), water and water-methanol mixtures was measured spectrophotometrically using a shake-flask method within the temperature range 278.15–303.15 K. PXRD data and the Karl Fischer method were used to verify the crystal form stability of cefoxitin acid in the solubility measuring process. The melting points, the enthalpy and entropy of fusion were estimated. Results showed that the solubility of cefoxitin acid increases with the increasing temperature in all tested solvents in this work, and the solubility of cefoxitin acid increases with the increasing methanol concentration in water-methanol mixtures. The experimental solubility values were well correlated using the modified Apelblat equation, NRTL model and CNIBS/R-K model. An equation proposed by Williamson was adopted to calculate the molar enthalpy during the dissolution process.

Active intestinal drug absorption and the solubility-permeability interplay.

Science.gov (United States)

Porat, Daniel; Dahan, Arik

2018-02-15

The solubility-permeability interplay deals with the question: what is the concomitant effect on the drug's apparent permeability when increasing the apparent solubility with a solubility-enabling formulation? The solubility and the permeability are closely related, exhibit certain interplay between them, and ongoing research throughout the past decade shows that treating the one irrespectively of the other may be insufficient. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the current knowledge on the solubility-permeability interplay when using solubility-enabling formulations for oral lipophilic drugs, highlighting active permeability aspects. A solubility-enabling formulation may affect the permeability in opposite directions; the passive permeability may decrease as a result of the apparent solubility increase, according to the solubility-permeability tradeoff, but at the same time, certain components of the formulation may inhibit/saturate efflux transporters (when relevant), resulting in significant apparent permeability increase. In these cases, excipients with both solubilizing and e.g. P-gp inhibitory properties may lead to concomitant increase of both the solubility and the permeability. Intelligent development of such formulation will account for the simultaneous effects of the excipients' nature/concentrations on the two arms composing the overall permeability: the passive and the active arms. Overall, thorough mechanistic understanding of the various factors involved in the solubility-permeability interplay may allow developing better solubility-enabling formulations, thereby exploiting the advantages analyzed in this article, offering oral delivery solution even for BCS class IV drugs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Charrier, D. S. H.; de Vries, T.; Mathijssen, S. G. J.; Geluk, E. -J.; Smits, E. C. P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R. A. J.

In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron-hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

Bimolecular recombination in ambipolar organic field effect transistors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Charrier, D.S.H.; Vries, T. de; Mathijssen, S.G.J.; Geluk, E.-J.; Smits, E.C.P.; Kemerink, M.; Janssen, R.A.J.

2009-01-01

In ambipolar organic field effect transistors (OFET) the shape of the channel potential is intimately related to the recombination zone width W, and hence to the electron–hole recombination strength. Experimentally, the recombination profile can be assessed by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy

Study of solubility of some metal cyclohexane carbonates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niyazov, A.N.; Amanov, K.B.; Trapeznikova, V.F.; Kul'maksimov, A.; Kolosova, N.

1978-01-01

The solubility of calcium, magnesium, strontium, barium, cabalt, copper and aluminium cyclohexane, carbonates (CHC) in water has been studied at 25 deg C. The salt solubility has been calculated according to the metal ion concentration in saturated solutions. It has been established, that the cobalt and rare earth cyclohexane carbonates are relatively very soluble in water and have solubility products of SP > 1x10 -5 . The solubility of CHC of multivalent metals increases with the decrease of pH values. Each salt has some ''limiting'' pH value of a solution, below which it decomposes completely and can not exist in a solution in the form of solid phase

Genome-wide variation in recombination rate in Eucalyptus.

Science.gov (United States)

Gion, Jean-Marc; Hudson, Corey J; Lesur, Isabelle; Vaillancourt, René E; Potts, Brad M; Freeman, Jules S

2016-08-09

Meiotic recombination is a fundamental evolutionary process. It not only generates diversity, but influences the efficacy of natural selection and genome evolution. There can be significant heterogeneity in recombination rates within and between species, however this variation is not well understood outside of a few model taxa, particularly in forest trees. Eucalypts are forest trees of global economic importance, and dominate many Australian ecosystems. We studied recombination rate in Eucalyptus globulus using genetic linkage maps constructed in 10 unrelated individuals, and markers anchored to the Eucalyptus reference genome. This experimental design provided the replication to study whether recombination rate varied between individuals and chromosomes, and allowed us to study the genomic attributes and population genetic parameters correlated with this variation. Recombination rate varied significantly between individuals (range = 2.71 to 3.51 centimorgans/megabase [cM/Mb]), but was not significantly influenced by sex or cross type (F1 vs. F2). Significant differences in recombination rate between chromosomes were also evident (range = 1.98 to 3.81 cM/Mb), beyond those which were due to variation in chromosome size. Variation in chromosomal recombination rate was significantly correlated with gene density (r = 0.94), GC content (r = 0.90), and the number of tandem duplicated genes (r = -0.72) per chromosome. Notably, chromosome level recombination rate was also negatively correlated with the average genetic diversity across six species from an independent set of samples (r = -0.75). The correlations with genomic attributes are consistent with findings in other taxa, however, the direction of the correlation between diversity and recombination rate is opposite to that commonly observed. We argue this is likely to reflect the interaction of selection and specific genome architecture of Eucalyptus. Interestingly, the differences amongst

Hydrothermal solubility of uraninite. Final technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parks, G.A.; Pohl, D.C.

1985-01-01

Experimental measurements of the solubility of UO 2 from 100 to 300 0 C under 500 bars H 2 , in NaCl solutions at pH from 1 to 8 do not agree with solubilities calculated using existing thermodynamic databases. For pH 2 (hyd) has precipitated and is controlling solubility. For pH > 8, solubilities at all temperatures are much lower than predicted, suggesting that the U(OH)/sub delta/ - complex is much weaker than predicted. Extrapolated to 25 0 C, high pH solubility agrees within experimental error with the upper limit suggested by Ryan and Rai (1983). In the pH range 2 to 6, solubilities are up to three orders of magnitude lower than predicted for temperatures exceeding 200 0 C and up to two orders higher than predicted at lower temperatures. pH dependence in this region is negligible suggesting that U(OH) 4 (aq) predominates, thus the stability of this species is higher than presently estimated at low temperatures, but the enthalpy of solution is smaller. A low maximum observed near pH approx. =3 is presently unexplained. 40 refs., 16 figs., 12 tabs

Induction of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puchta, H.; Swoboda, P.; Hohn, B.

1995-01-01

The influence of different factors on frequencies of intrachromosomal homologous recombination in whole Arabidopsis thaliana and tobacco plants was analyzed using a disrupted β-glucuronidase marker gene. Recombination frequencies were enhanced several fold by DNA damaging agents like UV-light or MMS (methyl methanesulfonate). Applying 3-methoxybenzamide (3-MB), an inhibitor of poly(ADP)ribose polymerase (PARP), an enzyme that is postulated to be involved in DNA repair, enhanced homologous recombination frequencies strongly. These findings indicate that homologous recombination is involved in DNA repair and can (at least partially) compensate for other DNA repair pathways. Indications that recombination in plants can be induced by environmental stress factors that are not likely to be involved in DNA metabolism were also found; Arabidopsis plants growing in a medium containing 0.1 M NaCl exhibited elevated recombination frequencies. The possible general effects of ‘environmental’ challenges on genome flexibility are discussed. (author)

Metal binding proteins, recombinant host cells and methods

Science.gov (United States)

Summers, Anne O.; Caguiat, Jonathan J.

2004-06-15

The present disclosure provides artificial heavy metal binding proteins termed chelons by the inventors. These chelons bind cadmium and/or mercuric ions with relatively high affinity. Also disclosed are coding sequences, recombinant DNA molecules and recombinant host cells comprising those recombinant DNA molecules for expression of the chelon proteins. In the recombinant host cells or transgenic plants, the chelons can be used to bind heavy metals taken up from contaminated soil, groundwater or irrigation water and to concentrate and sequester those ions. Recombinant enteric bacteria can be used within the gastrointestinal tracts of animals or humans exposed to toxic metal ions such as mercury and/or cadmium, where the chelon recombinantly expressed in chosen in accordance with the ion to be rededicated. Alternatively, the chelons can be immobilized to solid supports to bind and concentrate heavy metals from a contaminated aqueous medium including biological fluids.

Electric hydrogen recombiner special tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, J.F.

1975-12-01

Westinghouse has produced an electric hydrogen recombiner to control hydrogen levels in reactor containments following a postulated loss-of-coolant accident. The recombiner underwent extensive testing for NRC qualification (see WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, 4). As a result, WCAP 7709-L and Supplements 1, 2, 3, and 4 have been accepted by the NRC for reference in applications not committed to IEEE-323-1974. Supplement 5 and the next supplement will demonstrate conformance to IEEE-323-1974. This supplement describes additional tests, beyond those necessary to qualify the system, which will be referenced in supplement 6. Each test has demonstrated a considerable margin of safety over required performance. Concurrently, the test results increased the fund of technical information on the electric hydrogen recombiner

Frequent intra-subtype recombination among HIV-1 circulating in Tanzania.

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Ireen E Kiwelu

Full Text Available The study estimated the prevalence of HIV-1 intra-subtype recombinant variants among female bar and hotel workers in Tanzania. While intra-subtype recombination occurs in HIV-1, it is generally underestimated. HIV-1 env gp120 V1-C5 quasispecies from 45 subjects were generated by single-genome amplification and sequencing (median (IQR of 38 (28-50 sequences per subject. Recombination analysis was performed using seven methods implemented within the recombination detection program version 3, RDP3. HIV-1 sequences were considered recombinant if recombination signals were detected by at least three methods with p-values of ≤0.05 after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. HIV-1 in 38 (84% subjects showed evidence for intra-subtype recombination including 22 with HIV-1 subtype A1, 13 with HIV-1 subtype C, and 3 with HIV-1 subtype D. The distribution of intra-patient recombination breakpoints suggested ongoing recombination and showed selective enrichment of recombinant variants in 23 (60% subjects. The number of subjects with evidence of intra-subtype recombination increased from 29 (69% to 36 (82% over one year of follow-up, although the increase did not reach statistical significance. Adjustment for intra-subtype recombination is important for the analysis of multiplicity of HIV infection. This is the first report of high prevalence of intra-subtype recombination in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Tanzania, a region where multiple HIV-1 subtypes co-circulate. HIV-1 intra-subtype recombination increases viral diversity and presents additional challenges for HIV-1 vaccine design.

Construction and characterization of a recombinant invertebrate iridovirus.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozgen, Arzu; Muratoglu, Hacer; Demirbag, Zihni; Vlak, Just M; van Oers, Monique M; Nalcacioglu, Remziye

2014-08-30

Chilo iridescent virus (CIV), officially named Insect iridescent virus 6 (IIV6), is the type species of the genus Iridovirus (family Iridoviridae). In this paper we constructed a recombinant CIV, encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP). This recombinant can be used to investigate viral replication dynamics. We showed that homologous recombination is a valid method to make CIV gene knockouts and to insert foreign genes. The CIV 157L gene, putatively encoding a non-functional inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP), was chosen as target for foreign gene insertion. The gfp open reading frame preceded by the viral mcp promoter was inserted into the 157L locus by homologous recombination in Anthonomus grandis BRL-AG-3A cells. Recombinant virus (rCIV-Δ157L-gfp) was purified by successive rounds of plaque purification. All plaques produced by the purified recombinant virus emitted green fluorescence due to the presence of GFP. One-step growth curves for recombinant and wild-type CIV were similar and the recombinant was fully infectious in vivo. Hence, CIV157L can be inactivated without altering the replication kinetics of the virus. Consequently, the CIV 157L locus can be used as a site for insertion of foreign DNA, e.g. to modify viral properties for insect biocontrol. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diagnosing solubility limitations – the example of hydrate formation

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Joerg Berghausen

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Solubility is regarded as one of the key challenges in many drug discovery projects. Thus, it’s essential to support the lead finding and optimization efforts by appropriate solubility data. In silico solubility prediction remains challenging and therefore a screening assay is used as a first filter, followed by selected follow-up assays to reveal what causes the low solubility of a specific compound or chemotype. Results from diagnosing the underlying reason for solubility limitation are discussed. As lipophilicity and crystal lattice forces are regarded as main contributors to limiting solubility, changes in solid state are important to be recognized. Solubility limitation by various factors will be presented and the impact of the solid-state is exemplified by compounds that are able to form hydrates.

Poliovirus Polymerase Leu420 Facilitates RNA Recombination and Ribavirin Resistance

Science.gov (United States)

Kempf, Brian J.; Peersen, Olve B.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT RNA recombination is important in the formation of picornavirus species groups and the ongoing evolution of viruses within species groups. In this study, we examined the structure and function of poliovirus polymerase, 3Dpol, as it relates to RNA recombination. Recombination occurs when nascent RNA products exchange one viral RNA template for another during RNA replication. Because recombination is a natural aspect of picornavirus replication, we hypothesized that some features of 3Dpol may exist, in part, to facilitate RNA recombination. Furthermore, we reasoned that alanine substitution mutations that disrupt 3Dpol-RNA interactions within the polymerase elongation complex might increase and/or decrease the magnitudes of recombination. We found that an L420A mutation in 3Dpol decreased the frequency of RNA recombination, whereas alanine substitutions at other sites in 3Dpol increased the frequency of recombination. The 3Dpol Leu420 side chain interacts with a ribose in the nascent RNA product 3 nucleotides from the active site of the polymerase. Notably, the L420A mutation that reduced recombination also rendered the virus more susceptible to inhibition by ribavirin, coincident with the accumulation of ribavirin-induced G→A and C→U mutations in viral RNA. We conclude that 3Dpol Leu420 is critically important for RNA recombination and that RNA recombination contributes to ribavirin resistance. IMPORTANCE Recombination contributes to the formation of picornavirus species groups and the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPVs). The recombinant viruses that arise in nature are occasionally more fit than either parental strain, especially when the two partners in recombination are closely related, i.e., members of characteristic species groups, such as enterovirus species groups A to H or rhinovirus species groups A to C. Our study shows that RNA recombination requires conserved features of the viral polymerase. Furthermore, a

Genome-wide recombination dynamics are associated with phenotypic variation in maize.

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Qingchun; Li, Lin; Yang, Xiaohong; Tong, Hao; Xu, Shutu; Li, Zhigang; Li, Weiya; Muehlbauer, Gary J; Li, Jiansheng; Yan, Jianbing

2016-05-01

Meiotic recombination is a major driver of genetic diversity, species evolution, and agricultural improvement. Thus, an understanding of the genetic recombination landscape across the maize (Zea mays) genome will provide insight and tools for further study of maize evolution and improvement. Here, we used c. 50 000 single nucleotide polymorphisms to precisely map recombination events in 12 artificial maize segregating populations. We observed substantial variation in the recombination frequency and distribution along the ten maize chromosomes among the 12 populations and identified 143 recombination hot regions. Recombination breakpoints were partitioned into intragenic and intergenic events. Interestingly, an increase in the number of genes containing recombination events was accompanied by a decrease in the number of recombination events per gene. This kept the overall number of intragenic recombination events nearly invariable in a given population, suggesting that the recombination variation observed among populations was largely attributed to intergenic recombination. However, significant associations between intragenic recombination events and variation in gene expression and agronomic traits were observed, suggesting potential roles for intragenic recombination in plant phenotypic diversity. Our results provide a comprehensive view of the maize recombination landscape, and show an association between recombination, gene expression and phenotypic variation, which may enhance crop genetic improvement. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Cloning of human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor cDNA and expression of recombinant soluble TNF-binding protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, P.W.; Barrett, K.; Chantry, D.; Turner, M.; Feldmann, M.

1990-01-01

The cDNA for one of the receptors for human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been isolated. This cDNA encodes a protein of 455 amino acids that is divided into an extracellular domain of 171 residues and a cytoplasmic domain of 221 residues. The extracellular domain has been engineered for expression in mammalian cells, and this recombinant derivative binds TNFα with high affinity and inhibits its cytotoxic activity in vitro. The TNF receptor exhibits similarity with a family of cell surface proteins that includes the nerve growth factor receptor, the human B-cell surface antigen CD40, and the rat T-cell surface antigen OX40. The TNF receptor contains four cysteine-rich subdomains in the extracellular portion. Mammalian cells transfected with the entire TNF receptor cDNA bind radiolabeled TNFα with an affinity of 2.5 x 10 -9 M. This binding can be competitively inhibited with unlabeled TNFα or lymphotoxin (TNFβ)

Cloning of Human Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Receptor cDNA and Expression of Recombinant Soluble TNF-Binding Protein

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Patrick W.; Barrett, Kathy; Chantry, David; Turner, Martin; Feldmann, Marc

1990-10-01

The cDNA for one of the receptors for human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been isolated. This cDNA encodes a protein of 455 amino acids that is divided into an extracellular domain of 171 residues and a cytoplasmic domain of 221 residues. The extracellular domain has been engineered for expression in mammalian cells, and this recombinant derivative binds TNFα with high affinity and inhibits its cytotoxic activity in vitro. The TNF receptor exhibits similarity with a family of cell surface proteins that includes the nerve growth factor receptor, the human B-cell surface antigen CD40, and the rat T-cell surface antigen OX40. The TNF receptor contains four cysteine-rich subdomains in the extra-cellular portion. Mammalian cells transfected with the entire TNF receptor cDNA bind radiolabeled TNFα with an affinity of 2.5 x 10-9 M. This binding can be competitively inhibited with unlabeled TNFα or lymphotoxin (TNFβ).

Serum Soluble Corin is Decreased in Stroke.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Hao; Zhu, Fangfang; Shi, Jijun; Han, Xiujie; Zhou, Dan; Liu, Yan; Zhi, Zhongwen; Zhang, Fuding; Shen, Yun; Ma, Juanjuan; Song, Yulin; Hu, Weidong

2015-07-01

Soluble corin was decreased in coronary heart disease. Given the connections between cardiac dysfunction and stroke, circulating corin might be a candidate marker of stroke risk. However, the association between circulating corin and stroke has not yet been studied in humans. Here, we aimed to examine the association in patients wtith stroke and community-based healthy controls. Four hundred eighty-one patients with ischemic stroke, 116 patients with hemorrhagic stroke, and 2498 healthy controls were studied. Serum soluble corin and some conventional risk factors of stroke were examined. Because circulating corin was reported to be varied between men and women, the association between serum soluble corin and stroke was evaluated in men and women, respectively. Patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke had a significantly lower level of serum soluble corin than healthy controls in men and women (all P values, stroke than men in the highest quartile. Women in the lowest quartile of serum soluble corin were also more likely to have ischemic (OR, 3.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.76-5.44) and hemorrhagic (OR, 8.54; 95% confidence interval, 2.35-31.02) stroke than women in the highest quartile. ORs of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were significantly increased with the decreasing levels of serum soluble corin in men and women (all P values for trend, stroke compared with healthy controls. Our findings raise the possibility that serum soluble corin may have a pathogenic role in stroke. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

RNAi and heterochromatin repress centromeric meiotic recombination

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ellermeier, Chad; Higuchi, Emily C; Phadnis, Naina

2010-01-01

During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes, is essen......During meiosis, the formation of viable haploid gametes from diploid precursors requires that each homologous chromosome pair be properly segregated to produce an exact haploid set of chromosomes. Genetic recombination, which provides a physical connection between homologous chromosomes....... Surprisingly, one mutant derepressed for recombination in the heterochromatic mating-type region during meiosis and several mutants derepressed for centromeric gene expression during mitotic growth are not derepressed for centromeric recombination during meiosis. These results reveal a complex relation between...... types of repression by heterochromatin. Our results also reveal a previously undemonstrated role for RNAi and heterochromatin in the repression of meiotic centromeric recombination and, potentially, in the prevention of birth defects by maintenance of proper chromosome segregation during meiosis....

Effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlahovic, K.; Zahradka, D.; Petranovic, M.; Petranovic, D.

1996-01-01

We have used the model consisting of Escherichia coli cells and l phage to study the effects of UV radiation on genetic recombination. We found two radiation induced processes that reduce or inhibit genetic recombination. One such process leads to the inability of prophage to excise itself from the irradiated bacterial chromosome by the site-specific recombination. The other process was shown to inhibit a type of general recombination by which the prophage transfers one of its genetic markers to the infecting homologous phage. Loss of the prophage ability to take part in both site-specific and general recombination was shown to develop in recB + but not in recB cells. From this we infer that the loss of prophage recombinogenicity in irradiated cells is a consequence of one process in which RecBCD enzyme (the product of recB, recC and recD genes) plays an essential role. (author)

Temporally-controlled site-specific recombination in zebrafish.

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Stefan Hans

Full Text Available Conventional use of the site-specific recombinase Cre is a powerful technology in mouse, but almost absent in other vertebrate model organisms. In zebrafish, Cre-mediated recombination efficiency was previously very low. Here we show that using transposon-mediated transgenesis, Cre is in fact highly efficient in this organism. Furthermore, temporal control of recombination can be achieved by using the ligand-inducible CreER(T2. Site-specific recombination only occurs upon administration of the drug tamoxifen (TAM or its active metabolite, 4-hydroxy-tamoxifen (4-OHT. Cre-mediated recombination is detectable already 4 or 2 hours after administration of TAM or 4-OHT, demonstrating fast recombination kinetics. In addition, low doses of TAM allow mosaic labeling of single cells. Combined, our results show that conditional Cre/lox will be a valuable tool for both, embryonic and adult zebrafish studies. Furthermore, single copy insertion transgenesis of Cre/lox constructs suggest a strategy suitable also for other organisms.

Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

Science.gov (United States)

Specht, Elizabeth A.; Mayfield, Stephen P.

2014-01-01

Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for “molecular pharming” in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae could be poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, as they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and systemic immune reactivity. PMID:24596570

Recombination in hepatitis C virus.

Science.gov (United States)

González-Candelas, Fernando; López-Labrador, F Xavier; Bracho, María Alma

2011-10-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a Flavivirus with a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome of about 9,600 nucleotides. It is a major cause of liver disease, infecting almost 200 million people all over the world. Similarly to most RNA viruses, HCV displays very high levels of genetic diversity which have been used to differentiate six major genotypes and about 80 subtypes. Although the different genotypes and subtypes share basic biological and pathogenic features they differ in clinical outcomes, response to treatment and epidemiology. The first HCV recombinant strain, in which different genome segments derived from parentals of different genotypes, was described in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 2002. Since then, there have been only a few more than a dozen reports including descriptions of HCV recombinants at all levels: between genotypes, between subtypes of the same genotype and even between strains of the same subtype. Here, we review the literature considering the reasons underlying the difficulties for unequivocally establishing recombination in this virus along with the analytical methods necessary to do it. Finally, we analyze the potential consequences, especially in clinical practice, of HCV recombination in light of the coming new therapeutic approaches against this virus.

Algae-based oral recombinant vaccines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth A Specht

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Recombinant subunit vaccines are some of the safest and most effective vaccines available, but their high cost and the requirement of advanced medical infrastructure for administration make them impractical for many developing world diseases. Plant-based vaccines have shifted that paradigm by paving the way for recombinant vaccine production at agricultural scale using an edible host. However, enthusiasm for molecular pharming in food crops has waned in the last decade due to difficulty in developing transgenic crop plants and concerns of contaminating the food supply. Microalgae are poised to become the next candidate in recombinant subunit vaccine production, and they present several advantages over terrestrial crop plant-based platforms including scalable and contained growth, rapid transformation, easily obtained stable cell lines, and consistent transgene expression levels. Algae have been shown to accumulate and properly fold several vaccine antigens, and efforts are underway to create recombinant algal fusion proteins that can enhance antigenicity for effective orally-delivered vaccines. These approaches have the potential to revolutionize the way subunit vaccines are made and delivered – from costly parenteral administration of purified protein, to an inexpensive oral algae tablet with effective mucosal and system immune reactivity.

Enhanced defects recombination in ion irradiated SiC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izzo, G.; Litrico, G.; Grassia, F.; Calcagno, L.; Foti, G.

2010-01-01

Point defects induced in SiC by ion irradiation show a recombination at temperatures as low as 320 K and this process is enhanced after running current density ranging from 80 to 120 A/cm 2 . Ion irradiation induces in SiC the formation of different defect levels and low-temperature annealing changes their concentration. Some levels (S 0 , S x and S 2 ) show a recombination and simultaneously a new level (S 1 ) is formed. An enhanced recombination of defects is besides observed after running current in the diode at room temperature. The carriers introduction reduces the S 2 trap concentration, while the remaining levels are not modified. The recombination is negligible up to a current density of 50 A/cm 2 and increases at higher current density. The enhanced recombination of the S 2 trap occurs at 300 K, which otherwise requires a 400 K annealing temperature. The process can be related to the electron-hole recombination at the associated defect.

Solubility and degradation of paracetamol in subcritical water

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Emire Zuhal

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, solubility and degradation of paracetamol were examined using subcritical water. Effect of temperature and static time was investigated during solubility process in subcritical water at constant pressure (50 bar. Experimental results show that temperature and static time have crucial effect on the degradation and solubility rates. Maximum mole fraction for solubility of paracetamol was obtained at 403 K as (14.68 ± 0.74×103. Approximation model for solubility of paracetamol was proposed. O2 and H2O2 were used in degradation process of paracetamol. Maximum degradation rate was found as 68.66 ± 1.05 and 100 ± 0.00 % using O2 and H2O2, respectively.

PROGENITORS OF RECOMBINING SUPERNOVA REMNANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moriya, Takashi J., E-mail: takashi.moriya@ipmu.jp [Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, Todai Institutes for Advanced Study, University of Tokyo, Kashiwanoha 5-1-5, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8583 (Japan)

2012-05-01

Usual supernova remnants have either ionizing plasma or plasma in collisional ionization equilibrium, i.e., the ionization temperature is lower than or equal to the electron temperature. However, the existence of recombining supernova remnants, i.e., supernova remnants with ionization temperature higher than the electron temperature, has been recently confirmed. One suggested way to have recombining plasma in a supernova remnant is to have a dense circumstellar medium at the time of the supernova explosion. If the circumstellar medium is dense enough, collisional ionization equilibrium can be established in the early stage of the evolution of the supernova remnant and subsequent adiabatic cooling, which occurs after the shock wave gets out of the dense circumstellar medium, makes the electron temperature lower than the ionization temperature. We study the circumstellar medium around several supernova progenitors and show which supernova progenitors can have a circumstellar medium dense enough to establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion. We find that the circumstellar medium around red supergiants (especially massive ones) and the circumstellar medium dense enough to make Type IIn supernovae can establish collisional ionization equilibrium soon after the explosion and can evolve to become recombining supernova remnants. Wolf-Rayet stars and white dwarfs have the possibility to be recombining supernova remnants but the fraction is expected to be very small. As the occurrence rate of the explosions of red supergiants is much higher than that of Type IIn supernovae, the major progenitors of recombining supernova remnants are likely to be red supergiants.

Solubility of hydrogen in bio-oil compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qureshi, Muhammad Saad; Touronen, Jouni; Uusi-Kyyny, Petri; Richon, Dominique; Alopaeus, Ville

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Solubility of Hydrogen was measured in bio-oil compounds in the at temperatures from 342 to 473 K and pressures up to 16 MPa. • Phase equilibrium data were acquired using a visualization enabled continuous flow synthetic apparatus. • The measured solubility is modeled with Peng-Robinson EoS. - Abstract: The knowledge of accurate hydrogen solubility values in bio-oil compounds is essential for the design and optimization of hydroprocesses relevant to biofuel industry. This work reports the solubility of hydrogen in three industrially relevant bio-oil compounds (allyl alcohol, furan, and eugenol) at temperatures from 342 to 473 K and pressures up to 16 MPa. Phase equilibrium data were acquired using a continuous flow synthetic method. The method is based on the visual observation of the bubble point using a high resolution camera. The measured solubility is modeled with Peng-Robinson EoS with classical van der Waals one fluid mixing rules.

Investigations into, and development of, a lyophilized and formulated recombinant human factor IX produced from CHO cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Almeida, Aline G; Pinto, Rodrigo C V; Smales, C Mark; Castilho, Leda R

2017-08-01

To develop a recombinant human factor IX (rFIX) formulation equivalent to commercially available products in terms of cake appearance, residual moisture, proportion of soluble aggregates and activity maintenance for 3 months at 4-8 °C. NaCl and low bulking agent/cryoprotectant mass ratio had a negative impact on cake quality upon lyophilisation for a wide range of formulations tested. Particular devised formulations maintained rFIX activity after lyophilization with a similar performance when compared with the rFIX formulated using the excipients reported for a commercially available FIX formulation (Benefix). rFIX remained active after 3 months when stored at 4 °C, though this was not the case with samples stored at 40 °C. Interestingly, particular formulations had an increase in residual moisture after 3 months storage, but not above a 3% threshold. All four formulations tested were equivalent to the Benefix formulation in terms of particle size distribution and cake appearance. Three specific formulations, consisting of surfactant polysorbate-80, sucrose or trehalose as cryoprotectant, mannitol or glycine as bulking agent, L-histidine as buffering agent, and NaCl added in the reconstitution liquid at 0.234% (w/v) were suitable for use with a CHO cell-derived recombinant FIX.

Dissociation of recombinant prion autocatalysis from infectivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Geoffrey P; Supattapone, Surachai

2015-01-01

Within the mammalian prion field, the existence of recombinant prion protein (PrP) conformers with self-replicating (ie. autocatalytic) activity in vitro but little to no infectious activity in vivo challenges a key prediction of the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication--that autocatalytic PrP conformers should be infectious. To understand this dissociation of autocatalysis from infectivity, we recently performed a structural and functional comparison between a highly infectious and non-infectious pair of autocatalytic recombinant PrP conformers derived from the same initial prion strain. (1) We identified restricted, C-terminal structural differences between these 2 conformers and provided evidence that these relatively subtle differences prevent the non-infectious conformer from templating the conversion of native PrP(C) substrates containing a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. (1) In this article we discuss a model, consistent with these findings, in which recombinant PrP, lacking post-translational modifications and associated folding constraints, is capable of adopting a wide variety of autocatalytic conformations. Only a subset of these recombinant conformers can be adopted by post-translationally modified native PrP(C), and this subset represents the recombinant conformers with high specific infectivity. We examine this model's implications for the generation of highly infectious recombinant prions and the protein-only hypothesis of prion replication.

Metformin as a prevention and treatment for preeclampsia: effects on soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion and endothelial dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownfoot, Fiona C; Hastie, Roxanne; Hannan, Natalie J; Cannon, Ping; Tuohey, Laura; Parry, Laura J; Senadheera, Sevvandi; Illanes, Sebastian E; Kaitu'u-Lino, Tu'uhevaha J; Tong, Stephen

2016-03-01

Preeclampsia is associated with placental ischemia/hypoxia and secretion of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin into the maternal circulation. This causes widespread endothelial dysfunction that manifests clinically as hypertension and multisystem organ injury. Recently, small molecule inhibitors of hypoxic inducible factor 1α have been found to reduce soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion. However, their safety profile in pregnancy is unknown. Metformin is safe in pregnancy and is also reported to inhibit hypoxic inducible factor 1α by reducing mitochondrial electron transport chain activity. The purposes of this study were to determine (1) the effects of metformin on placental soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion, (2) to investigate whether the effects of metformin on soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion are regulated through the mitochondrial electron transport chain, and (3) to examine its effects on endothelial dysfunction, maternal blood vessel vasodilation, and angiogenesis. We performed functional (in vitro and ex vivo) experiments using primary human tissues to examine the effects of metformin on soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion from placenta, endothelial cells, and placental villous explants. We used succinate, mitochondrial complex II substrate, to examine whether the effects of metformin on soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin secretion were mediated through the mitochondria. We also isolated mitochondria from preterm preeclamptic placentas and gestationally matched control subjects and measured mitochondrial electron transport chain activity using kinetic spectrophotometric assays. Endothelial cells or whole maternal vessels were incubated with metformin to determine whether it rescued endothelial dysfunction induced by either tumor necrosis factor-α (to endothelial cells) or placenta villous

The solubility of palladium(II) bis-dimethylglyoximate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maghzian, R.

1978-01-01

The solubility of palladium(II) bis-dimethylglyoximate in different solutions has been determined. Values obtained for the solubility of the palladium complex are tabulated. The solubility is the lowest in water, ammonium acetate and a 25% acetone-water mixture. It is highest in dilute HCl and acetone but precipitation from aqueous acetone should be satisfactory for most purposes if the acetone content of the solvent is roughly less than 50% by volume. The solubility in dilute HCl reflects the concern by previous workers for losses in precipitation from mineral acid. In general, however, the losses are unlikely to be significant unless the quantity of palladium to be precipitated and weighed is small. (T.G.)

Solubility and physical properties of sugars in pressurized water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saldaña, Marleny D.A.; Alvarez, Víctor H.; Haldar, Anupam

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Sugar solubility in pressurized water and density at high pressures were measured. ► Glucose solubility was higher than that of lactose as predicted by their σ-profiles. ► Sugar aqueous solubility decreased with an increase in pressure from 15 to 120 bar. ► Aqueous glucose molecular packing shows high sensitivity to pressure. ► The COSMO-SAC model qualitatively predicted the sugar solubility data. - Abstract: In this study, the solubility, density, and refractive index of glucose and lactose in water as a function of temperature were measured. For solubility of sugars in pressurized water, experimental data were obtained at pressures of (15 to 120) bar and temperatures of (373 to 433) K using a dynamic flow high pressure system. Density data for aqueous sugar solutions were obtained at pressures of (1 to 300) bar and temperatures of (298 to 343) K. The refractive index of aqueous sugar solutions was obtained at 293 K and atmospheric pressure. Activity coefficient models, Van Laar and the Conductor-like Screening Model-Segment Activity Coefficient (COSMO-SAC), were used to fit and predict the experimental solubility data, respectively. The results obtained showed that the solubility of both sugars in pressurized water increase with an increase in temperature. However, with the increase of pressure from 15 bar to 120 bar, the solubility of both sugars in pressurized water decreased. The Van Laar model fit the experimental aqueous solubility data with deviations lower than 13 and 53% for glucose and lactose, respectively. The COSMO-SAC model predicted qualitatively the aqueous solubility of these sugars.

Soluble Flt-1 links microvascular disease with heart failure in CKD.

Science.gov (United States)

Di Marco, Giovana S; Kentrup, Dominik; Reuter, Stefan; Mayer, Anna B; Golle, Lina; Tiemann, Klaus; Fobker, Manfred; Engelbertz, Christiane; Breithardt, Günter; Brand, Eva; Reinecke, Holger; Pavenstädt, Hermann; Brand, Marcus

2015-05-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HF). Elevated plasma concentrations of soluble Flt-1 (sFlt-1) have been linked to cardiovascular disease in CKD patients, but whether sFlt-1 contributes to HF in CKD is still unknown. To provide evidence that concludes a pathophysiological role of sFlt-1 in CKD-associated HF, we measured plasma sFlt-1 concentrations in 586 patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease and renal function classified according to estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). sFlt-1 concentrations correlated negatively with eGFR and were associated with signs of heart failure, based on New York Heart Association functional class and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and early mortality. Additionally, rats treated with recombinant sFlt-1 showed a 15 % reduction in LVEF and a 29 % reduction in cardiac output compared with control rats. High sFlt-1 concentrations were associated with a 15 % reduction in heart capillary density (number of vessels/cardiomyocyte) and a 24 % reduction in myocardial blood volume. Electron microscopy and histological analysis revealed mitochondrial damage and interstitial fibrosis in the hearts of sFlt-1-treated, but not control rats. In 5/6-nephrectomised rats, an animal model of CKD, sFlt-1 antagonism with recombinant VEGF121 preserved heart microvasculature and significantly improved heart function. Overall, these findings suggest that a component of cardiovascular risk in CKD patients could be directly attributed to sFlt-1. Assessment of patients with CKD confirmed that sFlt-1 concentrations were inversely correlated with renal function, while studies in rats suggested that sFlt-1 may link microvascular disease with HF in CKD.

Dual Activity of Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin and Water-Soluble Carriers on the Solubility of Carvedilol.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoghbi, Abdelmoumin; Geng, Tianjiao; Wang, Bo

2017-11-01

Carvedilol (CAR) is a non-selective α and β blocker categorized as class II drug with low water solubility. Several recent studies have investigated ways to overcome this problem. The aim of the present study was to combine two of these methods: the inclusion complex using hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) with solid dispersion using two carriers: Poloxamer 188 (PLX) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30 (PVP) to enhance the solubility, bioavailability, and the stability of CAR. Kneading method was used to prepare CAR-HPβCD inclusion complex (KD). The action of different carriers separately and in combination on Carvedilol solubility was investigated in three series. CAR-carrier and KD-carrier solid dispersions were prepared by solvent evaporation method. In vitro dissolution test was conducted in three different media: double-distilled water (DDW), simulative gastric fluid (SGF), and PBS pH 6.8 (PBS). The interactions between CAR, HPβCD, and different carriers were explored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and differential scanning colorimetry (DSC). The results showed higher solubility of CAR in KD-PVP solid dispersions up to 70, 25, and 22 fold compared to pure CAR in DDW, SGF, and PBS, respectively. DSC and XRD analyses indicated an improved degree of transformation of CAR in KD-PVP solid dispersion from crystalline to amorphous state. This study provides a new successful combination of two polymers with the dual action of HPβCD and PLX/PVP on water solubility and bioavailability of CAR.

Effect of Cyclodextrin Complexation on the Aqueous Solubility and Solubility/Dose Ratio of Praziquantel

OpenAIRE

Maragos, Stratos; Archontaki, Helen; Macheras, Panos; Valsami, Georgia

2009-01-01

Praziquantel (PZQ), the primary drug of choice in the treatment of schistosomiasis, is a highly lipophilic drug that possesses high permeability and low aqueous solubility and is, therefore, classified as a Class II drug according to the Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS). In this work, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) were used in order to determine whether increasing the aqueous solubility of a drug by complexation with CDs, a BCS-Class II compound ...

Research on solubility characteristics of gaseous methyl iodide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Yanmin; Sun Zhongning; Gu Haifeng; Wang Junlong

2014-01-01

With the deionized water as the absorbent, the solubility characteristics of the gaseous methyl iodide were studied under different temperature and pressure conditions, using a dynamic measuring method. The results show that within the range of experiment parameters, namely temperature is below 80℃ and pressure is lower than 0.3 MPa, the physical dissolution process of gaseous methyl iodide in water obeys Henry's law. The solubility coefficient under different temperature and pressure conditions was calculated based on the measurement results. Further research indicates that at atmospheric pressure, the solubility coefficient of methyl iodide in water decreases exponentially with the increase of temperature. While the pressure changes from 0.1 MPa to 0.3 MPa with equal interval, the solubility coefficient also increases linearly. The variation of the solubility coefficient with temperature under different pressure conditions all decreases exponentially. An equation is given to calculate the solubility coefficient of methyl iodide under different pressure and temperature conditions. (authors)

Uranium solubility and speciation in ground water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ollila, K.

1985-04-01

The purpose of this study has been to assess the solubility and possible species of uranium in groundwater at the disposal conditions of spent fuel. The effects of radiolysis and bentonite are considered. The assessment is based on the theoretical calculations found in the literature. The Finnish experimental results are included. The conservative estimate for uranium solubility under the oxidizing conditions caused by alpha radiolysis is based on the oxidation of uranium to the U(VI) state and formation of carbonate complex. For the groundwater with the typical carbonate content of 275 mg/l and the high carbonate content of 485 mg/l due to bentonite, the solubility values of 360 mg u/l and 950 mg U/l, are obtained, respectively. The experimental results predict considerably lower values, 0.5-20 mg U/l. The solubility of uranium under the undisturbed reducing conditions may be calculated based on the hydrolysis, carbonate complexation and redox reactions. The results vary considerably depending on the thermodynamic data used. The wide ranges of the most important groundwater parameters are seen in the solubility values. The experimental results show the same trends. As a conservative value for the solubility in reducing groundwater 50-500 μg U/l is estimated. (author)

Industrial case study: evaluation of a mixed-mode resin for selective capture of a human growth factor recombinantly expressed in E. coli.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaleas, Kimberly A; Schmelzer, Charles H; Pizarro, Shelly A

2010-01-08

Mixed-mode chromatography resins are gaining popularity as effective purification tools for challenging feedstocks. This study presents the development of an industrial application to selectively capture recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor (rhVEGF) on Capto MMC from an alkaline feedstock. Capto MMC resin contains a ligand that has the potential to participate in ionic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen boding interactions with proteins and is coupled to a highly cross-linked agarose bead matrix. VEGF is a key growth factor involved in angiogenesis and has therapeutic applications for wound healing. In this process, it is expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies. Solids are harvested from the cell lysate, and the rhVEGF is solubilized and refolded at pH 9.8 in the presence of urea and redox reagents. The unique mixed-mode characteristics of Capto MMC enabled capture of this basic protein with minimal load conditioning and delivered a concentrated pool for downstream processing with >95% yields while reducing host cell protein content to study explores the impact of loading conditions and residence time on the dynamic binding capacity as well as the development of elution conditions for optimal purification performance. After evaluating various elution buffers, l-arginine HCl was shown to be an effective eluting agent for rhVEGF desorption from the Capto MMC mixed-mode resin since it successfully disrupted the multiple interactions between the resin and rhVEGF. The lab scale effort produced a robust chromatography step that was successfully implemented at commercial manufacturing scale. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recombiner

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saalfrank, H.

1985-01-01

Air containing hydrogen can be oxidized by heating in a container called a recombiner, in order to avoid the collection of hydrogen. The container is long and a large number of straight heating bars are arranged in parallel in it and they are flanged to a lid. The heating bars are surrounded by tubes, in order to obtain good heat transfer by a narrow annular gap. (orig.) [de

Anti-proliferative activity of recombinant melittin expressed in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Recombinant melittin was then successfully expressed in Escherichia coli. The activity of affinity-purified recombinant melittin was determined in human leukemic U937 cells. Results show that the recombinant melittin had the same anti-proliferative activity in human leukemic U937 cells in vitro as natural one. This shows the ...

A paclitaxel-loaded recombinant polypeptide nanoparticle outperforms Abraxane in multiple murine cancer models

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharyya, Jayanta; Bellucci, Joseph J.; Weitzhandler, Isaac; McDaniel, Jonathan R.; Spasojevic, Ivan; Li, Xinghai; Lin, Chao-Chieh; Chi, Jen-Tsan Ashley; Chilkoti, Ashutosh

2015-08-01

Packaging clinically relevant hydrophobic drugs into a self-assembled nanoparticle can improve their aqueous solubility, plasma half-life, tumour-specific uptake and therapeutic potential. To this end, here we conjugated paclitaxel (PTX) to recombinant chimeric polypeptides (CPs) that spontaneously self-assemble into ~60 nm near-monodisperse nanoparticles that increased the systemic exposure of PTX by sevenfold compared with free drug and twofold compared with the Food and Drug Administration-approved taxane nanoformulation (Abraxane). The tumour uptake of the CP-PTX nanoparticle was fivefold greater than free drug and twofold greater than Abraxane. In a murine cancer model of human triple-negative breast cancer and prostate cancer, CP-PTX induced near-complete tumour regression after a single dose in both tumour models, whereas at the same dose, no mice treated with Abraxane survived for >80 days (breast) and 60 days (prostate), respectively. These results show that a molecularly engineered nanoparticle with precisely engineered design features outperforms Abraxane, the current gold standard for PTX delivery.

Biologic activities of recombinant human-beta-defensin-4 toward cultured human cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerashchenko, O L; Zhuravel, E V; Skachkova, O V; Khranovska, N N; Filonenko, V V; Pogrebnoy, P V; Soldatkina, M A

2013-06-01

The aim of the study was in vitro analysis of biological activity of recombinant human beta-defensin-4 (rec-hBD-4). hBD-4 cDNA was cloned into pGEX-2T vector, and recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells. To purify soluble fusion GST-hBD-4 protein, affinity chromatography was applied. Rec-hBD-4 was cleaved from the fusion protein with thrombin, and purified by reverse phase chromatography on Sep-Pack C18. Effects of rec-hBD-4 on proliferation, viability, cell cycle distribution, substrate-independent growth, and mobility of cultured human cancer cells of A431, A549, and TPC-1 lines were analyzed by direct cell counting technique, MTT assay, flow cytofluorometry, colony forming assay in semi-soft medium, and wound healing assay. Rec-hBD-4 was expressed in bacterial cells as GST-hBD-4 fusion protein, and purified by routine 3-step procedure (affine chromatography on glutathione-agarose, cleavage of fusion protein by thrombin, and reverse phase chromatography). Analysis of in vitro activity of rec-hBD-4 toward three human cancer cell lines has demonstrated that the defensin is capable to affect cell behaviour in concentration-dependent manner. In 1-100 nM concentrations rec-hBD-4 significantly stimulates cancer cell proliferation and viability, and promotes cell cycle progression through G2/M checkpoint, greatly enhances colony-forming activity and mobility of the cells. Treatment of the cells with 500 nM of rec-hBD-4 resulted in opposite effects: significant suppression of cell proliferation and viability, blockage of cell cycle in G1/S checkpoint, significant inhibition of cell migration and colony forming activity. Recombinant human beta-defensin-4 is biologically active peptide capable to cause oppositely directed effects toward biologic features of cancer cells in vitro dependent on its concentration.

Site directed recombination

Science.gov (United States)

Jurka, Jerzy W.

1997-01-01

Enhanced homologous recombination is obtained by employing a consensus sequence which has been found to be associated with integration of repeat sequences, such as Alu and ID. The consensus sequence or sequence having a single transition mutation determines one site of a double break which allows for high efficiency of integration at the site. By introducing single or double stranded DNA having the consensus sequence flanking region joined to a sequence of interest, one can reproducibly direct integration of the sequence of interest at one or a limited number of sites. In this way, specific sites can be identified and homologous recombination achieved at the site by employing a second flanking sequence associated with a sequence proximal to the 3'-nick.

Recombination and dissociative recombination of H2+ and H3+ ions on surfaces with application to hydrogen negative ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hiskes, J.R.; Karo, A.M.

1988-12-01

A four-step model for recombination and dissociative recombination of H 2 + and H 3 + ions on metal surfaces is discussed. Vibrationally excited molecules, H 2 (v''), from H 3 + recombination are produced in a broad spectrum that enhances the excited level distribution. The application of this latter process to hydrogen negative ion discharges is discussed. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

Recombination rate variation in mice from an isolated island.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Richard J; Gray, Melissa M; Parmenter, Michelle D; Broman, Karl W; Payseur, Bret A

2017-01-01

Recombination rate is a heritable trait that varies among individuals. Despite the major impact of recombination rate on patterns of genetic diversity and the efficacy of selection, natural variation in this phenotype remains poorly characterized. We present a comparison of genetic maps, sampling 1212 meioses, from a unique population of wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) that recently colonized remote Gough Island. Crosses to a mainland reference strain (WSB/EiJ) reveal pervasive variation in recombination rate among Gough Island mice, including subchromosomal intervals spanning up to 28% of the genome. In spite of this high level of polymorphism, the genomewide recombination rate does not significantly vary. In general, we find that recombination rate varies more when measured in smaller genomic intervals. Using the current standard genetic map of the laboratory mouse to polarize intervals with divergent recombination rates, we infer that the majority of evolutionary change occurred in one of the two tested lines of Gough Island mice. Our results confirm that natural populations harbour a high level of recombination rate polymorphism and highlight the disparities in recombination rate evolution across genomic scales. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Live recombinant BHV/BRSV vaccine

OpenAIRE

Keil, G.M.; Rijsewijk, F.A.M.

1998-01-01

The present invention refers to synthetic Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus genes. Also the invention relates to live attenuated Bovine Herpesvirus recombinants carrying such synthetic genes. Furthermore, the invention relates to vaccines based on these live attenuated recombinants, for the protection of cattle against both Bovine herpesvirus infection and against Bovine Respiratory Syncytium virus infection. Also the invention relates to methods for the preparation of such live attenuated r...

Recombinant snake venom prothrombin activators

OpenAIRE

L?vgren, Ann

2012-01-01

Three prothrombin activators; ecarin, which was originally isolated from the venom of the saw-scaled viper Echis carinatus, trocarin from the rough-scaled snake Tropidechis carinatus, and oscutarin from the Taipan snake Oxyuranus scutellatus, were expressed in mammalian cells with the purpose to obtain recombinant prothrombin activators that could be used to convert prothrombin to thrombin. We have previously reported that recombinant ecarin can efficiently generate thrombin without the need ...

Dry season aerosol iron solubility in tropical northern Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. H. L. Winton

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Marine nitrogen fixation is co-limited by the supply of iron (Fe and phosphorus in large regions of the global ocean. The deposition of soluble aerosol Fe can initiate nitrogen fixation and trigger toxic algal blooms in nitrate-poor tropical waters. We present dry season soluble Fe data from the Savannah Fires in the Early Dry Season (SAFIRED campaign in northern Australia that reflects coincident dust and biomass burning sources of soluble aerosol Fe. The mean soluble and total aerosol Fe concentrations were 40 and 500 ng m−3 respectively. Our results show that while biomass burning species may not be a direct source of soluble Fe, biomass burning may substantially enhance the solubility of mineral dust. We observed fractional Fe solubility up to 12 % in mixed aerosols. Thus, Fe in dust may be more soluble in the tropics compared to higher latitudes due to higher concentrations of biomass-burning-derived reactive organic species in the atmosphere. In addition, biomass-burning-derived particles can act as a surface for aerosol Fe to bind during atmospheric transport and subsequently be released to the ocean upon deposition. As the aerosol loading is dominated by biomass burning emissions over the tropical waters in the dry season, additions of biomass-burning-derived soluble Fe could have harmful consequences for initiating nitrogen-fixing toxic algal blooms. Future research is required to quantify biomass-burning-derived particle sources of soluble Fe over tropical waters.

Electronic recombination in some physics problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guzman, O.

1988-01-01

This work is related to calculations of electronic recombination rates, as a function of electronic density, electronic temperature, and ion nuclear charge. Recombination times can be calculated and compared to cooling time, in cooling processes of ion beans by electrons from storage rings. (A.C.A.S.) [pt

A systematic evaluation of solubility enhancing excipients to enable the generation of permeability data for poorly soluble compounds in Caco-2 model.