Equine alpha S1-casein: characterization of alternative splicing isoforms and determination of phosphorylation levels.

alpha(S1)-Casein was isolated from Haflinger mare's milk by hydrophobic interaction chromatography and displayed great micro-heterogeneity by 2-dimensional electrophoresis, probably because of a variable degree of phosphorylation and alternative splicing events. The aim of the present work was to investigate the complexity of the mare's alpha(S1)-casein. The different isoforms present in milk were submitted to a double treatment of dephosphorylation, first by using alkaline phosphatase and then acid phosphatase to achieve complete dephosphorylation. The apoforms were then analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The results revealed the existence of a full-length protein and 7 variants resulting from posttranscriptional modifications; that is, exon skipping involving exon 7, exon 14, or both and use of a cryptic splice site encoding a glutamine residue. The determination of the different phosphorylation degrees of the native isoforms of alpha(S1)-casein was finally achieved by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analysis after fractionation of the isoforms by ion-exchange chromatography. Thus, 36 different variants of equine alpha(S1)-casein were identified with several phosphate groups ranging from 2 to 6 or 8 depending on whether exon 7 was skipped.

Two-dimensional cartography of equine beta-casein variants achieved by isolation of phosphorylation isoforms and control of the deamidation phenomenon.

Because of variable degrees of phosphorylation, alternative splicing, and probable instability resulting from nonenzymatic deamidation, equine beta-casein presents a complex pattern by 2-dimensional electrophoresis that needs clarification. beta-Casein prepared from Haflinger mare's milk by hydrophobic interaction chromatography was fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography according to the degree of phosphorylation. Isoforms were identified by mass spectrometry; they corresponded to the full-length protein having 3 to 7 phosphate groups and to the splicing variant involving exon 5 and containing 4 to 7 phosphate groups. Investigations of nonenzymatic deamidation showed that beta-casein did not deamidate spontaneously in stored milk and during the different steps of chromatography, but deamidation could occur when 2-dimensional electrophoresis was performed, increasing the beta-casein pattern complexity. This phenomenon was strongly minimized when the first dimension step was carried out at 10 degrees C instead of at room temperature. Finally, spot attribution on 2-dimensional pattern of beta-casein was achieved by mixing each phosphorylation isoform in its native state with the whole beta-casein fraction.

Método eletroforético rápido para detecção da adulteração do leite caprino com leite bovino / Fast electrophoretic detection method of adulteration of caprine milk by bovine milk

Avaliaram-se os métodos de eletroforese em gel de poliacrilamida (PAGE) em presença de uréia (uréia-PAGE) e dodecil sulfato de sódio (SDS-PAGE) para identificar a adulteração do leite de cabra pela adição do leite de vaca. Um método foi otimizado para preparação do caseinato de sódio em poucos minutos para análise eletroforética. Uréia-PAGE foi o método mais apropriado para identificação desse tipo de fraude, em decorrência da presença da caseína alfas1 com migração mais rápida no leite bovino. A presença da alfas1-caseína bovina foi detectada a partir da adição de 2,5 por cento de leite de vaca utilizando uréia-PAGE. O limite de detecção, a repetibilidade, o tempo para execução indicaram que esse método pode ser aplicado como rotina no controle de qualidade do leite de cabra recebido pelas indústrias de processamento.

Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in presence of urea (urea-PAGE) or sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE) was evaluated to detect the presence of cow milk added to goat milk. A method was optimized to prepare sodium caseinate from milk in few minutes. After that, the sodium caseinate was analyzed by PAGE. The urea-PAGE was the most appropriated method to identify adulteration as caprine and bovine alphas1-caseins displayed different migration rates. When cow milk was added to goat milk at different proportions, the presence of bovine alphas1-casein was detected in the mixture by urea-PAGE for a minimal proportion of 2.5 percent of cow milk added to goat milk. The good sensitivity, the repeatability and the short time for execution indicate that the described method will be able to be routinely applied for the quality control of goat milk in dairy industry.

Separation and characterization of mares' milk alpha(s1)-, beta-, kappa-caseins, gamma-casein-like, and proteose peptone component 5-like peptides.

The equine alpha(s1)- and beta-caseins (CN) were purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and by reversed-phase HPLC. The alpha(s1)-, beta-, and kappa-CN were characterized either by monodimensional urea-PAGE or sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-PAGE or by bidimensional electrophoresis. Kappa-casein was characterized after electrophoresis by glycoprotein-specific staining. To identify alpha(s1)-CN without ambiguity, internal sequences were determined after trypsin or chymosin digestion of purified alpha(s1)-CN. These sequences, that could be estimated to correspond to 62% of the full protein, presented strong identities with regions of alpha(s1)-CN primary structures of other species. In particular, 51, 48, 43, and 40% identities were obtained with corresponding regions of sow, dromedary, cow, and human alpha(s1)-CN, respectively. On the other hand, trace amounts of equine gamma-CN-like and proteose peptone component 5-like peptides were found in the whole CN. They were identified by microsequencing and corresponded to beta-CN peptides generated by plasmin action on the whole CN. The equine alpha(s1), beta-, and kappa-CN were separated by bidimensional electrophoresis in numerous isoelectric variants with apparent isoelectric points distributed between pH 4.4 to 6.3, 4.4 to 5.9, and 3.5 to 5.5, respectively. The beta- and kappa-CN displayed a more acidic character in the mare than in the cow.

Two-dimensional 1H-NMR and CD structural analysis in a micellar medium of a bovine alphaS1-casein fragment having benzodiazepine-like properties.

The conformation of the benzodiazepine-like decapeptide, YLGYLEQLLR, corresponding to residues 91-100 of bovine alphaS1-casein, has been examined in SDS micelles using CD, two-dimensional 1H-NMR and restrained molecular-dynamics simulation. Evidence is presented that the decapeptide adopts a rigid structure in water/SDS micellar medium, but not in water or dimethylsulfoxide. The three-dimensional structure, consistent with the proton-proton distances obtained from the quantitative analysis of the two-dimensional NOEs, was generated by restrained energy minimization and molecular-dynamics simulation. In water/SDS micellar medium, YLGYLEQLLR adopts an amphipathic helicoid structure with distinct hydrophobic and hydrophilic faces. The relative disposition of the tyrosine aromatic rings was compared with that of the aromatic rings in the benzodiazepines.

Determination of the ratios of the aromatic amino acid residues by first- or second-derivative UV spectrometry for a simple characterization of peptides.

A method for the simultaneous determination of the ratios of the three aromatic amino-acid residues in peptides was set up in acidic conditions. Binary and ternary mixtures of these amino acids were prepared, and first- and second-derivative spectra then calculated from their 0.1 nm resolution spectra between 240 and 320 nm. Certain spectral bands were chosen to differentiate tyrosine from tryptophan on the first-derivative spectra, and phenylalanine from tyrosine and tryptophan on the second-derivative spectra. Variation of the amplitude of the chosen bands was shown to be a linear function of the ratio of the aromatic amino acids in the mixture. This technique was validated with peptides whose sequence was known. The difference between theoretical and experimentally determined ratios was lower than 10%. Since the results are obtained as ratios, neither the concentration nor the nature of the peptide has to be known. The feasibility of application using a photodiode array detector with high resolution in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is discussed.

Rapid determination of the ratios of three aromatic residues in peptides by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with a high-resolution photodiode-array detector.

A method for the simultaneous determination of the ratios of three aromatic residues in peptides by derivative UV spectrophotometry on a spectrophotometer with a resolution of 0.1 nm can be used for the RP-HPLC analysis of peptides because of the recent development of high-resolution photodiode-array detectors (1.2 nm). The difference between the theoretical and experimental ratios of aromatic residues of peptides determined in real time is less than 5%. This method could become a powerful tool for the study of peptides and hydrolysates: A variety of possible applications are discussed.