The separation of affinity flocculated yeast cell debris using a pilot-plant scroll decanter centrifuge

The use of a scroll decanter centrifuge for the removal and dewatering of affinity-flocculated yeast cell debris from a crude homogenate is described. Laboratory shear modulus measurements were used to compare the structure of flocculated and nonflocculated sediments and to indicate the dewatering conditions under which the sediment could be discharged from the centrifuge. The structure of the flocculated sediment was such that a dry beach could be used within the centrifuge while still being able to discharge the solids. The scroll decanter performance for recovery and dewatering of the flocculated homogenate was found to be independent of feed flow rate and differential scroll rate. Eighty-five percent of the solid material was recovered from the flocculated homogenate while the extent of sediment dewatering resulted in the loss of only 7% of the soluble protein in the sediment. The supernatant clarity matched that achieved by low-gravity laboratory centrifugation studies.     

Extraction and preliminary characterization of maturation-promoting factor from starfish oocytes

Cytoplasm of maturing starfish oocytes possesses a factor which induces maturation upon injection into immature oocytes. Such maturation-promoting factor (MPF) was extracted from maturing oocytes of Asterina pectinifera and characterized preliminarily. After 1-methyladenine (1-MeAde) treatment, maturing oocytes were packed in a centrifuge tube to remove jelly and excess medium, and then crushed by centrifugation. The turbid supernatant was homogenized with a buffer containing NaF, Na-beta-glycerophosphate, ATP, EGTA and leupeptin, followed by centrifugation. MPF extracted in the supernatant was purified partially by ammonium sulfate precipitation, hydrophobic chromatography on pentyl-agarose and gel filtration on Sephacryl S-300. The final material induced maturation in the recipient starfish oocytes when 0.5 ng of protein was injected in a volume of 400 pl. The maturation response included germinal vesicle breakdown, and formation of polar bodies and egg pronucleus. Such MPF preparation induced maturation in oocytes of Xenopus laevis as well. Further, starfish MPF was found to be a heat-labile protein; its molecular weight (MW) was estimated as 300 X 10(3) D by gel filtration and its sedimentation coefficient value as 5S by centrifugation on sucrose density gradients.     

Measurements of multiply scattered light for on-line monitoring of changes in size distribution of cell debris suspension

Dual wavelength frequency-domain measurements of photon migration (FDPM) are conducted on filtrate samples obtained from an industrial centrifugation process designed to separate Escherichia coli cell debris from the inclusion bodies. FDPM measurements consist of detecting phase delay of intensity-modulated light at 670 and 820 (or 830) nm. Optical properties of isotropic scattering and absorption are obtained from the regression of phase delay data to the optical diffusion equation. We show that the corresponding intensity-based measurements alone cannot provide accurate and independent estimates for these optical properties. However, FDPM-derived scattering coefficients of filtrate solutions (primarily consisting of 0.1-0.2 micrometer E. coli cell debris) are sensitive to approximately 1 vol % of added inclusion bodies (of 1-2 micrometer size). The technique, theory, and future adaptation of FDPM as an on-line monitor to detect the loss of inclusion bodies in centrifugation following homogenization are presented and contrasted to conventional, intensity-based measurements.     

A novel technique for the measurement of disruption in high-pressure homogenization: Studies on E. coli containing recombinant inclusion bodies

The high-pressure homogenization of Escherichia coli, strain JM101, containing inclusion bodies of recombinant porcine somatotropin was investigated. A novel technique employing an analytical disc centrifuge was used to monitor the disruption. This a direct technique which measures cell disintegration rather than soluble protein release. The technique is particularly suited to measurements where the disruption approaches 100%. The disk centrifuge provides a size distribution of the homogenate, and furnishes evidence for the preferential disruption of larger cells. For E. coli containing inclusion bodies, and increase in the cell feed concentration from 145 g/L (wet weight) to 330 g/L resulted is poorer homogenization. Poorer disruption was also obtained by lowering the feed temperature from 20 degrees C to 5 degrees C. Only slight variations in performance were obtained by increasing the feed pH from 7.5 to 9.0 or by storing the feed at 4 degrees C for 24 h prior to disruption. Comparison with uninduced E. coli strain JM101, showed that the disruption obtained is higher for bacteria containing a recombinant inclusion body.     

Ultra scale‐down prediction using microwell technology of the industrial scale clarification characteristics by centrifugation of mammalian cell broths

This article describes how a combination of an ultra scale‐down (USD) shear device feeding a microwell centrifugation plate may be used to provide a prediction of how mammalian cell broth will clarify at scale. In particular a method is described that is inherently adaptable to a robotic platform and may be used to predict how the flow rate and capacity (equivalent settling area) of a centrifuge and the choice of feed zone configuration may affect the solids carry over in the supernatant. This is an important consideration as the extent of solids carry over will determine the required size and lifetime of a subsequent filtration stage or the passage of fine particulates and colloidal material affecting the performance and lifetime of chromatography stages. The extent of solids removal observed in individual wells of a microwell plate during centrifugation is shown to correlate with the vertical and horizontal location of the well on the plate. Geometric adjustments to the evaluation of the equivalent settling area of individual wells (Σ_M) results in an improved prediction of solids removal as a function of centrifuge capacity. The USD centrifuge settling characteristics need to be as for a range of equivalent flow rates as may be experienced at an industrial scale for a machine of different shear characteristics in the entry feed zone. This was shown to be achievable with two microwell‐plate based measurements and the use of varying fill volumes in the microwells to allow the rapid study of a fivefold range of equivalent flow rates (i.e., at full scale for a particular industrial centrifuge) and the effect of a range of feed configurations. The microwell based USD method was used to examine the recovery of CHO‐S cells, prepared in a 5 L reactor, at different points of growth and for different levels of exposure to shear post reactor. The combination of particle size distribution measurements of the cells before and after shear and the effect of shear on the solids remaining after centrifugation rate provide insight into the state of the cells throughout the fermentation and the ease with which they and accumulated debris may be removed by continuous centrifugation. Hence bioprocess data are more readily available to help better integrate cell culture and cell removal stages and resolve key bioprocess design issues such as choice of time of harvesting and the impact on product yield and contaminant carry over. Operation at microwell scale allows data acquisition and bioprocess understanding over a wide range of operating conditions that might not normally be achieved during bioprocess development. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009; 104: 321–331 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Performance prediction of industrial centrifuges using scale-down models

Computational fluid dynamics was used to model the high flow forces found in the feed zone of a multichamber-bowl centrifuge and reproduce these in a small, high-speed rotating disc device. Linking the device to scale-down centrifugation, permitted good estimation of the performance of various continuous-flow centrifuges (disc stack, multichamber bowl, CARR Powerfuge) for shear-sensitive protein precipitates. Critically, the ultra scale-down centrifugation process proved to be a much more accurate predictor of production multichamber-bowl performance than was the pilot centrifuge.     

Mass Purification of Nucleopolyhedrosis Virus Inclusion Bodies in the K-Series Centrifuge

Nucleopolyhedrosis virus inclusion bodies specific for Hemerocampa pseudotsugata, Neodiprion sertifer, Porthetria dispar, and Heliothis zea have been purified by using a continuous-sample-flow-with-isopycnic-banding centrifuge in quantities up to 6 x 10(13) polyhedral inclusion bodies per day. Continuous-flow methods for S-rho type purification have been evolved to deal with mass isolation of bioparticles.     

D-Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase and polyhedral inclusion bodies in Thiobacillus intermedius.

The growth-related parameters of Thiobacillus intermedius, cultured in glutamate-CO2-S2O32- medium, have been determined. After centrifugation at 48,000 X g for 1 h, 24% of the D-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase) activity of the disrupted-cell suspensions obtained from CO2-S2O32--and glutamate-CO2-S2O3(3)- grown cells could be sedimented, and the specific activities of this enzyme in the supernatant fractions were almost equivalent. The enzyme was stable in T. intermedius starved of thiosulfate in the presence and absence of glutamate, but a progressive decrease was evident in several growth cycles, each cycle supported by resupplementation of cells with thiosulfate. Polyhedral inclusion bodies were present in CO2-S2O3(2)- and glutamate-CO2S2O3(2)- grown cells. The number of polyhedral bodies per cell increased during mixotrophic growth approximately in proportion to the observed increase in the specific activity of RuBPCase. RuBPCase could not be detected in T. intermedius grown heterotrophically on yeast extract, nor could polyhedral bodies be found.     

重组人脑源性神经营养因子的纯化和鉴定

在确定培养条件和发酵参数后 ,工程菌 E.coli BL2 1 ( DE3) /PVBN6在 5 L发酵罐中稳定表达。获得的菌体经超声破碎 ,离心收集包含体。 6mol/L盐酸胍缓冲液溶解包含体 ,用透析法将盐酸胍替换成脲后 ,经过 CM Sepharose F.F.阳离子交换色谱和 C8反相色谱 ,可得到纯度达 95 %以上的rh BDNF。Western- blot表明 ,rh BDNF与抗 - h BDNF多克隆抗体有结合特异性。用 9日龄鸡胚背根神经节测定生物活性 ,rh BDNF活性为 5 0 ng/ml。N-末端氨基酸序列测定表明 rh BDNF N-末端为Met,其后 1 6个氨基酸残基与天然 h BDNF N-末端氨基酸残基序列一致     

Conversion of recombinant human ferritin light chain inclusion bodies into uniform nanoparticles in Escherichia coli for facile production

Prokaryotic expression systems are widely used to produce many types of biologics because of their extreme conveniences and unmatchable cost. However, production of recombinant human ferritin light chain (rhFTL) protein is largely restrained because its expression in Escherichia coli tends to form inclusion bodies (IBs). In this study, a prokaryotic expression vector (FTL‐pBV220) harboring the rhFTL gene was constructed using a pBV220 plasmid. The tag‐free rhFTL was highly expressed and almost entirely converted to soluble form, and thus the rhFTL was successfully self‐assembled into uniform nanoparticles in E. coli. To establish a simplified downstream process, a precipitation procedure based on the optimized incubation temperature, pH condition, and ionic strength was developed to remove impurities from the crude lysate supernatant. The rhFTL retained in the clarified supernatant was subsequently purified in a single step using Capto Butyl column resulting in a considerable recovery and high purity. The purified rhFTL was characterized and verified by mass spectrometry and spectral and morphological analyses. The results revealed that rhFTL exhibited highly ordered and fairly compact structures and the spherical structures were preserved.     

Plasmid chromosome isolation: An improved batch procedure for large plasmids

A one-step, batch fractionation procedure for the isolation of Escherichia coli plasmids with molecular weights up to at least 1.3 × 10⁸ has been devised. A 15-ml lysate of 5 × 10¹⁰ bacteria is gently prepared and underlain with 15 ml of CsCl-ethidium bromide solution in a 30-ml centrifuge bottle. During an 18- to 24-h 100,000g centrifugation in an anglehead rotor, an aggregate of dense cellular debris including almost all of the host DNA pellets. Plasmid chromosomes are banded in the supernatant isopycnic gradient and are detected by fluorescence of their intercalated ethidium bromide. Plasmid recoveries of 40–70% are achieved. The preparations are pure enough to be used for plasmid circumference measurements by electron microscopy.     

Large-scale production, bacterial localization assessment and immobilized metal affinity chromatography purification of a human single-chain Fv antibody against alphaIIb-beta3 integrin

Our objective was to investigate the Escherichia coli localization (such as supernatant, cytoplasm and inclusion bodies) of an anti-alphaIIb-beta3 (alphaIIbbeta3) scFv fragment referred to as scFv[EBB3] produced in batch fermentation. Immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) purification was performed on supernatant using expanded bed absorbed technology (EBA) and on sonicated cells in native conditions over an immobilized copper-ion affinity column. Inclusion bodies were solubilized before IMAC purification and the refolding procedure was performed on the column. The majority of scFv[EBB3] were present as inclusion bodies (55%), whereas 36% were found in the cytoplasm and only 9% secreted in the supernatant. The scFv activity was assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry analyses performed on a thrombus induced in vivo on an atherosclerotic rabbit model.     

Highly efficient genetic transduction of primary human synoviocytes with concentrated retroviral supernatant

We are developing retroviral-mediated gene transfer to human fibroblast-like synovial cells (FLS) as one approach to characterizing genetic pathways involved in synoviocyte pathophysiology. Prior work has suggested that FLS are relatively refractory to infection by Moloney murine leukemia virus based vectors. To determine if viral titer influenced the transduction efficiency of FLS, we optimized a rapid, efficient, and inexpensive centrifugation method to concentrate recombinant retroviral supernatant. The technique was evaluated by measurement of the expression of a viral enhanced green fluorescent protein transgene in transduced cells, and by analysis of viral RNA in retroviral supernatant. Concentration (100-fold) was achieved by centrifugation of viral supernatant for four hours, with 100% recovery of viral particles. The transduction of FLS increased from approximately 15% with unconcentrated supernatant, to nearly 50% using concentrated supernatant. This protocol will be useful for investigators with applications that require efficient, stable, high level transgene expression in primary FLS.     

猪SsBHMT基因的原核表达及条件优化

甜菜碱高半胱氨酸甲基转移酶（BHMT）是一种甲基代谢酶,催化甜菜碱转甲基到高半胱氨酸生成甲硫氨酸。对含有pET30a-SsBHMT重组质粒的菌株进行诱导表达分析,通过对菌株、IPTG诱导浓度、时间等诱导表达条件进行优化,结果表明：该目的蛋白主要以包涵体的形式出现;经过条件优化,目的蛋白表达量在上清和沉淀中均有所增加,但仍主要以包涵体的形式存在;大肠杆菌菌株ER2566为适合目的蛋白表达的菌株;在37℃,IPTG浓度为0.4 mmol/L,诱导时间为10 h的条件下,目的蛋白表达量最多。研究结果为进一步蛋白纯化与抗体制备奠定了基础。     

High and compact formation of baculoviral polyhedrin-induced inclusion body by co-expression of baculoviral FP25 in Escherichia coli

Previously, we found that baculoviral polyhedrin (Polh) can successfully be used in Escherichia coli as a fusion partner for the expression of special foreign proteins as inclusion bodies, and the resulting, easily isolatable Polh-induced fusion inclusion bodies had almost the same characteristics as the native Polh. Here, we investigated the effects of co-expression of baculoviral FP25 protein on Polh-induced inclusion-body production in an E. coli expression system, as FP25 is known to be involved specifically in polyhedra formation. Using several analytical tools, including SDS-PAGE, pronase proteolysis, solubilization under alkaline conditions, and electron microscopy, we found that co-expressed FP25 was associated with Polh-induced inclusion bodies and that its co-expression led to formation of compact inclusion bodies as well as high production levels. We confirmed that FP25 co-expression induced higher production levels of other heterologous protein, antimicrobial peptide Hal18, fused with aggregation-prone Polh. Therefore, co-expression of baculoviral FP25 can be promisingly used to increase the levels of baculoviral Polh-fused foreign proteins, especially harmful proteins, expressed as inclusion bodies in an E. coli expression system.     

Studies of cell pellets: I. Electrical properties and porosity.

Cell pellets formed by centrifugation provided a good system to study the osmotic behavior, electroporation, and interaction between cells. Rabbit erythrocyte pellets were used in this study because they were simpler than nucleated cells to model analytically. Structurally, cell pellets possessed properties of porous solid bodies and gels. Electrically, cell pellets were shown to behave as a parallel set of resistance, Rp, and capacitance, Cp. Information on pellet structures was obtained from electric measurements. The pellet resistance reflected the intercellular conductivity (porosity and gap conductivity), whereas the pellet capacitance depended mostly on membrane capacitance. The pellet resistance was more sensitive to experimental conditions. The intercellular gap distance can be derived from pellet porosity measurements, providing the cell volume and surface area were known. Rp increased and relaxed exponentially with time when centrifugation started and stopped; the cycles were reversible. When supernatants were exchanged with solutions containing hypotonic electrolytes or macromolecules (such as PEG) after the pellets were formed, complicated responses to different colloidal osmotic effects were observed. A transient decrease followed by a large increase of Rp was observed after the application of a porating electric pulse, as expected from a momentary membrane breakdown, followed by a limited colloidal-osmotic swelling of pelleted cells. The equilibrium values of Rp, Cp, pellet porosity, and intercellular distances were measured and calculated as functions of cell number, centrifugation force, and ionic strength of the exchanged supernatant. Thus, the structure and properties of cell pellets can be completely characterized by electrical measurements.     

Improved Recovery of a Fusion Protein Containing the Antigenic Domain 1 of the Human Cytomegalovirus Glycoprotein B

Heterologous expression in Escherichia coli often leads to production of the expressed proteins as insoluble and inactive inclusion bodies. The general strategy for protein recovery includes isolation and washing of inclusion bodies, solubilization of aggregated protein and refolding of solubilized protein. The process of refolding, as well as the other steps involved in inclusion body recovery, must be optimized according to the characteristics of each protein. For the development of reliable and inexpensive serodiagnostic tests, the antigenic domain 1 (AD-1) of human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B was expressed in E. coli and a process was developed to increase recovery of the fusion protein containing AD-1. A comparison of disruption methods and different conditions involved in recovery of this fusion protein from inclusion bodies is presented. The developed method gives a high yield of the fusion protein with a purity sufficient for use in diagnostic tests.     

A crosslinked inclusion body process for sialic acid synthesis

The propensity of a recombinant protein produced in bacteria to aggregate has been assumed to be unpredictable, and inclusion bodies have been thought of as wasted cell material. However, a target protein can be purposely driven to inclusion bodies, which demonstrate full cell tolerable activity. Sialic acid aldolase, N-terminally fused with the cellulose-binding module of Clostridium cellulovorans, was almost quantitatively physiologically aggregated into active inclusion bodies. These inclusion bodies were entrapped in alginate beads and crosslinked by glutaraldehyde. The immobilized biocatalyst generated by this crosslinked inclusion bodies (CLIB) technology was used in a repetitive batch protocol for sialic acid production that was monitored on-line by flow calorimetry. The required substrate, N-acetyl-D-mannosamine, was obtained by partially improved alkaline epimerization.     

Processing of McCoy cell cultures infected with Chlamydia trachomatis: sequential isolation of chlamydial elementary bodies and lipopolysaccharide

Abstract Triton X-100 (TX100) enhances the liberation of chlamydial elementary bodies (EB) from host cells and dissolves the host cell membrane. In the presence of TX100 only differential centrifugation is needed to isolate reasonably pure EBs. The remaining high-speed supernatant still contains a large part of the chlamydial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which can be isolated with the standard phenol-chloroform-petroleum ether extraction.