Aggregation and fibrillation of bovine serum albumin

The all-alpha helix multi-domain protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) aggregates at elevated temperatures. Here we show that these thermal aggregates have amyloid properties. They bind the fibril-specific dyes Thioflavin T and Congo Red, show elongated although somewhat worm-like morphology and characteristic amyloid X-ray fiber diffraction peaks. Fibrillation occurs over minutes to hours without a lag phase, is independent of seeding and shows only moderate concentration dependence, suggesting intramolecular aggregation nuclei. Nevertheless, multi-exponential increases in dye-binding signal and changes in morphology suggest the existence of different aggregate species. Although beta-sheet content increases from 0 to ca. 40% upon aggregation, the aggregates retain significant amounts of alpha-helix structure, and lack a protease-resistant core. Thus BSA is able to form well-ordered beta-sheet rich aggregates which nevertheless do not possess the same structural rigidity as classical fibrils. The aggregates do not permeabilize synthetic membranes and are not cytotoxic. The ease with which a multidomain all-alpha helix protein can form higher-order beta-sheet structure, while retaining significant amounts of alpha-helix, highlights the universality of the fibrillation mechanism. However, the presence of non-beta-sheet structure may influence the final fibrillar structure and could be a key component in aggregated BSA's lack of cytotoxicity.     

A new perspective on thermal inactivation kinetics of human serum butyrylcholinesterase

Butyrylcholinesterase purified from human serum as 6600-fold was heated at 37°, 40°, 45°, and 50°C for 24 hr. It was observed that the enzyme heated at 45°C for 24 hr converted to a stabilized form and followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, whereas the enzyme samples, heated at the other temperatures for 24 hr, shown negative cooperativity with respect to its substrate, butyrylthiocholine. Even the sample heated at 45°C for 12 hr shown negative cooperativity. On the contrary to the heated enzyme at 40°C for 24 hr, the heated enzyme at 45°C for 24 hr could not be reactivated when it was kept at 4°C for 24 hr. In the kinetic studies, it was found that substrate analogs choline and benzoylcholine inhibited both the native enzyme and the enzyme heated at 45°C for 24 hr competitively, whereas succinylcholine was the partial competitive inhibitor of native enzyme but the pure competitive inhibitor of the heated enzyme.     

Low pH, caprylate incubation as a second viral inactivation step in the manufacture of albumin. Parametric and validation studies.

Caprylate has long been used as a stabiliser for albumin solutions, as well as a precipitation agent for immunoglobulins, ceruloplasmin and more recently in removing contaminants during albumin purification. Its virucidal properties have been explored and it has been proposed that the non-ionised form of the caprylate acid disrupts the integrity of the lipid bilayer and membrane associated proteins of enveloped viruses. The studies reported here further explore the use of this fatty acid to inactivate lipid-enveloped viruses in albumin manufactured for therapeutic use.Caprylate concentrations considered above solubility limits were adopted. Acidic pH was used to maximise the percentage of non-ionised caprylate and elevated temperatures were used to enhance inactivation rates. Parameters were manipulated to determine the relationship between pH, temperature and caprylate: protein ratio.These studies demonstrated that elevated temperature and low pH were critical in achieving significant reduction in virus infectivity and that the rate and extent of inactivation was sensitive to changes in caprylate:protein ratio and to changes in pH. Final inactivation conditions of 10% w/v protein, 16 mM caprylate, pH 4.5 and 30 degrees C were chosen to minimise protein dimerisation and to achieve greater than 4 log(10)inactivation of the most resistant virus tested, bovine viral diarrhoea virus.Validation studies using both model and relevant blood borne viruses demonstrated this to be a robust and effective viral inactivation step and is complementary to the commonly used pasteurisation viral inactivation step, thus providing an additional margin of safety to this valuable therapeutic blood product.     

Effect of citraconylation on the thermal aggregation of human serum albumin

Treatment of human serum albumin with citraconic anhydride permitted the introduction of up to approx. 20 citraconyl groups per monomer molecule of the protein. This caused an increase in the apparent Stokey radius as determined by gel filtration and viscosity measurements, although there was no significant change in helix content as measured by optical rotary dispersion. Citraconylation prevented the precipitation of albumin on heating, and significantly slowed the ate of formation of soluble aggregates, even though a large number of the citraconyl groups were lost during the period of high temperature.     

Influence of metal ions on thermal aggregation of bovine serum albumin: Aggregation kinetics and structural changes

Metal ions are implicated in protein aggregation processes of several neurodegenerative pathologies. In this work the effects of Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions on heat-induced structural modifications of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were studied, with the aim of delineating the role of these ions in the early stages of proteins aggregation kinetics. A joint application of different techniques was used. The aggregate growth was followed by dynamic light scattering measurements, whereas the conformational changes occurring in the protein structure were monitored by Raman and IR spectroscopy. Both in absence and in presence of metal ions, heating treatment gave rise to β-structures to the detriment of α-helix conformation of BSA. The temperature of protein unfolding was not sensitively affected by the presence of Zn(II) or Cu(II) ions; on the contrary, only Zn(II) ions slightly promoted the heat-induced aggregation of the protein, since bigger aggregates were formed in their presence. The different efficacy of the Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions in promoting the BSA aggregation were highlighted by Raman measurements, assessing the role of His residues in metal binding. A distinct polypeptide folding of the two metal-BSA systems takes place, since the predominant mode of metal binding depends on metal. In particular, in Zn-BSA the metal coordination involves the imidazole N_τ atom of His which can promote inter-molecular cross-linking.     

Effect of genetic variation on the thermal stability of human serum albumin

Reversible thermal denaturation of 33 genetic variants of human serum albumin (HSA) appeared to be a two-state process when studied by circular dichroism (CD). Fourteen single-residue variants have Tm values (midpoint of denaturation) higher than, and nine have Tm values lower than, their endogenous, wild-type counterpart. Nine single-residue variants have DeltaHv values (van't Hoff enthalpy) higher than, and 14 have DeltaHv values lower than, normal albumin. All types of combinations of positive and negative DeltaTm values and Delta(DeltaHv) values were found. Good linear correlations between mutation-induced changes of alpha-helical content and Delta(DeltaHv) values, but not DeltaTm values, were found especially for the variants mutated in domains I and III. The effect of altered chain length and glycosylation on Tm and DeltaHv was also studied. For all variants, no clear relationship was found between the changes in the thermodynamic parameters and the type of substitution, changes in protein charge or hydrophobicity. However, the protein changes taking place in domain I have a rather uniform effect (almost all of the nine variants have positive DeltaTm values and negative Delta(DeltaHv) values, i.e., they denature more easily than normal albumin but they do so at a higher temperature). The present results can be of both protein chemical relevance and of clinical interest, because they could be useful when designing stable, recombinant HSAs for clinical applications.     

Thermodynamic features of the chemical and thermal denaturations of human serum albumin

The unfolding process of human serum albumin between pH 5.4 and 9.9 was studied by chemical and thermal denaturations. The experimental results showed that there is no correlation between the stability of albumin at different pH values determined by both methods. The free energy change of unfolding versus concentration of guanidine showed a close dependence on the pH, suggesting that the variation of the electrical charge of albumin influences the final state of the unfolded form of the protein. Spectroscopic techniques, such as native fluorescence of the protein and circular dichroism, demonstrated that the unfolded state of the protein obtained from both methods possesses a different helical content. The solvophobic effect and the entropy of the chains have no influence on the final unfolding state when the protein is unfolded by thermal treatment, while, when the protein is unfolded by chemical denaturants, both effects depend on the medium pH. The results indicate that guanidine and urea interact with albumin by electrostatic forces, yielding a randomly coiled conformation in its unfolded state, while thermal denaturation produces a molten globule state and the aggregation of the protein; therefore, both methods yield different structurally unfolded states of the albumin.     

The participation of human serum albumin domains in chemical and thermal unfolding

Fluorescence spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry were used to follow local and global changes in human serum albumin domains during chemical and thermal denaturation of this protein. Results suggests that thermal and chemical treatments involved an unfolding pathway of at least two steps and that domain IIA is not homogeneous. Unfolding at site I exposes a larger hydrophobic area to the solvent than at site II. The bilirubin-binding site showed atypical behavior: a significant increase in the hydrophobic area was exposed to the solvent when its binding site was denatured by guanidine hydrochloride. This result might be due to the high specificity of the bilirubin-binding site, whose binding makes an extensive conformational change in the environment of this site.     

热稳定性试验对人血白蛋白质量的影响

目的观察热稳定性试验对人血白蛋白质量的影响。方法依据《中国药典》三部对人血白蛋白待检品进行热稳定性试验,并通过可见异物、多聚体含量和纯度等指标对其进行稳定性评价。结果人血白蛋白经热稳定性试验后可见异物检查无肉眼可见的明显变化。热稳定性试验对多聚体含量有明显影响(t=-2.65,P=0.0160.05),试验品多聚体含量增加。试验品和对照品纯度变化有显著差异(t=4.19,P=0.0010.05;t=12.87,P=0.0000.01)。SDS-PAGE结果显示,试验品有两条杂带含量增多,表明主带人血白蛋白含量降低,纯度下降。结论人血白蛋白应严格按照《中国药典》规定的温度进行储存和运输,确保制品的质量。     

Anion-binding centers of human serum albumin during an N-F conformation transition and in isolated albumin and blood serum

Fluorescent probe N-phenyl-1-amino-8-sulfonaphthalene (ANS) was used for studying pH-dependent structural N-F-transition in human serum albumin of two kinds: in commercial albumin and in natural blood serum. The kinetics of ANS fluorescence decay in albumin solutions was measured. There were found two types of the sites occupied by ANS in albumin under physiological conditions (pH 7.4). In the first binding site ANS fluorescence decay time was 16.6 +/- 0.3 nsec and it was not significantly changed at N-F transition (pH 4.0). In the second binding site the decay time was dependent on pH in commercial albumin and was not significantly changed in serum. In the second binding site there were individual differences of ANS decay time (4.3 +/- 0.6 nsec). The observed ANS fluorescence intensity enhancing (about 40-50%) in N-F transition may be explained by an increase of albumin binding sites capacity for ANS.     

Cold ethanol fractionation and heat inactivation of hepatitis a virus during manufacture of albumin from human plasma

The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy and mechanism of fraction IV cold ethanol fractionation and pasteurization (60°C heat treatment for 10h), involved in the manufacture of albumin from human plasma, in the removal and/or inactivation of the hepatitis A virus (HAV). Samples from the relevant stages of the production process were spiked with HAV and the amount of virus in each fraction then quantified using a 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID₅₀). HAV was effectively partitioned from albumin during the fraction IV cold ethanol fractionation with a log reduction factor of 3.43. Pasteurization was also found to be a robust and effective step in inactivating HAV, where the titers were reduced from an initial titer of 7.60 log TCID₅₀ to undetectable levels within 5 h of treatment. The log reduction factor achieved during pasteurization was≽4.76. Therefore, the current results indicate that the production process for albumin has sufficient HAV reducing capacity to achieve a high margin of virus safety.     

The N-terminal sequence of albumin Redhill, a variant of human serum albumin

Albumin Redhill, a variant human albumin, has been isolated by fast protein liquid chromatofocusing. The N-terminal sequence of this protein corresponded to that of albumin A except that one additional arginine residue was attached to the N-terminus.     

Binding of a spin-labelled photoallergen to human serum albumin

The binding site for 3,3',4',5-tetrachlorosalicylanilide (T4CS), a potent photoallergen, on human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy using a spin-labelled analogue 3,5-dichlorosalicylamido-4-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl) (DCS-TEMPO) of T4CS in the absence of ultraviolet irradiation. DCS-TEMPO bound non-covalently (K = 5.8 X 10(6) M-1) to one major binding site on HSA. This binding site could be blocked by the photochemical binding of T4CS to the protein. Limited tryptic digestion of HSA or chemical modification of its single tryptophan residue with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide was found to reduce the binding constant of the T4CS/DCS-TEMPO-binding site. These observations are in good agreement with earlier conclusions on the nature of the T4CS-binding site and suggest a location for this site close to the single tryptophan residue of the HSA molecule.     

Stereoselective binding of human serum albumin

Stereoselectivity in binding can have a significant effect on the drug disposition such as first-pass metabolism, metabolic clearance, renal clearance, and protein and tissue binding. Human serum albumin (HSA) is able to stereoselectively bind a great number of various endogenous and exogenous compounds. Various experimental data suggested that the two major drug-binding cavities, namely, site I and site II, do not seem to be the stereoselective binding sites of HSA. Stereoselective binding of HSA under disease conditions such as renal and hepatic diseases was found to be enhanced. In addition, site-to-site displacement of a site II-specific drug by another site II-specific drug was found to be stereoselective, too. Endogenous compounds such as long-chain fatty acids and uremic toxins are likely to cause combined direct and cascade effects that contribute to the preferential binding of a particular drug enantiomer. Taking together the findings of other studies, it is highly possible that the stereoselective binding site exists at the interface of the subdomains.     

Characterization of sulfhydryl heterogeneity in human serum albumin and recombinant human serum albumin for clinical use

Since human serum albumin has one sulfhydryl group and 17 disulfides, reactive sulfhydryl groups give rise to heterogeneity. The present paper presents a comparison of sulfhydryl heterogeneity in human serum albumin and recombinant human serum albumin for clinical use. Low molecular weight sulfhydryl compounds were identified from both sources. The recombinant albumin had a much higher sulfhydryl content than plasma serum albumin.     

Aggregation of biopharmaceuticals in human plasma and human serum

Analytical methods based on light microscopy, 90° light-scattering and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) allowed the characterization of aggregation that can occur when antibodies are mixed with human plasma. Light microscopy showed that aggregates formed when human plasma was mixed with 5% dextrose solutions of Herceptin^® (trastuzumab) or Avastin^® (bevacizumab) but not Remicade^® (infliximab). The aggregates in the plasma-Herceptin^®-5% dextrose solution were globular, size range 0.5–9 μm, with a mean diameter of 4 μm. The aggregates in the plasma-Avastin^®-5% dextrose samples had a mean size of 2 μm. No aggregation was observed when 0.9% NaCl solutions of Herceptin^®, Avastin^® and Remicade^® were mixed with human plasma. 90° light-scattering measurements showed that aggregates were still present 2.5 h after mixing Herceptin^® or Avastin^® with 5% dextrose-plasma solution. A SPR method was utilized to qualitatively describe the extent of interactions of surface-bound antibodies with undiluted human serum. Increased binding was observed in the case of Erbitux^® (cetuximab), whereas no binding was measured for Humira^® (adalimumab). The binding of sera components to 13 monoclonal antibodies was measured and correlated with known serum binding properties of the antibodies. The data presented in this paper provide analytical methods to study the intrinsic and buffer-dependent aggregation tendencies of therapeutic proteins when mixed with human plasma and serum.