Purification, Characterization and Evaluation of the Anticoagulant Effect of an Uncompetitive Trypsin Inhibitor obtained from Bauhinia pulchella (Benth) Seeds.

INTRODUCTION: Trypsin inhibitors (TIs) have the ability to competitively or non-competitively bind to trypsin and inhibit its action. These inhibitors are commonly found in plants and are used in protease inhibition studies involved in biochemical pathways of pharmacological interest. OBJECTIVES: This work aimed to purify a trypsin inhibitor from Bauhinia pulchella seeds (BpuTI), describing its kinetic mechanism and anticoagulant effect. METHODS: Affinity chromatography, protein assay, and SDS-PAGE were used to purify the inhibitor. Mass spectrometry, inhibition assays, and enzyme kinetics were used to characterize the inhibitor. In vitro assays were performed to verify its ability to prolong blood clotting time. RESULTS: Affinity chromatography on a Trypsin-Sepharose 4B column gave a yield of 43.1. BpuTI has an apparent molecular mass of 20 kDa with glycosylation (1.15%). Protein identification was determined by MS/MS, and BpuTI showed similarity to several Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitors. BpuTI inhibited bovine trypsin as an uncompetitive inhibitor with IC50 (3 x 10-6 M) and Ki (1.05 x 10-6 M). Additionally, BpuTI showed high stability to temperature and pH variations, maintaining its activity up to 100ºC and in extreme pH ranges. However, the inhibitor was susceptible to reducing agents, such as DTT, which completely abolished its activity. BpuTI showed an anticoagulant effect in vitro at a concentration of 33 µM, prolonging clotting time by 2.6 times. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that BpuTI can be a biological tool to be used in blood clotting studies.

Íleo meconial y falsos negativos del resultado de tripsina inmunorreactiva en una niña portadora de fibrosis quística / Meconium Ileus and false negative immunoreactive trypsine results in a cystic fibrosis carrier infant / Íleo meconial e resultados falso-negativos de tripsina imunorreativa em uma menina com fibrose cística

Introducción: la fibrosis quística (FQ) es una enfermedad genética, multisistémica, caracterizada por la disfunción de las glándulas de secreción exocrina secundaria a la mutación de una proteína transmembrana que actúa como canal de cloro. La inclusión de su búsqueda en el Sistema Nacional de Pesquisa Neonatal (SNPN) determinó un gran impacto sobre la morbimortalidad de esta enfermedad, permitiendo un diagnóstico y tratamiento precoz. El íleo meconial (IM) es la manifestación más precoz de la enfermedad, ocurriendo en un 10% a 18% de los pacientes. Objetivo: describir una forma de presentación precoz de FQ con resultado de pesquisa neonatal normal. Caso clínico: 18 meses. Sexo femenino; 33 semanas de edad gestacional. Retraso en la expulsión del meconio. Al tercer día de vida íleo meconial con oclusión intestinal, vólvulo de intestino medio y necrosis intestinal. Se realiza resección quirúrgica. Tripsina inmunorreactiva (TIR) normal a los 7 y 23 días de vida. No se solicita proteína asociada a la pancreatitis (PAP). Desnutrición crónica, bronquiolitis grave a los 3 meses, neumonías virales a los 7 y 11 meses. Ingreso con diagnóstico de neumonía aguda comunitaria con insuficiencia respiratoria. Test del sudor alterado en dos oportunidades. Elastasa pancreática insuficiente. Se aísla Staphylococcus aureus y Pseudomonas aeruginosa en exudado nasal y de secreciones respiratorias. Estudio genético: mutación Delta F508. Con diagnóstico de FQ se inició abordaje multidisciplinario, tratamiento y derivación al centro especializado. Conclusiones: la existencia de IM puede dar falsos negativos en el valor de la TIR, siendo necesaria la dosificación de la PAP. El pronóstico de estos pacientes va a depender de un diagnóstico precoz y el manejo terapéutico oportuno en centros especializados.

Introduction: cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic, multisystemic disease, characterized by dysfunction of the exocrine secretion glands secondary to the mutation of a transmembrane protein that acts as a chloride channel. Including its research by the National Neonatal Screening System (SNPN) caused a great impact on the morbidity and mortality of this disease, enabling early diagnosis and treatment. Meconium ileus (MI) is the earliest manifestation of the disease, occurring in 10% to 18% of patients. Objective: to describe a form of early presentation of CF with normal neonatal screening results. Clinical case: 18 months. Female, 33 weeks gestational age. Delay in the expulsion of meconium. On the third day of life, meconium ileus with intestinal obstruction, midgut volvulus and intestinal necrosis. Surgical resection is performed. Trypsin immunoreactive (TIR) normal at 7 and 23 days of age. Pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) is not requested. Chronic malnutrition, severe bronchiolitis at 3 months, viral pneumonia at 7 and 11 months. Admission with a diagnosis of acute community pneumonia with respiratory failure. Sweat test altered on two occasions. Insufficient pancreatic elastase. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated in nasal exudate and respiratory secretions. Genetic study: Delta F508 mutation. With the CF diagnosis, a multidisciplinary approach, treatment and referral to a specialized center began. Conclusions: the existence of MI can provide false negatives in the IRR value, making PAP dosage necessary. The prognosis of these patients will depend on early diagnosis and timely therapeutic management at specialized centers.

Introdução: a fibrose cística (FC) é uma doença genética, multissistêmica, caracterizada pela disfunção das glândulas secretoras exócrinas secundária à mutação de uma proteína transmembrana que age como canal de cloreto. A inclusão da sua pesquisa no Sistema Nacional de Triagem Neonatal (SNPN) determinou grande impacto na morbimortalidade desta doença, permitindo diagnóstico e tratamento precoces. O íleo meconial (IM) é a manifestação mais precoce da doença, ocorrendo em 10 a 18% dos pacientes. Objetivo: descrever uma forma de apresentação precoce da FC com resultados normais de triagem neonatal. Caso clínico: 18 meses. Sexo feminino. 33 semanas de idade gestacional. Atraso na expulsão do mecônio. No terceiro dia de vida, íleo meconial com obstrução intestinal, vólvulo de intestino médio e necrose intestinal. A ressecção cirúrgica é realizada. Imunorreativo à tripsina (TIR) normal aos 7 e 23 dias de vida. A proteína associada à pancreatite (PAP) não é solicitada. Desnutrição crônica, bronquiolite grave aos 3 meses, pneumonia viral aos 7 e11 meses. Internação com diagnóstico de pneumonia comunitária aguda com insuficiência respiratória. Teste do suor alterado em duas ocasiões. Elastase pancreática insuficiente. Staphylococcus aureus e Pseudomonas aeruginosa foram isolados em exsudato nasal e secreções respiratórias. Estudo genético: mutação Delta F508. Com o diagnóstico de FC iniciou-se abordagem multidisciplinar, tratamento e encaminhamento para centro especializado. Conclusões: a existência de IM pode dar falsos negativos no valor da TIR, tornando necessária a dosagem de PAP. O prognóstico destes pacientes dependerá do diagnóstico precoce e do manejo terapêutico oportuno em centros especializados.

Inhibitory mechanism of carboxymethyl chitosan-lotus seedpod oligomeric procyanidin nanoparticles on dietary advanced glycation end products released from glycated casein during digestion.

Lotus seedpod oligomeric procyanidins (LSOPC) are potent inhibitors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), whose gastrointestinal susceptibility to degradation limits their use in vivo. In this study, carboxymethyl chitosan-lotus seedpod oligomeric procyanidin nanoparticles (CMC-LSOPC NPs) were constructed with a binding ratio of 1:6.51. CMC-LSOPC NPs significantly inhibited the release of AGEs from glycated casein (G-CS) during digestion, increasing the inhibition rate by 25.76% in the gastric phase and by 14.33% in the intestinal phase compared with LSOPC alone. To further investigate the inhibition mechanism, fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and FTIR were used to find that CMC-LSOPC NPs could form cohesions to encapsulate G-CS in the gastric phase and hinder G-CS hydrolysis. In the intestinal phase, LSOPC was targeted for release and bound to trypsin through hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding, resulting in protein peptide chain rearrangement, changes in secondary structure and significant reduction in trypsin activity. In addition, CMC-LSOPC NPs increased the antioxidant capacity of digestive fluid and could reduce the oxidative stress in the gastrointestinal tract caused by the release of AGEs. It's the first time that CMC-LSOPC NPs were constructed to enhance the stability of LSOPC during digestion and explain the mechanism by which CMC-LSOPC NPs inhibit the release of AGEs from G-CS in both stomach and intestine. This finding will present a novel approach for reducing AGEs during gastrointestinal digestion.

Trypsin Detection Strategies: A Review.

Trypsin, a pancreatic serine protease, due to its narrow specificity and selectivity, has been tremendously used in food technology, proteome analysis, modulating soy protein allergenicity, antihypertensive peptide production, as well as, a biomarker in diseases such as pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis etc. Therefore, simple, sensitive and selective biosensors, for trypsin evaluation, are strongly recommended. This review provides, for the first time, an overview of various sensing systems, developed for the detection of trypsin. We have categorized various sensors, developed in the last ten years, according to their signal output as optical (fluorescence, colorimeter, surface plasmon resonance, liquid crystals), electrochemical (photo-electrochemical, nanopore sensors), piezoelectric and enzyme linked immunosorbant assay based sensors. Under each section, further subsections explain, construction of biosensors on the basis of various natural proteins acting as substrate unit and nucleic acids, nanoparticles, inorganic dyes, polymers etc. as participant interacting units. Their working principles and strategies along with salient features, such as, limit of detection, linearity range, time etc. have been critically analyzed to highlight their comparative merits and demerits. The most sensitive biosensors for trypsin detection is a photo-electrochemical anti-trypsin based immunosensor, with a lowest limit of detection 0.02 ng mL-1; linearity 0.10-100 ng mL-1.

Bcl-10, trypsin and synaptophysin helps recognize acinar cell and mixed acinar neuroendocrine cell carcinoma of the pancreas on both preoperative cytological samples and needle biopsy specimens.

OBJECTIVE: Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) of the pancreas are known to be rare and difficult to be recognize because they mimic other unrelated tumors (neuroendocrine, solid pseudopapillary) with different clinical behavior. Especially in the setting of inoperable patients, fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), core needle biopsy (FNAB) and immunocyto/histochemistry (ICC/IHC) play a crucial role in the differential diagnosis. The biological material available for ICC tests obtained by minimal invasive procedures is usually limited. Aim of the current study was to evaluate diagnostic panel based on a limited number of ICC markers for typing preoperatively ACC of the pancreas. METHODS: Of 1820 needle sampling procedures performed and related to pancreatic lesions, 21 cases were extracted with a confirmed diagnosis of ACC on histology. Of them,12 were pure ACC and 9 mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC). Smears of ACC, MANEC and a control group composed of 34neuroendocrine, 7solid pseudopapillary, 50ductal and 4 adenosquamous carcinoma were assessed with an ICC panel made up of BCL10, trypsin, synaptophysin, chromograninA, ß-catenin. RESULTS: On cytology, BCL10 sensitivity and specificity for ACC was 100%. Trypsin correctly recognized 90% of the cases. Synaptophysin was helpful to correctly identify all the cases with a mixed neuroendocrine component. No significant cross-reaction was observed between BCL10 and trypsin in any of the control group case. CONCLUSIONS: BCL10 is a determinant marker for the diagnosis of acinar cell carcinoma and mixed acinar neuroendocrine cell carcinoma of the pancreas in a pre-operative citologic/histologic setting.

Modulation of Gold Nanorod Growth via the Proteolysis of Dithiol Peptides for Enzymatic Biomarker Detection.

Gold nanorods possess optical properties that are tunable and highly sensitive to variations in their aspect ratio (length/width). Therefore, the development of a sensing platform where the gold nanorod morphology (i.e., aspect ratio) is modulated in response to an analyte holds promise in achieving ultralow detection limits. Here, we use a dithiol peptide as an enzyme substrate during nanorod growth. The sensing mechanism is enabled by the substrate design, where the dithiol peptide contains an enzyme cleavage site in-between cysteine amino acids. When cleaved, the peptide dramatically impacts gold nanorod growth and the resulting optical properties. We demonstrate that the optical response can be correlated with enzyme concentration and achieve a 45 pM limit of detection. Furthermore, we extend this sensing platform to colorimetrically detect tumor-associated inhibitors in a biologically relevant medium. Overall, these results present a subnanomolar method to detect proteases that are critical biomarkers found in cancers, infectious diseases, and inflammatory disorders.

Ultrasensitive detection of trypsin in serum via nanochannel device.

A highly sensitive trypsin sensing system in serum was developed by using an anodic alumina oxide (AAO)-based, trypsin substrate-decorated hybrid ion permeation membrane. Owing to the trypsin-triggered peptide hydrolyzation reaction, the surface electrical feature of the peptide-decorated hybrid ion membrane changed. The electric double layer effect reduces the effective ion current diameter in the AAO nano unit, so that the ion current rectification ratio will be enhanced, realizing the quantitative detection of trypsin. The lowest detection concentration can be achieved as low as 0.1 pM. This method is no need for sample pre-preparation, easy to operate, highly sensitive, and also applicable to other enzyme evaluation systems by changing corresponding substrates. This study provides a new idea for selective measurements of proteases in complex biological samples.

Detection of Sub-Nanomolar Concentration of Trypsin by Thickness-Shear Mode Acoustic Biosensor and Spectrophotometry.

The determination of protease activity is very important for disease diagnosis, drug development, and quality and safety assurance for dairy products. Therefore, the development of low-cost and sensitive methods for assessing protease activity is crucial. We report two approaches for monitoring protease activity: in a volume and at surface, via colorimetric and acoustic wave-based biosensors operated in the thickness-shear mode (TSM), respectively. The TSM sensor was based on a ß-casein substrate immobilized on a piezoelectric quartz crystal transducer. After an enzymatic reaction with trypsin, it cleaved the surface-bound ß-casein, which increased the resonant frequency of the crystal. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.48 ± 0.08 nM. A label-free colorimetric assay for trypsin detection has also been performed using ß-casein and 6-mercaptohexanol (MCH) functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs/MCH-ß-casein). Due to the trypsin cleavage of ß-casein, the gold nanoparticles lost shelter, and MCH increased the attractive force between the modified AuNPs. Consequently, AuNPs aggregated, and the red shift of the absorption spectra was observed. Spectrophotometric assay enabled an LOD of 0.42 ± 0.03 nM. The Michaelis-Menten constant, KM, for reverse enzyme reaction has also been estimated by both methods. This value for the colorimetric assay (0.56 ± 0.10 nM) is lower in comparison with those for the TSM sensor (0.92 ± 0.44 nM). This is likely due to the better access of the trypsin to the ß-casein substrate at the surface of AuNPs in comparison with those at the TSM transducer.

A Molecular Probe with Both Chromogenic and Fluorescent Units for Detecting Serine Proteases.

A molecular probe with l-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide and l-lysin 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide, in which these amino acid derivatives are connected through a succinic-acid spacer, was prepared. Trypsin and papain were detected by blue-fluorescence emission of generated 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC). α-Chymotrypsin and nattokinase were detected from both the blue-fluorescence emission of AMC and the UV absorbance of p-nitroaniline. In addition, different time courses of p-nitroaniline and AMC were observed between the reaction of P1 with α-chymotrypsin and that with nattokinase. In the case of nattokinase, both the fluorescence emission and UV absorbance slowly increased. In contrast, the increasing UV absorbance was saturated at the early stage of the reaction of the present probe with chymotrypsin, whereas the fluorescence emission continuously increased in the following stages.

Quantitative detection of ricin in beverages using trypsin/Glu-C tandem digestion coupled with ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The toxic protein of ricin has drawn wide attention in recent years as a potential bioterrorism agent due to its high toxicity and wide availability. For the verification of the potential anti-terrorism activities, it is urgent for the quantification of ricin in food-related matrices. Here, a novel strategy of trypsin/Glu-C tandem digestion was introduced for quantitative detection of ricin marker peptides in several beverage matrices using isotope-labeled internal standard (IS)-mass spectrometry. The ricin in beverages was captured and enriched by biotinylated anti-ricin polyclonal antibodies conjugated to streptavidin magnetic beads. The purified ricin was cleaved using the developed trypsin/Glu-C tandem digestion method and then quantitatively detected by ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) with isotope-labeled T7A and TG11B selected as IS. The use of trypsin/Glu-C digestion allows shorter peptides, which are more suitable for MS detection, to be obtained than the use of single trypsin digestion. Under the optimized tandem digestion condition, except for T7A in the A-chain, two resulting specific peptides of TG13A, TG28A from the A-chain and two of TG11B, TG33B from the B-chain were chosen as novel marker peptides with high MS response. The uniqueness of the selected marker peptides allows for unambiguous identification of ricin among its homologous proteins in a single run. The MS response of the four novel marker peptides is increased by more than 10 times compared with that of individual corresponding tryptic peptides. Both the marker peptides of A-chain T7A and B-chain TG11B were selected as quantitative peptides based on the highest MS response among the marker peptides from their individual chains. The limit of detection (LOD) of ricin is 0.1 ng/mL in PBS and 0.5 ng/mL in either milk or orange juice. The linear range of calibration curves for ricin were 0.5-300 ng/mL in PBS, 1.0-400 ng/mL in milk, and 1.0-250 ng/mL in orange juice. The method accuracy ranged between 82.6 and 101.8% for PBS, 88.9-105.2% for milk, and 95.3-118.7% for orange juice. The intra-day and inter-day precision had relative standard deviations (%RSD) of 0.3-9.4%, 0.7-8.9%, and 0.2-6.9% in the three matrices respectively. Furthermore, whether T7A or TG11B is used as a quantitative peptide, the quantitative results of ricin are consistent. This study provides not only a practical method for the absolute quantification of ricin in beverage matrices but also a new strategy for the investigation of illegal use of ricin in chemical weapon verification tasks such as OPCW biotoxin sample analysis exercises.

A fabrication strategy for protein sensors based on an electroactive molecularly imprinted polymer: Cases of bovine serum albumin and trypsin sensing.

A high-performance molecularly imprinted sensing platform inspired by natural recognition mechanisms was fabricated to detect protein by employing a linear electro-polymerizable molecularly imprinted polymer as macromonomer. This was achieved via the combination of a biosensor fabrication with a self-assembly imprinting technique without the use of chemical labels. An amphipathic electroactive copolymer was designed as macro-monomer to maintain structural integrity of the protein template via self-assembly, resulting in generation of a 3D construction around the protein molecule to form imprinted sites. Electro-polymerization was utilized not only to anchor imprinted sites but also to enhance electron transfer. The adaptable sensing platform was based on a strengthened recognition reaction between the MIP layer and template protein after the generation of an electroactive network. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and trypsin were used as model proteins to investigate the method's generality, which gave broad detection ranges of 10-14-10-5 mg mL-1 for BSA and 10-13-10-8 mg mL-1 for trypsin. These results indicate that the proposed fabrication offers an effective and versatile strategy for protein recognition.

Label-free analytical performances of a peptide-based QCM biosensor for trypsin.

A label-free biosensor was fabricated for the detection of trypsin by using a peptide-functionalized quartz crystal microbalance gold electrode. The synthetized peptide chains were immobilized tightly on the QCM electrode via a self-assembly method, which formed a thin and approximate rigid layer of peptides. The detection signal was achieved by calculating the mass changes on the QCM electrode because the peptide chains could be specifically cleaved in the carboxyl terminuses of arginine and lysine by trypsin. When gold nanoparticles were coupled to the peptide chains, the sensing signal would be amplified 10.9 times. Furthermore, the sensor interface shows a lower resonance resistance change when the peptide chain is immobilized horizontally. Independent detections in parallel on different electrodes have a wide linear range. Under the optimum conditions, the signal-amplified biosensor allowed the measurement of trypsin over the range of 0-750 ng mL-1 with a detection limit of 8.6 ng mL-1. Moreover, for screening the inhibitor of trypsin, the IC50 values were obtained to be 1.85 µg mL-1 for benzamidine hydrochloride and 20.5 ng mL-1 for the inhibitor from soybean.

Improved in-solution trypsin digestion method for methanol-chloroform precipitated cellular proteomics sample.

Methanol-chloroform based protein precipitation is an essential step in many liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based cellular proteomics applications. However, re-solubilization of the total protein precipitate is difficult using regular in-solution digestion protocol. Sodium deoxycholate is reported as an efficient surfactant for re-solubilization of membrane fractions. In this study, we demonstrated an application combining methanol-chloroform based protein precipitations and deoxycholic acid assisted re-solubilization of pellets to evaluate the improvement of protein identifications in mass spectrometry-based bottom-up proteomics. We evaluated the modified method using an equal amount of Raw 264.7 mouse macrophage cell lysate. Detailed in-solution trypsin digestion studies were presented on methanol-chloroform precipitated samples with or without deoxycholic acid treatments and compared with popular sample digestion methods. A mass spectrometric analysis confirmed an 82% increase in protein identification in deoxycholic acid-treated samples compared to other established methods. Furthermore, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of an equal amount of proteins from methanol-chloroform precipitated, and methanol-chloroform/deoxycholic acid-treated macrophage cell lysate showed a 14% increase and 27% unique protein identifications. We believe this improved digestion method could be a complementary or alternative method for mammalian cell sample preparations where sodium dodecyl sulfate based lysis buffer is frequently used.

pH-responsive polymer assisted aptamer functionalized magnetic nanoparticles for specific recognition and adsorption of proteins.

A new adsorbent based on pH-responsive polymer assisted aptamer functionalized magnetic nanoparticles was developed for specific recognition and efficient adsorption of proteins. Arising from the synergistic effect of specific affinity of apatamer on protein and tunable hydrophobic/hydrophilic property of pH-responsive polymer, the adsorbent exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for target protein. Notably, because of the pH-responsive property of the polymer, the adsorption and desorption process could be regulated through varying environmental pH. The resultant adsorbent that immobilized with lysozyme binding aptamer was successfully applied in specific recognition and efficient adsorption of lysozyme in egg white samples and good recovery results in the range of 95.2-103.2% were obtained. Moreover, the adsorbent immobilized with cytochrome C binding aptamer also exhibited satisfactory adsorption to cytochrome C. The synergistic effect of pH-responsive polymer and aptamer promoted the recognition selectivity and adsorption capacity to target protein, illustrating a facile way for construction of more specific protein adsorbents.

Miniaturisation of a peptide-based electrochemical protease activity sensor using platinum microelectrodes.

Proteases are ideal target biomarkers as they have been implicated in many disease states, including steps associated with cancer progression. Electrochemical peptide-based biosensors have attracted much interest in recent years. However, the significantly large size of the electrodes typically used in most of these platforms has led to performance limitations. These could be addressed by the enhancements offered by microelectrodes, such as rapid response times, improved mass transport, higher signal-to-noise and sensitivity, as well as more localised and less invasive measurements. We present the production and characterisation of a miniaturised electrochemical biosensor for the detection of trypsin, based on 25 µm diameter Pt microelectrodes (rather than the ubiquitous Au electrodes), benchmarked by establishing the equivalent Pt macroelectrode response in terms of quantitative response to the protease, the kinetics of cleavage and the effects of non-specific protein binding and temperature. Interestingly, although there was little difference between Au and Pt macroelectrode response, significant differences were observed between the responses of the Pt macroelectrode and microelectrode systems indicative of increased reproducibility in the microelectrode SAM structure and sensor performance between the electrodes, increased storage stability and a decrease in the cleavage rate at functionalised microelectrodes, which is mitigated by measurement at normal body temperature. Together, these results demonstrate the robustness and sensitivity of the miniaturised sensing platform and its ability to operate within the clinically-relevant concentration ranges of proteases in normal and disease states. These are critical features for its translation into implantable devices.

Low-concentration trypsin detection from a metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF) platform: Towards the development of ultra-sensitive and rapid detection of proteolytic enzymes.

Proteolytic enzymes, which serve to degrade proteins to their amino acid building blocks, provide a distinct challenge for both diagnostics and biological research fields. Due to their ubiquitous presence in a wide variety of organisms and their involvement in disease, proteases have been identified as biomarkers for various conditions. Additionally, low-levels of proteases may interfere with biological investigation, as contamination with these enzymes can physically alter the protein of interest to researchers, resulting in protein concentration loss or subtler polypeptide clipping that leads to a loss of functionality. Low levels of proteolytic degradation also reduce the shelf-life of commercially important proteins. Many detection platforms have been developed to achieve low-concentration or low-activity detection of proteases, yet many suffer from limitations in analysis time, label stability, and ultimately sensitivity. Herein we demonstrate the potential utility of fluorescein derivatives as fluorescent labels in a new, turn-off enzymatic assay based on the principles of metal-enhanced fluorescence (MEF). For fluorescein sodium salt alone on nano-slivered 96-well plates, or Quanta Plates™, we report up to 11,000x enhancement for fluorophores within the effective coupling or enhancement volume region, defined as ~100 nm from the silver surface. We also report a 9% coefficient of variation, and detection on the picomolar concentration scale. Further, we demonstrate the use of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled YebF protein as a coating layer for a MEF-based, Quanta Plate™ enzymatic activity assay using trypsin as the model enzyme. From this MEF assay we achieve a detection limit of ~1.89 ng of enzyme (2.8 mBAEE activity units) which corresponds to a minimum fluorescence signal decrease of 10%. The relative success of this MEF assay sets the foundation for further development and the tuning of MEF platforms for proteolytic enzyme sensing not just for trypsin, but other proteases as well. In addition, we discuss the future development of ultra-fast detection of proteases via microwave-accelerated MEF (MAMEF) detection technologies.

Effect of acid and in vitro digestion on conformation and IgE-binding capacity of major oyster allergen Cra g 1 (tropomyosin).

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The production and consumption of oysters is increasing annually because it can provide essential nutrients and benefit for human health, leading to frequent occurrence of severe allergic reactions observed in sensitized individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of acid and protease treatment on the conformation and IgE-binding capacity of recombinant Crassostrea gigas tropomyosin (Cra g 1). RESULTS: Under acidic conditions, Cra g 1 did not undergo degradation, however, the changes obvious in the intensity of CD signal and ANS-binding fluorescence were observed, which was associated with a decrease in antibody reactivity. In simulated gastrointestinal fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) digestion system, acid-treated Cra g 1 was relatively resistant to digestion, but the degradative patterns were very different. Moreover, owing to alterations of secondary structure and hydrophobic surface of the protein during digestive processing, antigenicity of acid-induced Cra g 1 reduced in SGF while it increased significantly in SIF. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting that antigenicity of acid-treated oyster tropomyosin increased after SIF digestion. These results revealed that treatment with acid and pepsin, rather than trypsin, was an effective way of reducing IgE-binding capacity of tropomyosin from oyster.

Intracellular compartment-specific proteasome dysfunction in postmortem cortex in schizophrenia subjects.

Protein homeostasis is an emerging component of schizophrenia (SZ) pathophysiology. Proteomic alterations in SZ are well-documented and changes in transcript expression are frequently not associated with changes in protein expression in SZ brain. The underlying mechanism driving these changes remains unknown, though altered expression of ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) components have implicated protein degradation. Previous studies have been limited to protein and transcript expression, however, and do not directly test the function of the proteasome. To address this gap in knowledge, we measured enzymatic activity associated with the proteasome (chymotrypsin-, trypsin-, and caspase-like) in the superior temporal gyrus (STG) of 25 SZ and 25 comparison subjects using flourogenic substrates. As localization regulates which cellular processes the proteasome contributes to, we measured proteasome activity and subunit expression in fractions enriched for nucleus, cytosolic, and membrane compartments. SZ subjects had decreased trypsin-like activity in total homogenate. This finding was specific to the nucleus-enriched fraction and was not associated with changes in proteasome subunit expression. Interestingly, both chymotrypsin-like activity and protein expression of 19S RP subunits, which facilitate ubiquitin-dependent degradation, were decreased in the cytosol-enriched fraction of SZ subjects. Intracellular compartment-specific proteasome dysfunction implicates dysregulation of protein expression both through altered ubiquitin-dependent degradation of cytosolic proteins and regulation of protein synthesis due to degradation of transcription factors and transcription machinery in the nucleus. Together, these findings implicate proteasome dysfunction in SZ, which likely has a broad impact on the proteomic landscape and cellular function in the pathophysiology of this illness.

ε-Poly-L-lysine-protected Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots with high quantum yield for fluorometric determination of cytochrome c and trypsin.

Titanium carbide quantum dots functionalized with ε-poly-L-lysine (PLL) were synthesized by sonication cutting and hydrothermal synthesis. The deprotonated Ti3C2 MXene quantum dots (Ti3C2 MQDs) exhibit excitation wavelength-dependent blue photoluminescence with typical excitation/emission peaks at 330/415 nm and a quantum yield of 22% due to strong quantum confinement. The fluorescence of ε-poly-L-lysine protected Ti3C2 MQDs (PLL-protected Ti3C2 MQDs) is reduced via an inner filter effect after the addition of cytochrome c (cyt-c). Response to cyt-c is linear in the 0.2 to 40 µM concentration range and the detection limit is 20.5 nM. In the presence of trypsin, cyt-c is hydrolyzed to small peptides, and the Fe3+ ion in cyt-c probably is reduced to Fe2+ with the aid of the digestive enzyme. This results in the restoration of the blue fluorescence of the modified MQDs. Fluorescence increases linearly in the 0.5 to 80 µg mL-1 trypsin concentration range with the detection limit of 0.1 µg mL-1. The method was successfully applied to the determination of cyt-c and trypsin in spiked serum samples. Graphical abstractSchematic of a method for the fluorometric "turn-off-on" determination of cytochrome c and trypsin based on ε-poly-L-lysine (PLL) protect MXene quantum dots (Ti3C2 MQDs).

Protamine-Induced Supramolecular Self-Assembly of Red-Emissive Alkynylplatinum(II) 2,6-Bis(benzimidazol-2'-yl)pyridine Complex for Selective Label-Free Sensing of Heparin and Real-Time Monitoring of Trypsin Activity.

A label-free detection assay is developed based on the design and synthesis of a new anionic alkynylplatinum(II) 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2'-yl)pyridine complex with water-soluble pendants. With the aid of electrostatic interaction and noncovalent metal-metal and π-π stacking interactions, protamine is shown to induce supramolecular self-assembly of platinum(II) complexes with drastic UV-vis absorption and red emission changes. On the basis of the strong binding affinity of protamine and heparin, the ensemble has been further employed to probe heparin by monitoring the spectroscopic changes. Other than heparin, this ensemble can also detect the activity of trypsin, which can hydrolyze protamine into fragments, leading to the deaggregation of platinum(II) complexes. By modulation of the self-assembly properties of platinum(II) complexes via real-time UV-vis absorption and emission studies, the reported assay has been demonstrated to be a sensitive and selective detection method for trypsin, as well as trypsin inhibitor screening, which is essential for drug discovery.