Simple Detection Methods for Antinutritive Factor β-ODAP Present in Lathyrus sativus L. by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography and Thin Layer Chromatography

Lathyrus sativus L. (Grass pea) is the source for cheap and nutritious food choice in drought and famine susceptible zones in greater part of North India and Africa. The non-protein amino acid β-N-oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) has been known for decades for its potent neurotoxic effect, causing irreversible neurodegenerative disease “neurolathyrism”, present in both seed and leaf of Lathyrus sativus L. and other species in varying proportions. It is crucial to establish a rapid as well as reliable detection methodology for β-ODAP content in various Lathyrus plants. Currently available HPLC based methods involve multi-step derivatization of the sample. To overcome this, we have developed β-ODAP analysis method by HPLC without any prior derivatization. This method is statistically significant in the range of 2 to 100μg/ml and exhibited linear response with r ² > 0.99. Limit of detection and quantitation of the later method was determined to be 5.56 μg/ml and 16.86 μg/ml, respectively. In addition to this, a TLC based method has also been developed. The limit of detection of β-ODAP is 0.6μg and for its substrate, L-1,2-diaminopropionic acid is 5μg. Both HPLC and TLC methods were validated by conducting in-vitro bioconversion test to detect the presence of biocatalyst in plant extract. This method is economical, rapid and simple.     

Combined Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Progesterone Metabolites

Progesterone has a number of important functions throughout the human body. While the roles of progesterone are well known, the possible actions and implications of progesterone metabolites in different tissues remain to be determined. There is a growing body of evidence that these metabolites are not inactive, but can have significant biological effects, as anesthetics, anxiolytics and anticonvulsants. Furthermore, they can facilitate synthesis of myelin components in the peripheral nervous system, have effects on human pregnancy and onset of labour, and have a neuroprotective role. For a better understanding of the functions of progesterone metabolites, improved analytical methods are essential. We have developed a combined liquid chromatography—tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for detection and quantification of progesterone and 16 progesterone metabolites that has femtomolar sensitivity and good reproducibility in a single chromatographic run. MS/MS analyses were performed in positive mode and under constant electrospray ionization conditions. To increase the sensitivity, all of the transitions were recorded using the Scheduled MRM algorithm. This LC-MS/MS method requires small sample volumes and minimal sample preparation, and there is no need for derivatization. Here, we show the application of this method for evaluation of progesterone metabolism in the HES endometrial cell line. In HES cells, the metabolism of progesterone proceeds mainly to (20S)-20-hydroxy-pregn-4-ene-3-one, (20S)-20-hydroxy-5α-pregnane-3-one and (20S)-5α-pregnane-3α,20-diol. The investigation of possible biological effects of these metabolites on the endometrium is currently undergoing.     

Detection of Molecular Ions of Cerebroside by Gas Chromatography—Mass Spectrometry

Oxalate oxidase (EC 1.2.3.4) was purified to apparent homogeneity from Pseudomonas sp. OX-53. The molecular weight of the enzyme was about 320,000 by Sephadex G-200 column chromatography and 38,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate disc electrophoresis. The isoelectric point of the enzyme was pH 4.7 by isoelectric focusing. This enzyme contained 1.12 atoms of manganese and 0.36 atoms of zinc per subunit. Besides oxalic acid, the enzyme oxidized glyoxylic acid and malic acid at lower reaction rates. The Michaelis constant of the enzyme was 9.5 mM for oxalic acid at the optimal pH 4.8. The enzyme was stable from pH 5.5 to 7.0. The enzyme was activated by flavins, phenylhydrazine, and o-phenylenediamine, and inhibited by I^–, Br^–, semicarbazide, and hydroxylamine.     

Isolation of Hen’s Egg Yolk Low Density Lipoprotein by Affinity Chromatography

Curdlan gel shrinks even in water caused syneresis. This syneresis is repressed almost completely by the addition of starch to curdlan before heating, but not repressed by the addition of different sugar compounds even of 10% concentration. The role of starch in repressing syneresis is discussed.     

Immobilized Metal Affinity Chromatography Co-Purifies TGF-β1 with Histidine-Tagged Recombinant Extracellular Proteins

Extracellular recombinant proteins are commonly produced using HEK293 cells as histidine-tagged proteins facilitating purification by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Based on gel analyses, this one-step purification typically produces proteins of high purity. Here, we analyzed the presence of TGF-β1 in such IMAC purifications using recombinant extracellular fibrillin-1 fragments as examples. Analysis of various purified recombinant fibrillin-1 fragments by ELISA consistently revealed the presence of picomolar concentrations of active and latent TGF-β1, but not of BMP-2. These quantities of TGF-β1 were not detectable by Western blotting and mass spectrometry. However, the amounts of TGF-β1 were sufficient to consistently trigger Smad2 phosphorylation in fibroblasts. The purification mechanism was analyzed to determine whether the presence of TGF-β1 in these protein preparations represents a specific or non-specific co-purification of TGF-β1 with fibrillin-1 fragments. Control purifications using conditioned medium from non-transfected 293 cells yielded similar amounts of TGF-β1 after IMAC. IMAC of purified TGF-β1 and the latency associated peptide showed that these proteins bound to the immobilized nickel ions. These data clearly demonstrate that TGF-β1 was co-purified by specific interactions with nickel, and not by specific interactions with fibrillin-1 fragments. Among various chromatographic methods tested for their ability to eliminate TGF-β1 from fibrillin-1 preparations, gel filtration under high salt conditions was highly effective. As various recombinant extracellular proteins purified in this fashion are frequently used for experiments that can be influenced by the presence of TGF-β1, these findings have far-reaching implications for the required chromatographic schemes and quality controls.     

Fatty acid constituents of Peganum harmala plant using Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectroscopy

Fatty acid contents of the Peganum harmala plant as a result of hexane extraction were analyzed using GC–MS. The saturated fatty acid composition of the harmal plant was tetradecanoic, pentadecanoic, tridecanoic, hexadecanoic, heptadecanoic and octadecanoic acids, while the saturated fatty acid derivatives were 12-methyl tetradecanoic, 5,9,13-trimethyl tetradecanoic and 2-methyl octadecanoic acids. The most abundant fatty acid was hexadecanoic with concentration 48.13% followed by octadecanoic with concentration 13.80%. There are four unsaturated fatty acids called (E)-9-dodecenoic, (Z)-9-hexadecenoic, (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic and (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic. The most abundant unsaturated fatty acid was (Z,Z,Z)-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic with concentration 14.79% followed by (Z,Z)-9,12-octadecadienoic with concentration 10.61%. Also, there are eight non-fatty acid compounds 1-octadecene, 6,10,14-trimethyl-2-pentadecanone, (E)-15-heptadecenal, oxacyclohexadecan-2 one, 1,2,2,6,8-pentamethyl-7-oxabicyclo[4.3.1]dec-8-en-10-one, hexadecane-1,2-diol, n-heneicosane and eicosan-3-ol.     

The Chromatography of “Myosin B” Prepared from Minced Rabbit Muscle on Triethylaminoethylcellulose

The chromatography on Cellex D DEAE-SF (Bio-Rad Lab.) or TEAE-cellulose (Serva) equilibrated against 0.28 m KCl solution containing 0.02 m tris-HCl buffer at pH 8.0 was found to be suitable for the refinement of myosin B.

The ultraviolet absorption spectrum and ATPase activity of the eluted fractions showed that “myosin B” was fractionated and purified by this technique, especially by the preferential removal of the fraction suggested as ribonucleic acid related substance.

The chromatography may provide the effective way to investigate changes of “myosin B” during aging of meat.     

Single-Step Purification of “Kall Ikrein-Resistant” Kininogen from Rat Plasma Using Monoclonal-Antibody Immunoaffinity Chromatography

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody to rat plasma kininoqen, obtained after immunization of mice with the kininogen prepared by conventional methods, was purified from ascites fluid and coupled to CNBr-activated Sepharose-4B. Monoclonal-antibody affinity adsorbant thus prepared provided a rapid singe-step method of purifying to homogeneity plasma kininogen. Purified rat plasma kininogen showed identical molecular weight and immunological cross-reactivity to rat plasma low molecular weight (LMW) kininogen purified by conventional procedures. Rat plasma kininogen differed from LMW kininogen from other species by virtue of its resistance to cleavage by either plasma or glandular kallikreins.     

Characterization of Hoxd1 Protein–DNA-Binding Specificity Using Affinity Chromatography and Random DNA Oligomer Selection

1. Hoxd1 is member of the labial subfamily of Hox genes that has a conserved 60 amino acid homeodomain region. The homeodomain is an important determining factor in the binding of the protein to specific DNA sequence(s). DNA-binding specificity for the Hoxd1 protein has not been determined previously.2. We have employed a rapid affinity chromatography method to determine optimal DNA binding sequences for the 109 amino acid Hoxd1 peptide, comprising the homeodomain and the entire carboxy terminal region of the Hoxd1 protein.3. Labial Hox proteins have intrinsically weak DNA-binding activity that has been attributed to the nonbasic residues at positions 2 and 3 in the N-terminal arm of the homeodomain. The presence of the Hoxd1 carboxy terminal region negated the influence of the nonbasic residues and facilitated Hoxd1 DNA-binding specificity.4. DNA sequences bound to the Hoxd1 peptide-affinity column were separated from a random pool of oligonucleotide sequences by gradient elution and enriched by polymerase chain reaction. Preferred sequences were identified on 5w and 3 of a TAAT core, extending the binding site to T/AT/gTAATTGTA.5. Stability and specificity of optimal DNA-binding sequence for Hoxd1 homeodomain were determined by equilibrium and kinetic studies. Dissociation coefficient constant (K _D) was estimated to be 8.6 × 10^–9 M and the DNA–Hoxd1 homeodomain complex has a half life (t _1/2) of 12.7 min.6. A molecular model of Hoxd1 homeodomain–-DNA interaction based on the X-ray coordinates of Antennapedia homeodomain–DNA complex has revealed novel interactions of key Hoxd1 residues at the protein–DNA interface.     

Rapid Purification of Yeast Cytoplasmic Fumarate Reductase Affinity Chromatography on Blue Sepharose CL–6B

Abstract

The rapid and effective purification of soluble fumarate reductase from baker's yeast achieved by Blue Sepharose CL–6B chromatography. Cibacron Blue F3GA, the chromophore of Blue Sepharose, inhibited the activity of fumarate reductase. The enzyme bound to the column was selectively eluted by flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), flavin mononucleotide (FMN) or riboflavin. The purified enzyme was essentially homogeneous as indicated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under non-denaturing conditions and under denaturing conditions in sodium dodecylsulfate. By this procedure, the enzyme could be rapidly purified with high yield from yeast cells.     

A Comparative Study on the Analysis of Herbicide “Bromacil” Using ECD-gas Chromatography and Mass Fragmentography

Analysis methods of a herbicide “bromacil” were studied comparatively in soil and mandarin orange fruit. Bromacil content in tissue of mouse was also measured. Measurement was performed by gas chromatography with electron capture detector (ECD). Mass fragmentography was also studied, which was found to be useful for the residue analysis of this herbicide.     

Systematic Internal Standard Selection for Capillary Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Time Normalization to Facilitate Serum Proteomics

Because blood interacts with almost all tissues of the body, it is likely that changes in the overall health of an organism will be reflected in the quantities of specific serum peptides and proteins, making them biomarkers. Due to the complexity of serum, pre-analytical sample simplification and separation are needed prior to mass spectrometric analysis. Use of a reverse-phase capillary column coupled to a mass spectrometer allows for separation and analysis of serum as part of efforts to discover biomarkers. Even after sample simplification by organic solvent precipitation, data files for a single sample typically exceed one gigabyte, making it difficult to analyze complete serum mass spectrometry profiles with currently available software. However, with adequate safeguards, it appears possible to consider portions of mass spectra to find differences in peak intensities between clinical comparison groups visually. To facilitate this, the elution profile was divided into 2-min intervals in which mass spectrometry data were averaged. This required that molecular species had defined reproducible elution times. Given liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry variation, misalignment of elution times of individual peaks occurred often. Hence, internal time controls were identified within each window and used for elution time normalization. This significantly reduced variability in data. This approach allowed for peak alignment across samples, improving biomarker discovery.     

Effects of Eution Conditions on the Separation of Calpastatin, μ- and m-Calpain on DEAE-Sephacel Chromatography

A rapid stepwise measurement for the activities of calpastatin and μ- and m-calpains was developed by using 2-stage elution at pH 8.5 and then 7.0. The activities of calpastatin, μ-calpain and m-calpain can be rapidly assayed following the separation on DEAE-Sephacel chromatography by a 2 stage elution with 90 mM NaCl (pH 8.5), and then by 200 and 300 mM NaCl in elution buffer (pH 7.0). No significant differences in the recovery of these proteinases and inhibitor was observed between stepwise gradient and linear gradient methods.     

Purification of the Proteinaceous α-Amylase Inhibitor from Phaseolus Vulgaris by Affinity Chromatography with Immobilized Enzyme or Antibody

A protein inhibiting salivary and pancreatic a-amylase of mammalian origin is contained in dry seeds of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris). Starting from a crude bean extract, the amylase inhibitor may be purified about 30fold in one step to apparent homogeneity by chromatography on matrix-bound salivary amylase. Compared with protein obtained by a conventional purification procedure and in similar yield, the amylase inhibitor obtained by affinity chromatography had the same specific activity (4.5 (akat inhibitor units/mg protein). A one step purification from crude extracts to homogenous inhibitor with the same specific activity was achieved by immuno-affinity chromatography on immobilized rabbit antibody raised against pure amylase inhibitor. The yield was 60 % that of a conventional purification. Criteria of purity of the inhibitor protein were thin-layer electrofocussing and immuno-electrophoresis.     

Cross Validation of Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry and Lectin Array for Monitoring Glycosylation in Fed-Batch Glycoprotein Production

Glycosylation analysis of recombinant glycoproteins is of importance for the biopharmaceutical industry and the production of glycoprotein pharmaceuticals. A commercially available lectin array technology was evaluated for its ability to present a reproducible fingerprint of a recombinant CTLY4-IgG fusion glycoprotein expressed in large scale CHO-cell fermentation. The glycosylation prediction from the array was compared to traditional negative mode capillary LC-MS of released oligosaccharides. It was shown that both methods provide data that allow samples to be distinguished by their glycosylation pattern. This included information about sialylation, the presence of reducing terminal galactose β1-, terminal N-acetylglucosamine β1-, and antennary distribution. With both methods it was found that a general trend of increased sialylation was associated with an increase of the antenna and reduced amount of terminal galactose β1-, while N-acetylglucosamine β1- was less affected. LC-MS, but not the lectin array, provided valuable information about the sialic acid isoforms present, including N-acetylneuraminic acid, N-glycolylneuraminic acid and their O-acetylated versions. Detected small amounts of high-mannose structures by LC-MS correlated with the detection of the same epitope by the lectin array.     

Validation of Biomarkers for Distinguishing Mycobacterium tuberculosis from Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria Using Gas Chromatography?Mass Spectrometry and Chemometrics

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major international health problem. Rapid differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is critical for decisions regarding patient management and choice of therapeutic regimen. Recently we developed a 20-compound model to distinguish between MTB and NTM. It is based on thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and partial least square discriminant analysis. Here we report the validation of this model with two independent sample sets, one consisting of 39 MTB and 17 NTM isolates from the Netherlands, the other comprising 103 isolates (91 MTB and 12 NTM) from Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. All the MTB strains in the 56 Dutch samples were correctly identified and the model had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 94%. For the South African samples the model had a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 100%. Based on our model, we have developed a new decision-tree that allows the differentiation of MTB from NTM with 100% accuracy. Encouraged by these findings we will proceed with the development of a simple, rapid, affordable, high-throughput test to identify MTB directly in sputum.     

Identification of Human Plasma Metabolites Exhibiting Time-of-Day Variation Using an Untargeted Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry Metabolomic Approach

Although daily rhythms regulate multiple aspects of human physiology, rhythmic control of the metabolome remains poorly understood. The primary objective of this proof-of-concept study was identification of metabolites in human plasma that exhibit significant 24-h variation. This was assessed via an untargeted metabolomic approach using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Eight lean, healthy, and unmedicated men, mean age 53.6 (SD?±?6.0) yrs, maintained a fixed sleep/wake schedule and dietary regime for 1 wk at home prior to an adaptation night and followed by a 25-h experimental session in the laboratory where the light/dark cycle, sleep/wake, posture, and calorific intake were strictly controlled. Plasma samples from each individual at selected time points were prepared using liquid-phase extraction followed by reverse-phase LC coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight MS analysis in positive ionization mode. Time-of-day variation in the metabolites was screened for using orthogonal partial least square discrimination between selected time points of 10:00 vs. 22:00?h, 16:00 vs. 04:00?h, and 07:00 (d 1) vs. 16:00?h, as well as repeated-measures analysis of variance with time as an independent variable. Subsequently, cosinor analysis was performed on all the sampled time points across the 24-h day to assess for significant daily variation. In this study, analytical variability, assessed using known internal standards, was low with coefficients of variation <10%. A total of 1069 metabolite features were detected and 203 (19%) showed significant time-of-day variation. Of these, 34 metabolites were identified using a combination of accurate mass, tandem MS, and online database searches. These metabolites include corticosteroids, bilirubin, amino acids, acylcarnitines, and phospholipids; of note, the magnitude of the 24-h variation of these identified metabolites was large, with the mean ratio of oscillation range over MESOR (24-h time series mean) of 65% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 49–81%). Importantly, several of these human plasma metabolites, including specific acylcarnitines and phospholipids, were hitherto not known to be 24-h variant. These findings represent an important baseline and will be useful in guiding the design and interpretation of future metabolite-based studies. (Author correspondence: Jooern.Ang@icr.ac.uk or Florence.Raynaud@icr.ac.uk)