High Pressure Homogenization of Porcine Pepsin Protease: Effects on Enzyme Activity,Stability, Milk Coagulation Profile and Gel Development

This study investigated the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) (up to 190 MPa) on porcine pepsin (proteolytic and milk-clotting activities), and the consequences of using the processed enzyme in milk coagulation and gel formation (rheological profile, proteolysis, syneresis, and microstructure). Although the proteolytic activity (PA) was not altered immediately after the HPH process, it reduced during enzyme storage, with a 5% decrease after 60 days of storage for samples obtained with the enzyme processed at 50, 100 and 150 MPa. HPH increased the milk-clotting activity (MCA) of the enzyme processed at 150 MPa, being 15% higher than the MCA of non-processed samples after 60 days of storage. The enzyme processed at 150 MPa produced faster aggregation and a more consistent milk gel (G’ value 92% higher after 90 minutes) when compared with the non-processed enzyme. In addition, the gels produced with the enzyme processed at 150 MPa showed greater syneresis after 40 minutes of coagulation (forming a more compact protein network) and lower porosity (evidenced by confocal microscopy). These effects on the milk gel can be associated with the increment in MCA and reduction in PA caused by the effects of HPH on pepsin during storage. According to the results, HPH stands out as a process capable of changing the proteolytic characteristics of porcine pepsin, with improvements on the milk coagulation step and gel characteristics. Therefore, the porcine pepsin submitted to HPH process can be a suitable alternative for the production of cheese.     

Identification and Structural Analysis of Amino Acid Substitutions that Increase the Stability and Activity of Aspergillus niger Glucose Oxidase

Glucose oxidase is one of the most conspicuous commercial enzymes due to its many different applications in diverse industries such as food, chemical, energy and textile. Among these applications, the most remarkable is the manufacture of glucose biosensors and in particular sensor strips used to measure glucose levels in serum. The generation of ameliorated versions of glucose oxidase is therefore a significant biotechnological objective. We have used a strategy that combined random and rational approaches to isolate uncharacterized mutations of Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase with improved properties. As a result, we have identified two changes that increase significantly the enzyme''s thermal stability. One (T554M) generates a sulfur-pi interaction and the other (Q90R/Y509E) introduces a new salt bridge near the interphase of the dimeric protein structure. An additional double substitution (Q124R/L569E) has no significant effect on stability but causes a twofold increase of the enzyme''s specific activity. Our results disclose structural motifs of the protein which are critical for its stability. The combination of mutations in the Q90R/Y509E/T554M triple mutant yielded a version of A. niger glucose oxidase with higher stability than those previously described.     

Effects of High Pressure on Glucose Transport in the Human Erythrocyte

The effects of raised hydraulic pressure on D-glucose exit from human red cells at 25 degrees C were determined using light scattering measurements in a sealed pressurized spectrofluorimeter cuvette. The reduction in the rates of glucose exit with raised pressure provides an index of the activation volume, deltaV++ (delta ln k/deltaP)(T) = -deltaV++/RT. Raised pressure decreased the rate constant of glucose exit from 0.077 +/- 0.003 s(-1) to 0.050 +/- 0.002 s(-1) (n = 5, P < 0.003). The Ki for glucose binding to the external site was 2.7 +/- 0.4 mm (0.1 MPa) and was reduced to 1.45 +/- 0.15 mm (40 MPa), (P < 0.01, Student's t test). Maltose had a biphasic effect on deltaV++. At [maltose] <250 microM, deltaV++ of glucose exit increased above that with [maltose = 0 mM], at >1 mm maltose, deltaV++ was reduced below that with [maltose = 0 mM]. Pentobarbital (2 mM) decreased the deltaV++ of net glucose exit into glucose-free solution from 30 +/- 5 ml mol(-1) (control) to 2 +/- 0.5 ml mol(-1) (P < 0.01). Raised pressure had a negligible effect on L-sorbose exit. These findings suggest that stable hydrated and liganded forms of GLUT with lower affinity towards glucose permit higher glucose mobilities across the transporter and are modelled equally well with one-alternating or a two-fixed-site kinetic models.     

高糖刺激下PKC/NADPH氧化应激途径对内皮细胞活性氧生成的影响及其机制探讨

目的:探讨高糖刺激下PKC/NADPH氧化应激途径对内皮细胞活性氧生成的影响。方法:实验分为正常对照组、NaOH对照组、DMSO对照组、20 mM葡萄糖处理4小时组(高糖组)、1 mol佛波酯预处理0.5小时再加入20 m M葡萄糖处理组(佛波酯组)和4 mol金丝桃素预处理0.5小时再加入20 mM葡萄糖处理组(金丝桃素组);Ⅱ型胶原酶消化法分离人脐静脉内皮细胞;流式细胞术检测细胞内活性氧;免疫荧光检测内皮细胞Ⅷ因子和NADPH氧化酶亚基p47phox定位。结果:1与正常对照组相比,高糖组细胞内活性氧增高(P0.05,n=3),与正常对照组和高糖组相比,佛波酯组HUVECs内活性氧的产生显著增加(P0.05,n=3),与正常对照组和高糖组相比,金丝桃素组HUVECs内活性氧的产生明显减少(P0.05,n=3);2正常对照组和金丝桃素组中细胞NADPH氧化酶亚基p47phox主要位于胞浆,而佛波酯组和高糖组的NADPH氧化酶亚基p47phox位于胞膜。结论:高糖通过PKC信号通路调节内皮细胞NADPH氧化酶亚基p47phox的移位从而增加细胞内活性氧的生成。     

Perturbation of Surface Tension of Water by Polyhydric Additives: Effect on Glucose Oxidase Stability

An experimental investigation is reported on the influence of some polyhydric additives (ethanediol, 1,2-propanediol and glycerol) on the thermal behaviour of Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase. Spectroscopic measurements performed to follow protein unfolding showed that all the cosolvents destabilize the enzyme and caused an increase in the standard enthalpy and entropy of transition. Furthermore the melting temperature was found to be intimately related to the surface tension of the medium. The obtained results were interpreted as the consequence of preferential protein-cosolvent interactions determined by the perturbation of the surface tension of water.     

Perturbation of Surface Tension of Water by Polyhydric Additives: Effect on Glucose Oxidase Stability

An experimental investigation is reported on the influence of some polyhydric additives (ethanediol, 1,2-propanediol and glycerol) on the thermal behaviour of Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase. Spectroscopic measurements performed to follow protein unfolding showed that all the cosolvents destabilize the enzyme and caused an increase in the standard enthalpy and entropy of transition. Furthermore the melting temperature was found to be intimately related to the surface tension of the medium. The obtained results were interpreted as the consequence of preferential protein-cosolvent interactions determined by the perturbation of the surface tension of water.     

应用氧化酶法对高糖高脂动物模型肝糖原含量的测定

目的建立氧化酶法检测肝糖原的方法。方法采用碱中和与缓冲液相配合调节水解液pH至中性,然后用氧化酶法检测肝糖原含量。结果用10μL6mol/LNaOH加入等量肝糖原水解液后,再加入4mLpH7.2磷酸盐缓冲液,可使糖原水解液pH值调为7.2,用于氧化酶法测定糖含量。结论该法操作简便易行,结果稳定、重复性好。     

Structure-Function Perturbation and Dissociation of Tetrameric Urate Oxidase by High Hydrostatic Pressure

Structure-function relationships in the tetrameric enzyme urate oxidase were investigated using pressure perturbation. As the active sites are located at the interfaces between monomers, enzyme activity is directly related to the integrity of the tetramer. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the enzyme was investigated by x-ray crystallography, small-angle x-ray scattering, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Enzymatic activity was also measured under pressure and after decompression. A global model, consistent with all measurements, discloses structural and functional details of the pressure-induced dissociation of the tetramer. Before dissociating, the pressurized protein adopts a conformational substate characterized by an expansion of its substrate binding pocket at the expense of a large neighboring hydrophobic cavity. This substate should be adopted by the enzyme during its catalytic mechanism, where the active site has to accommodate larger intermediates and product. The approach, combining several high-pressure techniques, offers a new (to our knowledge) means of exploring structural and functional properties of transient states relevant to protein mechanisms.     

Non-thermal Effects of a Ceramics Heater Radiation on Xanthine Oxidase Activity

The non-thermal effects of ceramics heater radiation on xanthine oxidase activity have been investigated using the enzyme, substrate, and competitive inhibitors which were irradiated on cooling. The K_m and V_max in the irradiated enzyme system were reduced to 51% and 85%, of the non-irradiated control, respectively. The K_i for a competitive inhibitor, folic acid, in the irradiated enzyme system decreased to 22% of the non-irradiated control. A steady-state molecular kinetic analysis for the reaction estimates that the irradiated enzyme may be kept in a folding state, and the formation of a Michaelis complex has been accelerated, and the activated Michaelis complex has been stabilized, and that a solvation or an electrostriction of xanthine, folate, and an active center of the enzyme with water may be promoted by irradiating the components in an aqueous solution, by which modification of the enzyme activity has been regulated.     

Antibacterial Activity and Kinetics of Litsea cubeba Oil on Escherichia coli

Litsea cubeba oil is extracted from the fresh fruits of Litsea cubeba by distillation. In this study, its chemical constituents, antibacterial activity, kinetics and effects against Escherichia coli were studied. Its minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) were both 0.125% (v/v) by toxic food method. Moreover, the antibacterial kinetic curves indicated 0.0625% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil was able to prolong the growth lag phase of E. coli cells to approximate 12 hours while 0.125% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil was able to kill the cells completely. Furthermore, transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation showed most E. coli cells treated with 0.125% (v/v) of litsea cubeba oil were killed or destroyed severely within 2 hours. The litsea cubeba oil might penetrate and destroy the outer and inner membrane of E. coli cells. Thus many holes and gaps were observed on the damaged cells, which led to their death eventually. The antibacterial effects of litsea cubeba oil mainly attributed to the presence of aldehydes, which accounted for approximately 70% in its whole components analyzed by GC/MS. Based on the antimicrobial properties, litsea cubeba oil would have a broad application in the antimicrobial industry.     

Heritable Transmission of Stress Resistance by High Dietary Glucose in Caenorhabditis elegans

Glucose is a major energy source and is a key regulator of metabolism but excessive dietary glucose is linked to several disorders including type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiac dysfunction. Dietary intake greatly influences organismal survival but whether the effects of nutritional status are transmitted to the offspring is an unresolved question. Here we show that exposing Caenorhabditis elegans to high glucose concentrations in the parental generation leads to opposing negative effects on fecundity, while having protective effects against cellular stress in the descendent progeny. The transgenerational inheritance of glucose-mediated phenotypes is dependent on the insulin/IGF-like signalling pathway and components of the histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylase complex are essential for transmission of inherited phenotypes. Thus dietary over-consumption phenotypes are heritable with profound effects on the health and survival of descendants.     

Effects of High Pressure on Survival and Metabolic Activity of Lactobacillus plantarum TMW1.460

The application of high pressure (HP) for food preservation requires insight into mechanisms of HP-mediated cell injury and death. The HP inactivation in model beer of Lactobacillus plantarum TMW1.460, a beer-spoiling organism, was investigated at pressures ranging from 200 to 600 MPa. Surviving cells were characterized by determination of (i) cell viability and sublethal injury, (ii) membrane permeability to the fluorescent dyes propidium iodide (PI) and ethidium bromide (EB), (iii) metabolic activity with tetrazolium salts, and (iv) the activity of HorA, an ATP binding cassette-type multidrug resistance transporter conferring resistance to hop compounds. HP inactivation curves exhibited a shoulder, an exponential inactivation phase, and pronounced tailing caused by a barotolerant fraction of the population, about 1 in 10⁶ cells. During exponential inactivation, more than 99.99% of cells were sublethally injured; however, no sublethal injury was detected in the barotolerant fraction of the culture. Sublethally injured cells were metabolically active, and loss of metabolic activity corresponded to the decrease of cell viability. Membrane damage measured by PI uptake occurred later than cell death, indicating that dye exclusion may be used as a fail-safe method for preliminary characterization of HP inactivation. An increase of membrane permeability to EB and a reduction of HorA activity were observed prior to the loss of cell viability, indicating loss of hop resistance of pressurized cells. Even mild HP treatments thus abolished the ability of cells to survive under adverse conditions.     

Iron Metallodrugs: Stability,Redox Activity and Toxicity against Artemia salina

Iron metallodrugs comprise mineral supplements, anti-hypertensive agents and, more recently, magnetic nanomaterials, with both therapeutic and diagnostic roles. As biologically-active metal compounds, concern has been raised regarding the impact of these compounds when emitted to the environment and associated ecotoxicological effects for the fauna. In this work we assessed the relative stability of several iron compounds (supplements based on glucoheptonate, dextran or glycinate, as well as 3,5,5-trimethylhexanoyl (TMH) derivatives of ferrocene) against high affinity models of biological binding, calcein and aprotransferrin, via a fluorimetric method. Also, the redox-activity of each compound was determined in a physiologically relevant medium. Toxicity toward Artemia salina at different developmental stages was measured, as well as the amount of lipid peroxidation. Our results show that polymer-coated iron metallodrugs are stable, non-redox-active and non-toxic at the concentrations studied (up to 300 µM). However, TMH derivatives of ferrocene were less stable and more redox-active than the parent compound, and TMH-ferrocene displayed toxicity and lipid peroxidation to A. salina, unlike the other compounds. Our results indicate that iron metallodrugs based on polymer coating do not present direct toxicity at low levels of emission; however other iron species (eg. metallocenes), may be deleterious for aquatic organisms. We suggest that ecotoxicity depends more on metal speciation than on the total amount of metal present in the metallodrugs. Future studies with discarded metallodrugs should consider the chemical speciation of the metal present in the composition of the drug.