Efficient production of human zona pellucida-3 in a prokaryotic expression system

The zona pellucida-3 (ZP3) protein plays a pivotal role in oocyte and gamete development. We aimed to produce a recombinant ZP3 peptide using the Escherichia coli secretory system and apply it to a protein chip for detecting anti-ZP3 antibodies. The ZP3 gene was cloned into the pHOA downstream of the phoA promoter and transformed into E. coli YK537. Recombinant ZP3 was secretory expressed by decreasing the inorganic phosphate concentration. Then, rZP3 was purified and coated onto a protein chip, which was used to detect AZP3A in serum samples from 63 infertile patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.934. The results, in terms of AZP3A detection, of the rZP3-coated protein chip were consistent with those of the ELISA kit. Therefore, our protein chip assay has potential for diagnosis of infertility due to AZP3A, and represents a less costly and simpler assay for clinical and research applications.     

纯化探针降低基因芯片杂交结果的背景

研究探针的纯化对基因芯片杂交结果的影响。将乙醇沉淀的探针和用DNA纯化试剂盒纯化的探针分别与基因芯片交,在同等条件下进行杂交后清洗和芯片扫描检测。结果表明,纯化的探针与基因芯片杂交结果的背景低,而未纯化的探针背景强,阳性信号界限比较模糊。运用基因芯片进行基因表达谱研究,要求杂交检测的结果必须低背景。探针的纯化是影响芯片杂交结果的一个重要因素。     

Optimization of DNA-directed immobilization on mixed oligo(ethylene glycol) monolayers for immunodetection

The development of protein chips has suffered from problems regarding long-term protein stability and activity. We present a protein sensor surface for immunodetection that is prepared by a DNA-directed protein immobilization method on a mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM). By this approach, an immobilized single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) surface can be transferred/modified into a protein chip by flowing in ssDNA-conjugated protein when the protein chip measurement is needed. Therefore, the long-term stability of the protein chip will not be a problem for various applications. We tried various compositions for the SAM layer, the length of the ssDNA spacer, the end-point nucleotide composition, and the processes of ssDNA immobilization of the SAM for an optimized condition for shifting the DNA chip to a protein chip. The evaluations were made by using surface plasmon resonance. Our results indicated that a 50:1 ratio of oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG)/COOH-terminated OEG and DNA sequences with 20mer are the best conditions found here for making a protein chip via a DNA-directed immobilization (DDI) method. The designed end-point nucleotide composition contains a few guanines or cytosines, and ssDNA immobilization of the SAM by dehybridizing immobilized double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) can improve the hybridization efficiency.     

A novel method of identifying genetic mutations using an electrochemical DNA array

We describe the development of a new type of DNA array chip that utilizes electrochemical reactions and a novel method of simultaneously identifying multiple genetic mutations on an array chip. The electrochemical array (ECA) uses a threading intercalator specific to double-stranded nucleotides, ferrocenylnaphthalene diimide (FND), as the indicator. ECA does not require target labeling, and the equipment is simple, durable and less expensive. The simultaneous multiple mutation detection (SMMD) system using an ECA chip and FND utilizes an enzyme to simultaneously distinguish several genetic mutations such as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), insertion, deletion, translocation and short tandem repeat. We examined this SMMD system using an ECA chip, by detecting seven different mutations on the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene for 50 patients in a blind test. It turned out that all the results obtained were concordant with the sequencing results, demonstrating that this system is a powerful tool for clinical applications.     

Biochemical reactions on a microfluidic chip based on a precise fluidic handling method at the nanoliter scale

A passive microfluidic delivery system using hydrophobic valving and pneumatic control was devised for microfluidic handling on a chip. The microfluidic metering, cutting, transport, and merging of two liquids on the chip were correctly performed. The error range of the accuracy of microfluid metering was below 4% on a 20 nL scale, which showed that microfluid was easily manipulated with the desired volume on a chip. For a study of the feasibility of biochemical reactions on the chip, a single enzymatic reaction, such as a β-galactosidase reaction was performed. The detection limit of the substrate,i.e. fluorescein di-β-galactopyranoside (FDG) of the β-galactosidase (6.7 fM), was about 76 pM. Additionally, multiple biochemical reactions such asin vitro protein synthesis of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) were successfully demonstrated at the nanoliter scale, which suggests that our microfluidic chip can be applied not only to miniaturization of various biochemical reactions, but also to development of the microfluidic biochemical reaction system requiring a precise nano-scale control.     

Antibody-based surface plasmon resonance detection of intact viral pathogen

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique was used to directly detect an intact form of insect pathogen: the baculovirus, Autographa californica multiple nuclear polyhedrosis virus (AcMNPV). An SPR sensor chip with three bio-functional layers was used to detect the intact AcMNPV: amine-reactive crosslinker with a disulfide bond that chemisorbs to gold film, Protein A, and a mouse IgG monoclonal antibody raised against a surface protein of the target viral pathogen. A two-channel (reference & test) micro-fluidic SPR system is used for reliable measurement. Bio-specific response to the AcMNPV is compared with the response for tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as control. Successive exposure of the sensor chip to both viruses verifies a specific response to AcMNPV. This serves as a prerequisite to the development of a new type of viral pathogen detection sensors.     

Production of recombinant gG-1 protein of herpes simplex virus type 1 in a prokaryotic system in order to develop a type-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit

The herpes simplex viruses are important causes of disease worldwide. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is the primary cause of oral-facial and pharyngeal infections and may cause herpetic whitlow, eye infections as well as severe and sometimes dangerous infections of the eyes and brain. HSV-1 also accounts for 10-15% of all genital herpetic infections. Therefore, laboratory diagnosis of this virus and development of diagnostic serological techniques for HSV-1 is of particular importance. In the present study, pTrc His2A-gG1 plasmid, containing the full-length glycoprotein G (gG) protein, was produced in a prokaryotic system for the first time. Upon confirmation of a 37-kDa gG-1 protein production in a prokaryotic system based on western blotting and monoclonal antibodies, the protein was produced at a large scale and purified by ion-exchange chromatography using DEAE-sepharose. An HSV-1 type-specific diagnostic kit was designed and developed and the specificity and sensitivity of this kit were demonstrated to be 89.5% and 100%, respectively, as compared with a commercially available kit. A significant correlation was shown between the developed kit and the commercial kit.     

Synthetic peptide vaccine development: measurement of polyclonal antibody affinity and cross-reactivity using a new peptide capture and release system for surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy

A method has been developed for measurement of antibody affinity and cross-reactivity by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy using the EK-coil heterodimeric coiled-coil peptide capture system. This system allows for reversible capture of synthetic peptide ligands on a biosensor chip surface, with the advantage that multiple antibody-antigen interactions can be analyzed using a single biosensor chip. This method has proven useful in the development of a synthetic peptide anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) vaccine. Synthetic peptide ligands corresponding to the receptor binding domains of pilin from four strains of PA were conjugated to the E-coil strand of the heterodimeric coiled-coil domain and individually captured on the biosensor chip through dimerization with the immobilized K-coil strand. Polyclonal rabbit IgG raised against pilin epitopes was injected over the sensor chip surface for kinetic analysis of the antigen-antibody interaction. The kinetic rate constants, k(on) and k(off), and equilibrium association and dissociation constants, KA and KD, were calculated. Antibody affinities ranged from 1.14 x 10(-9) to 1.60 x 10(-5) M. The results suggest that the carrier protein and adjuvant used during immunization make a dramatic difference in antibody affinity and cross-reactivity. Antibodies raised against the PA strain K pilin epitope conjugated to keyhole limpet haemocyanin using Freund's adjuvant system were more broadly cross-reactive than antibodies raised against the same epitope conjugated to tetanus toxoid using Adjuvax adjuvant. The method described here is useful for detailed characterization of the interaction of polyclonal antibodies with a panel of synthetic peptide ligands with the objective of obtaining high affinity and cross-reactive antibodies in vaccine development.     

High-throughput screening of novel peptide inhibitors of an integrin receptor from the hexapeptide library by using a protein microarray chip

Protein microarray is an emerging technology that makes high-throughput analysis possible for protein-protein interactions and analysis of proteome and biomarkers in parallel. The authors investigated the application of a novel protein microarray chip, ProteoChip, in new drug discovery. Integrin alpha(v)beta(3) microarray immobilized on the ProteoChip was employed to screen new active peptides against the integrin from multiple hexapeptide sublibraries of a positional scanning synthetic peptide combinatorial library (PS-SPCL). The integrin alpha(v)beta(3)-vitronectin interaction was successfully demonstrated on the integrin microarray in a dose-dependent manner and was inhibited not only by the synthetic RGD peptide but also by various integrin antagonists on the integrin microarray chip. Novel peptide ligands with high affinity to the integrin were also identified from the peptide libraries with this chip-based screening system by a competitive inhibition assay in a simultaneous and high-throughput fashion. The authors have confirmed antiangiogenic functions of the novel peptides thus screened through an in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis assay. These results provide evidence that the ProteoChip is a promising tool for high-throughput screening of lead molecules in new drug development.     

Application of complement 1q for the site-selective recognition of immune complex in protein chip

Complement 1q (C1q) was applied for the specific recognition of antibody-antigen complex in antibody-based protein chip. The specific binding of C1q to antibody-antigen complex was investigated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with respect to Yersinia entericolitica, Salmonella typimurium, insulin, and bovine serum albumin. The protein chip was fabricated with two different kinds of antibodies a zigzag configuration. When one of antigens and fluorescein-isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled C1q was applied on the protein chip, the specific binding event of C1q to immune complexes formed on protein chip was observed by fluorescence microscopy. These results implicate that the C1q can be used as an alternative to many antibodies that may be utilized individually on each spot of the protein chip.     

A Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) DNA chip for the diagnosis of genitourinary infections

The results of an investigation aimed at the development of a DNA chip for the detection of genitourinary infections are described. Through analysis of over 35,000 clinical cases, 14 pathogens which are most abundantly found among Koreans were selected and candidate sequences for capture probes were accordingly chosen by considering their sequences and β-globin house-keeping gene. Among this group, the most suitable capture probe sequences were selected by employing repeated chip tests in which they are immobilized on a glass chip by using a recently developed novel gold nanoparticles-based method. A multiplex PCR method was established to generate fluorescence-labeled sequences for all 14 pathogens along with the β-globin gene. By using optimized hybridization conditions, the final chip was constructed and employed to diagnose reliably both single and multiple infections in clinical human samples for 14 target pathogens. The results show that the novel chip methodology serves as a highly reliable and convenient tool for the diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs). Furthermore, this study has its great significance in that it demonstrates the entire process from statistical analysis of a large number of clinical cases to the final development of STD DNA chip just ready to be applied or commercialized in the clinical diagnostic field.     

结核耐药基因的基因芯片检测及临床应用

目的:采用基因芯片技术对结核分枝杆菌中常见耐药基因rpoB、katG及inhA进行检测,以了解结核分枝杆菌的耐药情况,及基因芯片技术检测结核菌耐药基因的临床应用价值。方法:收集40例涂片抗酸染色阳性并经分枝杆菌菌种鉴定芯片鉴定为结核的样本进行结核耐药基因检测。结果:40例样本中,14例无法判读结果,占35%,检出26例,检出率为65%。其中,无突变的野生型21例,占52.5%;突变型5例,总突变率为12.5%;3例rpoB基因的531点单独突变(TCG→TTG),突变率为7.5%;2例katG基因的315点单独突变(AGC→ACC),突变率为5%。结论:结核耐药基因芯片试剂盒检测结核菌耐药基因时针对单个菌落,用痰样本直接检测耐药基因虽能简便快速地了解结核分枝杆菌的耐药情况,但会出现一些无法判读的结果,原因须进一步探讨。     

Secretory expression of a novel human spermatozoa antigen in <Emphasis Type="Italic">E</Emphasis>. <Emphasis Type="Italic">coli</Emphasis> and its application to a protein chip

Objective

To produce a recombinant spermatozoa antigen peptide using the E. coli: PhoA system on a protein chip for screening anti-sperm antibodies (ASA).

Results

The purity of the recombinant spermatozoa antigen exceeded 95% after two-step purification, as assessed using SDS-PAGE and HPLC. The diagnostic performance of a protein chip coated with the recombinant antigen peptide was evaluated by examining ASA in 51 infertile patients in comparison with a commercial ELISA kit. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0.944, which indicated that the protein chip coated with recombinant spermatozoa antigen peptide was consistent with ELISA for ASA detection.

Conclusion

A recombinant spermatozoa antigen was expressed in the E. coli PhoA secretory expression system and its potential application for clinical ASA detection was validated.

     

Screening protein refolding using surface plasmon resonance

Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) measurements were used to screen refolding conditions to identify a physicochemical environment which gives an acceptable refolding yield for samples of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) denatured in 6 M guanidine hydrochloride and 32 mM dithiothreitol. The SPR measurements were performed on carboxymethylcellulose coated chips that could accommodate two separate flow paths. One side of the chip was derivatized with immobilized glutathione and the other with goat anti-GST antibody. This created a dual-derivatized chip capable of showing both the presence of GST and providing a measure of enzyme activity. The dual-derivatized chip could be regenerated using a two-step washing procedure and reused to analyze multiple samples from a screening study of protein refolding conditions. SPR measurements have been shown to be suitable for screening protein refolding conditions due to the high sensitivity, ease of chip regeneration and the ability to incorporate a control in the experimental design. The combination of such advantages with the high-throughput automated SPR systems currently available may be a valuable approach to determine conditions suitable for protein refolding following insoluble expression in a bacterial host.     

A serological screening assay of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 antibodies based on recombinant protein p24-gp41 as a fusion protein expressed in Escherichia coli

The objective of this study was expression of a recombinant fusion protein p24-gp41 to gain a proper folding pattern of the proteins which could be recognized by specific antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) for development of a reliable serodiagnostic kit. Serodiagnostic method using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with the expressed recombinant fusion protein p24-gp41 was carried out to test the sensitivity and specificity of the protein using human sera and various reference panels from Boston Biomedica Inc. (BBI). The level of the expression was determined to be 30% and the final recovery from fermentation and purification process was calculated as 80 mg/L with more than 98% purity. The developed ELISA assay was demonstrated to have 100 and 99.5% sensitivity and specificity, respectively, detecting anti-HIV-1 antibody using 900 positive and 10,000 negative human sera. The developed assay showed reliable results in comparison with other reference HIV ELISA kits using various BBI panels as well. In conclusion, the recombinant fusion protein p24-gp41 was expressed and used to develop a serodiagnostic kit for screening of the HIV-1 with high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (99.5%) which could be useful for screening large groups of blood donors.     

Serologic diagnostics of Legionella infection

Technical approaches to construction of preparations for serologic diagnostics of Legionella infection were presented in the article; antigenic- and immunoglobulin-based diagnostic kits with known characteristics were developed. Immunogenic properties of protein and lypopolysaccharide antigens, which have diagnostic value, were studied; similarity of protein antigens from 7 serogroups of L. pneumophila was demonstrated. Soluble antigen with known composition was obtained and used for the development of antigen-based polymeric kit for diagnostics of Legionella infection. On the basis of hyperimmune sera, immunoglobulin-based polymeric diagnostic kit and array of coagglutinating diagnostic kits for the mentioned 7 serogroups were developed. Antigen-based polymeric diagnostic kit was recommended for licensure.     

Fabrication of disposable protein chip for simultaneous sample detection

In this study, we have described a method for the fabrication of a protein chip on silicon substrate using hydrophobic thin film and microfluidic channels, for the simultaneous detection of multiple targets in samples. The use of hydrophobic thin film provides for a physical, chemical, and biological barrier for protein patterning. The microfluidic channels create four protein patterned strips on the silicon surfaces with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The feasibility of the protein chips was determined in order to discriminate between each protein interaction in a mixture sample that included biotin, ovalbumin, hepatitis B antigen. In the fabrication of the multiplexed assay system, the utilization of the hydrophobic thin film and the microfluidic networks constitutes a more convenient method for the development of biosensors or biochips. This technique may be applicable to the simultaneous evaluation of multiple protein-protein interactions.     

Optical immunoassay for snake venom detection

A sensitive and specific optical immunoassay (OIA) has been developed for snake venom detection. The assay is based on the principle of detection of physical changes in thickness of molecular thin film resulting from specific binding events on an optical silicon chip (SILAS-I, ThermoBioStar, Colorado, USA). The reflection of white light through the thin film results in destructive interference of a particular wavelength of the light from gold to purple-blue depending on the thickness of the thin film formed or the amount of venom in the test sample. A prototype test kit for the simultaneous identification of species and semi-quantitative detection of venoms from four medically important snakes of South Vietnam (Trimeresurus albolabris, Calloselasma rhodostoma, Naja kaouthia and Ophiophagus hannah) has been developed. The kit can detect venom analytes in blood, plasma, urine, wound exudates, blister fluid or tissue homogenates. The efficacy of the test kit in snakebite diagnosis has been demonstrated in experimental envenomations and sample analytes taken from snakebite victims in South Vietnam. This rapid snake venom detection kit based on OIA technique is potentially applicable in the clinics as well as in the field.     

Using the protein chip to screen agonists and antagonists of the androgen receptor

Based on its important physical and pathological function, the androgen receptor (AR) is regarded as a significant drug target. In this report, the authors describe a novel strategy of protein chip technology to screen agonists and antagonists of AR. First, the AR ligand binding domain (AR-LBD) was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and then immobilized on a silane-polysaccharide surface of a protein chip. Second, the affinities of methyltestosterone (MT) and fluorescent-labeled testosterone for the AR-LBD protein chip were determined. Third, a converse strategy of the protein chip was tested to evaluate its reliability as a drug screening method. Fourth, a 10,067-compound library was screened to find new ligands of AR. From the results, the K(d) of testosterone and the IC(50) of MT are consistent with the literature (0.61 vs. 0.49 nM 2.88 vs. 3.90 nM, respectively). The Z' factor of the high-throughput screening (HTS) method was 0.76, which meets the requirement of drug screening (>0.4). Finally, 3 active ligands of AR were identified with their IC( 50) values of 3.63, 2.19, and 1.71 microM, respectively. In summary, the novel strategy of the AR-LBD protein chip was suitable for HTS at the molecular level.