Practical determination of LODP (limit of detection for microarray platform) for the evaluation of microarray platforms.

The performance indicator called limit of detection for microarray platform (LODP) was defined in ISO 16578:2013. The methods to determine practical LODP were explored. In general, + 3 SD of the background is used as the signal strength of limit of detection and criteria for dividing positive and negative results. Since the negative signal had been defined differently for each microarray platform, signals obtained from Non-Probe Spots (NPS) installed on the microarrays were defined as the "background" of microarrays. LODP was determined as the lowest concentration of which the average signal exceeded Avg. + 3 SD of the background (NPS) and the signal was significantly different from those of the lower and higher adjacent concentration points measured with a diluted series of reference materials. For reliable qualitative analysis, the positive results can be defined as signals higher than those corresponding to LODP and negative results as lower signals, without determining limit of detection for all target probes. The use of LODP also enables comparisons of platform performances without checking sequence dependencies, and assists to select reliable and fitting platforms for experimental purposes.

Development of Oral Care Chip, a novel device for quantitative detection of the oral microbiota associated with periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease, the most prevalent infectious disease in the world, is caused by biofilms formed in periodontal pockets. No specific bacterial species that can cause periodontitis alone has been found in any study to date. Several periodontopathic bacteria are associated with the progress of periodontal disease. Consequently, it is hypothesized that dysbiosis of subgingival microbiota may be a cause of periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the subgingival microbiota and the clinical status of periodontal pockets in a quantitative and clinically applicable way with the newly developed Oral Care Chip. The Oral Care Chip is a DNA microarray tool with improved quantitative performance, that can be used in combination with competitive PCR to quantitatively detect 17 species of subgingival bacteria. Cluster analysis based on the similarity of each bacterial quantity was performed on 204 subgingival plaque samples collected from periodontitis patients and healthy volunteers. A significant difference in the number of total bacteria, Treponema denticola, Campylobacter rectus, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Streptococcus intermedia bacteria in any combination of the three clusters indicated that these bacteria gradually increased in number from the stage before the pocket depth deepened. Conversely, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Prevotella intermedia, and Streptococcus constellatus, which had significant differences only in limited clusters, were thought to increase in number as the pocket depth deepened, after periodontal pocket formation. Furthermore, in clusters where healthy or mild periodontal disease sites were classified, there was no statistically significant difference in pocket depth, but the number of bacteria gradually increased from the stage before the pocket depth increased. This means that quantitative changes in these bacteria can be a predictor of the progress of periodontal tissue destruction, and this novel microbiological test using the Oral Care Chip could be effective at detecting dysbiosis.

Enhancement of L-tryptophan 5-hydroxylation activity by structure-based modification of L-phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum.

The objective of this study was to enhance l-tryptophan hydroxylation activity of l-phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase. It had been known that l-phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase from Chromobacterium violaceum could convert l-tryptophan to 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan and l-phenylalanine to l-tyrosine; however, the activity for l-tryptophan was extremely low compared to l-phenylalanine activity levels. We used the information on the crystal structures of aromatic amino acid hydroxylases to generate C. violaceuml-phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase with high l-tryptophan hydroxylating activity. In silico structural modeling analysis suggested that hydrophobic and/or stacking interactions with the substrate and cofactor at L101 and W180 in C. violaceuml-phenylalanine 4-hydroxylase would increase hydroxylation activity. Based on this hypothesis, we introduced a saturation mutagenesis towards these sites followed by the evaluation of 5-hydroxy-l-tryptophan productivity using a modified Gibbs assay. Three and nine positive mutants were obtained from the L101 and W180 mutant libraries, respectively. Among the mutants, L101Y and W180F showed the highest l-tryptophan hydroxylation activity at the respective residues. Steady-state kinetic analysis revealed that k(cat) values for l-tryptophan hydroxylation were increased from 0.40 (wild-type) to 1.02 (L101Y) and 0.51 s(-1) (W180F). In addition, the double mutant (L101Y-W180F) displayed higher l-tryptophan hydroxylation activity than the wild-type and the W180F and L101Y mutants. The k(cat) value of L101Y-W180F increased to 2.08 s(-1), showing a 5.2-fold increase compared to wild-type enzyme levels.