Two Original Experimental Setups for Staircase Frontal Affinity Chromatography at the Miniaturized Scale

Site-specific immobilization of Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1 through enzymatic DNA-protein conjugation strategy for lead screening

Immobilization of functional protein, especially G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), is particularly significant in various fields such as the development of assays for diagnosis, lead compound screening, as well as drug-protein interaction analysis. However, there are still some challenges with the immobilized proteins such as undefined loads, orientations, and the loss of activity. Herein, we introduced a DNA conjugation strategy into the immobilization of Cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1(CysLTR1) which enables exquisite molecular control and higher activity of the receptor. We used the bacterial relaxases VirD2 as an immobilized tag fused at the C terminus of CysLTR1. Tyrosine residue(Y29) at the core binding site of the VirD2 tag can react with the single-strand piece of DNA(T-DNA) in the form of a covalent bond. Inspired by this strategy, we developed a new immobilization method by mixing the T-DNA-modified silica gel with the cell lysate containing the expressed VirD2-tagged CysLTR1 for 1 hour. We found that the successful formation of DNA-protein conjugate enables the immobilization of CysLTR1 fast, site-specific, and with minimal loss of activity. The feasibility of the immobilized CysLTR1 was evaluated in drug-protein binding interaction by frontal analysis and adsorption energy distribution analysis. The binding of pranlukast, zafirlukast, and MK571 to the immobilized CysLTR1 was realized, and the association constants presented good agreement between the two methods. Rosmarinic acid was retained in the immobilized CysLTR1 column, and the in-vitro test revealed that the compound binds to the receptor in one type of binding site mode. Despite these results, we concluded that the DNA-protein conjugate strategy will probably open up the possibilities for capturing other functional proteins in covalent and site-specific modes from the complex matrices and the immobilized receptor preserves the potential in fishing out lead compounds from natural products.

Can the heptapeptide ASSIVSF of the β2-adrenoceptor recognize ephedrine and pseudoephedrine epimers in a complex system?

Epimer separation is crucial in the field of analytical chemistry, separation science, and the pharmaceutical industry. No reported methods could separate simultaneously epimers or even isomers and remove other unwanted, co-existing, interfering substances from complex systems like herbal extracts. Herein, we prepared a heptapeptide-modified stationary phase for the separation of 1R,2S-(-)-ephedrine [(-)-Ephe] and 1S,2S-(+)-pseudoephedrine [(+)-Pse] epimers from Ephedra sinica Stapf extract and blood samples. The heptapeptide stationary phase was comprehensively characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The separation efficiency of the heptapeptide column was compared with an affinity column packed with full-length β2-AR functionalized silica gel (β2-AR column). The binding affinity of the heptapeptide with (+)-Pse was 3-fold greater than that with (-)-Ephe. Their binding mechanisms were extensively characterized by chromatographic analysis, ultraviolet spectra, circular dichroism analysis, isothermal titration calorimetry, and molecule docking. An enhanced hydrogen bonding was clearly observed in the heptapeptide-(+)-Pse complex. Such results demonstrated that the heptapeptide can recognize (+)-Pse and (-)-Ephe epimers in a complex system. This work, we believe, was the first report to simultaneously separate epimers and remove non-specific interfering substances from complex samples. The method was potentially applicable to more challenging sample separation, such as chiral separation from complex systems.

Deciphering dynamic combinatorial libraries of glycoclusters with miniaturized weak affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (nano-FAC-MS)

We report an original methodology based on affinity chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry to decipher the complexity of dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCLs) of glycoclusters. Such libraries are intended to boost the design of potential therapeutic anti-infectious agents targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is responsible for numerous diseases, mostly found in hospitals as major a cause of nosocomial infections. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry provides a rapid access to an equilibrating mixture of glycocluster candidates through the formation of reversible covalent bonds under thermodynamic control. Identifying each molecule in the complex mixture overcomes challenges due to the dynamic process. Selection of glycoclusters candidates was first realized on a model lectin (Concanavalin A, ConA). Home-made affinity nanocolumns, containing covalently immobilized ConA and have volumes in the microliter range, were used to separate DCLs of glycoclusters with respect to their specific lectin binding properties under buffered aqueous conditions. Miniaturization facilitates the inline coupling with MS detection in such purely aqueous and buffered conditions and reduces target protein consumption. Monolithic lectin-affinity columns prepared by immobilization of ConA were first characterized using a known ligand. The amount of active binding immobilized lectin is 61 ± 5 pmol on 8.5-cm length column. We demonstrated the ability of our approach to evaluate individual dissociation constants of species directly in the complex mixture. The concept was then successfully applied to the screening of DCLs of more complex glycoclusters to identify (by mass spectrometry) and rank the ligands (by relative breakthrough curve delay) according to their affinity for the immobilized lectin in a single experiment.

Preparation of miniaturized hydrophilic affinity monoliths: Towards a reduction of non-specific interactions and an increased target protein density

In affinity chromatography, non-specific interactions between the ligands and the affinity column may affect the results, leading to misinterpretations during the investigation of protein-ligand interactions (detection of false positives in ligand screening, lack of specificity in purification). Such non-specific interactions may arise both from the underlying support or from the target protein itself. If the second ones are protein-dependent (and cannot be studied in a general framework), the first ones occur in the same way regardless of the immobilized target. We propose a methodology to identify the origin of such non-specific interactions with the underlying material of the affinity column. This methodology relies on the systematic investigation of the retention behavior of a set of 41 low-molecular weight compounds covering a wide chemical space (net charge, log D, functionality). We first demonstrate that the main source of non-specific interactions on the most commonly used GMA-co-EDMA monolith comes from hydrophobic effects. To reduce such non-specific interactions, we developed a new hydrophilic glycidyl methacrylate-based monolith by replacing the EDMA crosslinker by the more hydrophilic NN' Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA). Optimization of the synthesis parameters (monomer content, initiation type, temperature) has focused on the reduction of non-specific interaction with the monolithic support while maximizing the amount of protein that can be grafted onto the monolith at the issue of its synthesis. The retention data of the 41 test solutes on the new poly(GMA-co-MBA) monolith shows a drastic reduction of non-specific interactions except for cationic compounds. The particular behavior of cationic compounds is due to their electrostatic interactions with carboxylic groups resulting from the partial acidic hydrolysis of amide groups of MBA during the epoxide ring opening step. So, the ring opening step in acidic media was replaced by a hot water treatment to avoid side reaction on MBA. The new monolith poly(GMA-co-MBA) not only has improved hydrophilic surface properties but also a higher protein density (16 ± 0.8 pmol cm^-1 instead of 8 ± 0.3 pmol cm^-1). To highlight the benefits of this new hydrophilic monolith for affinity chromatographic studies, frontal affinity chromatography experiments were conducted on these monoliths grafted with con A.