Proteins of the extracellular fluid of mouse brain: extraction and partial characterization

An extraction procedure for the isolation of proteins from the brain extracellular fluid (ECF) was developed and applied to studies of the ECF components of mouse brain. Perfused intact brains were incubated in an isotonic medium for periods of up to 2 h at 0 degrees C to allow the release of ECF into the medium without disruption of the integrity of the tissue. The validity of the extraction procedure was established by (a) the fact that the total yield of ECF proteins was constant per unit weight of brain tissue, (b) the absence of tyrosine hydroxylase, an enzyme marker of the cytoplasmic fraction, from the extracts, and (c) the distinctive features of the one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoretic patterns of ECF proteins as compared with those of the cytoplasmic and membrane fractions. The results indicate that the extracellular fluid of mouse brain contains a mixture of proteins with a wide distribution of molecular weights (10,000-100,000 daltons) at a concentration level of about 0.3%.     

Formation of 13,14-dihydro-prostaglandin E1 during intravenous infusions of prostaglandin E1 in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.

Formation of 13,14-dihydro-prostaglandin (PG) E1 during intravenous infusions of PGE1 in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease was investigated. Using both high performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.) combined with radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography/triple stage quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) basal levels of 13,14-dihydro-PGE1 were found to be close to or below the detection limits of the assay methods. Levels of the PGE1 metabolite increased significantly during the infusion periods and decreased after their end. Since 13,14-dihydro-PGE1, in contrast to its precursors 15-keto-PGE1 and 15-keto-13,14-dihydro-PGE1, is biologically active, its formation could contribute to the beneficial effects of PGE1 administered intravenously in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease.     

The effect of graded renal nerve stimulation on renal function in the anaesthetized rabbit

The renal nerves of the rabbit were stimulated to cause less than 5, 9 or 22% reduction in renal blood flow. Glomerular filtration rate was reduced by 0, 3 and 11% respectively when the renal nerves were stimulated at these increasing rates. At low and moderate rates of renal nerve stimulation absolute and fractional sodium excretions were reduced by between 17 and 22%, but at the highest rates they were reduced by 55 and 53% respectively. At increasing rates of renal nerve stimulation plasma renin activity was increased by 40, 70 and 180%.     

Actinomycetes scale‐up for the production of the antibacterial,nocathiacin

An Amycolatopsis fastidiosa culture, which produces the nocathiacin class of antibacterial compounds, was scaled up to the 15,000 L working volume. Lower volume pilot fermentations (600, 900, and 1,500 L scale) were conducted to determine process feasibility at the 15,000 L scale. The effects of inoculum volume, impeller tip speed, volumetric gas flow rate, superficial gas velocity, backpressure, and sterilization heat stress were examined to determine optimal scale‐up operating conditions. Inoculum volume (6 vs. 2 vol %) and medium sterilization (R_o of 68 vs. 92 min^?1) had no effect on productivity or titer, and higher impeller tip speeds (2.1 vs. 2.9 m/s) had a slight effect (20% decrease). In contrast, higher backpressure, incorporating increased head pressure at the 15,000 L scale (1.2 vs. 0.7 kg/cm²) and low gas flow rates (0.25 vs. 0.8 vvm), appeared to be problematic (40–50% decrease). High off‐gas CO₂ levels were likely reasons for observed lower productivity. Consequently, air flow rate for this 25‐fold scale‐up (600–15,000 L) was controlled to match off‐gas CO₂ profiles of acceptable smaller scale batches to maintain levels below 0.5%. The 15,000 L‐scale fermentation achieved an expected nocathiacin I titer of 310 mg/L after 7 days. Other on‐line data (i.e., pH, oxygen uptake rate, and CO₂ evolution rate) and off‐line data (i.e., analog production, glucose utilization, ammonium production, and dry cell weight) at the 15,000 L scale also tracked similarly to the smaller scale, demonstrating successful fermentation scale‐up. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009     

Optimizing the transient transfection process of HEK-293 suspension cells for protein production by nucleotide ratio monitoring

Large scale, transient gene expression (TGE) is highly dependent of the physiological status of a cell line. Therefore, intracellular nucleotide pools and ratios were used for identifying and monitoring the optimal status of a suspension cell line used for TGE. The transfection efficiency upon polyethyleneimine (PEI)-mediated transient gene delivery into HEK-293 cells cultured in suspension was investigated to understand the effect of different culture and transfection conditions as well as the significance of the culture age and the quality of the cell line used. Based on two different bicistronic model plasmids expressing the human erythropoietin gene (rHuEPO) in the first position and green fluorescent protein as reporter gene in the second position and vice versa, a completely serum-free transient transfection process was established. The process makes use of a 1:1 mixture of a special calcium-free DMEM and the FreeStyle™ 293 Expression Medium. Maximum transfectability was achieved by adjusting the ratio for complex formation to one mass part of DNA and three parts of PEI corresponding to an N/P (nitrogen residues/DNA phosphates) ratio of 23 representing a minimum amount of DNA for the polycation-mediated gene delivery. Applying this method, maximum transfectabilities between 70 and 96 % and a rHuEPO concentration of 1.6 μg mL⁻¹ 72 h post transfection were reached, when rHuEPO gene was expressed from the first position of the bicistronic mRNA. This corresponded to 10 % of the total protein concentration in the cell-free supernatant of the cultures in protein-free medium. Up to 30 % higher transfectabilities were found for cells of early passages compared to those from late passages under protein-free culture conditions. In contrast, when the same cells were propagated in serum-containing medium, higher transfectabilities were found for late-passage cells, while up to 40 % lower transfectabilities were observed for early-passage cells. Nucleotide pools were measured during all cell cultivations and the nucleoside triphosphate/uridine ratios were calculated. These ‘nucleotide ratios’ changed in an age-dependent manner and could be used to distinguish early- from late-passage cells. The observed effects were also dependent on the presence of serum in the culture. Nucleotide ratios were shown being applied to investigate the optimal passage number of cultured cell lines for achieving a maximum productivity in cultures used for transient gene expression. Furthermore, these nucleotide ratios proved to be different for transfected and untransfected cells, providing a high potential tool to monitor the status of transfection under various culture conditions.