Refolding of denatured/reduced lysozyme at high concentration with diafiltration

Refolding of reduced and denatured protein in vitro has been an important issue for both basic research and applied biotechnology. Refolding at low protein concentration requires large volumes of refolding buffer. Among various refolding methods, diafiltration is very useful to control the denaturant and red/ox reagents in a refolding solution. We constructed a refolding procedure of high lysozyme concentration (0.5-10 mg/ml) based on the linear reduction of the urea concentration during diafiltration under oxygen pressure. When the urea concentration in the refolding vessel was decreased from 4 M with a rate of 0.167 M/h, the refolding yields were 85% and 63% at protein concentrations, 5 mg/ml and 10 mg/ml, respectively, after 11 h. This method gave a high productivity of 40.1,microM/h of the refolding lysozyme. The change in refolding yields during the diafiltration could be simulated using the model of Hevehan and Clark.     

Thermal aggregation of bovine serum albumin at different pH: comparison with human serum albumin

We report here a study on thermal aggregation of BSA at two different pH values selected to be close to the isoelectric point (pI) of this protein. Our aim is to better understand the several steps and mechanisms accompanying the aggregation process. For this purpose we have performed kinetics of integrated intensity emission of intrinsic and extrinsic dyes, tryptophans and ANS respectively, kinetics of Rayleigh scattering and of turbidity. The results confirm the important role played by conformational changes in the tertiary structure, especially in the exposure of internal hydrophobic regions that promote intermolecular interactions. We also confirm that the absence of electrostatic repulsion favours the disordered non-specific interactions between molecules and consequently affects the aggregation rate. Finally, the comparison between BSA and another relative protein, HSA, allows us to clarify the role of different domains involved in the aggregation process. Proceedings of the XVIII Congress of the Italian Society of Pure and Applied Biophysics (SIBPA), Palermo, Sicily, September 2006.     

The binding curves in relation to protein concentration. the interaction of human serum albumin with surfactants

• 1.1. The binding curves of three surfactants (natrium dodecyl sulphate, Triton X-100 and Slovafol 909) to human serum albumin at protein concentrations of 0.01–10% were measured.
• 2.2. Contrary to other authors' findings, the results showed the courses of the binding curves to be independent of protein concentration.
• 3.3. The present values of the concentration-dependent binding curves require special accuracy in the experimental techniques.

     

Molten globule intermediates of human serum albumin in low concentration of urea

Interaction of non-electrolytes such as urea with proteins especially at lower concentrations is opening-up newer concepts in the understanding of protein stability and folding in proteomics. In this study, the secondary and tertiary structural characteristics and thermal stability of human serum albumin at lower concentrations of urea have been monitored. The protein attains a molten globule like structure at concentration urea below 2 M. This structural state also shows an increase in the alpha-helical content as compared to the native state. At concentrations of urea above 2 M, human serum albumin starts unfolding, resulting in a three-state transition with two mid points of transitions at around 4 M and 7 M urea concentrations. The characteristics of the partially folded intermediates are discussed with respect to the three component system analyses. Preferential hydration dominates over preferential interaction at lower concentration of urea (up to 2.5 M) and at higher concentration, the preferential interaction overtakes preferential hydration in a competitive manner. Formation of structural intermediates at lower concentration of urea is hypothesized as a general phenomenon in proteins and fits in with the observation with preferential interaction parameters by Timasheff and co-workers in the case of lysozyme and ribonuclease at different pH values.     

Decrease in stability of human albumin with increase in protein concentration

The stability (reflected in denaturation temperature, Td) of defatted human albumin monomer, monitored by differential scanning calorimetry, decreases with increasing protein concentration. This is shown to be compatible with a simple model in which reversible polymerization of denatured monomer promotes unfolding. This model also predicts an increase in transition cooperativity with decreasing protein concentration whereas experimentally cooperativity decreases because the rate of thermally induced polymerization of unfolded monomer is slow relative to the scan rate of the calorimeter. The denaturation of undefatted human albumin monomer, subsaturated with high affinity endogenous long-chain fatty acid (LCFA), was previously observed by differential scanning calorimetry to be a biphasic process. Td for the first endotherm, associated with the denaturation of LCFA-poor species, decreases with increasing protein concentration similar to that for defatted monomer whereas Td for the second endotherm, associated with denaturation of LCFA-rich species, is independent of concentration. The magnitude of the concentration dependence of Td relates directly to the extent of polymerization of denatured monomer, which decreases with increasing level of bound ligand. The bimodal thermogram observed for undefatted monomer persists upon simultaneous extrapolation of Td values to low concentration and low scan rate thereby demonstrating that this biphasic denaturation arising from ligand redistribution during denaturation is a true thermodynamic phenomenon and not an artifact of specific experimental conditions or the method used to induce denaturation.     

Kinetics of ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase at high protein concentration

Kinetic parameters of ribulos-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBP carboxylase) are usually evaluated in dilute solutions (less than 0.1 mg ml-1). Yet, this enzyme occurs in vivo at 100-200 mg ml-1 and a total protein concentration 300-400 mg ml-1. Enzymes can change their catalytic properties upon 'crowding'. Hence it became of interest to determine whether RuBP carboxylase elicits any properties not observable in dilute solution. Pre-steady state progress curves of fully activated enzyme showed an initial burst followed by a slower rate of product formation. The extent of the burst increased as concentration ratios of RuBP and RuBP carboxylase decreased. The burst corresponds to 1/8 turnover per holoenzyme or 1 turnover per active site. No discontinuity in progress curves was observed with partially activated enzyme.     

One-step preparation of S-nitrosated human serum albumin with high biological activities

S-Nitrosated human serum albumin (SNO-HSA) is a large molecular weight nitric oxide carrier in human plasma, and because of its many beneficial effects in different tests, it is currently under investigation as a cytoprotective agent. However, making SNO-HSA preparations is a complicated and time-consuming process. We found that binding of caprylic acid (CA) and N-acetyl-l-tryptophan (N-AcTrp) to defatted mercaptalbumin increased S-nitrosation by S-nitrosoglutathione (GS-NO) by making Cys-34 of HSA more accessible and by protecting it against oxidation, respectively. Fortunately, HSA solutions for clinical use contain high concentrations of CA and N-AcTrp as stabilizers. By making use of that fact it was possible to work-out a fast and simple procedure for producing SNO-HSA: incubation of a commercial HSA formulation with GS-NO for only 1 min results in S-nitrosation of HSA. The biological usefulness of such a preparation was tested in a rat ischemia–reperfusion liver injury model. Although our procedure for making SNO-HSA is fast and straightforward, the cytoprotective effect of the preparation was similar to, or better than, that of a preparation made in a more traditional way. The clinical development of SNO-HSA as a strong cytoprotective agent is under way using this method in collaboration with clinicians and industrial developers.     

Effect of physiological concentration of urea on the conformation of human serum albumin

We report that the presence of very low concentrations (<0.1 M) of urea, a widely used chemical denaturant, induces structure formation in the water-soluble globular protein human serum albumin (HSA) at pH 7. We have presented results suggesting an almost 8% and 5% increase in alpha-helix in the presence of 10 mM urea (U) and 20 mM monomethylurea (MMU), respectively. Far and near-UV circular dichroism studies along with tryptophan fluorescence and 1-anilino-8-naphthalenesulphonicacid (ANS) binding support our view. We hypothesize that both U and MMU, at such low concentrations, modify the solvent structure, increase the dielectric constant and consequently increase hydrophobic forces resulting in enhanced alpha-helical content. The implications of these results of the lower urea regime are significant because the physiological blood urea ranges from 2.5 to 7.5 mM.     

PEGylation of human serum albumin: reaction of PEG-phenyl-isothiocyanate with protein

Successful and cost-effective PEGylation protocols require pure functionalized PEG reagents, which can be synthesized by simple and efficient procedures, exhibit high stability against hydrolysis, and maintain a level of reactivity with protein functional groups under mild reaction conditions. PEG-phenyl-isothiocyanate (PIT-PEG) is a new functionalized PEG having these characteristics, and has been synthesized by condensation of the bifunctional reagent 4-isothiocyanato phenyl isocyanate with monomethoxy PEG (mPEG). The data of (1)H NMR and colormetric analysis of the new PEG reagent establish that the mPEG has been quantitatively functionalized. The t 1/4 values for the hydrolysis of PIT-PEG5K in 100 mM phosphate solution at pH 6.5 and 9.2 are about 95 and 40 h, respectively. Incubation of human serum albumin (HSA, 0.5 mM) with a 10-fold molar excess of PIT-PEG (3K or 5K) at pH 6.5 and 9.2 generated PEG-HSA conjugates with average of 3.5 and 6.0 PEG chains per HSA molecule, respectively. The circular dichroism spectra of the conjugates showed that PEGylation of HSA has little influence on the secondary structure of HSA. The hexaPEGylated HSA, (TCP-PEG5K) 6-HSA, exhibited very high hydrodynamic volume, and the molecular radius of HSA increased from 3.95 to 6.57 nm on hexaPEGylation. The hexaPEGylation also increased the viscosity of 4% HSA from 1.05 to 2.10 cP, and the colloid osmotic pressure from 15.2 to 48.0 mmHg. The large increase in the hydrodynamic volume and the solution properties of (TCP-PEG5K) 6-HSA suggest that it could be a potential candidate as a plasma volume expander. PIT-PEG is a useful addition to the spectrum of functionalized PEG reagents available for surface decoration of proteins with PEG.     

Forms of human serum high density lipoprotein protein

Delipidation by ethanol-diethyl ether at -10 degrees C of human serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL, d 1.063-1.21) or of its subclasses HDL(2) (d 1.063-1.120) and HDL(3) (d 1.120-1.21), yielded proteins-alphaP, alphaP(2), and alphaP(3)-containing 3% phospholipid (largely lecithin) and 3.3% carbohydrate (glucosamine:L-fucose:D-galactose, D-mannose:sialic acid, 1.00:41 : 0.56:0.31). Solubility data and analytical ultracentrifugal analyses indicated that, upon lipid removal, HDL protein aggregates readily; the aggregation is dependent upon pH and ionic strength of the solvent medium. Subunits of 21,000 mol wt were obtained by acetylation or addition of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). HDL and alphaP elicited in the rabbit a similar immunological response. By agar gel immunoelectrophoresis both anti-HDL and anti-alphaP sera detected a major and two minor antigenic determinants in HDL, HDL(3), alphaP, alphaP(2), and alphaP(3). HDL(2), antigenically homogeneous, gave an immunoelectrophoretic pattern of HDL(3) upon mixing with alphaP. alphaP, alphaP(2), and alphaP(3) exhibited a single antigenic determinant after treatment with SDS (0.5 M) or upon acetylation. Native or delipidated forms of HDL, HDL(2), and HDL(3) were separated by vertical starch gel electrophoresis into several components, which showed identical reactions against anti-HDL or anti-alphaP sera. The data suggest that (a) the proteins of HDL, HDL(2), and HDL(3) are made of subunits, probably identical, of an average molecular weight of 21,000; (b) the difference in antigenic behavior between HDL(2) and HDL(3) is due to the presence in the latter of a lipid-poor protein; (c) antigenic polymorphism of alphaP is probably related to the presence in solution of monomeric and polymeric forms having different reactivity against anti-HDL and anti-alphaP sera.     

The elasticity of spectrin-actin gels at high protein concentration

Human erythrocyte spectrin of high purity was studied alone and mixed with rabbit skeletal actin by dynamic rheometry as a function of protein concentration at pH 7.4 and 24 degrees C. Pure spectrin had a very low storage modulus, G', increasing slightly with increase in protein concentration (approximately 3 dynes/cm at 25 mg/ml). In contrast, unpurified cytoskeletal extracts containing spectrin, actin, and band 4.1 showed a marked concentration dependence for G', increasing to 150 dynes/cm at 20 mg/ml. Mixtures of purified spectrin and skeletal actin at a weight ratio of 4:1 also showed G' markedly dependent on concentration (approximately 150-200 dynes/cm at 20 mg/ml). Maximum elasticity of spectrin-actin gels occurred at a molar ratio of actin monomers to spectrin tetramers of 14:1. We conclude that the reconstituted in vitro spectrin-actin network consists of actin fibers cross-linked by spectrin tetramers at regular intervals. The gel is rapidly reformed after mechanical disruption or thermal collapse, indicating that the polymer fibers are in equilibrium with the constituent monomers.     

The binding curves in relation to protein concentration. The interaction of human serum albumin with phthalein dyes and azo-dyes

• 1.1. The binding curves of three phthalein dyes and two azo-dyes were measured in a concentration range of human serum albumin from 0.1 to 10%.
• 2.2. Contrary to other authors' findings, the courses of the binding curves appeared independent of protein concentration in all cases.
• 3.3. This discrepancy may be due to precision of the experimental techniques.

     

Molten globule-like state of human serum albumin at low pH.

Human serum albumin (HSA), under conditions of low pH, is known to exist in two isomeric forms, the F form at around pH 4.0 and the E form below 3.0. We studied its conformation in the acid-denatured E form using far-UV and near-UV CD, binding of a hydrophobic probe, 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (ANS), thermal transition by far-UV and near-UV CD, tryptophan fluorescence, quenching of tryptophan fluorescence using a neutral quencher, acrylamide and viscosity measurements. The results show that HSA at pH 2.0 is characterized by a significant amount of secondary structure, as evident from far-UV CD spectra. The near-UV CD spectra showed a profound loss of tertiary structure. A marked increase in ANS fluorescence signified extensive solvent exposure of non-polar clusters. The temperature-dependence of both near-UV and far-UV CD signals did not exhibit a co-operative thermal transition. The intrinsic fluorescence and acrylamide quenching of the lone tryptophan residue, Trp214, showed that, in the acid-denatured state, it is buried in the interior in a non-polar environment. Intrinsic viscosity measurements showed that the acid-denatured state is relatively compact compared with that of the denatured state in 7 M guanidine hydrochloride. These results suggest that HSA at pH 2.0 represents the molten globule state, which has been shown previously for a number of proteins under mild denaturing conditions.     

Crystal structure of human serum albumin at 2.5 A resolution.

A new triclinic crystal form of human serum albumin (HSA), derived either from pool plasma (pHSA) or from a Pichia pastoris expression system (rHSA), was obtained from polyethylene glycol 4000 solution. Three-dimensional structures of pHSA and rHSA were determined at 2.5 A resolution from the new triclinic crystal form by molecular replacement, using atomic coordinates derived from a multiple isomorphous replacement work with a known tetragonal crystal form. The structures of pHSA and rHSA are virtually identical, with an r.m. s. deviation of 0.24 A for all Calpha atoms. The two HSA molecules involved in the asymmetric unit are related by a strict local twofold symmetry such that the Calpha atoms of the two molecules can be superimposed with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.28 A in pHSA. Cys34 is the only cysteine with a free sulfhydryl group which does not participate in a disulfide linkage with any external ligand. Domains II and III both have a pocket formed mostly of hydrophobic and positively charged residues and in which a very wide range of compounds may be accommodated. Three tentative binding sites for long-chain fatty acids, each with different surroundings, are located at the surface of each domain.     

Optimized procedure for renaturation of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 at high protein concentration

The human gene encoding the mature form of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (hBMP-2), a dimeric disulfide-bonded protein of the cystine knot growth factor family, was expressed in recombinant Escherichia coli using a temperature-inducible expression system. The recombinant protein was produced in the form of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies and the effect of different variables on the renaturation of rhBMP-2 was investigated. In particular, variables such as pH, redox conditions, protein concentration, temperature, the presence of different types of aggregation suppressors, and host cell contaminants were studied with respect to their effect on aggregation during refolding and on the final renaturation yield of rhBMP-2. It is shown that the renaturation yield is particularly sensitive to pH, temperature, protein concentration, and the presence of aggregation suppressors. In contrast, little effect of the redox conditions and the ionic strength on the renaturation yield was observed, as equal yields were obtained in a broad range of reduced to oxidized glutathione ratios and concentrations of NaCl, respectively. The aggregation suppressor 2-(cyclohexylamino)ethanesulfonic acid (CHES) proved to be superior with respect to the final renaturation yield, although, in comparison to the more common arginine, it was less efficient in preventing aggregation of rhBMP-2 during refolding. Detergent washing of inclusion bodies was sufficient, as further purification of rhBMP-2 prior to refolding was without effect on the final renaturation yield. An increase in the concentration of renatured rhBMP-2 was achieved by a pulsed refolding procedure by which up to a total amount of 2.1 mg mL(-1) rhBMP-2 could be transferred in seven pulses into the renaturation buffer with an overall refolding yield of 38%, corresponding to 0.8 mg mL(-1) renatured dimeric rhBMP-2. Furthermore, a simplified purification procedure is presented that also includes freeze-drying for long-term storage of biologically active rhBMP-2. Finally, it is shown that the appearance of rhBMP-2 variants could be avoided by using a host strain overexpressing rare codon tRNAs.     

The self-association of human spectrin at high concentration.

The self-association of purified human spectrin has been studied at sedimentation equilibrium over a wide range of concentration (0-20 g/L) at 30 degrees C and pH 7.5. Coincidence of apparent weight average molecular weight and omega (r) plots as a function of total spectrin concentration indicated that equilibrium was attained and that no significant concentration of solute was incapable of participating in the self-association reaction. Under these conditions, no significant dissociation of the heterodimer to component polypeptide chains could be detected. The behavior of spectrin between 0 and 20 g/L can be described reasonably well by a cooperative isodesmic model, in which the protomer for association is the alpha beta heterodimer. With this model, the equilibrium constant for the heterodimer-tetramer step, K24, is 2 x 10(6) M-1, and K(iso), the equilibrium constant describing all other steps, is approximately 0.2 x 10(6) M-1. The returned value of the second virial coefficient for this model, 1.0 x 10(-7) L mol g-2, is consistent with the lower limit of values calculated for the heterodimer from the charge and Stokes radius of spectrin. On the other hand, the attenuated indefinite association model fails to describe the self-association of spectrin adequately over the range 0-20 g/L. Systematic decreases in the estimates of the second virial coefficient and the equilibrium constants for association beyond the tetramer suggest that the assumption of a single value of the second virial coefficient may not be appropriate for spectrin, and that non-ideality would best be taken into account by consideration of the detailed solution composition.