Structural features of the glutamate-binding protein from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

L-glutamate (Glu) is the major excitatory transmitter in mammalian brain. Inadequate concentration of Glu in the brain correlates to mood disorder. In industry, Glu is used as a flavour enhancer in food and in foodstuff processing. A high concentration of Glu has several effects on human health such as hypersensitive effects, headache and stomach pain. The presence of Glu in food can be detected by different analytical methods based on chromatography, or capillary electrophoresis or amperometric techniques. We have isolated and characterized a glutamate-binding protein (GluB) from the Gram-positive bacteria Corynebacterium glutamicum. Together with GluC protein, GluD protein and the cytoplasmic protein GluA, GluB permits the transport of Glu in/out of cell. In this study, we have investigated the binding features of GluB as well as the effect of temperature on its structure both in the absence and in the presence of Glu. The results have showed that GluB has a high affinity and selectivity versus Glu (nanomolar range) and the presence of the ligand induces a higher thermal stability of the protein structure.

Sweet Sensor for the Detection of Aflatoxin M1 in Whole Milk.

Recently, there is an increase in interest to develop user-friendly monitoring devices in healthcare, environmental, and agrofood fields for a fast detection of contaminants. Aflatoxins (AFs) are a group of toxic substances produced by the fungi of species Aspergillus that contaminate cereals and dried fruits. When dairy cows ingest feed contaminated with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), it is metabolized and transformed in the liver into a carcinogenic form aflatoxin M1 (AFM1), which is eliminated through the milk. In this work, we developed a sensor assay to detect low amounts of AFM1 directly in whole milk. For this purpose, we produced monospecific polyclonal antibody (IgGMS-M1) that was able to bind with high avidity to AFM1. Then, we conjugated the antibody to the invertase enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This enzyme is able to convert sucrose into fructose and glucose. After incubation of invertase-conjugated anti-AFM1 antibody with milk containing AFM1, we measured the produced glucose by a glucometer. The produced glucose was then correlated to the amount of AFM1 present in the milk. The obtained results show that the assay is easily customizable as a portable instrument for on-site AFM1 measurements. In addition, the results point out that the assay is very sensitive since it can detect the presence of 27 parts per trillion (ppt) of AFM1 in whole milk, a value lower than the AFM1 quantities in milk and dairy products set by the European Commission (50 ppt).

Inhibition of PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 gene expression highlights its role in the early events of the cell cycle in NIH3T3 fibroblasts.

The PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 gene encodes for a protein with a phosphotyrosine-binding domain, which interacts with the lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1. Previous work by us and others suggested a function of the gene in cell proliferation of NIH3T3 fibroblasts and 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes. The molecular characterization of PCLI1 protein, ectopically expressed in NIH3T3 fibroblasts, revealed two phosphorylation sites at Ser154 and Ser165. In order to clarify the functions of this gene, we analyzed the effects of its downregulation on cellular proliferation and cell cycle progression in NIH3T3 cell cultures. Downregulation of PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 mRNA levels by short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) elicited decreased proliferation rate in mammalian cell lines; cell cycle analysis of serum-starved, synchronized NIH3T3 fibroblasts showed an increased accumulation of shRNA-interfered cells in the G1 phase. Decreased levels of FOS and MYC mRNAs were accordingly associated with these events. The molecular scenario emerging from our data suggests that PID1/NYGGF4/PCLI1 controls cellular proliferation and cell cycle progression in NIH3T3 cells.

On the possibility of ephedrine detection: time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based approach.

Ephedrine is one of the main precursor compounds used in the illegal production of amphetamines and related drugs. Actually, conventional analytical methods such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary electrophoresis (CE), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) are used for the detection of ephedrine; sadly, these methods require qualified personnel and are time-consuming and expensive. In order to overcome these problems, in recent years, different methods have been developed based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and electrochemical method. In this work, we present a simple, rapid, and effective method to detect the presence of ephedrine in solution, based on competitive fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay. The antibody anti-ephedrine and ephedrine derivative were produced and labeled respectively, with two different fluorescent probes (donor and acceptor). The change in FRET signal intensity between donor and acceptor ephedrine compounds gives the possibility of detecting ephedrine traces of at least 0.81 ± 0.04 ppm (LOD). Graphical abstract A new Time-resolved Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) assay for ephedrine detection.

A Fluorescence Polarization Assay To Detect Steroid Hormone Traces in Milk.

Steroids are a class of hormones improperly used in livestock as growth-promoting agents. Due to their high risk for human health, the European Union (EU) has strictly forbidden the administration of all natural and synthetic steroid hormones to food-producing animals, and the development of new rapid detection methods are greatly encouraged. This work reports a novel fluorescence polarization assay, ready to use, capable of detecting 17ß-estradiol directly in milk samples with a low limit of detection of <10 pmol. It is based on the coupling of monospecific antibodies against 17ß-estradiol and fluorophores, capable of modulating the fluorescence polarization emission on the basis of the specific binding of antibodies to fluorescence-labeled 17ß-estradiol derivative. The successful detection of 17ß-estradiol has disclosed the development of an efficient method, easily extensible to any food matrix and having the potential to become a milestone in food quality and safety.

Easy to use plastic optical fiber-based biosensor for detection of butanal.

The final goal of this work is to achieve a selective detection of butanal by the realization of a simple, small-size and low cost experimental approach. To this end, a porcine odorant-binding protein was used in connection with surface plasmon resonance transduction in a plastic optical fiber tool for the selective detection of butanal by a competitive assay. This allows to reduce the cost and the size of the sensing device and it offers the possibility to design a "Lab-on-a-chip" platform. The obtained results showed that this system approach is able to selectively detect the presence of butanal in the concentration range from 20 µM to 1000 µM.

D-serine-dehydratase from Saccaromyces cerevisiae: a pyridoxal 5'- phosphate-dependent enzyme for advanced biotech applications.

The Saccaromices cerevisiae D-serine dehydratase is a pyridoxal 5'-phosphate dependent enzyme that requires zinc for its function. It catalyses the conversion of D-serine into pyruvate and ammonia with the K(m) and k(cat) values of 0.39 mM and 13.1 s(-1) respectively. In this work, a new methodology for monitoring D-serine is presented. Our results show that this enzyme could be successfully used as a biological probe for detection of D-serine via fluorescence spectroscopy.

Engineering resonance energy transfer for advanced immunoassays: the case of celiac disease.

Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder affecting genetically predisposed subjects. It is caused by the ingestion of wheat gluten and related prolamins. A final diagnosis for this disease can be obtained by examination of jejunal biopsies. Nevertheless, different analytical approaches have been established to detect the presence of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies that represent a serological hallmark of the disease. In this work, we explored a new method for the diagnosis of CD based on the detection of serum anti-transglutaminase antibodies by resonance energy transfer (RET) between donor molecules and acceptor molecules. In particular, we labeled the liver transglutaminase (tTG) enzyme from guinea pig and the rabbit anti-tTG antibodies with a couple of fluorescence probes that are able to make RET if they are located within with Förster distance. We labeled tTG with the fluorescence probe DyLight 594 as donor and the anti-tTG antibodies with the fluorescence probe DyLight 649 as acceptor. However, due to the large size of the formed complex (tTG/anti-tTG), and consequently to the low efficiency energy transfer process between the donor-acceptor molecules, we explored a new experimental approach that allows us to extend the utilizable range of RET between donor:acceptor pairs by using one single molecule as donor and multiple molecules as energy acceptors, instead of using a single acceptor molecule as usually occurs in RET experiments. The obtained results clearly show that the use of one donor and multiacceptor strategy enables for a simple and rapid detection of serum anti-transglutaminase antibodies. In addition, our results point out that it is possible to consider this approach as a new method for a wide variety of analytical assays.

Proteomic analysis of sera from common variable immunodeficiency patients undergoing replacement intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

Common variable immunodeficiency is the most common form of symptomatic primary antibody failure in adults and children. Replacement immunoglobulin is the standard treatment of these patients. By using a differential proteomic approach based on 2D-DIGE, we examined serum samples from normal donors and from matched, naive, and immunoglobulin-treated patients. The results highlighted regulated expression of serum proteins in naive patients. Among the identified proteins, clusterin/ApoJ serum levels were lower in naive patients, compared to normal subjects. This finding was validated in a wider collection of samples from newly enrolled patients. The establishment of a cellular system, based on a human hepatocyte cell line HuH7, allowed to ascertain a potential role in the regulation of CLU gene expression by immunoglobulins.

Deregulated HOX genes in ameloblastomas are located in physical contiguity to keratin genes.

The expression of the HOX gene network in mid-stage human tooth development mostly concerns the epithelial tooth germ compartment and involves the C and D HOX loci. To further dissect the HOX gene implication with tooth epithelium differentiation we compared the expression of the whole HOX network in human ameloblastomas, as paradigm of epithelial odontogenic tumors, with tooth germs. We identified two ameloblastoma molecular types with respectively low and high number of active HOX C genes. The highly expressing HOX C gene ameloblastomas were characterized by a strong keratinized phenotype. Locus C HOX genes are located on chromosome 12q13-15 in physical contiguity with one of the two keratin gene clusters included in the human genome. The most posterior HOX C gene, HOX C13, is capable to interact with hair keratin genes located on the other keratin gene cluster in physical contiguity with the HOX B locus on chromosome 17q21-22. Inside the HOX C locus, a 2.2 kb ncRNA (HOTAIR) able to repress transcription, in cis, along the entire HOX C locus and, in trans, at the posterior region of the HOX D locus has recently been identified. Interestingly both loci are deregulated in ameloblastomas. Our finding support an important role of the HOX network in characterizing the epithelial tooth compartment. Furthermore, the physical contiguity between locus C HOX and keratin genes in normal tooth epithelium and their deregulation in the neoplastic counterparts suggest they may act on the same mechanism potentially involved with epithelial tumorigenesis.