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At least 1,369 records · Page 76Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Covalent immobilization of glucose oxidase onto new modified acrylonitrile copolymer/silica gel hybrid supports.

New polymer/silica gel hybrid supports were prepared by coating high surface area of silica gel with modified acrylonitrile copolymer. The concentrations of the modifying agent (NaOH) and the modified polymer were varied. GOD was covalently immobilized on these hybrid supports and the relative activity and the amount of bound protein were determined. The highest relative activity and sufficient amount of bound protein of the immobilized GOD were achieved in 10% NaOH and 2% solution of modified acrylonitrile copolymer. The influence of glutaraldehyde concentration and the storage time on enzyme efficiency were examined. Glutaraldehyde concentration of 0.5% is optimal for the immobilized GOD. It was shown that the covalently bound enzyme (using 0.5% glutaraldehyde) had higher relative activity than the activity of the adsorbed enzyme. Covalently immobilized GOD with 0.5% glutaraldehyde was more stable for four months in comparison with the one immobilized on pure silica gel, hybrid support with 10% glutaraldehyde and the free enzyme. The effect of the pore size on the enzyme efficiency was studied on four types of silica gel with different pore size. Silica with large pores (CPC-Silica carrier, 375 A) presented higher relative activity than those with smaller pore size (Silica gel with 4, 40 and 100 A). The amount of bound protein was also reduced with decreasing the pore size. The effect of particle size was studied and it was found out that the smaller the particle size was, the greater the activity and the amount of immobilized enzyme were. The obtained results proved that these new polymer/silica gel hybrid supports were suitable for GOD immobilization.

Acrylonitrile↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection and characterization of variant and modified structures of proteins in blood and tissues by mass spectrometry.

Some variant proteins cause diseases, and some diseases result in increases of proteins with abnormally modified structures. The detection, characterization, and estimation of the relative amounts of protein variants and abnormally modified proteins are important for clinical diagnosis and for elucidation of the mechanisms of the pathogenesis of diseases. Analysis of the covalent structures of proteins using matrix-assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization MS (LC-ESI-MS), which had been developed by the early 1990s, have largely replaced analyses by conventional protein chemistry. Here, we review the detection and characterization of hemoglobin variants, HbA1c measurement, detection of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin, and identification of variants of transthyretin (TTR) and Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD-1) using soft ionization MS. We also propose the diagnostic application of the signals of modified forms of TTR, that is, S-sulfonated TTR and S-homocysteinyl TTR. The relative peak height ratio of the abnormal/normal components gives valuable information about the instability of variants and enables the detection of unstable Hb subunits or thalassemia heterozygotes. We found unique modified structures of TTR that suggested changes in amyloid fibrils.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2005

Identification of an X-linked locus modifying mouse skin tumor susceptibility.

The enhancing effect of overexpression of an ornithine decarboxylase (Odc) transgene on skin tumor susceptibility can be modified by genetic loci present in several inbred mouse strains. The BALB/cJ strain is among the most resistant strains so far examined; tumor multiplicity following 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) treatment is reduced by 90% when the K6/ODC transgene is expressed on a BALB/cJ background versus the susceptible C57BL/6J background. Further, transgenic BALB/cJ males developed more tumors than females, indicating the presence of sex-dependent modifier pathway. Analysis of 263 F2 intercross mice revealed significant linkage of markers on the X chromosome to tumor multiplicity. This analyses as well as a similar genome-wide scan of 136 backcross mice found evidence for other modifier loci on chromosomes 4, 6, and 17. Identification of these modifier genes should reveal the effector pathways responsive to Odc overexpression that mediate susceptibility to skin tumorigenesis.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

High anti-inflammatory activity of harpagoside-enriched extracts obtained from solvent-modified super- and subcritical carbon dioxide extractions of the roots of Harpagophytum procumbens.

Solvent-modified carbon dioxide extractions of the roots of Harpagophytum procumbens have been investigated with respect to extraction efficiency and content of harpagoside, and compared with a conventional extract. The effects of pressure, temperature, type and concentration of the modifier have been examined. Two extraction steps were necessary in order to achievehigh anti-inflammatory harpagoside-enriched extracts. The first extraction step was carried out in the supercritical state using carbon dioxide modified with n-propanol to remove undesired lipophilic substances. The main extraction was performed either in the supercritical or in the subcritical state with carbon dioxide modified with ethanol. The supercritical fluid extraction resulted in extracts containing up to 30% harpagoside. The subcritical extracts showed a harpagoside content of ca. 20%, but the extraction yield was nearly three times greater compared with supercritical conditions. The total harpagoside recovery resulting from the sum of the extract and the crude drug residue was greater than 99% in all experiments. The conventional extract and two carbon dioxide extracts were tested for in-vitro inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase or cyclooxygenase-2 biosynthesis. Both carbon dioxide extracts showed total inhibition on 5-lipoxygenase biosynthesis at a concentration of 51.8 mg/L. In contrast, the conventional extract failed to show any inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase biosynthesis.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Determination of catalase-like activity in plants based on the amperometric monitoring of hydrogen peroxide consumption using a carbon paste electrode modified with ruthenium(IV) Oxide.

A carbon paste electrode containing ruthenium(IV) oxide as a modifier was tested as an effective hydrogen peroxide amperometric sensor in bulk measurements (hydrodynamic amperometry). Factors that influence its overall analytical perform ance, such as pH and the applied potential, were examined. The RuO2-modified electrode displayed high sensitivity towards hydrogen peroxide, with detection limits as low as 0.02 mm at pH 7.4 and 0.007 mM at pH 9.0. The method was applied for monitoring the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (by catalase) in phosphate buffer of pH 7.4. The relative response of the electrode towards ascorbic acid was assessed and it was found that the selectivity of the RuO2-modified electrode towards hydrogen peroxide over ascorbic acid could be significantly improved by electro-polymerizing m-phenylenediamine on its surface prior to measurements. The RuO2-modified electrode was used for the kinetic (fixed time) determination of catalase activity in the range of 4-40 U/mL (detection limit 1.2 U/mL). The method was applied to the determination of catalase-like activity in various plant materials (recov-ery ranged from 93 to 101%, detection limit 480 U/100 g).

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2006

Role of lysine versus arginine in enzyme cold-adaptation: modifying lysine to homo-arginine stabilizes the cold-adapted alpha-amylase from Pseudoalteramonas haloplanktis.

The cold-adapted alpha-amylase from Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis (AHA) is a multidomain enzyme capable of reversible unfolding. Cold-adapted proteins, including AHA, have been predicted to be structurally flexible and conformationally unstable as a consequence of a high lysine-to-arginine ratio. In order to examine the role of low arginine content in structural flexibility of AHA, the amino groups of lysine were guanidinated to form homo-arginine (hR), and the structure-function-stability properties of the modified enzyme were analyzed by transverse urea gradient-gel electrophoresis. The extent of modification was monitored by MALDI-TOF-MS, and correlated to changes in activity and stability. Modifying lysine to hR produced a conformationally more stable and less active alpha-amylase. The k(cat) of the modified enzyme decreased with a concomitant increase in deltaH# and decrease in K(m). To interpret the structural basis of the kinetic and thermodynamic properties, the hR residues were modeled in the AHA X-ray structure and compared to the X-ray structure of a thermostable homolog. The experimental properties of the modified AHA were consistent with K106hR forming an intra-Domain B salt bridge to stabilize the active site and decrease the cooperativity of unfolding. Homo-Arg modification also appeared to alter Ca2+ and Cl- binding in the active site. Our results indicate that replacing lysine with hR generates mesophilic-like characteristics in AHA, and provides support for the importance of lysine residues in promoting enzyme cold adaptation. These data were consistent with computational analyses that show that AHA possesses a compositional bias that favors decreased conformational stability and increased flexibility.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Peptide synthesis catalyzed by polyethylene glycol-modified chymotrypsin in organic solvents.

Chymotrypsin modified with polyethylene glycol was successfully used for peptide synthesis in organic solvents. The benzene-soluble modified enzyme readily catalyzed both aminolysis of N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine p-nitroanilide and synthesis of N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine butylamide in the presence of trace amounts of water. A quantitative reaction was obtained when either hydrophobic or bulky amides of L- as well as D-amino acids were used as acceptor nucleophiles, while almost no reaction occurred with free amino acids or ester derivatives. The acceptor nucleophile specificity of modified chymotrypsin as a catalyst in the formation of both amide and peptide bonds in organic solvents was quite comparable to that in aqueous solution as well as to that of the leaving group in hydrolysis reactions. By contrast, the substrate specificity of modified chymotrypsin in organic solvents was different from that in water since arginine and lysine esters were found to be as effective as aromatic amino acids to form the acyl-enzyme with subsequent synthesis of a peptide bond.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2004

The evaluation of disease modifying therapies in Alzheimer's disease: a regulatory viewpoint.

Several drugs have received marketing approval in this country for the treatment of dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Their approval has been based on clinical trial designs that do not permit a distinction to be made between an effect of the drug on the symptoms of that disease, and an effect on the pathophysiological mechanisms that underlie that disorder. The latter effect has been referred to as 'disease-modifying.'In recent years there has been considerable interest in developing disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD), using either specific clinical designs, or surrogate markers, such as brain imaging modalities. This paper outlines the regulatory framework governing how the Food and Drug Administration addresses new drug claims, the current basis for approving drugs for the treatment of AD, clinical trial designs that have been proposed as a means of demonstrating disease-modifying effects, a general and regulatory background to the use of surrogate markers in drug development, and, finally, views about the possible role of surrogate markers, especially brain imaging, as outcome measures in clinical trials intended to produce disease-modifying effects in Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1993

Expression of modified human cytochrome P450 3A4 in Escherichia coli and purification and reconstitution of the enzyme.

A full-length human cytochrome P450 (P450) 3A4 cDNA clone and four derivatives in which the N-terminus was modified were inserted into a pCW vector and used to transform Escherichia coli DH5 alpha cells. Little expression was seen with the native sequence; the highest level of expression (range of 40-110 membrane-bound nmol P450 liter-1) was achieved with a construct (NF14) in which residues 3-12 were deleted. In all of the constructs P450 was found primarily in the membranes. The modified P450 3A4 (construct NF14) showed typical P450 hemoprotein spectra. The protein was purified to electrophoretic homogeneity in a five-step procedure [nominally 23 nmol P450 (mg protein)-1]. For most purposes it was found to be more practical to purify the modified P450 3A4 to approximately 70% homogeneity [nominally 15 nmol P450 (mg protein)-1] in a simple two-step process. The modified P450 3A4 (NF14) or P450 3A4 purified from human liver could be mixed with rabbit liver NADPH-P450 reductase to achieve catalytic activities nearly as high as those found in human liver microsomes (on a nmol P450 basis), but the optimal reconstitution conditions included not only a mixture of phosphatidylserine, L-alpha-dilauroyl- and L-alpha-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholines, cholate, and cytochrome b5 suggested by others but also glutathione during the preincubation. Several other thiols were found not to substitute in this role. Good catalytic activity was seen for nifedipine oxidation, testosterone 6 beta-hydroxylation, and the 8,9-epoxidation and 3 alpha-hydroxylation of aflatoxin B1, reactions previously ascribed to the enzyme. These procedures provide a relatively convenient and reliable means of producing, purifying, and reconstituting a catalytically active and useful derivative of P450 3A4, a human P450 enzyme that has many roles in the oxidation of drugs and other xenobiotic chemicals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Susceptibility of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase modified by 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal and metal-catalyzed oxidation to proteolysis by the multicatalytic protease.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Leuconostoc mesenteroides is inactivated when exposed to metal-catalyzed oxidation or when modified by the lipid peroxidation product, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE). Although in each case inactivation appears to be the result of the selective modification of an active site lysine residue, only the oxidized enzyme becomes more susceptible to proteolysis by purified rat liver multicatalytic protease, a multienzymatic proteolytic complex involved in the intracellular degradation of damaged proteins. The HNE-treated enzyme remains as resistant to proteolysis by the multicatalytic protease as the native enzyme. In contrast to the HNE-treated Glu-6-PDH, enzyme modified by Fe2+ and citrate is more thermolabile and exhibits increased binding of the hydrophobic probe 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid (ANSA). Heat inactivation is characterized, in part, by dissociation of the dimer to inactive subunits. No change in the secondary structure and only small variations in the fluorescence and circular dichroism of the aromatic residues are observed for the two modified forms of the enzyme as compared with the native enzyme. The increased heat sensitivity, ANSA binding, and proteolytic susceptibility are likely related to a decrease in the structural stability of oxidatively modified Glu-6-PDH. Conversely, modification of Glu-6-PDH with HNE has no apparent effect on its structural stability or proteolytic susceptibility. This finding may have important implications for the accumulation of altered protein in vivo, a process that is believed to be involved in age- and disease-related impairment of cellular function.

Aldehydes↗
PubMed1995

Aging of the liver: proteolysis of oxidatively modified glutamine synthetase.

During aging cells accumulate altered forms of proteins, notably oxidatively modified proteins. The multicatalytic protease selectively degrades oxidized proteins, suggesting that the age-related accumulation of oxidized proteins might be a consequence of decreased activity of this protease. The protease activity of liver homogenates was assayed with an improved fluorimetric method, using oxidatively modified glutamine synthetase as substrate. Application of this assay to extracts from liver of Fischer 344 rats from both Japan and the United States demonstrated a marked preference for the oxidized substrates, as expected. Extracts from animals ages 8 to 26 months maintain both total proteolytic activity and the ability to distinguish between native and oxidized substrates. Oxidatively modified hepatocyte extracts were also employed as substrate, and older animals again maintained proteolytic activity. The multicatalytic protease was purified from liver of young and old rats, and the specific activity of the preparations were comparable when assayed with oxidatively modified glutamine synthetase. We conclude that the intrinsic neutral or alkaline proteolytic activity of rat liver is maintained during aging.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

A mass spectrometry-based approach for probing enzyme active sites: identification of Glu 127 in Cellulomonas fimi exoglycanase as the residue modified by N-bromoacetyl cellobiosylamine.

We have identified the residue in Cellulomonas fimi exoglycanase modified by N-bromoacetyl cellobiosylamine as Glu 127 using a new combination of experimental approaches. The enzyme was quantitatively inhibited with the affinity label N-bromoacetyl cellobiosylamine and cleaved with pepsin. The N-acetyl cellobiosylamine-modified peptide was identified by comparative peptide mapping of the digests derived from labeled and unlabeled proteins by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography connected online to an electrospray ionization mass spectrometer. The modified residue in the labeled peptide was determined by using a novel protein sequencing chemistry which is based on monitoring the amino acid derivatives released by stepwise peptide degradation using electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Tandem mass spectrometry was used for further structural characterization of the cleaved residue. We show that the residue modified by N-bromoacetyl cellobiosylamine is Glu 127. This residue has been identified previously as the acid-base catalyst by using a combination of mutagenic and kinetic analyses. Our results therefore demonstrate the usefulness of this type of affinity label in identifying important catalytic residues in glycosidases and suggest that this new experimental approach can be applied generally to any labeled protein in which the mass of the label is known and thus represents an alternative approach to the current methods used to identify labeled residues within proteins.

Actinomycetales↗
PubMed1999

A 1-hour enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for quantitation of acrolein- and hydroxynonenal-modified proteins by epitope-bound casein matrix method.

A simple and rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method for quantitation of acrolein and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE)-modified proteins was developed. Microtiter plate wells were precoated and blocked simultaneously with epitope-bound bovine caseins as matrix proteins, and aldehyde-modified proteins were quantitated by a competition assay with a monoclonal antibody specific for acrolein-modified lysine or HNE-modified histidine epitopes. Minimal reaction times required for the coating/blocking; first monoclonal antibody and the peroxidase-conjugated second antibody binding steps were 3, 3, and 7 min, respectively, the former two steps being found to be or akin to diffusion-rate-limiting reactions. The convenient ELISA should find an application for analyses of the intricate processes involved in oxidative stress and carcinogenic insult. The epitope-attachment methodology may also be advantageous for the quantitation of various other biologically important haptenic molecules.

Acrolein↗
PubMed2000

Preparation of Na,K-ATPase specifically modified on the anti-fluorescein antibody-inaccessible site by fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate.

Specific labeling is required for energy transfer measurements and to avoid artifacts in the use of fluorophores as reporter groups. Therefore, a method for specific modification by one of the most popular reagents for P-type ATPases (fluorescein 5'-isothiocyanate) has been developed. Sulfhydryl reagents protected against modification of cysteine residues, and treatment with dithiothreitol eliminated a slow doubling of the fluorescence of conventionally modified Na,K-ATPase upon dilution that is attributed to disappearance of self-energy transfer. Removal of nonspecifically bound fluorescein was also confirmed by titration of the modified Na, K-ATPase with anti-fluorescein antibody and by time resolution of the fluorescence change when the modified enzyme was mixed with Na(+) in a stopped-flow instrument. The only fluorescence change when specifically modified Na,K-ATPase was mixed with Na(+) was the signal from fluorescein at the antibody-inaccessible, substrate-protectable site that reports the conformational change in unphosphorylated enzyme. The magnitude of the fluorescence change reporting the conformational change increased from between 8 and 12% to between 25 and 30% without affecting the kinetic constants estimated from titrations with Na(+) and K(+). The method should be generally applicable to the preparation of specifically labeled P-type pumps for use in kinetic and equilibrium titrations or energy transfer measurements.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Iron(II) phthalocyanine-modified carbon-paste electrode for potentiometric detection of ascorbic acid.

A chemically modified electrode constructed by incorporating iron(II) phthalocyanine [Fe(II)Pc] into carbon-paste matrix was used as a sensitive potentiometric sensor for detection of ascorbic acid. The resulting electrode exhibits catalytic properties for the electrooxidation of ascorbic acid, and lowers the overpotential for the oxidation of this compound. The faster rate of electron transfer results in a near-Nernstian behavior of the modified electrode, and makes it a suitable potentiometric sensor for detection of ascorbic acid. A linear response in concentration range from 10(-6) to 10(-2) M (0.18--1800 microg ml(-1)) was obtained with a detection limit of 5 x 10(-7) M for the potentiometric detection of ascorbic acid. The modified electrode was used for the determination of ascorbic acid in vitamin preparations. The recovery was 97.2--102.4% for the vitamin added to the preparations with a relative standard deviation of less than 5%. The modified electrode exhibited a fast response time (<10 s),had good stability, and had an extended lifetime.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1993

Generation of hydroxyl radical from lipid hydroperoxides contained in oxidatively modified low-density lipoprotein.

When low-density lipoprotein (LDL) was oxidatively modified and incubated with an epinephrine-FeCl3 mixture, an electron spin resonance spectrum characteristic of the spin adduct of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide and hydroxyl radical (DMPO-OH) was obtained. The amount of DMPO-OH formed increased with an increase in the concentration of lipid hydroperoxides contained in the oxidatively modified LDL. These results indicate that oxidatively modified LDL would generate hydroxyl radicals in vivo if an appropriate iron chelate were present and that the cytotoxicity of oxidatively modified LDL is ascribable, at least in part, to its capability to generate such radicals.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

ATP-stimulated degradation of oxidatively modified superoxide dismutase by cathepsin D in cardiac tissue extracts.

Proteins modified by oxidants are rapidly degraded by intracellular proteases. Oxidatively modified superoxide dismutase (Ox-SOD) was degraded 2-8 times faster at both acidic and alkaline pH than the native protein in bovine cardiac tissue extracts. At acidic pH, Ox-SOD hydrolysis was stimulated by ATP and by non-hydrolyzable ATP analogs by up to 50%, but degradation was not stimulated by ATP at alkaline pH. The aspartic protease inhibitor pepstatin completely inhibited the acid Ox-SOD hydrolyzing activity and its stimulation by ATP. This activity eluted from gel filtration with a molecular size of 34-48 kDa and contained the single chain and two mature forms of cathepsin D. Purified cathepsin D degraded Ox-SOD and ATP enhanced the affinity of cathepsin D for oxidatively modified proteins. Thus cardiac tissue proteins modified by oxidants may be substrates for the lysosomal protease cathepsin D.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed2002

Dissociation of apoptosis induction and CD36 upregulation by enzymatically modified low-density lipoprotein in monocytic cells.

Modified low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been implicated as an initiating or amplifying factor in atherogenesis. Some of its biological activities, such as apoptosis induction and upregulation of the scavenger receptor CD36, appear to share common signaling pathways in cells of the cardiovascular system. Exposure of low-differentiated monocytic cells to LDL modified with 15-lipoxygenase and secretory phospholipase A(2) induced apoptosis and upregulated CD36. Cell treatment with constituents of modified LDL, such as 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE), 25-hydroxycholesterol, and lysophosphatidyl choline, and with an unrelated apoptogen (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) induced apoptosis. In contrast, only 13-HODE caused upregulation of CD36 expression. Cotreatment with the pan-caspase inhibitor z.VAD-fmk resulted in suppression of apoptosis, but was without any effect on CD36 expression. These data indicate that in monocytic cells enzymatically modified LDL is capable of inducing both apoptosis and upregulation of CD36 expression. However, in our cellular model, the two induction processes appear to be causally unrelated.

Apoptosis↗