Scale down of recombinant protein production: a comparative study of scaling performance

A large bioreactor is heterogeneous with respect to concentration gradients of substrates fed to the reactor such as oxygen and growth limiting carbon source. Gradient formation will highly depend on the fluid dynamics and mass transfer capacity of the reactor, especially in the area in which the substrate is added. In this study, some production-scale (12 m³ bioreactor) conditions of a recombinant Escherichia coli process were imitated on a laboratory scale. From the large-scale cultivations, it was shown that locally high concentration of the limiting substrate fed to the process, in this case glucose, existed at the level of the feedpoint. The large-scale process was scaled down from: (i) mixing time experiments performed in the large-scale bioreactor in order to identify and describe the oscillating environment and (ii) identification of two distinct glucose concentration zones in the reactor. An important parameter obtained from mixing time experiments was the residence time in the feed zone of about 10 seconds. The size of the feed zone was estimated to 10%. Based on these observations the scale-down reactor with two compartments was designed. It was composed of one stirred tank reactor and an aerated plug flow reactor, in which the effect of oscillating glucose concentration on biomass yield and acetate formation was studied. Results from these experiments indicated that the lower biomass yield and higher acetate formation obtained on a large scale compared to homogeneous small-scale cultivations were not directly caused by the cell response to the glucose oscillation. This was concluded since no acetate was accumulated during scale-down experiments. An explanation for the differences in results between the two reactor scales may be a secondary effect of high glucose concentration resulting in an increased glucose metabolism causing an oxygen consumption rate locally exceeding the transfer rate. The results from pulse response experiments and glucose concentration measurements, at different locations in the reactor, showed a great consistency for the two feeding/pulse positions used in the large-scale bioreactor. Furthermore, measured periodicity from mixing data agrees well with expected circulation times for each impeller volume. Conclusions are drawn concerning the design of the scale-down reactor.     

Histogenesis of the unique morphology of proboscidean ivory

The chequered pattern (often called Schreger pattern), which can be seen by unaided eye on transverse profiles of several proboscidean tusks and which can be emphasized by the spreading pattern of the cracks or by mineral discoloration, is an autapomorph feature of the clade Elephantoidea. The pattern differs among proboscidean taxa; therefore, it allows the coarse differentiation of elephants, mammoths, and some other basal groups. Such identification methods could facilitate efforts concerned with protection of the remaining elephant populations through ivory trade restrictions, since the tooth dentine from extinct Mammuthusprimigenius and from extant Loxodontaafricana and Elephasmaximus are the most common raw materials of the ivory carvings. The aim of this study was to show the internal structure of proboscidean ivory and to revise the existing theories on the aforementioned pattern of the elephantoids with reflections on the events which lead to the development of this microstructure. Thin sections and natural crack surfaces with various orientations of M.primigenius, Elephasantiquus, Prodeinotherium, and Deinotherium tusk fragments were used to produce a three‐dimensional model which explains the features on all profiles. The “phase shift” model is introduced, which assumes a sinusoid undulation of the dentinal tubules in radial profiles in the case of elephantoids. The model was confirmed by photomicrographs, scanning electron microscopic images, interpretation of natural crack surfaces, and radial displacement analysis of the dentinal tubules. The latter proved that the adjacent waves are not in the same phase. Several new nondestructive distinguishing methods are described here on the basis of the correlation between some microscopic and macroscopic features related to the Schreger pattern. J. Morphol. 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Differences between horse selection based on two forms of osteochondrosis in fetlock

Horses lose potential opportunities because of health problems. Available breeding strategies are not effective enough, probably also because of the different definition used and its genetic usefulness. The aim of the study was to compare the genetic background estimated by the genome-wide association study (GWAS) for osteochondrosis using two different scaling osteochondrosis (OC)/healthy and osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD)/healthy systems for evaluating the disease status of investigated fetlock joints. Two hundred one Warmblood horses trained for performance tests (87 stallions and 114 mares) were phenotyped and genotyped. Four fetlock x-ray images per horse were collected using the RTG Girth HF 80 and Vet Scan ray 3600. The DNA of each horse was genotyped using the BeadChip 70K. To identify SNPs that significantly affect the probability of osteochondrosis, two different methods were applied: the Cochran-Armitage test based on an additive mode of inheritance and logistic regression. The genetic background for osteochondrosis, expressed in the number of SNPs found with significant associations with osteochondrosis, was higher by evaluation in the scale of OCD/healthy horses (16 SNPs on several chromosomes mainly on the ECA1 and ECA10) than OC/healthy (2 SNPs on the ECA15 and one SNP on the ECA10). Detailed definition of osteochondrosis is needed in breeding and in veterinary practice. The genetic background for osteochondrosis and osteochondrosis dissecans seems not the same. Suggestive SNPs could be the candidate markers for osteochondrosis but should be checked on a larger population before usage.     

Location of crosslinks in chemically stabilized horseradish peroxidase: implications for design of crosslinks.

The bifunctional compound, ethylene-glycol bis(N-hydroxysuccinimidylsuccinate) (EGNHS), stabilizes horseradish peroxidase C (HRP) by reaction with the enzyme's lysine residues. In this study we compare native and modified HRP by proteolytic fragmentation, peptide sequencing, and mass spectroscopy, and identify the sites of modification. Most significantly, EGNHS is shown to form a crosslink between Lys232 and Lys241 of HRP and modifies Lys174 without formation of a crosslink. These findings are in agreement with the lysine side-chain reactivities predicted from the surface accessibility of the amino groups, and the maximal span of 16 A of the EGNHS crosslinker.     

The isolation and characterisation of a cDNA clone for human lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase and its use to analyse the genes in patients with LCAT deficiency and fish eye disease

We have isolated cDNA clones coding for human lecithin:cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT) from a liver-specific cDNA library by the use of two oligonucleotide probes based on the protein sequence. The clones span the sequence coding for the entire secreted LCAT, the 3' untranslated sequence and 12 amino acids of the signal peptide. The peptide sequence contains the conserved active site of serine lipases within a hydrophobic domain, flanked by a possible amphipatic alpha-helix. Only one gene for LCAT could be detected in genomic blots. We have used the cDNA as a probe to analyse the LCAT gene in patients suffering from LCAT deficiency and fish eye disease. No rearrangements or abnormal gene fragments were detected in these patients.     

A report from Poland: treatment and non-treatment of defective newborns

The author and his colleagues surveyed pediatricians in Warsaw, Poland, to determine the doctors' attitudes toward treating infants with severe handicaps. They used a questionnaire originally designed by Australian researchers to survey pediatricians and compared their findings with those of the Australian study. Szawarski notes important differences between the approaches of Australian and Polish doctors to the treatment of handicapped newborns. Polish physicians tend to display an unconditional respect for life, a paternalistic attitude toward decision making, and an unwillingness to distinguish between ordinary and extraordinary means of prolonging life. Half the Polish respondents would be willing to preserve the lives of severely handicapped infants at all costs. Szawarski discusses six factors that may help to explain why Polish physicians have a different approach from that of their Western colleagues to the question of selective treatment of handicapped newborns.