乳铁蛋白分子结构及其抗菌机制

乳铁蛋白是一种单体糖蛋白,是哺乳动物非特异性免疫系统的第一道防线,具有防御微生物感染的功能。分析了乳铁蛋白氨基酸组成、多肽链折叠、铁结合结构、分子表面特性等与抗菌有关的分子结构。综述了乳铁蛋白抗微生物活性的作用机制,包括限制Fe3+利用,抑制细菌生物膜形成,与负电性生物大分子结合,降解细菌毒力因子以及阻止细菌入侵等。     

猪乳铁蛋白在4种重组乳杆菌中的表达及抑菌活性比较

为了获得优化的猪乳铁蛋白乳杆菌表达系统,并比较重组猪乳铁蛋白的抑菌活性,根据乳杆菌使用密码子的偏嗜性优化合成猪乳铁蛋白成熟肽编码序列,将其克隆到乳杆菌表达载体pPG612.1的XhoⅠ/BamHⅠ位点,获得了plf乳杆菌表达载体质粒pPG612.1-plf。将获得的重组质粒分别电转化入干酪乳杆菌ATCC393、戊糖乳杆菌KLDS1.0413、植物乳杆菌KLDS1.0344和副干酪乳杆菌KLDS1.0652细胞内,获得4种表达猪乳铁蛋白的重组乳杆菌。经木糖诱导,通过Western blotting和激光共聚焦检测重组猪乳铁蛋白的表达,用ELISA方法检测和比较4种重组菌上清中表达猪乳铁蛋白的量,并用琼脂孔穴扩散抑菌法检测4种重组乳杆菌表达乳铁蛋白的抑菌活性。结果表明,乳铁蛋白在4种重组乳杆菌中均得到正确表达,其产物分子量约73 kDa,重组干酪乳杆菌、重组戊糖乳杆菌、重组植物乳杆菌和重组副干酪乳杆菌的重组猪乳铁蛋白表达量分别为9.6μg/mL、10.8μg/mL、12.5μg/mL、9.9μg/mL。重组猪乳铁蛋白对大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、鼠伤寒沙门氏菌、巴氏杆菌和李氏杆菌均有一定的抑菌作用,对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌作用最强,且4种重组乳杆菌中重组植物乳杆菌表达产物的抑菌效果优于其他重组菌的表达产物。结果表明在4种乳杆菌中重组猪乳铁蛋白的最佳表达系统为植物乳杆菌,该结果为猪乳铁蛋白的乳杆菌表达系统进一步开发与应用奠定了基础。     

封面图片介绍

正乳铁蛋白(lactoferrin,LF)是乳汁中一种重要的非血红素铁结合糖蛋白,中性粒细胞颗粒中具有杀菌活性的单体糖蛋白。广泛分布于哺乳动物乳汁和其他多种组织及其分泌液中,主要由乳腺上皮细胞表达和分泌。乳铁蛋白作为一种从乳汁中提取而得的属于先天免疫系统的食品蛋白,除了具有能够结合和运输铁离子、调节体内铁的平衡的主要功能     

乳铁蛋白的理化性质及其重组表达系统的研究进展

乳铁蛋白(Lactoferrin, Lf)是分子量大小约为80 kDa的铁离子结合糖蛋白,是转铁蛋白(Transferrin, Tf)家族的成员之一。其理化性质独特,具有抑菌、抗病毒、抗癌、免疫调节、调节铁离子的吸收等诸多生物学功能。获得高产且有生物活性的重组乳铁蛋白,并用于临床治疗,一直是研究热点。随着基因工程技术的发展,已获得多个可表达重组乳铁蛋白的表达系统。本文对乳铁蛋白的理化性质、生物学活性、临床研究以及目前的重组表达系统进行综述,以期为乳铁蛋白的临床应用提供参考。     

牛乳铁蛋白素及其衍生物的研究进展

牛乳铁蛋白素是牛乳铁蛋白经胃蛋白酶水解后释放出来的一段小肽,是牛乳铁蛋白的活性中心。通过对不同动物来源乳铁蛋白素活性的研究发现牛乳铁蛋白素的抗菌活性最强。进一步的丙氨酸突变实验研究表明,在牛乳铁蛋白素活性最强的15个氨基酸序列中,色氨酸在抗菌过程中起着重要作用。牛乳铁蛋白素正是因为含有两个色氨酸,其活性才会比只含有一个色氨酸的其它来源的乳铁蛋白素活性要高。很多实验室围绕着牛乳铁蛋白素中的色氨酸、碱性氨基酸和其他一些芳香族氨基酸展开了一系列的突变研究,本文综述了这些研究及在氨基酸改变后活性的变化,为以后研究及开发牛乳铁蛋白素提供理论基础。     

乳铁蛋白在人脑胶质瘤中的表达及意义

目的：通过对乳铁蛋白生物学特性的研究,分析其在人脑胶质瘤中的表达及意义。方法：通过免疫组化方法测定10例非肿瘤脑组织和46例胶质瘤（其中低级别胶质瘤27例（I级和II级）和高级别胶质瘤19例（III级和Ⅳ级）中乳铁蛋白的表达情况并分析二者的相关性。用RT—PCR技术及Westem—blot方法测定非肿瘤脑组织、低级别组胶质瘤和高级别胶质瘤组乳铁蛋白的表达量并分析二者的相关性。结果：乳铁蛋白在非肿瘤脑组织及不同级别胶质瘤中的表达情况不同,其在低级别胶质瘤中有表达,略低于非肿瘤脑组织;而在高级别胶质瘤中表达显著减少或者表达不明显,明显低于低级别胶质瘤和非肿瘤脑组织（免疫组化、RT．PCR及Western．Blot的P值分别为P=0．001、P=0．003、P=0．004）。结论：乳铁蛋白在非肿瘤脑组织和不同级别胶质瘤中的表达有差异,提示乳铁蛋白参与了人脑胶质瘤发生与发展的过程。高级别胶质瘤的高度恶性和高侵袭性可能与乳铁蛋白表达的下调从而丧失对肿瘤细胞的抑制作用相关。     

乳铁蛋白的多功能生物活性与临床进展

目前,为应对抗生素耐药性问题,需要探索更多的抗生素替代物用于对抗微生物的感染。乳铁蛋白是一类源自哺乳动物乳汁或其他粘膜分泌的一种糖基化蛋白,具有广谱抗微生物活性、免疫调节以及抗癌作用。乳铁蛋白对于易受感染的早产儿也有很好的耐受作用,基本无不良反应,具有良好的开发前景。本文主要概述乳铁蛋白的基本性质、多功能的生物学活性和作用机制,并探讨牛乳铁蛋白与talactoferrin的临床研究情况。     

重组猪乳铁蛋白N端的高效表达及抑菌活性检测

为获得表达猪乳铁蛋白基因的重组菌株,并检测其表达的重组猪乳铁蛋白抑菌活性,应用RT-PCR方法从泌乳3d后母猪乳腺组织中扩增了猪乳铁蛋白N端1077bp的PLF-N基因片段,与GenBank上发表的4株猪乳铁蛋白基因序列相比,核苷酸同源性均达到99%以上。为了得到高表达量的PLF-N基因,以扩增的PLF-N片段为参考模板,经过密码子优化,全基因合成了编码猪乳铁蛋白N端的基因PLF-NS。将其定向插入到原核表达载体pET-30b中,转化大肠杆菌BL21,获得了表达PLF-NS的重组菌pET-PLF-NS/BL21;经IPTG诱导,并对表达条件进行优化,以及通过SDS-PAGE和Western blotting分析均表明猪乳铁蛋白得到了正确表达,其产物分子量约为42kDa,最优表达条件下蛋白表达量占菌体总蛋白的32%,表达产物以包涵体形式存在。包涵体经裂解、纯化、复性处理后纯度达到98%。用琼脂孔穴扩散抑菌法检测表明重组猪乳铁蛋白具有明显的抑菌作用。表明通过基因优化对表达量低的基因进行改造使之高效表达,是一种提高表达效率的有效手段。     

乳铁蛋白抗菌机理研究进展

乳铁蛋白(Lactoferrin,LF)是发现于哺乳动物初乳中具有多种生物活性的单体糖蛋白,对幼体初期免疫具有重要作用。前人研究发现LF蛋白的酶解后其抗菌活性得到增强,是由于酶解后产生了比其本身抗菌能力更强的肽段。目前关于LF蛋白抗菌活性的报道很多,但其抗菌的具体分子机制尚不清楚。以LF蛋白与细菌细胞膜的结合能力和LF蛋白酶解产物的抗菌活性为切入点,揭示了LF蛋白行使抗菌功能的过程,认为LF蛋白与细菌表面相结合而发生结构变化,进而暴露出敏感的酶切位点,经酶解而释放抗菌活性肽,这些抗菌肽破坏细菌的细胞膜结构,达到抑菌或杀菌的目的。对LF蛋白抗菌机理的阐释将为研制抗菌能力更强的活性蛋白提供理论依据。     

牛乳铁蛋白素抗菌活性及抗菌活性位点

牛乳铁蛋白素(Bovine Lactoferrcin, LfcinB)是乳铁蛋白在酸性环境下经胃蛋白酶作用N端释放的一段多肽, 它具有多种生物学功能。研究LfcinB广谱抗菌性及改变LfcinB氨基酸序列对其抗菌能力的影响, 寻找LfcinB抗菌作用的结构位点。人工合成LfcinB, 采用琼脂扩散法测定LfcinB抗菌图谱。人工合成丙氨酸取代3位半胱氨酸的LfcinB、丙氨酸取代8位色氨酸的LfcinB和去掉2个半胱氨酸的LfcinB样品, 测定最小抑菌浓度, 确定LfcinB抗菌活性位点。研究结果表明:     

The role of lactoferrin released by phagocytosing neutrophils in the regulation of colony-stimulating activity production by human mononuclear cells

There remains a controversy about the alleged inhibitory effect of lactoferrin on production of colony-stimulating activity (C.S.A.) by mononuclear cells. We confirm the inhibitory action of both lactoferrin purified from human breast milk and that released from phagocytosing neutrophils. To show the inhibitory effect, it is necessary to plot the dose-response curve of medium conditioned by mononuclear cells with and without lactoferrin. Crowding cells to promote contact is essential for the fraction of C.S.A. production inhibitable by lactoferrin. Saturation of purified lactoferrin by addition of iron salts in vitro may introduce an artifact, as this lactoferrin retained its inhibitory activity at much greater dilutions than lactoferrin released from phagocytosing neutrophils.     

In vitro study of antimicrobial activity of lactoferrins from various sources

Comparative antimicrobial activity of lactoferrins from various sources (native lactoferrin from Laprot, human hololactoferrin, recombinant human lactoferrin isolated from the cultural medium of permissive cell culture transfected using pseudoadenovirus nanostructure with the human lactoferrin gene, and native bovine lactoferrin) was studied to prove the possibility of their use for development of antimicrobial drugs. It was shown that all the substances were active against the Bacillus standard strains. The antibacterial activity was almost independent of the degree of saturation the lactoferrin molecules with Fe3+. The native human lactoferrin was more active than hololactoferrin against Candida when evaluated by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Fe(3+)-Non aturated recombinant human lactoferrin demonstrated the antimicrobial activity (by MIC) similar to that of the native human lactoferrin. The results showed that native and recombinant human lactoferrins might be used for the development of intravenous and intracavitary dosage forms, while the native bovine lactoferrin could be useful in development of oral drugs.     

Bacteriostatic activity of human lactoferrin against Staphylococcus aureus is a function of its iron-binding properties and is not influenced by antibiotic resistance

The in vitro antistaphylococcal activity of lactoferrin and the antibiotic resistance of clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates obtained from three different sites of infection were examined. Antibiotic, but not lactoferrin resistance correlated with selective antibiotic pressure, and nosocomial and most community isolates were antibiotic resistant, whereas only a third of each group was resistant to lactoferrin. The antimicrobial activity of lactoferrin, both in defined medium and in normal human plasma serum, was dependent upon its ferrochelating properties. Therapeutic approaches based on the use of ferrochelating agents such as lactoferrin combined with antimicrobial drugs may help to counteract the reduced efficacy of current antibiotics.     

Lactoferrin Is the Major Deoxyribonuclease of Human Milk

Lactoferrin is the major iron-transferring protein of human barrier fluids such as blood and milk. It is a polyfunctional protein capable of binding DNA exposed on the surface of various cells. Electrophoretically homogenous lactoferrin was prepared by sequential chromatography of human milk proteins on DEAE-cellulose, heparin-Sepharose, and Sepharose containing immobilized anti-lactoferrin antibodies. By subsequent chromatography on Blue Sepharose the resulting lactoferrin was fractionated into several subfractions with different affinity for the sorbent, and this was associated with separation of additional lactoferrin peaks with DNase activity from the main peak. By various techniques, in particular, by in situ testing the DNase activity of lactoferrin in a DNA-containing gel after SDS-electrophoresis, hydrolysis of DNA was for the first time shown to be an intrinsic property of lactoferrin. The substrate specificity of lactoferrin in hydrolysis of DNA was different from specificities of known human DNases. Hydrolysis of DNA was activated by bivalent metal ions and also by ATP and NAD. Unlike the main fraction of lactoferrin with the highest affinity for Blue Sepharose, all protein subfractions with DNase activity were cytotoxic and suppressed growth of human and mouse tumor cell lines.     

Lactoferrampin: a novel antimicrobial peptide in the N1-domain of bovine lactoferrin

The antimicrobial activity of bovine lactoferrin is attributed to lactoferricin, situated in the N1-domain. Based on common features of antimicrobial peptides, a second putative antimicrobial domain was identified in the N1-domain of lactoferrin, designated lactoferrampin. This novel peptide exhibited candidacidal activity, which was substantially higher than the activity of lactoferrin. Furthermore, lactoferrampin was active against Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but not against the fermenting bacteria Actinomyces naeslundii, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguis. Notably, lactoferrampin is located in the N1-domain in close proximity to lactoferricin, which plays a crucial role in membrane-mediated activities of lactoferrin.     

Rat intestinal epithelial cells modify the reactivity of bovine milk lactoferrin to concanavalin A

Bovine milk lactoferrin suppressed proliferation of concanavalin A-stimulated rat spleen lymphocytes by absorbing mitogenic lectin activity. Culture media, conditioned by incubating allogeneic intestinal epithelial villus and crypt cells with or without lactoferrin, also suppressed the proliferation. Villus cells absorbed lactoferrin during preparation of conditioned medium and the medium lost a lactoferrin-dependent lymphocyte proliferation-suppressing activity. Although crypt cells did not absorb lactoferrin, its conditioned medium lost the activity. These conditioned media did not alter proliferation of lymphocytes stimulated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate plus ionomycin. Serum proteins, albumin and transferrin, did not substitute for milk lactoferrin. Thus, intestinal epithelial cells modified the reactivity of milk lactoferrin to concanavalin A.     

Lactoferrin from canine neutrophils: Isolation and physicochemical and antimicrobial properties

Lactoferrin has been isolated from canine leukocytes for the first time. Lactoferrin was identified by N-terminal amino acid sequence and by capability to capture ferric cations resulting in a complex with absorbance maximum at 460-470 nm. It is demonstrated that canine lactoferrin resembles the human homolog in some physicochemical properties, i.e. molecular weight, carbohydrate presence, and conditions of protein-iron complex dissociation. Bactericidal activity of dog lactoferrin was demonstrated on the gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and gram-positive bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. Bactericidal activity of canine lactoferrin is similar to that of human lactoferrin.     

Characterization of the human transferrin and lactoferrin receptors in Haemophilus influenzae

The expression of human transferrin and lactoferrin binding activity in Haemophilus influenzae, detected by a binding assay using human transferrin or lactoferrin conjugated to peroxidase, was regulated by the level of available iron in the medium. Transferrin binding activity was present in all H. influenzae isolates tested but not detected in other Haemophilus species or in species of Pasteurella or Actinobacillus. Lactoferrin binding activity was only detected in 1/15 H. influenzae isolates tested. The transferrin and lactoferrin receptors were shown to be specific for the respective human proteins by means of a competition binding assay. Competition binding assays also showed that iron-loaded transferrin was more effective at blocking the transferrin receptor than apotransferrin, but no differences in receptor blocking were observed between iron-loaded lactoferrin and apolactoferrin.     

Polymorphic sequence of Korean Native goat lactoferrin exhibiting greater antibacterial activity

Lactoferrin, which exhibits antibacterial activity to protect infants from infectious disease, is a major component of colostrum and milk. Lactoferrin was purified from the colostrum of Korean Native goat, and the cDNA from the mammary gland mRNA of the animal was cloned and sequenced. The nucleotide sequence of the lactoferrin gene of Korean Native goat was found to differ in 15 sites from that of the goat lactoferrin gene reported earlier. This difference in nucleotide sequence resulted in six amino acid substitutions: five in the N-lobe and one in the C-lobe. The antibacterial activity of Korean Native goat lactoferrin was found to be greater than that of Sannen goat lactoferrin.     

Cationic amphipathic peptides, derived from bovine and human lactoferrins, with antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens

Peptides derived from the N-terminal domain that comprises an amphipathic alpha-helix in human lactoferrin (LFh 18-31 and LFh 20-38) and bovine lactoferrin (LFb 17-30 and LFb 19-37) were chemically synthesised. Since many positively charged amphipathic alpha-helices contain antimicrobial activity, the peptides were tested for their antimicrobial activity against various oral pathogens. Both peptides from bovine lactoferrin had more potent antimicrobial activities than the human equivalents. Peptide LFb 17-30, containing the largest number of positively charged amino acids, showed the highest antimicrobial activity to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Since native lactoferrin molecules had no killing activity, release of these peptides from the native protein should be investigated to explore the use in oral care products.