On the preparation of indoxyl red from indican and some new characteristics.

An indole compound with a strong purple-red color was produced by boiling a solution of indican under acidic conditions and purified by chromatographies on DEAE-650S Toyopearl TSK-gel and silica-gel columns. The purple-red compound purified was identified as indoxyl red, on the basis of FAB Mass, (13)C NMR, (1)H NMR, UV-visible spectra, and IR spectra. Although indoxyl red was first synthesized by Seidel(9) 70 years ago, very little information has been available on its characteristics. We repot here that the compound was purple-red colored at acidic pH and green at pH 13, and showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities to the mouse B cell lymphoma cell line NSF202.

The discoidin domain of Bacillus circulans ß-galactosidase plays an essential role in repressing galactooligosaccharide production.

The recently cloned ß-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382, designated BgaD, contains a multiple domain architecture including a F5/8 type C domain or a discoidin (DS) domain in the C-terminal peptide region. Here we report that the DS domain plays an essential role in repressing the production of galactooligosaccharides (GOSs). We prepared deletion mutants and point-mutated forms of rBgaD-A (deletion of the BgaD signal peptide) to compare their reaction behaviors. The yields of GOSs for all of the point-mutated forms as well as the deletion mutants of rBgaD-As increased as compared to rBgaD-A. In particular, W1540A mutant BgaD-A (rBgaD-A_W1540A) produced much more GOSs than rBgaD-A. Surface plasmon resonance experiments indicated that both the wild-type and the W1540A mutant DS domains showed high affinity for galactosyllactose. rBgaD-A, which has a wild-type DS domain, showed high hydrolytic activity toward galactosyllactose, while the hydrolytic activities of rBgaD-D, without a DS domain, and rBgaD-A_W1540A, with a mutant DS domain were extremely low. The findings obtained in this study indicate that the wild-type DS domain of rBgaD-A has a function that aids galactosyllactose molecules to be properly oriented within the active site, so that they can be hydrolyzed efficiently to produce galactose/glucose by inhibiting the accumulation of GOSs.

Causes of the production of multiple forms of ß-galactosidase by Bacillus circulans.

The presence of multiple types of ß-galactosidases in a commercial enzyme preparation from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382 and differences in their transgalactosylation activity were investigated. Four ß-galactosidases, ß-Gal-A, ß-Gal-B, ß-Gal-C, and ß-Gal-D, which were immunologically homologous, were isolated and characterized. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of all of the enzymes were identical and biochemical characteristics were similar, except for galactooligosaccharide production. ß-Gal-B, ß-Gal-C, and ß-Gal-D produced mainly tri- and tetra saccharides at maximum yields of 20-30 and 9-12%, while ß-Gal-A produced trisaccharide with 7% with 5% lactose as substrate. The Lineweaver-Burk plots for all of the enzymes, except for ß-Gal-A, showed biphasic behavior. ß-Gal-A was truncated to yield multiple ß-galactosidases by treatment with protease isolated from the culture broth of B. circulans. Treatment of ß-Gal-A with trypsin yielded an active 91-kDa protein composed of 21-kDa and 70-kDa proteins with characteristics similar to those for ß-Gal-D.

Cloning and expression of a ß-galactosidase gene of Bacillus circulans.

A gene of ß-galactosidase from Bacillus circulans ATCC 31382 was cloned and sequenced on the basis of N-terminal and internal peptide sequences isolated from a commercial enzyme preparation, Biolacta(®). Using the cloned gene, recombinant ß-galactosidase and its deletion mutants were overexpressed as His-tagged proteins in Escherichia coli cells and the enzymes expressed were characterized.

A case of cancer pain management by long-term intrathecal PCA.

Titration of oral or intravenous medication is the preferred method of pain management for most patients with cancer pain. However, some patients experience insufficient pain relief or considerable adverse effects from systemic opioids. For these reasons, the control of severe cancer pain continues to present a variety of challenges to clinicians. We report our experience of successfully managing cancer pain in a patient by means of long-term intrathecal administration of morphine, bupivacaine, and racemic ketamine via a patient-controlled delivery system. This therapy reduced the patient's nausea, vomiting, and somnolence, led to early hospital discharge, and increased her level of daily activity. There were no signs of motor paralysis, psychomimetic alteration, neurological dysfunction, or infection related to the intrathecal route during treatment. Intrathecal therapy is an effective treatment in terminally ill patients.

Purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis that can hydrolyze N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids as well as N-short-chain-acyl-L-amino acids.

We report here on the purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase, initially isolated from the supernatant of Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-AA). Purified wild-type Sm-AA was found to be a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 55 kDa. The cloned gene of Sm-AA contained an ORF of 1,383 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 460 amino acids. A BLAST search revealed that Sm-AA belongs to the peptidase M20 family, with identities to a hypothetical protein from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, a putative peptidase from Streptomyces avermitilis, peptidase M20 from Frankia sp., succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase from Hemophilus influenzae, and aminoacylase-1 from porcine kidney at 89, 88, 67, 29, and 25% respectively. The Sm-AA gene was subcloned into an expression vector, pSH19, and was expressed in Streptomyces lividans TK24. The amount of the recombinant Sm-AA expressed in the S. lividans cells was approximately 42-fold higher than that of Sm-AA found in the supernatant of S. mobaraensis. Sm-AA showed high hydrolytic activity towards various N-acetyl-L-amino acids and N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids, with a preference for the acyl derivatives of L-Met, L-Ala, L-Cys, etc. with an optimum pH and temperature for reaction of about 7.5 and 50 degrees Celsius (at pH 7.5).

Temperature scanning FTIR analysis of interactions between sugar and polymer additive in amorphous sugar-polymer mixtures.

The impact of a polymer additive (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) on hydrogen bonding in amorphous sugar matrices as well as on the glass transition temperature, T(g), were examined by temperature scanning Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TS-FTIR). An amorphous sugar matrix containing PVP was prepared by air-drying an aqueous solution of a sugar-PVP mixture. The hydrogen bonds in the sugar-PVP mixture (sugar-PVP and sugar-sugar hydrogen bonds) were analyzed from the IR peak positions corresponding to the stretching vibration of C==O groups of PVP and O--H groups of the sugar and the temperature dependence of the peak position of the O--H stretching vibration band. The addition of PVP to amorphous mono and disaccharides significantly lowered the extent of hydrogen bond formation while interactions between sugars and the PVP tended to prevent the disruption of hydrogen bonds due to increasing temperature, the magnitude of which was larger for larger oligomers. The T(g) value for the amorphous sugar was increased by the addition of PVP in many cases. As the size of sugar molecule became larger, the relative magnitude of the increased T(g) by PVP to the difference between the T(g) values for sugar alone and PVP alone became larger and then reached a certain level; it was slight in the case of glucose. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the magnitude of the impact of PVP on an amorphous sugar matrix strongly vary and are dependent on the types of sugar.

Characteristics of hydrogen bond formation between sugar and polymer in freeze-dried mixtures under different rehumidification conditions and its impact on the glass transition temperature.

The characteristics of hydrogen bond formation between trehalose and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) in amorphous mixtures at different hydration states were quantitatively investigated. Amorphous trehalose-PVP mixtures were prepared by freeze-drying and equilibrated at different relative humidities (RH). Infrared (IR) spectra of the trehalose-PVP mixtures were obtained by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy,(FTIR) and the IR band corresponding to C=O groups of PVP was deconvolved into the component bands responsible for C=O groups that were free and restricted by hydrogen bonds, to estimate the degree of the trehalose-PVP interactions. The FTIR analysis indicated that approximately 80% of the C=O groups of PVP formed hydrogen bonds with trehalose in the presence of more than 3 g of trehalose per gramme of PVP, independent of the RH. IR analysis of the O--H stretching vibration of the sugar demonstrated that the presence of PVP lead to an increase in the free hydroxyl groups of trehalose that did not form hydrogen bonds at RH 0%. On the other hand, the water sorption behavior of the trehalose-PVP mixtures suggested that rehumidification diminished the effect of PVP on increasing the free OH groups. Thus a peculiar relationship may exist between Tg, RH and the composition of the mixture: The presence of PVP increased Tg at RHs 0 and above 23% but decreased Tg at 11%.

Anisotropic diamond etching through thermochemical reaction between Ni and diamond in high-temperature water vapour.

Diamond possesses excellent physical and electronic properties, and thus various applications that use diamond are under development. Additionally, the control of diamond geometry by etching technique is essential for such applications. However, conventional wet processes used for etching other materials are ineffective for diamond. Moreover, plasma processes currently employed for diamond etching are not selective, and plasma-induced damage to diamond deteriorates the device-performances. Here, we report a non-plasma etching process for single crystal diamond using thermochemical reaction between Ni and diamond in high-temperature water vapour. Diamond under Ni films was selectively etched, with no etching at other locations. A diamond-etching rate of approximately 8.7 µm/min (1000 °C) was successfully achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this rate is considerably greater than those reported so far for other diamond-etching processes, including plasma processes. The anisotropy observed for this diamond etching was considerably similar to that observed for Si etching using KOH.

Large volume loading to prevent cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity during negative-balance isolated pelvic perfusion.

PURPOSE: Negative-balance isolated pelvic perfusion (NIPP) is used to administer high doses of anticancer drugs such as cisplatin to patients with advanced cancer of the pelvic region. Although the drugs are intended to be specifically delivered to the pelvis, their leakage into the systemic circulation can cause acute renal failure. This study examines the loading volume required for preservation of renal function during anesthesia of NIPP. METHODS: Pelvic cancer patients were assigned to NIPP according to its enrollment criteria. Patients with heart failure, uncontrollable hypertension, renal failure, pulmonary disease or contraindication for the contrast media were excluded. We compared the current anesthesia management regime with a previous protocol, with regard to the loading volume and renal function as assessed by the calculated glomerular filtration rate (GFR). The correlation between the total loading volume and the GFR ratio (GFR after NIPP/GFR before NIPP) was evaluated to define adequate volume loading. RESULTS: The GFR ratios were 0.86 +/- 0.29 and 1.12 +/- 0.25 for the previous and current procedures, respectively. The regression line showed that a minimum loading volume of 28.8 ml kg(-1) h(-1) was required to maintain a GFR ratio of > or =1. CONCLUSIONS: A large volume infusion preserves the GFR despite high-dose cisplatin administration by NIPP.

Development of a one-step ELISA method using an affinity peptide tag specific to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface.

Glutathione S-transferase genetically fused with an affinity peptide tag, PS19 (RAFIASRRIKRP) having a specific affinity for a hydrophilic polystyrene (PS) surface, was preferentially immobilized on a hydrophilic PS (phi-PS) plate without suffering from interference by coexisting protein molecules. Furthermore, rabbit IgG chemically conjugated with a peptide, KPS19R10, in which (10)Lys in PS19 was replaced with Arg and one Lys residue was added at the N-terminus as a coupling site for glutaraldehyde, showed a higher immobilization affinity to the phi-PS plate than that conjugated with the PS19 peptide. On the basis of these findings, the use of a phi-PS plate and peptide tag-linked ligand proteins permitted a one-step or two-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be achieved, resulting in a substantial reduction in operational time compared with the conventional ELISA method using a hydrophobic PS (pho-PS) plate, while maintaining a high sensitivity. Furthermore, the sensitivity was increased to a greater extent compared to the conventional ELISA meihod when the one-step ELISA was applied to the detection of bovine insulin in a sandwich mode, due to the reduced number of washing and incubation steps. The method proposed here would be a versatile method for use in various ELISA techniques such as sandwich and competitive ELISAs using an antigen, an antibody and streptavidin that are genetically fused or chemically conjugated with the PS-specific affinity peptide as the ligand protein.

Cloning and characterization of penicillin V acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis.

We report on the molecular cloning and characterization of penicillin V acylase (PVA) from an actinomycete, Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-PVA), which was originally isolated as an acylase that efficiently hydrolyzes the amide bond of various N-fatty-acyl-l-amino acids and N-fatty-acyl-peptides as well as capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide). In addition, the purified Sm-PVA hydrolyzed penicillin V with the highest activity (k(cat)) among the PVAs so far reported, penicillin G, and 2-nitro-5-phenoxyacetamide benzoic acid. The BLAST search revealed that the Sm-PVA precursor is composed of a polypeptide that is characteristic of enzymes belonging to the beta-lactam acylase family with four distinct segments; a signal sequence (43 amino acids), an alpha subunit (173 amino acids), a linker peptide (28 amino acids), and a beta subunit (570 amino acids). The mature, active Sm-PVA is a heterodimeric protein with alpha and beta subunits, in contrast to PVAs isolated from Bacillus sphaericus and B. subtilis, which have a homotetrameric structure. The amino acid sequence of Sm-PVA showed identities to PVA from S. lavendulae, N-acylhomoserine lactone-degrading acylase from Streptomyces sp., cyclic lipopeptide acylase from Streptomyces sp., and aculeacin A acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis with 68, 67, 67, and 41% identities, respectively.

Protein-protein interaction analysis using an affinity peptide tag and hydrophilic polystyrene plate.

A sandwich ELISA method using peptide tags showing a specific affinity to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface (PS-tags), PS 19 composed of RAFIASRRIKRP and KPS19R10 of KRAFIASRRIRRP and a hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plate was used to analyze protein-protein interactions. An Escherichia coli cysteine synthase complex, in which serine acetyltransferase (SAT) interacts with O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase-A (OASS) was used as a model system. When the interaction was detected by the conventional sandwich ELISA method using a hydrophobic polystyrene (pho-PS) plate, for the exclusive use of ELISA, the signal intensity was barely detectable due to conformational change of the ligand protein, OASS in the adsorbed state. On the contrary, when OASS, genetically fused with PS19 (OASS-PS19) or chemically conjugated with KPS19R10 (OASS-KPS19R10), was immobilized on the phi-PS plate, a high signal intensity was detected. Furthermore, by applying the two-step sandwich ELISA, in which OASS-PS19 or OASS-KPS19R10 formed a complex with SAT in the blocking solution before immobilization on the phi-PS plate, the signal intensity was further increased with a much shorter operational time, because SAT in the blocking solution formed a complex with OASS-PS19 or OASS-KPS19R10 without any steric hindrance.

Screening of ACE-inhibitory peptides from a random peptide-displayed phage library using ACE-coupled liposomes.

Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptides were screened from a random peptide-displayed phage library using ACE-coupled liposomes. Among four kinds of inhibitory peptides selected by biopanning with two different elution strategies, a peptide (LSTLRSFCA) showed the highest inhibitory activity with an IC(50) value of 3microM. By measuring inhibitory activities of fragments of the peptide, it was found that the RSFCA region was a functional site to inhibit strongly the ACE catalytic activity, and particularly both Arg and Cys residues were essential for the strong inhibitory activity. The inhibitory activity of RRFCA was slightly increased, while that of the RSFRA, in which the Cys residue was replaced by Arg, was decreased to greater extent in comparison with the inhibitory activity of RSFCA. Taking into account the results obtained from the SPOT analysis, it was suggested that the Arg and Phe residues in RSFCA were important for a specific interaction with ACE, and the Cys residue inhibited the ACE activity. The cystein-based ACE-inhibitory peptides have not been isolated from processed food materials. These findings suggested that the biopanning method utilizing protein-coupled liposomes and random peptide libraries might have a possibility to screen new functional peptides that are not found in processed food materials.

Adsorption characteristics of oligopeptides composed of acidic and basic amino acids on titanium surface.

The adsorption characteristics of octapeptides, containing different numbers of aspartic acid, lysine, and alanine residues (i.e., D(4)K(0)A(4), D(4)K(1)A(3), D(4)K(3)A(1), D(4)K(4)A(0), and D(0)K(4)A(4)) on the surface of titanium (Ti) particles were investigated in the pH range of 3.0-8.8 at 30 degrees C. The adsorption isotherms for octapeptides having four plural aspartic acid residues with or without lysine residues showed two distinct adsorption modes, i.e., irreversible and reversible modes, at pHs 3.0-6.5; at pH 7.0 or higher, the adsorption mode was reversible. Increasing the number of lysine residues at a fixed number of aspartic acid residues (i.e., 4) decreased the amount of peptides adsorbed in both modes. D(4)K(4)A(0) adsorbed irreversibly at pHs 3.0-6.5, due to the fact that negatively charged carboxyl groups directly interact with a positively charged Ti surface, whereas positively charged amino groups of lysine residues are directed in an opposite direction toward the solution side, as predicted by molecular mechanics/dynamics calculations.

TPR domain of Ser/Thr phosphatase of Aspergillus oryzae shows no auto-inhibitory effect on the dephosphorylation activity.

A Ser/Thr phosphatase gene cloned from Aspergillus oryzae, aoppt, revealed that the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) and catalytic domains of the full-length AoPPT are located at the N- and C-terminal regions, respectively, similar to those of human Ser/Thr phosphatase 5 (PP5) and yeast Ppt1. Four different regions of AoPPT, namely, a full-length polypeptide, the catalytic domain, the catalytic domain plus C-terminal 15 amino-acid residues and the TPR domain were expressed in Escherichia coli and their roles in dephosphorylation activity were examined, using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as the substrate. The full-length AoPPT showed the highest dephosphorylation activity while the catalytic domain had the lowest activity. The activity of the catalytic domain was not inhibited by the presence of the TPR domain and arachidonic acid did not increase the activity of the full-length enzyme. These findings suggest that the integrity of the entire enzyme would be necessary for its full activity to be expressed.

Repair of an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm is associated with persistent left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Left ventricular (LV) diastolic function has received much attention recently. However, few studies have evaluated LV diastolic function in the perioperative period. The aim of this study was to elucidate perioperative changes in diastolic function using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in patients undergoing repair of an infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). METHODS: Eight patients undergoing repair of an infrarenal AAA were studied prospectively using transesophageal echocardiography. Doppler echocardiographic examinations were performed before the surgical procedure (T1), immediately before aortic unclamping (T2), 30 minutes after aortic unclamping (T3), and at the end of surgery (T4). RESULTS: Pulmonary edema developed in two patients on postoperative day 1. These two patients had the lowest early diastolic mitral annular velocity (Ea) of the study group at the end of surgery. The ratio of the peak velocity of early mitral inflow (E) to the peak velocity of atrial inflow was significantly decreased at T3 and T4. The systolic ejection velocity was significantly decreased at T3, but returned to the baseline value at T4. The Ea was significantly decreased at T3 and T4. The E/Ea ratio showed a progressive rise and was significantly increased at T3 and T4. CONCLUSIONS: In patients undergoing repair of an infrarenal AAA, the Ea derived using TDI decreases at T3 and is still reduced at T4. The E/Ea ratio, which is used to estimate LV filling pressures, is significantly increased at T3 and T4. Further research is required to confirm the development of diastolic dysfunction and determine its possible association with increased postoperative morbidity and mortality.

Temperature scanning FTIR analysis of hydrogen bonding states of various saccharides in amorphous matrixes below and above their glass transition temperatures.

Temperature scanning Fourier transform infrared, TS-FTIR, spectroscopy of various amorphous sugar matrixes was conducted to investigate the relationship between the glass transition temperature, T(g), of an amorphous sugar matrix and the nature of the hydrogen bonds in the matrix. An amorphous sugar matrix was prepared by air-drying an aqueous solution of sugar, and the degree of formation of hydrogen bonds in the matrix was evaluated at different temperatures using the peak positions of the IR band corresponding to the O-H stretching vibration at around 3400 cm(-1). The T(g) value increased with increasing peak position of the O-H stretching vibration at T(g) and were correlated reasonably well with the magnitude of the peak shift by the temperature increase (from 25 degrees C) to the T(g) value. This demonstrates that the amorphous sugar matrix, in which the segments are fixed by fewer hydrogen bonds, has a higher thermal resistance. The glycosidic linkage largely contributes to the restriction of the segments, pyranose ring, rather than a hydrogen bond. As the degree of polymerization of pyranose rings increases, the degree of hydrogen bond formation needed to hold the matrix in a fixed position decreases. However, the magnitude of the restriction of pyranose rings by a glycosidic linkage changes depending on the type: the restrictions imposed by alpha-1,1 and -1,6 glycosidic linkages are the tightest and most flexible of all of the types of glycosidic linkages, respectively.

Screening and characterization of affinity peptide tags specific to polystyrene supports for the orientated immobilization of proteins.

Dodecapeptides that exhibit a high affinity specific to a polystyrene surface (PS-tags) were screened using an Escherichia coli random peptide display library system, and the compounds were used as a peptide tag for the site-specific immobilization of proteins. The various PS-tags obtained after 10 rounds of biopanning selection were mainly composed of basic and aliphatic amino acid residues, most of which were arranged in close proximity to one another. Mutant-type glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) fused with the selected PS-tags, PS19 (RAFIASRRIKRP) and PS23 (AGLRLKKAAIHR) at their C-terminus, GST-PS19 and GST-PS23, when adsorbed on the PS latex beads had a higher affinity than the wild-type GST, and the specific remaining activity of the immobilized mutant-type GSTs was approximately 10 times higher than that of the wild-type GST. The signal intensity detected for GST-PS19 and GST-PS23 adsorbed on hydrophilic and hydrophobic PS surfaces using an anti-peptide antibody specific for the N-terminus peptide of GST was much higher than that for the wild-type GST. These findings indicate that the mutant-type GSTs fused with the selected peptide tags, PS19 and PS23, could be site-specifically immobilized on the surface of polystyrene with their N-terminal regions directed toward the solution. Thus, the selected peptide tags would be useful for protein immobilization in the construction of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems and protein-based biochips.

A novel acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis that efficiently catalyzes hydrolysis/synthesis of capsaicins as well as N-acyl-L-amino acids and N-acyl-peptides.

A novel enzyme that catalyzes efficient hydrolysis of capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces mobaraensis. The enzyme consisted of two dissimilar subunits with molecular masses of 61 and 19 kDa. The enzyme was activated and stabilized in the presence of Co2+. It showed a pH optimum of about 8 and was stable at temperatures of up to 55 degrees C for 1 h at pH 7.8. The specific activity of the enzyme for the hydrolysis of capsaicin was 10(2)-10(4) times higher than those for the enzymes reported to date. In an aqueous/n-hexane biphasic system, capsaicin analogues such as octanoyl, decanoyl, and lauroyl vanillylamides were synthesized from the corresponding fatty acids and vanillylamine at yields of 50% or greater. In addition, the enzyme catalyzed the deacylation of N-lauroyl-L-amino acids and N-lauroyl-L-dipeptides and the efficient synthesis of Nalpha-lauroyl-L-lysine, Nepsilon-lauroyl-L-lysine, and various N-lauroyl-peptides in aqueous solution in both the absence and the presence of glycerol.