P. A. Levashov

Quantitative Turbidimetric Assay of Enzymatic Gram-Negative Bacteria Lysis

In this Technical Note, the quantitative turbidimetric assay for determination of the bacteriolytic activity of enzymes with gram-negative bacteria is proposed. The reactivity of hen white-egg lysozyme toward gram-negative E. coli intact cells was studied. It was found that the highest lysis rate occurred at pH 8.9 in the system containing 0.03 M NaCl. The mechanism of the reaction is discussed and applied for the quantitative evaluation of the reaction rate. The proposed method enables fast, reliable, and reproducible analysis of bacteriolytic activity of lysozyme with gram-negative bacteria.

A ROBUST METHOD OF DETERMINATION OF HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF PEPTIDES AND PROTEINS

In this paper, we pioneer application of a unique method of protein determination by coloring peptide bonds for analysis of a variety of biomolecules with different grades of purity (e.g., oligopeptides, membrane, and glycol proteins). We demonstrated that the calibration curve for all studied molecules is universal and linear within 0.1 to 1.2mg protein content range. The assay thus can be used to analyze peptides without preliminary dilutions and calibration in up to 1g/ml solutions of peptides, which is crucial for many biotechnological processes, such as development of coatings, scaffolds, and biocompatible materials.

Thermal unfolding of phosphorylating d-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase studied by differential scanning calorimetry

Thermal unfolding parameters were determined for a two-domain tetrameric enzyme, phosphorylating D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and for its isolated NAD(+)-binding domain. At pH 8.0, the transition temperatures (t(max)) for the apoforms of the native Bacillus stearothermophilus GAPDH and the isolated domain were 78.3 degrees C and 61.9 degrees C, with calorimetric enthalpies (DeltaH(cal)) of 4415 and 437 kJ/mol (or 30.7 and 22.1 J/g), respectively. In the presence of nearly saturating NAD(+) concentrations, the t(max) and the DeltaH(cal) increased by 13.6 degrees C and by 2365 kJ/mol, respectively, for the native apoenzyme, and by 2.8 degrees C and 109 kJ/mol for the isolated domain. These results indicate that interdomain interactions are essential for NAD(+) to produce its stabilizing effect on the structure of the native enzyme. The thermal stability of the isolated NAD(+)-binding domain increased considerably upon transition from pH 6.0 to 8.0. By contrast, native GAPDH exhibited greater stability at pH 6.0; similar pH-dependencies of thermal stability were displayed by GAPDHs isolated from rabbit muscle and Escherichia coli. The binding of NAD(+) to rabbit muscle apoenzyme increased t(max) and DeltaH(cal) and diminished the widths of the DSC curves; the effect was found to grow progressively with increasing coenzyme concentrations. Alkylation of the essential Cys149 with iodoacetamide destabilized the apoenzyme and altered the effect of NAD(+). Replacement of Cys149 by Ser or by Ala in the B. stearothermophilus GAPDH produced some stabilization, the effect of added NAD(+) being basically similar to that observed with the wild-type enzyme. These data indicate that neither the ion pairing between Cys149 and His176 nor the charge transfer interaction between Cys149 and NAD(+) make any significant contribution to the stabilization of the enzymes native tertiary structure and the accomplishment of NAD(+)-induced conformational changes. The H176N mutant exhibited dramatically lower heat stability, as reflected in the values of both DeltaH(cal) and t(max). Interestingly, NAD(+) binding resulted in much wider heat capacity curves, suggesting diminished cooperativity of the unfolding transition.

Lysis of Escherichia coli cells by lysozyme: discrimination between adsorption and enzyme action.

The key factors of enzymatic lysis of cells are the interaction between the enzyme and the cell - catalytic and non-catalytic adsorption of enzyme on cell surface. Here, the studies of lysis of intact Escherichia coli cells by chicken egg white lysozyme were performed. It was found that the ionic strength has a dual effect onto the system. On the one hand, the desorption constant of the enzyme increases with the increase of the solution ionic strength, which results in a better enzyme performance. On the other hand, due to the higher osmosis, the cell lysis rate decreases with the increasing of ionic strength of the system. It was found that pH 8.6 and 30 mM NaCl are optimal conditions for lysis of E. coli cells by lysozyme.

CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE MONOMERS OF E. COLI GLYCERALDEHYDE-3-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE

Monomeric forms of E. coli glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase have been prepared using two different experimental approaches: (1) covalent immobilization of a tetramer on a solid support via a single subunit with subsequent dissociation of non-covalently bound subunits in the presence of urea, and (2) entrapment of monomeric species into reversed micelles of Aerosol OT in octane. Isolated monomers were shown to be catalytically active, exhibiting KM values close to the parameters characteristic of the tetrameric forms. Like tetramers, isolated monomers did not use NADP7 as a coenzyme.

D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Properties of the enzyme modified at arginine residues.

Examination of the properties ofEscherichia coli and rabbit muscle D-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenases (GPDHs) modified by 2,3-butanedione has shown that both tetrameric enzymes are stabilized, on selective modification of arginine residues (probably Arg 231), in an asymmetric state with only two active centers capable of performing the dehydrogenase reaction. The functionally incompetent active centers can be alkylated by iodoacetate or iodoacetamide in the case ofE. coli enzyme, but are inaccessible for these reagents in the case of rabbit muscle D-GPDH. These results are consistent with the idea that the two homologous enzymes share common principles of the protein design, but differ somewhat in their active centers geometries. Modification of the arginine produces marked changes in the shape of the charge transfer complex spectrum in the region of 300–370 nm, suggestive of the alterations in the microenvironment of the nicotinamide ring of NAD+, although the coenzyme binding characteristics remain largely unaltered. On arginine modification, the enzyme becomes insensitive to the effect of AMP on the kinetic parameters of p-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis reaction.

Affinity sorbent based on tryptophyl-threonyl-tyrosine for binding of the immunoglobulins G: Sorption characteristics and aspects of practical application

Chromatographic material based on tryptophil-threonyl-tyrosine and efficiently binding human, sheep, goat, and bovine immunoglobulin G was obtained. High selectivity of the sorbent for extraction of immunoglobulins from blood plasma has been demonstrated. Effective sorption capacity is 15–25 mg of immunoglobulin G per 1 ml of the matrix. Optimization of the method of triptophyl-threonyl-tyrosine covalent binding to the polysaccharide matrix allowed the achievement of high sorbent stability in conditions of use and storage. This sorbent may be used in medicine and biotechnology.

Bacteriolytic activity of human interleukin-2

In this paper we report the discovery of bacteriolytic activity of an immune system cytokine mediator, interleukin-2. Bacteriolytic activity of interleukin-2 was compared with a well-known bacteriolytic enzyme — chicken egg white lysozyme — by monitoring the lysis of the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, the Gram-positive coccus Micrococcusluteus, and the Gram-positive spore-forming bacillus Bacillus subtilis. It was found that interleukin-2 has greater specificity to the Gram-negative bacterium E. coli than does lysozyme. In contrast to chicken egg white lysozyme, interleukin-2 does not lyse the Gram-positive coccus M. luteus and the Gram-positive spore-forming bacillus B. subtilis. These results give a new understanding of the biological functions of interleukin-2, a regulatory protein that plays a role in oncological and infectious diseases.

Preparation of affinity sorbents with immobilized synthetic ligands for therapeutic apheresis

The practical aspects of preparation and stability of medical sorbents are considered. A simple and convenient technique has been developed for synthesis of highly effective biospecific autoclavable sorbents based on the polysassharide matrix; synthetic ligands (amino acid, oligopeptide, or oligosaccharide) containing primary amino group were immobilized to the matrix via a spacer. The developed approach may be used for preparation of various affinity sorbents suitable for application in medicine and biotechnology.

Synthesis and properties of a new conformational antigen which models an extracellular region of β1-adrenoreceptor

Two fragments corresponding to the 125–133 and 206–218 sequences of a molecule of the β1-adrenoreceptor (autoantibodies to this protein are often found in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy) were synthesized by the solid phase method with the use of Fmoc technology. Two new conformational antigens were prepared by directed (regioselective) and undirected (spontaneous) formation of intramolecular and intermolecular disulfide bridges between the corresponding cysteine residues of the synthesized peptides. One of these antigens consisted of a mixture of disulfide isomers, and another antigen was an isomer with a natural arrangement of S-S bridges. Immunosorbents were obtained by immobilization of the synthesizes antigens on the bromocyanogen-activated sepharose and applied to the removal of autoantibodies in a β1-adrenoreceptor from the blood plasma of patients. We demonstrated that the sorbents on the basis of the conformational antigens were more effective in comparison with those containing linear peptide precursors.