Purification of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) using magnetic ion exchange adsorbents in combination with high‐gradient magnetic separation

Current purification of the glycoprotein equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) from horse serum includes consecutive precipitation steps beginning with metaphosphoric acid pH fractionation, two ethanol precipitation steps, and dialysis followed by a numerous of fixed‐bed chromatography steps up to the specific activity required. A promising procedure for a more economic purification procedure represents a simplified precipitation process requiring only onethird of the solvent, followed by the usage of magnetic ion exchange adsorbents employed together with a newly designed ‘rotor‐stator’ type High Gradient Magnetic Fishing (HGMF) system for large‐scale application, currently up to 100 g of magnetic adsorbents. Initially, the separation process design was optimized for binding and elution conditions for the target protein in mL scale. Subsequently, the magnetic filter for particle separation was characterized. Based on these results, a purification process for eCG was designed consisting of (i) pretreatment of the horse serum; (ii) binding of the target protein to magnetic ion exchange adsorbents in a batch reactor; (iii) recovery of loaded functionalized adsorbents from the pretreated solution using HGMF; (iv) washing of loaded adsorbents to remove unbound proteins; (v) elution of the target protein. Finally, the complete HGMF process was automated and conducted with either multiple single‐cycles or multicycle operation of four sequential cycles, using batches of pretreated serum of up to 20 L. eCG purification with yields of approximately 53% from single HGMF cycles and up to 80% from multicycle experiments were reached, with purification and concentration factors of around 2,500 and 6.7, respectively. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 31:78–89, 2015     

In situ magnetic separation for extracellular protein production

A new approach for in situ product removal from bioreactors is presented in which high-gradient magnetic separation is used. This separation process was used for the adsorptive removal of proteases secreted by Bacillus licheniformis. Small, non-porous bacitracin linked magnetic adsorbents were employed directly in the broth during the fermentation, followed by in situ magnetic separation. Proof of the concept was first demonstrated in shake flask culture, then scaled up and applied during a fed batch cultivation in a 3.7 L bioreactor. It could be demonstrated that growth of B. licheniformis was not influenced by the in situ product removal step. Protease production also remained the same after the separation step. Furthermore, degradation of the protease, which followed first order kinetics, was reduced by using the method. Using a theoretical modeling approach, we could show that protease yield in total was enhanced by using in situ magnetic separation. The process described here is a promising technique to improve overall yield in bio production processes which are often limited due to weak downstream operations. Potential limitations encountered during a bioprocess can be overcome such as product inhibition or degradation. We also discuss the key points where research is needed to implement in situ magnetic separation in industrial production.     

Efficient inclusion body processing using chemical extraction and high gradient magnetic fishing

In this study we introduce a radical new approach for the recovery of proteins expressed in the form of inclusion bodies, involving (i) chemical extraction from the host cells, (ii) adsorptive capture of the target protein onto small magnetic adsorbents, and (iii) subsequent rapid collection of the product-loaded supports with the aid of high gradient magnetic fields. The manufacture and testing of two types of micron-sized nonporous superparamagnetic metal chelator particles derivatized with iminodiacetic acid is described. In small-scale adsorption studies conducted with a hexahistidine tagged form of the L1 coat protein of human papillomavirus type 16 dissolved in 8 M urea-phosphate buffer, the best binding performance (Q(max) = 58 mg g(-1) and K(d) approximately 0.08 microM) was exhibited by Cu(2+)-charged type II support materials. Equilibrium adsorption of L1 to these nonporous supports was achieved very rapidly (<300 s), and approximately 90% of the tightly bound L1 could be desorbed in just one elution step by including >100 mM imidazole in the equilibration buffer. The influence of feedstock complexity on L1 adsorption to the Cu(2+)-charged type II magnetic chelators was studied using various dilutions of four crude chemical E. coli cell extracts containing denatured L1 protein. Undiminished L1 adsorption to these adsorbents (relative to the 8 M urea-phosphate buffer case) was observed with the least complex of these feed materials, i.e., a partially clarified (12 g dry weight L(-1)) and spermine-treated chemical cell extract (feedstock B). Efficient recovery of L1 from feed B was demonstrated at a 60-fold increased scale using the high gradient magnetic fishing (HGMF) system to collect loaded Cu(2+)-chelator particles following batch adsorption of L1. Over 70% of the initial L1 present was recovered within the HGMF rig in a highly clarified form in two batch elution cycles with an overall purification factor of approximately 10.     

Multi‐cycle recovery of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase from crude whey using fimbriated high‐capacity magnetic cation exchangers and a novel “rotor–stator” high‐gradient magnetic separator

Cerium (IV) initiated “graft‐from” polymerization reactions were employed to convert M‐PVA magnetic particles into polyacrylic acid‐fimbriated magnetic cation exchange supports displaying ultra‐high binding capacity for basic target proteins. The modifications, which were performed at 25 mg and 2.5 g scales, delivered maximum binding capacities (Q_max) for hen egg white lysozyme in excess of 320 mg g^?1, combined with sub‐micromolar dissociation constants (0.45–0.69 µm) and “tightness of binding” values greater than 49 L g^?1. Two batches of polyacrylic acid‐fimbriated magnetic cation exchangers were combined to form a 5 g pooled batch exhibiting Q_max values for lysozyme, lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase of 404, 585, and 685 mg g^?1, respectively. These magnetic cation exchangers were subsequently employed together with a newly designed “rotor–stator” type HGMF rig, in five sequential cycles of recovery of lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase from 2 L batches of a crude sweet bovine whey feedstock. Lactoferrin purification performance was observed to remain relatively constant from one HGMF cycle to the next over the five operating cycles, with yields between 40% and 49% combined with purification and concentration factors of 37‐ to 46‐fold and 1.3‐ to 1.6‐fold, respectively. The far superior multi‐cycle HGMF performance seen here compared to that observed in our earlier studies can be directly attributed to the combined use of improved high capacity adsorbents and superior particle resuspension afforded by the new “rotor–stator” HGMS design. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 1714–1725. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The development of a process for culturing Bordetella pertussis immobilized on a polyurethane carrier

The processes of the cultivation of Bordetella pertussis, immobilized on polyurethane carrier in a fermenter, were carried out and studied. Acellular pertussis preparations were produced from the culture fluid obtained in the batch and multi-cycle cultivation processes with immobilized cells, as well as in the process with interrupted fermentation (for confirming the possibility of the preservation of cell viability). The content of protein and B. pertussis toxin in these preparations, as well as their leukocytes-stimulating and hemagglutinating activity, did not differ from similar characteristics of preparations obtained from culture fluid in homogeneous cultivation.     

Cooperation of molecular chaperones with the ubiquitin/proteasome system

Molecular chaperones and energy-dependent proteases have long been viewed as opposing forces that control protein biogenesis. Molecular chaperones are specialized in protein folding, whereas energy-dependent proteases such as the proteasome mediate efficient protein degradation. Recent data, however, suggest that molecular chaperones directly cooperate with the ubiquitin/proteasome system during protein quality control in eukaryotic cells. Modulating the intracellular balance of protein folding and protein degradation may open new strategies for the treatment of human diseases that involve chaperone pathways such as cancer and diverse amyloid diseases.     

Cybernetic modelling of growth and ethanol production in a recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain secreting a bifunctional fusion protein

Recombinant Saccharomyces cerevisiae YPB-G strain secreting a fusion protein displaying both BsAAase/GAase activities was grown in 1.5 l YPS media containing single (starch) and mixed carbon sources (glucose+starch) using a 2.5 l New Brunswick BiofloIII fermenter. Ethanol and biomass formation, starch utilisation, secretion of the amylolytic enzymes (-amylase and glucoamylase), accumulation of reducing sugars and glucose were followed during the fermentation of YPB-G under different conditions. Moreover, a model has been developed for the growth of recombinant yeast on substitutable substrates using cybernetic framework principles and incorporating product formation. In the present work, both the biphasic and the diauxic growth patterns observed experimentally in batch culture of recombinant yeast cells were simulated successfully by modifying the cybernetic framework to include ethanol formation and the degradation kinetics of starch which is not directly utilised by yeast. The model can further be expanded to fed-batch systems.     

Demonstration of a strategy for product purification by high-gradient magnetic fishing: recovery of superoxide dismutase from unconditioned whey

A systematic approach for the design of a bioproduct recovery process employing magnetic supports and the technique of high-gradient magnetic fishing (HGMF) is described. The approach is illustrated for the separation of superoxide dismutase (SOD), an antioxidant protein present in low concentrations (ca. 0.15-0.6 mg L(-1)) in whey. The first part of the process design consisted of ligand screening in which metal chelate supports charged with copper(II) ions were found to be the most suitable. The second stage involved systematic and sequential optimization of conditions for the following steps: product adsorption, support washing, and product elution. Next, the capacity of a novel high-gradient magnetic separator (designed for biotechnological applications) for trapping and holding magnetic supports was determined. Finally, all of the above elements were assembled to deliver a HGMF process for the isolation of SOD from crude sweet whey, which consisted of (i) binding SOD using Cu2+ -charged magnetic metal chelator particles in a batch reactor with whey; (ii) recovery of the "SOD-loaded" supports by high-gradient magnetic separation (HGMS); (iii) washing out loosely bound and entrained proteins and solids; (iv) elution of the target protein; and (v) recovery of the eluted supports from the HGMF rig. Efficient recovery of SOD was demonstrated at approximately 50-fold increased scale (cf magnetic rack studies) in three separate HGMF experiments, and in the best of these (run 3) an SOD yield of >85% and purification factor of approximately 21 were obtained.     

Changing the N-terminal sequence protects recombinant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plasmodium falciparum</Emphasis> circumsporozoite protein from degradation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pichia pastoris</Emphasis>

Proteolytic degradation is the primary obstacle in the use of the yeast Pichia pastoris for the expression of recombinant proteins. During the production of a recombinant Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein in this system, the (NANP) _n repeats region at the N-terminus were completely proteolytically degraded. To remove the potential proteolytic site within the recombinant protein, different strategies were tried, including adjusting the cultivation conditions and mutating the sequence at the junction of the repeat domain and C-terminal region, but the degradation continued. However, modification of the N-terminal sequence by adding an epitope-based peptide to the N-terminus not only protected the repeat domain from cleavage by native proteases during longer induction in the yeast host and purification process, but also stabilized this recombinant protein emulsified with adjuvant ISA720 for at least 6 months. The results showed that proteolytic degradation of the recombinant circumsporozoite protein produced in P. pastoris was amino acid sequence (NANP)-specific, and that this effect was likely dependent on the conformation of the recombinant protein.     

Magnetophoretic induction of curvature in coleoptiles and hypocotyls

Coleoptiles of barley (Hordeum vulgare) were positioned in a high gradient magnetic field (HGMF, dynamic factor gradient of H(2)/2 of 10(9)-10(10) Oe2 cm-1), generated by a ferromagnetic wedge in a uniform magnetic field and rotated on a 1 rpm clinostat. After 4 h 90% of coleoptiles had curved toward the HGMF. The cells affected by HGMF showed clear intracellular displacement of amyloplasts. Coleoptiles in a magnetic field next to a non-ferromagnetic wedge showed no preferential curvature. The small size of the area of nonuniformity of the HGMF allowed mapping of the sensitivity of the coleoptiles by varying the initial position of the wedge relative to the coleoptile apex. When the ferromagnetic wedge was placed 1 mm below the coleoptile tip only 58% of the coleoptiles curved toward the wedge indicating that the cells most sensitive to intracellular displacement of amyloplasts and thus gravity sensing are confined to the top 1 mm portion of barley coleoptiles. Similar experiments with tomato hypocotyls (Lycopersicum esculentum) also resulted in curvature toward the HGMF. The data strongly support the amyloplast-based gravity-sensing system in higher plants and the usefulness of HGMF to substitute gravity in shoots.     

Adsorption mechanism at the molecular level between polymers and uremic octapeptide by the 2D 1H NMR Technique

To remove uremic octapeptide from the blood stream of uremic patients, various modified polyacylamide cross-linked absorbents were prepared. Adsorption experiments showed these absorbents have significant differences in adsorption capacity to the target peptide. In this paper, two-dimension proton nuclear magnetic resonance (2D 1H NMR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the interaction mechanism between the peptide and the adsorbents. Because of the insolubility of the absorbent, some soluble linear polymers with the same functional groups as the absorbents were employed as the model adsorbents in 2D 1H NMR. The preferred binding site for the peptide and polymers was identified to be at the C-terminal carboxyl group of the octapeptide via chemical shift perturbation effects. In this study, we found that hydrogen bonding, electrostatic, and hydrophobic interactions all play a role in the interaction force but had different contributions. Especially, the great chemical shift changes of the aromatic amino acid residues (Trp) during the interaction between butyl-modified polyacrylamide and octapeptide suggested the hydrophobic interaction, incorporated with the electrostatic force, played an important role in the binding reaction in aqueous solutions. This information not only rationally explained the results of the adsorption experiments, but also identified the effective binding site and mechanism, and shall provide a structural basis for designing better affinity-type adsorbents for the target peptide.     

Optimization of the fermentation and downstream processes for human enterokinase production in Pichia pastoris

Enterokinase is one of the most frequently used enzymes for the removal of affinity tags from target recombinant proteins. In this study, several fermentation strategies were assayed for the production of human enterokinase in Pichia pastoris under constitutive GAP promoter. Two of them with controlled specific growth rate during whole cultivation showed a very low enterokinase activity, under 1 U/ml, of the fermentation medium. On the contrary, the combined fermentation with a maximum specific growth rate at the initial phase of the fermentation and stationary-like phase during the rest of the fermentation showed a significant accumulation of the enterokinase in the medium, which counted up to 1400 U/ml. Lower cultivation temperature had a negative impact on the enzyme accumulation during this fermentation strategy. Downstream processes were focused on buffer environment optimization directly after cultivation, as at this time, the most amount of the activity is eliminated by endogenous proteases. Slightly positive effect on enzyme activity in the medium had an addition of liquid storage solution of EDTA and KOH to adjust pH to 8 and molarity of the EDTA to 50 mM. During the purification process, a significant amount of the enzyme was detected to be lost, which counted up to 90%. The purified enzyme, enterokinase, kept quality standard of the published enzymes.

     

Effects of Meat-conditioning and Lactic Fermentation on Pork Muscle Protein Degradation

Fresh and conditioed pork were incubated with and without lactic acid bacteria, and the meat protein degradation during incubation was investigatd. The combination of meat-conditioning and addition of lactic acid bacteria considerably accelerated the protein degradation of meat mixtures. It was considered that the protein degradation in the lactic fermented pork was caused by proteases originated in meats, and both meat-conditioning and lactic acid fermentation acted as enhancing effectors.     

A new isolation and purification method for staphylococcal protein A using membrane encapsulated rabbit IgG-agarose

A new isolation and purification method for bioproducts using membrane-encapsulated affinity adsorbents was investigated. The new method involves encapsulation of affinity adsorbents, batch adsorption of the bioproduct from whole fermentation broth and rapid batch desorption after dissolution of the capsule membranes. Recovery of protein A from Staphylococcus aureus was used as the model experimental system. Affinity adsorbents such as rabbit IgG-agarose were successfully encapsulated within calcium alginate membranes and used directly to recover protein A from whole cell homogenate containing a number of macromolecular contaminants as well as suspended solids. Both high yield and high purity of protein A were recovered by this method in comparison with various previously reported methods.     

Degradation of oxidized extracellular proteins by microglia

In living organisms a permanent oxidation of protein oxidation occurs. The degradation of intracellular oxidized proteins is intensively studied, but knowledge about the fate of oxidatively modified extracellular proteins is still limited. We studied the fate of exogenously added oxidized proteins in microglial cells. Both primary microglial cells and RAW cells are able to remove added oxidized laminin and myelin basic protein from the extracellular environment. Moderately oxidized proteins are degraded most efficiently, whereas strongly oxidized proteins are taken up by the microglial cells without an efficient degradation. Activation of microglial cells enhances the selective recognition and degradation of moderately oxidized protein substrates by proteases. Inhibitor studies also revealed an involvement of the lysosomal and the proteasomal system in the degradation of extracellular proteins. These studies let us conclude that microglial cells are able to remove oxidized proteins from the extracellular environment in the brain.     

Yield improvement of heterologous peptides expressed in yps1-disrupted Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains

Heterologous protein expression levels in Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentations are highly dependent on the susceptibility to endogenous yeast proteases. Small peptides, such as glucagon and glucagon-like-peptides (GLP-1 and GLP-2), featuring an open structure are particularly accessible for proteolytic degradation during fermentation. Therefore, homogeneous products cannot be obtained. The most sensitive residues are found at basic amino acid residues in the peptide sequence. These heterologous peptides are degraded mainly by the YPS1-encoded aspartic protease, yapsin1, when produced in the yeast. In this article, distinct degradation products were analyzed by HPLC and mass spectrometry, and high yield of the heterologous peptide production has been achieved by the disruption of the YPS1 gene (previously called YAP3). By this technique, high yield continuous fermentation of glucagon in S. cerevisiae is now possible.     

Characterization of product capture resin during microbial cultivations

Various bioactive small molecules produced by microbial cultivation are degraded in the culture broth or may repress the formation of additional product. The inclusion of hydrophobic adsorber resin beads to capture these products in situ and remove them from the culture broth can reduce or prevent this degradation and repression. These product capture beads are often subjected to a dynamic and stressful microenvironment for a long cultivation time, affecting their physical structure and performance. Impact and collision forces can result in the fracturing of these beads into smaller pieces, which are difficult to recover at the end of a cultivation run. Various contaminating compounds may also bind in a non-specific manner to these beads, reducing the binding capacity of the resin for the product of interest (fouling). This study characterizes resin bead binding capacity (to monitor bead fouling), and resin bead volume distributions (to monitor bead fracture) for an XAD-16 adsorber resin used to capture epothilone produced during myxobacterial cultivations. Resin fouling was found to reduce the product binding capacity of the adsorber resin by 25–50%. Additionally, the degree of resin bead fracture was found to be dependent on the cultivation length and the impeller rotation rate. Microbial cultivations and harvesting processes should be designed in such a way to minimize bead fragmentation and fouling during cultivation to maximize the amount of resin and associated product harvested at the end of a run.     

Semi‐continuous in situ magnetic separation for enhanced extracellular protease production—modeling and experimental validation

In modern biotechnology proteases play a major role as detergent ingredients. Especially the production of extracellular protease by Bacillus species facilitates downstream processing because the protease can be directly harvested from the biosuspension. In situ magnetic separation (ISMS) constitutes an excellent adsorptive method for efficient extracellular protease removal during cultivation. In this work, the impact of semi‐continuous ISMS on the overall protease yield has been investigated. Results reveal significant removal of the protease from Bacillus licheniformis cultivations. Bacitracin‐functionalized magnetic particles were successfully applied, regenerated and reused up to 30 times. Immediate reproduction of the protease after ISMS proved the biocompatibility of this integrated approach. Six subsequent ISMS steps significantly increased the overall protease yield up to 98% because proteolytic degradation and potential inhibition of the protease in the medium could be minimized. Furthermore, integration of semi‐continuous ISMS increased the overall process efficiency due to reduction of the medium consumption. Process simulation revealed a deeper insight into protease production, and was used to optimize ISMS steps to obtain the maximum overall protease yield. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2013; 110: 2161–2172. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Monitoring the production of inclusion bodies during fermentation and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis of intact inclusion bodies using cryogel minicolumn plates

A novel minicolumn chromatographic method to monitor the production of inclusion bodies during fermentation and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system allowing direct analysis of the particles with surface-displayed antigens are described. A 33-kDa protein containing 306 amino acids with three sulfur bridges produced as inclusion bodies was labeled with polyclonal antibodies against 15 amino acid (anti-A15) and 17 amino acid (anti-B17) residues at the N- and C-terminal ends of the protein, respectively. Labeled particles were bound to macroporous monolithic protein A-cryogel adsorbents inserted into the open-ended wells of a 96-well plate (referred to as protein A-cryogel minicolumn plate). The concept behind this application is that the binding degree of inclusion bodies from lysed fermentation broth to the cryogel minicolumns increases with an increase in their concentration during fermentation. The technique allowed us to monitor the increase in the production levels of the inclusion bodies as the fermentation process progressed. The system also has a built-in quality parameter to ensure that the target protein has been fully expressed. Alternatively, inclusion bodies immobilized on phenyl-cryogel minicolumn plate were used in indirect ELISA based on anti-A15 and anti-B17 antibodies against terminal amino acid residues displayed on the surface of inclusion bodies. Drainage-protected properties of the cryogel minicolumns allow performance of successive reactions with tested immunoglobulin G (IgG) samples and enzyme-conjugated secondary IgG and of enzymatic reaction within the adsorbent.     

Fermentation of Detoxified Acid-Hydrolyzed Pyrolytic Anhydrosugars into Bioethanol with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> 2.399

Pyrolysate obtained from the pyrolysis of waste cotton is a source of fermentable sugars that could be fermented into bioethanol fuel and other chemicals via microbial fermentation. However, pyrolysate is a complex mixture of fermentable and non-fermentable substrates causing inhibition of the microbial growth. The aim of this study was to detoxify the hydrolysate and then ferment it into bio-ethanol fuel in shake flasks and fermenter applying yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae 2.399. Pyrolysate was hydrolyzed to glucose with 0.2 M sulfuric acid, neutralized with Ba(OH)₂ followed by treatment with ethyl acetate and activated carbon to remove fermentation inhibitors. The effect of various fermentation parameters such as inoculum concentration, pH and hydrolysate glucose was evaluated in shake flasks for optimum ethanol fermentation. With respect to inoculum concentration, 20% v/v inoculum i.e. 8.0 × 10⁸–1.2 × 10⁹ cells/mL was the optimum level for producing 8.62 ± 0.33 g/L ethanol at 9 h of fermentation with a maximum yield of 0.46 g ethanol/g glucose. The optimum pH for hydrolysate glucose fermentation was found to be 6.0 that produced 8.57 ± 0.66 g/L ethanol. Maximum ethanol concentration, 14.78 g/L was obtained for 4% hydrolysate glucose concentration after 16 h of fermentation. Scale-up studies in stirred fermenter produced much higher productivity (1.32 g/L/h^–1) compared to shake flask fermentation (0.92 g/L/h^–1). The yield of ethanol reached a maximum of 91% and 89% of the theoretical yield of ethanol in shake flasks and fermenter, respectively. The complex of integrated models of development was applied, that has been successfully tested previously for the mathematical analysis of the fermentation processes.