The whole-cell immobilization of D-hydantoinase-engineered Escherichia coli for D-CpHPG biosynthesis

Background: D-Hydroxyphenylglycine is considered to be an important chiral molecular building-block of antibiotic reagents such as pesticides, and β-lactam antibiotics. The process of its production is catalyzed by D-hydantoinase and D-carbamoylase in a two-step enzyme reaction. How to enhance the catalytic potential of the two enzymes is valuable for industrial application. In this investigation, an Escherichia coli strain genetically engineered with D-hydantoinase was immobilized by calcium alginate with certain adjuncts to evaluate the optimal condition for the biosynthesis of D-carbamoyl-p-hydroxyphenylglycine (D-CpHPG), the compound further be converted to D-hydroxyphenylglycine (D-HPG) by carbamoylase. Results: The optimal medium to produce D-CpHPG by whole-cell immobilization was a modified Luria-Bertani (LB) added with 3.0% (W/V) alginate, 1.5% (W/V) diatomite, 0.05% (W/V) CaCl2 and 1.00 mM MnCl2.The optimized diameter of immobilized beads for the whole-cell biosynthesis here was 2.60 mm. The maximized production rates of D-CpHPG were up to 76%, and the immobilized beads could be reused for 12 batches. Conclusions: This investigation not only provides an effective procedure for biological production of D-CpHPG, but gives an insight into the whole-cell immobilization technology.

Comparison of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis & repetitive sequence-based PCR methods for molecular epidemiological studies of Escherichia coli clinical isolates.

Background & objectives: PFGE, rep-PCR, and MLST are widely used to identify related bacterial isolates and determine epidemiologic associations during outbreaks. This study was performed to compare the ability of repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to determine the genetic relationships among Escherichia coli isolates assigned to various sequence types (STs) by two multilocus sequence typing (MLST) schemes. Methods: A total of 41 extended-spectrum β-lactamase- (ESBL-) and/or AmpC β-lactamase-producing E. coli clinical isolates were included in this study. MLST experiments were performed following the Achtman’s MLST scheme and the Whittam’s MLST scheme, respectively. Rep-PCR experiments were performed using the DiversiLab system. PFGE experiments were also performed. Results: A comparison of the two MLST methods demonstrated that these two schemes yielded compatible results. PFGE correctly segregated E. coli isolates belonging to different STs as different types, but did not group E. coli isolates belonging to the same ST in the same group. Rep-PCR accurately grouped E. coli isolates belonging to the same ST together, but this method demonstrated limited ability to discriminate between E. coli isolates belonging to different STs. Interpretation & conclusions: These results suggest that PFGE would be more effective when investigating outbreaks in a limited space, such as a specialty hospital or an intensive care unit, whereas rep-PCR should be used for nationwide or worldwide epidemiology studies.

Gene Expression Profiling on Acute Rejected Transplant Kidneys with Microarray / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

To investigate the gene expression profiles in acute allograft rejection of renal trans- plantation, and identify the markers for the early diagnosis of acute rejection, heterotopic kidney transplantation was performed by using F344 or Lewis donors and Lewis recipients. No immunosup- pressant was used. Renal grafts were harvested on days 3, 7, and 14. A commercial microarray was used to measure gene expression levels in day-7 grafts. The expression levels of 48 genes were up-regulated in the allograft in comparison with the isograft control, and interferon-y-induced GTPase gene was most significantly up-regulated in allografts. It is concluded that a variety of pathways are involved in organ transplant rejection which is dynamic and non-balanced. IFN-inducible genes, such as IGTP, may play an important role in the rejection. A lot of important factors involved in acute re- jection are unnecessary but sufficient conditions for the rejection. We are led to conclude that it is virtually impossible to make an early diagnosis based on a single gene marker, but it could he achieved on the basis of a set of markers.