Maria Adalgisa Nicolai

Fast isoelectric focusing and antipeptide antibodies for detecting bovine casein in adulterated water buffalo milk and derived mozzarella cheese.

Plasmin hydrolysis of water buffalo casein (CN) can liberate a peptide comigrating with bovine gamma(2)-CN. Occurrence of this peptide may lead to false-positive detection of cows milk for a genuine water buffalo cheese when it is analyzed by applying a fast version of the European official method for detecting bovine casein in water buffalo cheese. After isoelectric focusing of CN plasminolysates, performed according to the official method, immunoblot analysis with antipeptide antibodies was assayed to distinguish between gamma(2)-CN and the interfering bovine gamma(2)-CN-like peptide. Small, synthetic peptides containing partial sequences of bovine gamma(2)-CN were used as immunogens for antipeptide antibodies raised in rabbits. The antibody preparation directed toward the synthetic peptide containing the first five amino acid residues of gamma(2)-CN cross-reacted with native and in vitro generated gamma(2)-CN from bovine and water buffalo CN, but it did not recognize the bovine gamma(2)-CN-like band in the electrophoretic profile of pure water buffalo CN.

Lactosylated casein phosphopeptides as specific indicators of heated milks

AbstractCasein phosphopeptides (CPP) were identified in small amounts in milks heated at various intensities by using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry. CPP selectively concentrated on hydroxyapatite (HA) were regenerated using phosphoric acid mixed in the matrix. Unphosphorylated peptides not retained by HA were removed by buffer washing. This procedure enhanced the MALDI signals of CPP that are ordinarily suppressed by the co-occurrence of unphosphorylated peptides. CPP, belonging to the β-casein (CN) family, i.e., (f1-29) 4P, (f1-28) 4P, and (f1-27) 4P, and the αs2-CN family, i.e., (f1-21) 4P and (f1-24) 4P, were observed in liquid and powder milk. The lactosylated counterparts were specific to intensely heated milks, but absent in raw and thermized/pasteurized milk. Most CPP with C-terminal lysines probably arose from the activity of plasmin; an enzyme most active in casein hydrolysis. A CPP analogue was used as the internal standard. The raw milk signature peptide β-CN (f1-28) 4P constituted ~4.3% of the total β-CN. Small amounts of lactosylated peptides, which varied with heat treatment intensity, were detected in the milk samples. The limit of detection of ultra-high-temperature milk adjunction in raw or pasteurized milk was ~10%. FigureSchematic representation of the procedure for phosphoprotein/phosphopeptide enrichment using hydroxyapatite (HA). Native and lactosylated casein phosphopeptides are captured by HA, while non-phosphorylated peptide was washed out by the loading buffer. Signature peptides of UHT milk are detected through direct analysis by MALDI-TOF

Structural Characterization of Transglutaminase-Catalyzed Casein Cross-Linking

Microbial transglutaminase is used in the food industry to improve texture by catalyzing protein cross-linking. Casein is a well-known transglutaminase substrate, but the complete role of glutamine (Q) and lysine (K) residues in its cross-linking is not fully understood. In this study, we describe the characterization of microbial Transglutaminase -modified casein using a combination of immunological and proteomic techniques. Using 5-(biotinamido)pentylamine as an acyl acceptor probe, three Q residues of β-casein and one of αs1-casein were found to participate as acyl donors. However, no Q-residues were involved in network formation with κ-casein or αs2-casein. Q and K residues in the e-(γ-glutamyl)lysine-isopeptide bonds β-casein were identified by nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry of the proteolytic digests. This work reports our progress toward a better understanding of the function and mechanism of action of microbial transglutaminase-mediated proteins. The results suggest a possible role for transglutaminase in the formation of casein micelles.

Occurrence of major whey proteins in the pH 4.6 insoluble protein fraction from UHT-treated milk.

A clear picture of the protein rearrangement in milk following UHT-treatment was drawn by a comparative analysis of the pH 4.6 soluble protein fraction (SPF) and the pH 4.6 insoluble protein fraction (IPF) recovered from raw and UHT-treated milk samples. The two protein fractions were analyzed by mono- or bidimensional gel electrophoresis under reducing and nonreducing conditions, and protein bands were identified by specific immunostaining. Results showed that bovine serum albumin, β-lactoglobulin, and, to a lesser extent, α-lactalbumin coprecipitated with caseins in UHT-treated milk samples at pH 4.6. These proteins were almost exclusively involved in high molecular weight aggregates held together by disulfide bonds. Partition of α-lactalbumin and bovine serum albumin in the protein fractions obtained upon acidification of milk at pH 4.6 was evaluated by competitive immunoassays. The ELISA-based results suggested the possibility of using pH 4.6 insoluble α-lactalbumin and bovine serum albumin, in addition to pH 4.6 insoluble β-lactoglobulin, as indicators of the intensity of the heat treatment applied to milk.

Eventual limits of the current EU official method for evaluating milk adulteration of water buffalo dairy products and potential proteomic solutions

The European reference method (ERM) recognises the fraudulent addition of bovine (B) milk in water buffalo (WB) milk/dairy products based on concomitant isoelectric focusing (IEF) detection of B γ2- and γ3-CN fragments after corresponding plasminolysis. We here used proteomics to characterise false positive results occurring in the ERM as being due to WB β-CN(f100-209), which is also formed after plasminolysis of genuine WB milk/dairy products and comigrates in IEF with B γ2-CN. These ERM limitations were overcome by a dedicated proteomic procedure based on loading of B/WB milk/cheese CN extracts on a hydroxyapatite column, in situ trypsinolysis and elution of B β-CN(f1-25)4P and WB β-CN(f1-28)4P proteotypic peptides. Based on their similar ionisation properties and resolution in MALDI-TOF-MS, these phosphopeptides were identified as suitable markers for detection of B material in WB milk/dairy products to a detection limit of 0.8% v/v. This proteomic procedure is here proposed as integrative/alternative to the ERM.

A non-canonical phosphorylation site in β-casein A from non-Mediterranean water buffalo makes quantifiable the adulteration of Italian milk with foreign material by combined isoelectrofocusing-immunoblotting procedures

The need of controlling illegal addition of water buffalo (WB) milk from foreign countries to the Italian counterpart devoted to the production of Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) Mozzarella di Bufala Campana (MBC) cheese has promoted the development of simple, fast and cheap isoelectrofocusing (IEF) methods for evaluating the nature of the raw material to be used according to a high-throughput sample multiplexing format, avoiding the use of dedicated mass spectrometry-based procedures. Thus, combined proteomic methods were here integrated with optimized western blotting protocols in solving the complex IEF pattern of casein (CN) mixtures observed when Italian and foreign WB milk are mixed together. Identification of internally deleted αs1-CN hepta-phosphorylated species as well as of still unknown β-CN A hexa-phosphorylated and N-terminally-nicked β-CN A phosphorylated forms present uniquely in foreign WB milk samples, allowed recognizing these molecules as adulteration markers to be assayed in combined IEF-immunoblotting procedures; the latter ones showing optimal migration characteristics to be used in routine assays. A linear relationship between detected area of specific immunorecognized gel bands and percentage of international WB milk added to the Italian counterpart was verified, demonstrating that this method has an adulteration detection limit close to 3% v/v. Based on these results, this analytical procedure is here proposed as optimal one for evaluating the authenticity of PDO MBC cheese products.

Production, digestibility and allergenicity of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) protein isolates

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), traditionally cultivated for industrial use and harvested for fibers and seeds, has raised much interest as a sustainable crop in the last years. Recently, hemp seeds and derived oil have started to be used in a variety of food products. Hemp-based food products are considered less allergenic than those from other edible seeds, although this statement has never been experimentally verified. In this study high purity grade hemp flour (HF) and hemp protein isolate (HPI) were obtained through a fast and cheap process starting from defatted hemp cakes, a residue of hempseed oil extraction. HPI resulted enriched at nearly 86% protein, mainly constituted by the storage protein edestin (accounting for 70% total protein). In vitro protein digestibility was determined using a static model of gastrointestinal digestion (GID), which included a final step with purified brush border membrane (BBM) enzyme preparations. HF and HPI showed a high degree of digestibility. The survival of potential bioactive and/or allergenic peptide sequences in digests was investigated by peptidomic analysis. Only a limited number of sequences survived GID. Among them, fragments from 12 seed proteins. These fragments were precursors of sequences with potential bioactive peptides, which might justify the bioactivity of HPI hydrolysates, reported in previous studies. More importantly, all known hemp allergens, including the major thaumatin-like protein and LTP, were entirely eliminated by the HPI production process, neither fragments of the proteins were present after GID. These data support the use of HPI as an ingredient for hypoallergenic foods.

The occurrence of genetic polymorphism and related non‐allelic proteins increases the compositional complexity of goat α(s1)‐CN

A genetic survey on three autochthonous goat breeds reared in Italy was carried out by a proteomic approach. This methodology, further to providing the phenotypic frequency of identified αs1 genetic variants, allowed to determine (i) the additional constitutive presence of a non‐allelic ‘αs1‐casein (CN) F like’ protein in goat ‘strong’ αs1 variants; (ii) an αs1‐CN B2 like protein, expressed at very low quantitative level, in goat ‘weak’ αs1‐CN variants, and, as main focus; (iii) the occurrence of a new αs1‐CN D1 variant characterised by the lack of αs1 (f59‐69) sequence otherwise encoded by exon 9 in goat αs1 B2 reference. The same exon skipping event had been identified since 1990, as responsible of the ‘weak quantitative class’ of αs1‐CN D variant (0.6 g/L), while the new αs1‐CN D1, has been ‘quantitatively’ classified as an ‘intermediate’ variant, since 1.8 g/L per allele was assessed in the milk.