Alkaline protease production by an actinomycete MA1-1 isolated from marine sediments

Alkaliphilic actinomycetes isolated from sediment samples of the Izmir Gulf, Turkey were studied for the production of protease activity. Strain MA1-1 was selected as a good alkaline protease producer as measured by the clear zone diameter by the hydrolysis of skim-milk and casein. The alkaline protease production from the marine alkaliphilic actinomycete MA1-1 was studied by using different carbon and nitrogen sources in medium containing glycerol, peptone, KCl, MgSO₄, K₂HPO₄, and trace elements at 30°C for 72 h. Among the different carbon and nitrogen sources, fructose, starch, maltose, D(+) glucose, yeast extract, malt extract, beef extract and peptone provided higher production of protease. Starch was also found to be effective for growth and enzyme production with highest specific activity at 699 U mg^?1. Purification was achieved by adsorption on Diaion HP 20 which resulted in a recovery rate of 68% with a specific activity of 7618 U mg^?1 protein and 40-fold purification. The optimum pH and temperature of the partially purified protease were determined as pH 9.0 and 50°C, but high activity was also observed at pH 8.0–13.0 and 35–50°C. The inhibition profile exhibited by phenylmethylsulphonyl fluoride (PMSF) showed that this enzyme belongs to the serine-protease group.     

Chemical compositions and antimicrobial activities of four different Anatolian propolis samples

Propolis means a gum that is gathered by bees from various plants. It is known for its biological properties, having antibacterial, antifungal and healing properties. The aims of this study were to evaluate the antimicrobial activity of four different Anatolian propolis samples on different groups of microorganisms including some oral pathogens and comparison between their chemical compositions. Ethanol extracts of propolis (EEP) were prepared from four different Anatolian propolis samples and examined whether EEP inhibit the growth of the test microorganisms or not. For the antimicrobial activity assays, minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined by using macrodilution method. The MIC values of the most effective propolis (TB) were 2 microg/ml for Streptococcus sobrinus and Enterococcus faecalis, 4 microg/ml for Micrococcus luteus, Candida albicans and C. krusei, 8 microg/ml for Streptococcus mutans, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Enterobacter aerogenes, 16 microg/ml for Escherichia coli and C. tropicalis and 32 microg/ml for Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The chemical compositions of EEP's were determined by high-temperature high-resolution gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The main compounds of four Anatolian propolis samples were flavonoids such as pinocembrin, pinostropin, isalpinin, pinobanksin, quercetin, naringenin, galangine and chrysin. Although propolis samples were collected from different regions of Anatolia all showed significant antimicrobial activity against the Gram positive bacteria and yeasts. Propolis can prevent dental caries since it demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against the microorganisms such as Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus sobrinus and C. albicans, which involves in oral diseases.     

Metal biosorption capacity of the organic solvent tolerant Pseudomonas fluorescens TEM08

Many kinds of biomass are being tested as a biosorption material for metal removal from the contaminated waters. In the present study the biosorption capacity of an organic solvent tolerant (OST) bacterium was investigated against Cr(VI) and Ni(II). The OST strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens TEM08 was isolated from an oil contaminated soil sample and grown in normal culture conditions (type I) and in the presence of the cyclohexane (type II). Two types of cells were used in the biosorption experiments to compare the organic solvent effect on the biosorption capacity. The biosorption equilibrium was described by Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms. The value of Q(0) was higher for type I cells (40.8 for Cr(VI); 12.4 for Ni(II)) then the type II (40.7 for Cr(VI); 11.2 for Ni(II)). The adsorption capacity constants (K(F)) of Freundlich model for type I cells and for type II cells were 10.87 and 8.78 for Ni(II) and 13.60 and 10.99 for Cr(VI), respectively.     

Isolation strategies of marine-derived actinomycetes from sponge and sediment samples

During the last two decades, discoveries of new members of actinomycetes and novel metabolites from marine environments have drawn attention to such environments, such as sediment and sponge. For the successful isolation of actinomycetes from marine environments, many factors including the use of enrichment and pre-treatment techniques, and the selection of growth media and antibiotic supplements should be taken into account. High-throughput cultivation is an innovative technique that mimics nature, eliminates undesired, fast-growing bacteria and creates suitable conditions for rare, slow-growing actinomycetes. This review comprehensively evaluates the traditional and innovative techniques and strategies used for the isolation of actinomycetes from marine sponge and sediment samples.     

A novel mutation in IFN-gamma receptor 2 with dominant negative activity: biological consequences of homozygous and heterozygous states

We identified two siblings homozygous for a single base pair deletion in the IFN-gammaR2 transmembrane domain (791delG) who presented with multifocal Mycobacterium abscessus osteomyelitis (patient 1) and disseminated CMV and Mycobacterium avium complex infection (patient 2), respectively. Although the patients showed no IFN-gammaR activity, their healthy heterozygous parents showed only partial IFN-gammaR activity. An HLA-identical bone marrow transplant from the mother led patient 1 to complete hemopoietic reconstitution, but only partial IFN-gammaR function. We cloned and expressed fluorescent fusion proteins of the wild-type IFN-gammaR2, an IFN-gammaR2 mutant previously described to produce a complete autosomal recessive deficiency (278del2), and of 791delG to determine whether the intermediate phenotype in the 791delG heterozygous state was caused by haploinsufficiency or a dominant negative effect. When cotransfected together with the wild-type vector into IFN-gammaR2-deficient fibroblasts, the fusion protein with 791delG inhibited IFN-gammaR function by 48.7 +/- 5%, whereas fusion proteins with 278del2 had no inhibitory effect. Confocal microscopy of 791delG fusion proteins showed aberrant diffuse intracellular accumulation without plasma membrane localization. The fusion protein created by 791delG did not complete Golgi processing, and was neither expressed on the plasma membrane, nor shed extracellularly. The mutant construct 791delG exerts dominant negative effects on IFN-gamma signaling without cell surface display, suggesting that it is acting on pathways other than those involved in cell surface recognition of ligand.     

Alport Syndrome mutations in type IV tropocollagen alter molecular structure and nanomechanical properties

Alport Syndrome is a genetic disease characterized by breakdown of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) around blood vessels in the kidney, leading to kidney failure in most patients. It is the second most inherited kidney disease in the US, and many other symptoms are associated with the disease, including hearing loss and ocular lesions. Here we probe the molecular level structure–property relationships of this disease using a bottom-up computational materiomics approach implemented through large-scale molecular dynamics simulation. Since the GBM is under constant mechanical loading due to blood flow, changes in mechanical properties due to amino acid mutations may be critical in the symptomatic GBM breakdown seen in Alport Syndrome patients. Through full-atomistic simulations in explicit solvent, the effects of single-residue glycine substitution mutations of varying clinical severity are studied in short segments of type IV tropocollagen molecules. The segments with physiological amino acid sequences are equilibrated and then subjected to tensile loading. Major changes are observed at the single molecule level of the mutated sequence, including a bent shape of the structures after equilibration (with the kink located at the mutation site) and a significant alteration of the molecules’ stress–strain responses and stiffnesses. These results suggest that localized structural changes at amino acid level induce severe alterations of the molecular properties. Our study opens a new approach in pursuing a bottom-up multi-scale analysis of this disease.     

Designing new monoclonal antibody purification processes using mixed-mode chromatography sorbents

Current platforms for purification of monoclonal antibodies, mostly relying on Protein A as a first capture step, are robust and efficient but significantly increase downstream purification costs, mainly due to Protein A resins. To decrease manufacturing costs, industry is increasingly considering the use of purification schemes without affinity Protein A resins. Mixed-mode chromatography can be used as a powerful alternative to standard purification platforms as it offers new selectivity and separation mechanisms exploiting a combination of both ionic and hydrophobic characteristics of antibodies and contaminating proteins. By using a design of experiments (DoE) approach and high throughput screening in 96-well plates, we developed four different two-steps MAb purification processes, based on the use of mixed-mode sorbents. Finally, three of the tested processes resulted in final purified Mab fractions containing less than 100 ppm of residual CHO proteins (CHOP), with overall process yields above 70%. These data show that mixed-mode chromatography sorbents, used at capture or intermediate purification steps, really expand the options of MAb purification process development with or without Protein A affinity chromatography.