Jinhui Cui

Application of nanoLC–MS/MS to the shotgun proteomic analysis of the nematocyst proteins from jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris

The nematocyst proteins of jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris, a complicated mixture, contain many important bioactive molecules. In present study, to gain comprehensive insight into the protein component and search some novel bioactive molecules in the nematocyst proteins, shotgun proteomic analysis of the nematocyst proteins was carried out by nano liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nanoLC-MS/MS) for the first time. Digested peptides of the nematocyst proteins were analyzed by nanoLC-MS/MS and all MS/MS spectra were then automatically searched by the SEQUEST program. A total of 181 proteins had been identified, with the molecular weight ranging from 5268.06 to 843,487.57 and the pI from 4.49 to 11.39. Bioinformatic analysis was also applied to better understand the identified proteins. In the gene ontology (GO) annotation, all the identified proteins were classified into 13, 9 and 7 groups according to biological process, cellular component and molecular function, respectively. Pathways analysis of the identified proteins was conducted with 33 corresponding pathways found. On the basis of pathways analysis, we also constructed the gene network to analyze the relationship of those genes each other, which contained enzyme-enzyme relation, protein-protein interaction and gene expression interaction.

Isolation and in vitro partial characterization of hemolytic proteins from the nematocyst venom of the jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris

Jellyfish venom contains various toxins and can cause itching, edema, muscle aches, shortness of breath, blood pressure depression, shock or even death after being stung. Hemolytic protein is one of the most hazardous components in the venom. The present study investigated the hemolytic activity of the nematocyst venom from jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris. Anion exchange chromatography, DEAE Sepharose Fast Flow, and gel filtration chromatography, Superdex200 had been employed to isolate hemolytic proteins from the nematocyst venom of jellyfish S. meleagris. Hemolysis of chicken red blood cells was used to quantify hemolytic potency of crude nematocyst venom and chromatography fractions during the purification process. Native-PAGE profile displayed one protein band in the purified hemolytic protein (SmTX); however, two protein bands with apparent molecular weights of ≈ 45 kDa and 52 kDa were observed in the reducing SDS-PAGE analysis. Approximately 70 μg/mL of SmTX caused 50% hemolysis (HU50) of the erythrocyte suspension. The hemolytic activity of SmTX was shown to be temperature and pH dependent, with the optimum temperature and pH being 37°C and pH 5.0. The present study is the first report of isolation and partial characterization of hemolytic proteins from the nematocyst venom of the jellyfish S. meleagris. The mechanism of the hemolytic activity of SmTX is not clear and deserves further investigation.

Isolation, identification and characterization of a novel antioxidant protein from the nematocyst of the jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can damage the lipids, proteins and DNA when produced excessively in cells. Here, we describe the isolation and identification of a novel antioxidant protein named SmP90 from the nematocyst of jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris by 50% ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration chromatography, superdex75. HPLC and SDS-PAGE analysis revealed >95% purity of SmP90 with apparent molecular weight of 90 kDa, approximately. The identification of SmP90 was confirmed by both N-terminal amino acids sequencing, with the sequences of NLDTPYCFYSGDYGG, and peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) analysis by MALDI-TOF-MS. However, no known protein had been completely matched in the database, which indicated that SmP90 might be a novel protein. The antioxidant assay result showed that it had strong superoxide anion radical-scavenging activity with the half-scavenging concentration (EC(50)) of about 16 μg/mL. Therefore, the present study is the first time to demonstrate a high efficient method of isolating a novel antioxidant protein from the nematocyst of jellyfish S. meleagris.