Casein interactions as studied by gel chromatography and ultracentrifugation

Calcium: A comprehensive review on quantification, interaction with milk proteins and implications for processing of dairy products

Calcium (Ca) is a key micronutrient of high relevance for human nutrition that also influences the texture and taste of dairy products and their processability. In bovine milk, Ca is presented in several speciation forms, such as complexed with other milk components or free as ionic calcium while being distributed between colloidal and serum phases of milk. Partitioning of Ca between these phases is highly dynamic and influenced by factors, such as temperature, ionic strength, pH, and milk composition. Processing steps used during the manufacture of dairy products, such as preconditioning, concentration, acidification, salting, cooling, and heating, all contribute to modify Ca speciation and partition, thereby influencing product functionality, product yield, and fouling of equipment. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the influence of Ca partition on dairy products properties to support the development of kinetics models to reduce product losses and develop added-value products with improved functionality. To achieve this objective, approaches to separate milk phases, analytical approaches to determine Ca partition and speciation, the role of Ca on protein-protein interactions, and their influence on processing of dairy products are discussed.

Hydrophobic surface areas and net charges of αs1-, κ-casein and αs1-casein: κ-casein complex

Hydrophobic surface areas of αs1- and κ-casein polymers and αs1-casein: κ-casein complex were estimated by the salting-out technique using various salts according to the theory of Melander & Horvath (1977). Calculated hydrophobic surface areas of αs1, κ-casein polymers and αs1-casein: κ-casein complex were 1976, 3571 and 2989 Å2 respectively. Assuming that κ-casein polymer dissociated into 4 particles in complex formation and that 1 mole of αs1-casein: κ-casein complex was produced from 2 mole of αs1-casein polymer and one of these dissociated κ-casein particles, the hydrophobic surface area of αs1-casein: κ-casein complex was less than those of 2 mole of αs1-casein polymer plus a quarter κ-casein polymer. On the other hand, the net charge of αs1-casein: κ-casein complex was nearly equal to that of 2 mole of αs1-casein polymer plus a quarter of κ-casein polymer. From these results, it was concluded that the complex formation of αs1- and κ-casein polymers was hydrophobic and that electrostatic interaction did not participate in complex formation.

A study of the properties of dissociated bovine casein micelles

Although casein micelles are disrupted by removal of Ca, individual caseins remain aggregated in sub-micellar casein aggregates or sub-units. These sub-units have been studied by: (1) the use of gel filtration on Sepharose 4B at 6, 20 and 37°C at pH 6·7 and 0·1 ionic strength, (2) ultracentrifugation and (3) electron microscopy. At 37°C the protein composition of the sub-units varied across the gel-filtration peak, with κ-casein being eluted towards the leading edge and the ratio of αs1- to β-casein being almost constant across the peak. Re-chromatography of the protein from the leading edge of this peak gave a new wide peak with the κ-casein again being eluted towards the leading edge. However, αs1-casein was eluted before β-casein in the leading edge of the new peak. Prior treatment of the casein micelles by dispersion with 6 m-urea solution, precipitation with acid or reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol did not alter the gel-filtration pattern. An examination of the purified casein components and their mixtures showed that a 1:1 ratio mixture of αs1- and β-casein had the same peak maximum elution volume as casein micelle sub-units. κ-Casein by itself eluted at the void volume of the gel-filtration column, but after admixture with a sample of small micelles it eluted at the leading edge of the sub-unit peak and was indistinguishable from the κ-casein normally present. These results suggest that the sub-units are in equilibrium with their component caseins and that their size distribution is determined by only those factors (such as protein concentration, pH, temperature and ionic strength) which determine the strength of association between the casein components. The results from electron microscopy and ultracentrifugation support these conclusions.

Association of bovine αs1- and β-casein using the fluorescent properties of 1,8-anilinonaphthalene sulphonate

The effects of NaCl, CaCl2and temperature on the emitted fluorescence of anilinonaphthalene sulphonate (ANS) in solutions of αs1- and β-casein indicated that the ANS was associated with the protein. Increased aggregation of the protein was responsible for further enhancement of the fluorescence. Addition of CaCl2to a mixture of αs1- and β-casein at 37 °C caused a greater increase in fluorescence than when αs1- or β-casein was used alone, supporting the suggestion that these 2 proteins form co-polymers with different properties from the homopolymers and indicating that hydrophobic bonding between αs1- and β-casein may be important in the presence of Ca.

Composition and interfacial properties of casein micelle fractions

Casein micelles in a reconstituted bovine skim milk were dissociated by dialysing them against various concentrations of EDTA. Gel chromatography showed a gradual but limited dissociation when micellar Ca was chelated and two main fractions were isolated. Monolayer technique and gel electrophoresis were used to characterize the interfacial properties and composition of the fractions. The first fraction contained highly cohesive complexes that did not unfold at the air-water interface. From π-A isotherms the close-packing area (A0) was 0·08 m2 mg-1 and was related to an average particle diameter of 9·1 nm. κ-Casein was concentrated in this fraction in an equimolar ratio with β-caseins and a variable ratio with αs-casein (0·55–1·10). These particles are thought to represent submicelles. The complexes of the second fraction were easily disrupted and spread out at the interface like casein monomers, with a close-packing area of 1·05 m2 mg-1. Two different complexes were identified in this last fraction. One of them contained an approximately equimolar ratio of αs- and β-caseins, and the other was composed exclusively of αs-casein. The results are discussed in relation to casein interactions leading to micelle formation.

The nature of casein aggregates in heated and stored milk

Gel filtration on Sepharose 6-B was used to study the size distribution of sub-micellar casein aggregates in colloidal phosphate-free milk, and comparisons were made between the elution profiles obtained for fresh, heated, ultra-hightemperature (UHT) treated and stored UHT milks. Increase in length of storage of UHT milk gave rise to an increase in proportion of casein aggregates excluded from Sepharose 6-B, but no corresponding increase in size of included casein aggregates was observed.

Water interactions with varying molecular states of bovine casein: 2H NMR relaxation studies

The caseins occur in milk as spherical colloidal complexes of protein and salts with an average diameter of 1200 A, the casein micelles. Removal of Ca2+ is thought to result in their dissociation into smaller protein complexes stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and called submicelles. Whether these submicelles actually occur within the micelles as discrete particles interconnected by calcium phosphate salt bridges has been the subject of much controversy. A variety of physical measurements have shown that casein micelles contain an inordinately high amount of trapped water (2 to 7 g H2O/g protein). With this in mind it was of interest to determine if NMR relaxation measurements could detect the presence of this trapped water within the micelles, and to evaluate whether it is a continuum with picosecond correlation times or is associated in part with discrete submicellar structures with nanosecond motions. For this purpose the variations in 2H NMR longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates of water with protein concentration were determined for bovine casein at various temperatures, under both submicellar and micellar conditions. D2O was used instead of H2O to eliminate cross-relaxation effects. From the protein concentration dependence of the relaxation rates, the second virial coefficient of the protein was obtained by nonlinear regression analysis. Using either an isotropic tumbling or an intermediate asymmetry model, degrees of hydration, v, and correlation times, tau c, were calculated for the caseins; from the latter parameter the Stokes radius, r, was obtained. Next, estimates of molecular weights were obtained from r and the partial specific volume. Values were in the range of those published from other methodologies for the submicelles. Temperature dependences of the hydration and Stokes radius of the casein submicelles were consistent with the hypothesis that hydrophobic interactions represent the predominant forces responsible for the aggregation leading to a submicellar structure. The same temperature dependence of r and v was found for casein under micellar conditions; here, the absolute values of both the Stokes radii and hydrations were significantly greater than those obtained under submicellar conditions, even though tau c values corresponding to the great size of the entire micelle would result in relaxation rates too fast to be observed by these NMR measurements. The existence of a substantial amount of trapped water within the casein micelle is, therefore, corroborated, and the concept that this water is in part associated with submicelles of nanosecond motion is supported by the results of this study.

A phosphate-induced sub-micelle-micelle equilibrium in reconstituted casein micelle systems

In reconstituted casein systems, complete sub-micelles were previously observed only under extreme conditions of ionic strength, namely a NaCl concentration of 2 M or greater. However, studies with the analytical ultracentrifuge on phosphate-containing casein systems revealed that under certain conditions, a stable sub-micelle-micelle equilibrium was established. Conditions which were standard throughout were 7.5 mg/ml protein, 0.04 M-NaCl, pH 6.6 and 37 °C. The concentrations of added CaCl2 (Ca2+) and inorganic phosphate (P1) were variable. With no P1 present, Ca-sensitive caseins precipitated or formed micelles when k-casein was present, between 6 and 7 mM-Ca2+. With 10–20 mM-P1 precipitation or micelle formation began at about 4 mM-Ca2+ and was complete at about 5 mM-Ca2+. Over this interval, during micelle formation, a sub-micelle peak with s20, w of about 13 S was observed in equilibrium with the broad micelle peak. In a system containing a 2:2:1 weight ratio of ±sI-:²-:k-casein, this sub-micelle was isolated at 4 mM-Ca2+ and 2.5 mM-P1. The mol. wt was 760000 and it thus contained approximately 33 monomer caseins. The reconstituted micelle system formed in the absence of P1 was quite temperature sensitive, forming at 37 °C but disappearing upon cooling. In the presence of P1 the micelles formed at 37 °C but were stable to cooling as are natural micelles. Evidently, a combination of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions are involved in natural micelle formation, probably with the production of salt bridges of Ca and phosphate ions between sub-micelles.

The monomeric casein composition of different size bovine casein micelles

The fractionation by size of casein micelles from bovine skim milk was performed by chromatography on controlled-pore glass granules (CPG-10/3000). Acid precipitation of the fractionated proteins in combination with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gave no indication for monomeric caseins in the whey fractions. A factor besides low temperature appears necessary for the dissociation of, for example, beta-casein from casein micelles. The casein composition was studied by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. In bulk skim milk the alphas-, beta- and kappa-caseins were shown to occur in the following relative amounts: 52, 33 and 15%, respectively. The distribution varies with the size of the micelle. In large and medium size micelles the alphas1-casein content is almost constant; beta-casein and kappa-casein appear to be complementary so that the kappa-casein content increases with the decrease in the size of the micelle. In small micelles the relative beta-casein content is about 50%, alphas1-casein is only about 33%. We suggest that beta-casein plays a special role as initiator of micelle formation, and that alphas1-casein stabilizes the structure of the larger micelles.

Model calculations of casein micelle size distributions

A previously proposed model for the formation and structure of casein micelles from subunits of variable composition is used to calculate theoretical micelle size distributions. Using the fractional content of k-casein as the only variable but with a value near that observed in a sample of milk serum, the model successfully reproduces experimentally determined distributions. Predicted size distributions are quite sensitive to the value of the variable and shift toward smaller average size as the assumed fractional content k-casein gets larger. Also, there is a discontinuity in the distributions which predicts that there will be essentially no micelles with radii smaller than 25-30 nm. These predictions are all in accord with experimental observations. The good agreement between theory and experimenet supports the micelle structure suggested by the model.

Review: Casein micelle structure; an examination of models

The casein micelle system of bovine milk is unique in that protein aggregates of similar spherical shape but extreme variability of size are formed by the self-assembly of three major nonidentical subunits. The monomeric subunits appear to be approximately the same size and shape with similar amphiphilic natures, the chief difference in properties being in the carbohydrate-containing kappa-casein which acts to stabilize the system against precipitation by calcium ion. Micelle models with kappa-casein exclusively in the interior lack a stabilization mechanism and can be eliminated. Statistical considerations of a chain polymer model also lead to its rejection. Electron microscopy reveals spherical submicellar aggregates which at present can be accounted for by only three models. Of these three, the experimental data are predicted only by one in which, alphas 1-, beta-, and kappa-casein subunits are associated into spherical soap micelle-like particles with the kappa-casein segregated into one portion, giving these submicelles an amphiphilic nature. The alphas 1- and beta-caseins are hydrophobic while the kappa-casein portion of the submicelle surface is hydrophilic. Of particular interest is the ability of this micelle model to explain the formation of a minimum micelle which is larger than a submicellar particle.

Casein micelle size from elastic and quasi-elastic light scattering measurements

The average molecular weight, particle radius and size distribution of particles in skim milk from eight cows in mid-lactation have been measured by means of elastic and quasi-elastic light scattering techniques. The properties of sub-micellar casein particles in the milk of each cow were also studied. Particular attention has been given to the effects of particle size heterogeneity in the interpretation of results. The weight average molecular weight of the particles from different cows varied from 2.6-10(8) to 15-10(8) and the corresponding average particle radius varied between 90 and 130 nm. An unusual feature of these particles is their high water content, which was found to vary from 2.4 to 6.4 ml/g with a positive correlation between average particle density and average particle mass. Variations in particle water content can be most readily understood in terms of a gel-like casein micelle.

Localization of proteinase(s) near the cell surface of Streptococcus lactis

Two criteria suggest that most of the proteinase of Streptococcus lactis is localized in the cell wall. (i) Intact cells possess proteinase activity when incubated with a high-molecular-weight substrate. (ii) Most of the cell-bound proteinase activity is released during spheroplast formation under conditions which result in the release of only 1% of the intracellular enzymes aldolase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The solubilized cell wall, plasma membrane, and cytoplasm fractions contained 84, 0, and 16%, respectively, of the total proteinase activity with casein as substrate. The physiological role of a surface-bound proteinase in this organism is discussed.