超分子多肽自组装在生物医学中的应用

近年来,自组装多肽纳米技术因其可形成规则有序的结构、具有多样的功能而备受关注.研究发现自组装多肽能在特定的条件下形成具有确定结构的聚集体,这种聚集体具备生物相容性好、稳定性高等优点,表现出不同于单体多肽分子的特性和优势,因此其在药物传递、组织工程、抗菌等领域具有良好的应用前景.文中介绍了 自组装多肽形成的分子机理、类型...     

智能多肽的自组装机理及其生物学应用

智能多肽是指智能响应外界刺激并做出相应回应的多肽。由于其形成过程为自发的自组装,故智能多肽又可称为自组装多肽。智能多肽的氨基酸构成使其拥有良好的生物相容性及生物可降解性,作为构筑基元拼接成为功能性材料,在新型生物材料方面展示出了广阔的应用前景。概括了智能多肽的性质、自组装机理及应用,重点阐述了它在生物能源、生物医学工程和分离工程上的应用,以期在系统认识智能多肽的基础上,发掘其应用潜能,突破开发瓶颈。     

生物分子自组装

分子自组装是一种普遍存在于生命体系中的现象,是生命科学最本质的内容之一。开展分子自组装的研究具有重要意义,有助于人们从分子水平上认识自然界中生命形成和演变的过程,并为人们提供新的思路,开展生物医学基础研究、新材料合成及分子器件研制等。该文介绍了自组装的基本含义,对分子自组装技术在生物材料、生物分子器件研究方面的进展作了综述。     

多肽自组装及其作为药物载体的研究进展

多肽分子通过多种作用力的协同作用,能在一定的条件下发生自组装,从而形成有序的稳定的三维结构与形态,并表现出特殊的性能。加之多肽具有良好的生物相容性和设计灵活性,多肽自组装体具有较高的研究与应用价值。本文对多肽的自组装机制、影响多肽自组装的因素(氨基酸手性与序列、温度、pH、肽浓度、离子强度、超声波及酶刺激)以及多肽自组装体在药物输运方面的应用进行了简要总结,希望可以为多肽研究工作者提供一些信息支持。     

负载白藜芦醇自组装多肽水凝胶的抗菌性能研究

[目的]制备一种负载白藜芦醇的自组装多肽水凝胶并探讨其抗菌性能。[方法]通过自组装制备多肽(FmocFFGGRGD)水凝胶和载有白藜芦醇的多肽水凝胶(Pep/RES);通过扫描电子显微镜和透射电子显微镜观察水凝胶的形貌和内部结构;通过流变仪检测水凝胶的流变性质;通过高效液相色谱检测Pep/RES的释放速率;通过细胞毒性试验研究该水凝胶的生物相容性;通过抑菌圈实验和活死细菌染色研究Pep/RES对大肠杆菌和金黄色葡萄球菌的抗菌性能。[结果]多肽溶液可在30 min内自组装形成稳定的水凝胶,水凝胶内部的三维结构密度随多肽浓度的增加而增加,2.0wt%浓度的多肽水凝胶稳定效果最好。白藜芦醇从Pep/RES水凝胶中缓慢释放7 d释放量达到50%,Pep/RES浸泡液对NIH/3T3细胞表现出良好的生物相容性。Pep/RES水凝胶中负载的白藜芦醇浓度为512μg/m L时,对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌圈直径即可达到5.41±0.18 mm,但即使白藜芦醇浓度达到1 024μg/m L,对大肠杆菌的抑菌圈直径仅为4.27±0.22 nm。[结论]Pep/RES结构稳定,安全无毒,能缓释白藜芦醇,并对金黄...     

自组装多肽纳米纤维支架诱导骨髓间充质干细胞定向分化

组织工程是现代修复重建医学领域的新思路,生物支架和种子细胞是组织工程两大关键要素。自组装多肽纳米纤维支架(SAPNS)是两亲性多肽(PAs)分子在一定条件下自组装成的一类具有三维网状结构的新型生物支架,其结构、生物功能、机械力学等特性类似天然细胞外基质(ECM),其内部经功能化修饰的抗原表位以高浓度呈递在纳米纤维表面并高效选择性地调控种子细胞生物学行为。种子细胞是组织成功再生的必需条件,骨髓间充质干细胞(BMSCs)因其良好的自我更新和多向分化潜能成为了组织工程最佳候选细胞。体外实验表明经特异功能化修饰的SAPNS在有/无辅助因子条件下可促进BMSCs黏附、增殖、迁移和定向分化,动物模型体内实验发现SAPNS结合BMSCs构建的组织工程移植物可修复缺损部位的组织结构和功能,故其在修复重建医学中有良好的应用前景。对SAPNS、自组装、BMSCs、SAPNS诱导BMSCs定向分化等方面进行了综述。     

基于壳聚糖的生物组装技术及应用研究进展

壳聚糖是一种具有良好生物相容性、独特pH值响应性、易改性和易成膜特性的高分子材料。在生物组装技术中,壳聚糖可作为多功能活性介体,与生物组分和微加工装置连接,制成高选择性、高灵敏度的生物微机电系统(BioMEMS)。以下介绍了基于壳聚糖的3种生物组装技术——定向组装、酶促组装、自组装的制备原理和过程,评述了基于壳聚糖的BioMEMS在生物、医学、环境领域中的应用现状,并展望了今后的研究方向。     

MSCs在自组装多肽纳米纤维支架中的三维培养及脂向分化研究

拟采用自组装多肽RADA16水凝胶建市MSCs的三维培养体系,以观察MSCs在RADA16中的黏附、形态及脂向分化情况.将第3代细胞置于RADA16水凝胶中进行三维培养.实验组细胞-材料复合物以脂向诱导液诱导,对照组以DMEM培养液培养,然后进行形态学观察,油红O染色及Western blot检测.荧光染色显示,绝大多数MSCs在RADA16水凝胶中能存活,且在不同的三维平面上生长.经诱导后,细胞内有大量油红O染色阳性的脂滴聚集,Western blot分析结果显示有脂肪细胞特异的蛋白PPARγ表达,且表达量随诱导时间的延长而增加.以上结果表明,RADA16水凝胶支架为MSCs的黏附、生长提供良好的三维环境,经定向诱导后支架内的MSCs可向脂肪组织方向分化.     

一种溶酶体靶向的原位自组装短肽设计及抗肿瘤活性研究

肿瘤已成为威胁人类生命的一大杀手,目前主要采用手术和放、化疗等手段进行治疗,但由于放、化疗的细胞选择性差、毒副作用明显且易引起肿瘤细胞产生耐受(/药)性,不利于肿瘤的持续治疗,因此亟待研发具有定向定位优势、毒副作用低的新型靶向药物.原位自组装多肽能识别肿瘤部位的特异性高表达物质,在肿瘤部位靶向性聚集形成稳定的纳米结构,实现精准和高效治疗,有望成为一种新型的抗肿瘤药物.本研究基于多肽原位自组装的设计理念,利用溶酶体内组织蛋白酶L的催化活性,设计了靶向溶酶体且能够原位自组装的多肽分子Fmoc-FFRIKFERQ-OH,研究了该分子的自组装特性及抗肿瘤活性.结果显示,在体外酸性条件下,组织蛋白酶L能精准切割Fmoc-FFRIKFERQ-OH分子,其酶切产物FmocFFR-OH自组装形成长纳米纤维结构,对肿瘤细胞A375和SH-SY5Y均具有较好的杀伤作用.该分子通过靶向溶酶体杀伤肿瘤细胞且对正常细胞的毒性较低,有望成为一种新型的抗肿瘤药物.     

Importance of lectins for the prevention of bacterial infections and cancer metastases

Adhesion of bacteria and of metastasizing tumour cells have much in common, especially the participation of lectins in this process. In the future it might be possible to inhibit the metastatic process and bacterial adhesion by blocking with lectins specific for appropriate (oligo) saccharides or glycoconjugates. Initial clinical trials are very promising.     

Effect of Ca2+ on the self assembly of a nonionic peptide aggregate

Conductometry, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy are thetechniques employed to investigate the effect of added calcium ions and other monovalent and divalent metal ions on aqueous solutions of nonionic peptide aggregates, Boc-Leu-Asn-OEt (1). It is observed that among all the metal ions studied, Ca²⁺ ions facilitate the aggregation of the peptide. The interior dielectric constant of the micelles () was found to depend upon the proportion of Ca²⁺ complexed peptide with the peptide monomers in the micelles. When Ca²⁺ ion becomes 1/4th of the peptide concentration, there is a structural transition leading to drastic change in the interior of the micro dielectric constant (_m).     

Effect of Ca2+ on the self assembly of a nonionic peptide aggregate

Summary Conductometry, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy are the techniques employed to investigate the effect of added calcium ions and other monovalent and divalent metal ions on aqueous solutions of nonionic peptide aggregates, Boc-Leu-Asn-OEt (1). It is observed that among all the metal ions studied, Ca²⁺ ions facilitate the aggregation of the peptide. The interior dielectric constant of the micelles (ε) was found to depend upon the proportion of Ca²⁺ complexed peptide with the peptide mononers in the micelles. When Ca²⁺ ion becomes 1/4th of the peptide concentration, there is a structural transition leading to drastic change in the interior of the micro dielectric constant (ɛ _m).     

Possible toxic effects of the marine blue-green alga, Spirulina subsalsa, on the blue shrimp, Penaeus stylirostris.

Blooms of a marine species of blue-green algae identified as Spirulina subsalsa (Cyanophyta, Oscillatoriacae) were found to be related to a particular disease syndrome in raceway-reared blue shrimp, Penaeus stylirostris. The disease was characterized by necrosis of the lining epithelium of the midgut, dorsal cecum, and hindgut gland, and a consequent hemocytic enteritis. Bacterial infections due predominately to Vibrio alginolyticus were common in affected shrimp and presumed to be a secondary condition resulting from necrosis of the gut epithelium. These bacterial infections were expressed as local abscesses near or on the gut or as fulminating septicemias.     

Prion-based nanomaterials and their emerging applications

ABSTRACT

Protein misfolding and aggregation into highly ordered fibrillar structures have been traditionally associated with pathological processes. Nevertheless, nature has taken advantage of the particular properties of amyloids for functional purposes, like in the protection of organisms against environmental changing conditions. Over the last decades, these fibrillar structures have inspired the design of new nanomaterials with intriguing applications in biomedicine and nanotechnology such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, adhesive materials, biodegradable nanocomposites, nanowires or biosensors. Prion and prion-like proteins, which are considered a subclass of amyloids, are becoming ideal candidates for the design of new and tunable nanomaterials. In this review, we discuss the particular properties of this kind of proteins, and the current advances on the design of new materials based on prion sequences.     

The Role of the Central Globular Domain of Histone H5 in Chromatin Structure

Abstract

Histone H5 contains three tryosines in the central, a polar region of the molecule. All three tryosines can be spin labeled at low ionic strength. When the central globular domain is folded at high ionic strength, only one tyrosine becomes accessible to the imidazole spin label. Spin labeling the buried tyrosines prevents the folding of the globular structure, which, in turn, affects the proper binding of the H5 molecule to stripped chromatin. Chromatin complexes reconstituted from such an extensively modified H5 molecule show a weaker protection of the 168 base pair chromatosome during nuclease digestion. However, when only the surface tyrosine of the H5 molecule is labeled, such a molecule can still bind correctly to stripped chromatin, yielding a complex very similar to that of native chromatin. Our data supports the idea that not just the presence of the linker histone H5, but the presence of an intact H5 molecule with a folded, globular central domain is essential in the recognition of its specific binding sites on the nucleosomes. Our data also show that during the chromatin condensation process, the tumbling environment of the spin label attached to the surface tyrosine in the H5 molecule is not greatly hindered but remains partially mobile. This suggests that either the labeled domain of the H5 molecule is not directly involved in the condensation process or the formation of the higher-order chromatin structure does not result in a more viscous or tighter environment around the spin label. The folded globular domain of H5 molecule serves in stabilizing the nucleosome structure, as well as the higherorder chromatin structure.