Removal of bound Triton X-100 from purified bovine heart cytochrome bc1

Influence of amino acid and N-terminal protection residue structures on peptide p-nitroanilide adsorption on polystyrene-based support

Polystyrene-based support Bio-Beads® SM-2 was employed for desalting peptide-p-nitroanilides from Oxone®. Neither tosyl, 9-fluorenyl(methoxycarbonyl), p-nitroanilide groups nor indolyl or p-hydroxyphenyl side-chains of Trp and Tyr ensured an efficient adsorption of peptide-p-nitroanilides onto Bio-Beads® SM-2. Only unsubstituted phenyl-containing protection groups (carbobenzoxy or benzoyl) and Phe residues provided the adsorption of peptides on Bio-Beads® SM-2 and their efficient desalting. This support is well suitable for multiple parallel phenyl group-containing peptide derivative separations and high-throughput screenings.

Differential Detergent Fractionation of Membrane Protein From Small Samples of Hepatocytes and Liver Tissue for Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Drug Metabolizing Enzymes and Transporters

The fractionation of enough membrane protein from limited samples is challenging for MS-based quantitative targeted absolute proteomics (QTAP) of drug metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) and transporters. This study evaluated differential detergent fractionation (DDF) of membrane protein from progressively smaller numbers of primary mouse hepatocytes (5 million down to 50,000 cells) and limited liver tissue (25-50 mg) in quantifying select DMEs and transporters by QTAP. Two non-ionic detergents, digitonin and Triton-X-100, were applied in sequence to permeabilize cells and extract membrane proteins. Comparison was made with a membrane protein extraction kit and with homogenization in hypotonic buffer and subsequent differential centrifugation (DC). DDF produced linear membrane protein yields with increasing hepatocyte numbers and better permeabilization evidenced by the higher ratio of cytosolic to membrane protein yields. DDF produced 5-times more membrane protein from liver tissue than DC. The concentration of DMEs and transporters remained consistent in the fractions prepared by DDF from progressively smaller numbers of hepatocytes, but declined in kit fractions. In liver tissue, the concentrations were comparatively higher in DDF versus kit and DC. In conclusion, sequential digitonin and Triton-X-100 fractionation of membrane protein from limited samples is efficient, reproducible and cost-effective for QTAP of DMEs and transporters.

Extracellular matrix grafts: From preparation to application (Review)

Recently, the increasing emergency of traffic accidents and the unsatisfactory outcome of surgical intervention are driving research to seek a novel technology to repair traumatic soft tissue injury. From this perspective, decellularized matrix grafts (ECM-G) including natural ECM materials, and their prepared hydrogels and bioscaffolds, have emerged as possible alternatives for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Over the past decades, several physical and chemical decellularization methods have been used extensively to deal with different tissues/organs in an attempt to carefully remove cellular antigens while maintaining the non-immunogenic ECM components. It is anticipated that when the decellularized biomaterials are seeded with cells in vitro or incorporated into irregularly shaped defects in vivo, they can provide the appropriate biomechanical and biochemical conditions for directing cell behavior and tissue remodeling. The aim of this review is to first summarize the characteristics of ECM-G and describe their major decellularization methods from different sources, followed by analysis of how the bioactive factors and undesired residual cellular compositions influence the biologic function and host tissue response following implantation. Lastly, we also provide an overview of the in vivoapplication of ECM-G in facilitating tissue repair and remodeling.

Bound cardiolipin is essential for cytochrome c oxidase proton translocation

The proton pumping activity of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) is completely inhibited when all of the cardiolipin (CL) is removed from the enzyme to produce monomeric CcO containing only 11 subunits. Only dimeric enzyme containing all 13 subunits and 2-4 cardiolipin per CcO monomer exhibits a "normal" proton translocating stoichiometry of ∼1.0 H(+) per/e(-) when reconstituted into phospholipid vesicles. These fully active proteoliposomes have high respiratory control ratios (RCR = 7-15) with 75-85% of the CcO oriented with the cytochrome c binding sites exposed to the external medium. In contrast, reconstitution of CL-free CcO results in low respiratory control ratios (RCR < 5) with the enzyme randomly oriented in the vesicles, i.e., ∼50 percent oriented with the cytochrome c binding site exposed on the outside of the vesicle. Addition of exogenous CL to the CL-free enzyme completely restores electron transport activity, but restoration of proton pumping activity does not occur. This is true whether CL is added to CL-free CcO prior to reconstitution into phospholipid vesicles, or whether CL is included in the phospholipid mixture that is used to form the vesicles. Another consequence of CL removal is the inability of the 11-subunit, CL-free enzyme to dimerize upon exposure to either cholate or the cholate/PC/PE/CL mixture used during proteoliposome formation (monomeric, 13-subunit, CL-containing CcO completely dimerizes under these conditions). Therefore, a major difference between reconstitution of CL-free and CL-containing CcO is the incorporation of monomeric, rather than dimeric CcO into the vesicles. We conclude that bound CL is necessary for proper insertion of CcO into phospholipid vesicles and normal proton translocation.

Cellular response of RAW 264.7 to spray-coated multi-walled carbon nanotube films with various surfactants

The increasing role of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in various biological applications has led to a number of studies on the cytotoxicity of solution-phase CNTs, but few studies are available concerning the cytotoxicity of CNT films. Herein, we studied the potential health effect of CNT films fabricated with three commercial surfactants (sodium cholate, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and triton X-100). Multi-walled carbon nanotube-surfactant dispersions were coated onto substrates through air-spray technique. Cellular morphology, MTT assays, as well as the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β of RAW 264.7 cells cultured on the spray-coated CNT films were evaluated for cytotoxicity. It was found that the cytotoxicity of the CNT films was largely dependent on the type of surfactant used and could be significantly reduced by mild washing steps.