Protein modifications during antiviral heat bioprocessing and subsequent storage

Antiviral heat treatment is routinely used in the bioprocessing of therapeutic proteins as a means of reducing viral load. However, in protein formulations containing sucrose this form of bioprocessing can lead to protein modifications. Using a model protein, hen egg white lysozyme, we investigated the effects of antiviral heat treatments in the presence of sucrose on protein integrity during subsequent long-term protein storage. Although heat treatment alone resulted in protein modification, subsequent medium- to long-term storage of both lyophilized and liquid samples at room temperature or above led to further protein modifications. The majority of these modifications were due to the formation of glycation and advanced glycation end products via the reaction of reducing sugars and their autoxidation products (derived from hydrolyzed sucrose) with function groups on the protein surface. These findings have implications for the improvement of therapeutic protein bioprocessing to ensure protein product quality.     

Protein modification during anti-viral heat-treatment bioprocessing of factor VIII concentrates, factor IX concentrates, and model proteins in the presence of sucrose.

To ensure the optimal safety of plasma derived and new generation recombinant proteins, heat treatment is customarily applied in the manufacturing of such biopharmaceuticals as a means of viral inactivation. In subjecting proteins to anti-viral heat-treatment it is necessary to use high concentrations of thermostabilizing excipients to prevent protein damage, and it is therefore imperative that the correct balance between bioprocessing conditions, maintenance of protein integrity and virus kill is found. In this study we have utilized model proteins (lysozyme, fetuin, and human serum albumin) and plasma-derived therapeutic proteins (factor VIII and factor IX) to investigate the protein modifications that occur during anti-viral heat treatment. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between bioprocessing conditions and the type and extent of protein modification under a variety of industrially relevant wet and lyophilized heat treatments using sucrose as a thermostabilizing agent. Heat treatment led to the formation of disulfide crosslinks and aggregates in proteins containing free cysteine residues. Terminal oligosaccharide sialic acid residues were hydrolyzed from the glycan moieties of glycoproteins during anti-viral heat treatment. Heat treatment promoted sucrose hydrolysis to yield glucose and fructose, leading, in turn, to the glycation of lysine amino groups in those proteins containing di-lysine motifs. During extended hear treatments, 1,2-dicarbonyl type advanced glycation end-products were also formed. Glycation-type modifications were more prevalent in wet heat-treated protein formulations.     

Protein engineering of penicillinase as affinity ligands for bioprocessing

The active site and the substrate binding site of penicillinase (β-lactamase) from Bacillus licheniformis were altered in this study so that the enzyme retains the specific binding capability to the β-lactam antibiotics, but fails to hydrolyze them. When Lys47 in the enzyme molecule was replaced by Ala47, the mutant protein PenP(KA) lost not only its catalytic activity but also the substrate binding ability. In contrast, when Ser44 was replaced by Ala, the mutant protein PenP(SA) lost its catalytic activity but still kept the substrate binding ability. It was found that PenP(SA) exhibited the characteristic association and dissociation with penicillin G, but the dissociation constant was much larger than expected. Possible use of this mutant protein as an affinity ligand is also discussed.     

古菌蛋白质修饰研究进展

20世纪50年代中期,在古菌的表层(S-层)首次发现了糖蛋白;21世纪初又在空肠弯曲菌(Campylobacter jejuni)中发现了蛋白质N-糖基化修饰。由此,同行开始认识到,蛋白质的糖基化修饰广泛存在于古菌、细菌及真核生物三域中。近十年来,古菌蛋白质糖基化修饰的研究取得了进展,特别是古菌蛋白质N-糖基化修饰研究进展快速。但对古菌糖蛋白O-糖基化修饰和脂修饰的了解甚少。本文综述了古菌蛋白质糖基化修饰的研究进展。     

Protein expression during heat stress in thermo-intolerant and thermo-tolerant diatoms

Diatoms (Chrysophyta) are photosynthetic microorganisms that are abundant in the natural environment and often associated with specific habitat and water quality conditions. Their significance as bioindicators and as exploitable sources of fine chemicals makes them desirable candidates for the study of stress responses. The protein expression of a thermo-intolerant (Phaeodactylum tricornutum) and thermo-tolerant (Chaetoceros muelleri) diatom following exposure to elevated temperature was investigated using one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis. It was determined using SDS PAGE with ³⁵S-methionine labeled proteins and Western blot analysis using pea HSP70 antisera that higher temperatures and longer duration treatment were required to cause a noticeable stress response in C. muelleri compared to P. tricornutum. This may be explained by C. muelleri possessing higher amounts of constitutively expressed heat shock proteins, which allows these cells to rapidly adjust to temperature increases. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that putative small heat shock proteins (smHSPs) may appear to play a role during heat stress in both diatoms, which is similar to the response in plants. SDS PAGE data are also presented characterizing the recovery of P. tricornutum after heat shock. These results suggest that there is a lag period between heat shock and stress protein synthesis in these thermo-intolerant cells. This supports the hypothesis that cells without higher amounts of constitutively expressed stress proteins have a greater sensitivity to increased temperature. Work is underway to identify particular stress proteins responsible for conveying thermo-tolerance and to determine if overexpression of these genes in thermo-intolerant diatoms affects their temperature sensitivity.     

原核生物的蛋白质翻译后修饰

蛋白质翻译后修饰是调节蛋白质生物学功能的关键步骤之一,是蛋白质动态反应和相互作用的一个重要分子基础,同时,它也是细胞信号网络调控的重要靶点.目前,蛋白质翻译后修饰已经成为国际上蛋白质研究的一个极其重要的热点.在原核生物生命活动中,蛋白质的翻译后修饰具有十分重要的作用,如参与细胞信号传导、物质的代谢、蛋白质的降解、致病微生物的致病过程等.综述了经典原核生物蛋白质翻译后修饰的种类、机制和功能,同时介绍了最近发现的原核生物的全局性乙酰化修饰以及结核分枝杆菌中类泛素化修饰.     

Protein modification in malting sorghum

Steeping time, moisture content and germination times were deployed in assessing protein modification in sorghum varieties: ICSV400, SK5912 and KSV8. Grains were steeped for 45 h using 6 h wet and 3 h dry cycles and germinated for 8 days. Moisture contents and their effects on protein modification were monitored at various intervals. Optimum moisture contents of 37–43% and out-of-steep values of 32–35% were recorded. Significant positive correlations existed between moisture content and free alpha amino nitrogen (FAN), total non-protein nitrogen (TNPN) and cold water soluble protein (CWS-P), all key protein modification indicators, during steeping. Maximum values for FAN, TNPN and CWS-P were recorded in both ICSV400 and SK5912 after 40 h of steeping, suggesting a similarity in the physiology of the grains in both varieties while those of KSV8 occurred after 45 h. Variety and steeping time significantly affected moisture content at P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively as well as the development of FAN, TNPN and CWS-P during steeping. Optimum values for the above parameters occurred on day 5 of germination in all the sorghum varieties. Variety and germination time highly significantly (P < 0.001) affected protein modification during germination.     

Protein denaturation in intact hepatocytes and isolated cellular organelles during heat shock

There is circumstantial evidence that protein denaturation occurs in cells during heat shock at hyperthermic temperatures and that denatured or damaged protein is the primary inducer of the heat shock response. However, there is no direct evidence regarding the extent of denaturation of normal cellular proteins during heat shock. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is the most direct method of monitoring protein denaturation or unfolding. Due to the fundamental parameter measured, heat flow, DSC can be used to detect and quantitate endothermic transitions in complex structures such as isolated organelles and even intact cells. DSC profiles with common features are obtained for isolated rat hepatocytes, liver homogenate, and Chinese hamster lung V79 fibroblasts. Five main transitions (A-E), several of which are resolvable into subcomponents, are observed with transition temperatures (Tm) of 45-98 degrees C. The onset temperature is approximately 40 degrees C, but some transitions may extend as low as 37-38 degrees C. In addition to acting as the primary signal for heat shock protein synthesis, the inactivation of critical proteins may lead to cell death. Critical target analysis implies that the rate limiting step of cell killing for V79 cells is the inactivation of a protein with Tm = 46 degrees C within the A transition. Isolated microsomal membranes, mitochondria, nuclei, and a cytosolic fraction from rat liver have distinct DSC profiles that contribute to different peaks in the profile for intact hepatocytes. Thus, the DSC profiles for intact cells appears to be the sum of the profiles of all subcellular organelles and components. The presence of endothermic transitions in the isolated organelles is strong evidence that they are due to protein denaturation. Each isolated organelle has an onset for denaturation near 40 degrees C and contains thermolabile proteins denaturing at the predicted Tm (46 degrees C) for the critical target. The extent of denaturation at any temperature can be approximately by the fractional calorimetric enthalpy. After scanning to 45 degrees C at 1 degree C/min and immediately cooling, a relatively mild heat shock, an estimated fraction denaturation of 4-7% is found in hepatocytes, V79 cells, and the isolated organelles other than nuclei, which undergo only 1% denaturation because of the high thermostability of chromatin. Thus, thermolabile proteins appear to be present in all cellular organelles and components, and protein denaturation is widespread and extensive after even mild heat shock.     

Protein modification and its biological role

The modifications present on a polypeptide play an important role in determining its eventual fate. Modifications, particularly proteolysis, are important in the generation of biological activity. Modifications are used to "target" particular polypeptides to specific cellular locations. Protein modification also plays a role in determining the rate of polypeptide degradation. Cells have developed elaborate systems for the modification of their proteins because these modifications serve important biological functions.     

Corrosion in bioprocessing applications

Corrosion in bioprocessing applications is described for a 25-year-old bioprocessing pilot plant facility. Various available stainless steel alloys differ greatly in properties owing to the impact of specific alloying elements and their concentrations. The alloy property evaluated was corrosion resistance as a function of composition under typical bioprocessing conditions such as sterilization, fermentation, and cleaning. Several non-uniform forms of corrosion relevant to bioprocessing applications (e.g., pitting, crevice corrosion, intergranular attack) were investigated for their typical causes and effects, as well as alloy susceptibility. Next, the corrosion resistance of various alloys to specific bioprocessing-relevant sources of corrosion (e.g., medium components, acids/bases used for pH adjustment, organic acid by-products) was evaluated, along with the impact of temperature on corrosion progression. Best practices to minimize corrosion included considerations for fabrication (e.g., welding, heat treatments) and operational (e.g., sterilization, media component selection, cleaning) approaches. Assessments and repair strategies for observed corrosion events were developed and implemented, resulting in improved vessel and overall facility longevity.     

Anaerobic bioprocessing of organic wastes

Anaerobic digestion of dissolved, suspended and solid organics has rapidly evolved in the last decades but nevertheless still faces several scientific unknowns. In this review, some fundamentals of bacterial conversions and adhesion are addressed initially. It is argued in the light of G-values of reactions, and in view of the minimum energy quantum per mol, that anaerobic syntrophs must have special survival strategies in order to support their existence: redistributing the available energy between the partners, reduced end-product fermentation reactions and special cell-to-cell physiological interactions. In terms of kinetics, it appears that both reaction rates and residual substrate thresholds are strongly related to minimum G-values. These new fundamental insights open perspectives for efficient design and operation of anaerobic bioprocesses. Subsequently, an overview is given of the current anaerobic biotechnology. For treating wastewaters, a novel and high performance new system has been introduced during the last decade; the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket system (UASB). This reactor concept requires anaerobic consortia to grow in a dense and eco-physiologically well-organized way. The microbial principles of such granular sludge growth are presented. Using a thermodynamic approach, the formation of different types of aggregates is explained. The application of this bioprocess in worldwide wastewater treatment is indicated. Due to the long retention times of the active biomass, the UASB is also suitable for the development of bacterial consortia capable of degrading xenobiotics. Operating granular sludge reactors at high upflow velocities (5–6 m/h) in expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) systems enlarges the application field to very low strength wastewaters (chemical oxygen demand < 1 g/l) and psychrophilic temperatures (10°C). For the treatment of organic suspensions, there is currently a tendency to evolve from the conventional mesophilic continuously stirred tank system to the thermophilic configuration, as the latter permits higher conversion rates and easier sanitation. Integration of ultrafiltration in anaerobic slurry digestion facilitates operation at higher volumetric loading rates and at shorter residence times. With respect to organic solids, the recent trend in society towards source separated collection of biowaste has opened a broad range of new application areas for solid state anaerobic fermentation.W. Verstraete and D. de Beer are with the Center for Environmental Sanitation, University of Gent, Coupure L 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium; D. de Beer is also with the Max Plank Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie-Microzensor Group, Fahrenstrasse 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany. M. Pena is with the Groupo de Biotechnologia Ambiental, Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica, Universidad de Valladolid, Prado de la Magdalena, 47005 Valladolid, Spain. G. Lettinga is with the Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen Agricultural University, Bomenweg 2, 6703 HD Wageningen, The Netherlands. P. Lens is with the Environmental Research Unit. Department of Microbiology, University College Galway, Galway, Ireland.