Characterization of the isoforms of PIXY321, a granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor-interleukin-3 fusion protein, separated by preparative isoelectric focusing on immobilized pH gradients.

We present here the purification and the characterization of the isoforms of PIXY321, a genetically engineered fusion of granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor and interleukin-3 expressed in yeast. The isoforms of PIXY321 were isolated using preparative isoelectric focusing (IEF) on immobilized pH gradients. Analysis of the collected fractions on analytical IEF gels showed that PIXY321 was resolved into four discrete isoforms of isoelectric point (pI) 5.0, 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 with excellent yields. Subsequent analysis of purified isoforms of PIXY321 by peptide mapping and mass spectrometry linked the microheterogeneity of the original molecule to three parameters, the presence of deamidated residues, charged glycans and the pattern of O-linked glycosylation along the peptide sequence. This last parameter emphasizes the role of conformational aspects as key factors influencing the apparent isoelectric point of protein isoforms.

Gas chromatographic-tandem mass spectrometric determination of anabolic steroids and their esters in hair. Application in doping control and meat quality control.

We have developed a powerful and simple sensitive method for testing hair for anabolic steroids and their esters. A 100-mg amount of powdered hair was treated with methanol in an ultrasonic bath for extraction of esters, then alkaline digested with 1 M NaOH for an optimum recovery of other drugs. The two liquid preparations were subsequently extracted with ethyl acetate, pooled, then finally highly purified using a twin solid-phase extraction on amino and silica cartridges. The residue was derivatized with N-methyl-N(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoracetamide (MSTFA) prior to injection. Analysis was conducted by gas chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The generally chosen parent ion was the molecular ion while two daughter ions were selected for each compound with collision energies ranging from -16 to -21 eV. Internal standards were nandrolone d3 for non-esterified drugs and testosterone phenyl propionate for esters. The limits of detection calculated from an analysis of the blanks (n=30) were 0.08 pg/mg for nandrolone, 6.20 pg/mg for boldenone, 0.07 pg/mg for methyl testosterone, 0.15 pg/mg for ethinyl estradiol, 2.10 pg/mg for metandienone, 0.86 pg/mg for testosterone propionate, 0.95 pg/mg for testosterone cypionate, 1.90 pg/mg for nandrolone decanoate, 3.10 pg/mg for testosterone decanoate and 4.80 pg/mg for testosterone undecanoate. Application to doping control has been demonstrated. In a series of 18 sportsmen, two tested positive for anabolic steroids in hair whereas urinalysis was negative for both of them. The first positive case was nandrolone and the second case concerned the identification of testosterone undecanoate. Measured in 10 white males aged between 22 and 31 years, the testosterone concentration was in the range 1.7-9.2 pg/mg (mean=5.0 pg/mg). The method was also applied in meat quality control. Of the 187 analyses realized based upon hair and urine sampling in slaughter houses, 23 were positive for anabolic steroids in hair: one case for boldenone, one case for metandienone, two cases for testosterone propionate, three cases for nandrolone, five cases for testosterone decanoate and 11 cases for methyl testosterone. In the meantime, urinalysis was always negative for these drugs or their metabolites.

Characterization of the microheterogeneities of PIXY321, a genetically engineered granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor/interleukin-3 fusion protein expressed in yeast.

PIXY321, a human cytokine analog genetically engineered by the fusion of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-3 (IL-3), was expressed in yeast under the control of the alcohol dehydrogenase 2 (ADH2) promoter and the alpha-mating factor expression system. To provide the material necessary for the evaluation of PIXY321 in clinical trials, the production was scaled up to the 1200-1 scale and the PIXY321 molecule isolated by four successive steps of ion-exchange chromatography. Multiple heterogeneities, due to the presence of different patterns of glycosylation as well as multiple amino acid sequences at both N and C termini, were characterized on the purified molecule using complementary analytical techniques including electrophoresis, liquid chromatography and electrospray mass spectrometry. Four different N-terminal sequences were identified but simplified to a reproducible ratio of two sequences, the mature form and a form starting at Ala3, by adjustment of the process conditions. Molecules lacking 1-6 residues at the C-terminus were identified and their relative frequencies quantified. Amino acid modifications, such as three oxidized Met residues at positions 79, 141 and 187 and one deamidated Asn residue at position 176, were detected at low level. Microheterogeneities in glycosylation were characterized on four different sites, one located in the GM-CSF portion and three in the IL-3 portion of the molecule. The sites were shown to be differentially occupied and to carry 0-10 mannose residues according to their location in the sequence. Precise measurement of the heterogeneities at the molecular level were used to tune the process conditions and ensure reproducibility of the clinical product between lots.

Detection of illegal clenbuterol use in calves using hair analysis. Application in meat quality control.

This study describes a real-life situation involving nine calves, 106 days old, which received oral doses of clenbuterol administered through their milk. Powdered skim milk containing 6.7 mg of clenbuterol was given daily for fifteen days under supervision (i.e. 100 mg per calf for the whole study) to seven calves, and two calves did not receive the drug. Hair samples and urine were taken and subjected to analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Hairs were pulverized in a ball mill and 100 mg were incubated in a mildly acidic medium. The sample clean-up procedure involved solid-phase extraction on C18 cartridges. Metoprolol was used as the internal standard for quantitation, after formation of methylboronate derivatives. The calibration curve for clenbuterol in hair was linear in the range 20-5000 pg/mg. The limit of detection of clenbuterol was 16 pg/mg in hair and 0.14 ng/ml in urine. Hair testing was effective after 7-10 days of treatment, and concentrations were in the range of 20 to 4372 pg/mg. Urinalysis can detect clenbuterol for up to two weeks after discontinuation of the drug. Conveniently, this is around the time when the hair samples attain greatest sensitivity. Therefore, the combination of the two matrices appears to be the method of choice for testing for the illegal use of drugs in meat-producing animals.

The Arg-4 mutant factor IX Strasbourg 2 shows a delayed activation by factor XIa.

We have characterized at the DNA and protein levels a mutant factor IX, factor IX Strasbourg 2, which is responsible for a severe form (< 0.01 U/ml) of haemophilia B. Factor IX Strasbourg 2 has a higher molecular weight than normal factor IX. A mutation G-->A at position 6365 of the gene was demonstrated by DNA sequencing and confirmed by restriction mapping which showed absence of a Hae III site. This leads to the substitution of glutamine for arginine at position -4 of the propeptide. Factor IX Strasbourg 2 was purified from plasma by DEAE Sepharose chromatography and immunoaffinity and relative to normal factor IX, binding of calcium to the mutant protein was clearly reduced in calcium lactate agarose gel. Quantification of gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues gave about 50% carboxylation as compared to normal factor IX. Microsequencing of the NH2-terminal part of factor IX Strasbourg 2 confirmed the attachment of the propeptide and the mutation Arg-->Gln. Activation of factor IX Strasbourg 2 by purified factor XIa was found to be retarded as compared to normal factor IX, but after activation the mutant factor IXa was able to activate factor X. In conclusion, factor IX Strasbourg 2 circulates with the attached propeptide and shows reduced gamma-carboxylation and delayed activation by factor XIa but a normal capacity to activate factor X after total cleavage by factor XIa.

Characterization of recombinant human factor IX expressed in transgenic mice and in derived trans-immortalized hepatic cell lines.

Transgenic mice were generated in which 5 kb of the 5' flanking promoter region of the human Factor IX (FIX) gene fused to various FIX constructs (gene, minigene and cDNA) were stably integrated in the germ line. Several transgenic mouse lines expressed high circulating levels of active and correctly processed recombinant human FIX. The presence of at least one FIX intron had a positive effect on the expression. The FIX transgenes were expressed in a tissue-specific manner in the liver of transgenic mice. By crossing transgenic mice synthesizing FIX with others prone to develop hepatoma, progeny which co-express the transgenes in hepatocytes were obtained. Hepatoma-derived cell lines were shown to have a differentiated phenotype and secrete active human FIX for many generations.

Increased biological activity of a recombinant factor IX variant carrying alanine at position +1.

In attempts to improve the post-translational modification and processing of recombinant factor IX (FIX) we have altered the cDNA sequence encoding pre-pro-FIX using site-directed mutagenesis and have expressed the variant cDNAs in BHK21 cells using a vaccinia-virus-derived vector. We find that substitution of the tyrosine residue at +1 for an alanine increases the biological activity of the recombinant molecules 2-fold. On the other hand, substitution of the proline at -3 for a valine results in no significant change to the specific activity of the protein. Other alterations to the N-terminus of the FIX proteins, in attempts to mimic other vitamin-K-dependent proteins, result in the failure to produce a secreted polypeptide. N-terminal sequence analysis of purified recombinant molecules reveals a correlation between specific activity and the efficiency of correct pro-sequence cleavage. gamma-Carboxylation analysis of purified recombinant proteins indicates that each molecule including unmutated FIX is completely gamma-carboxylated in this system. Thus the observed increase in biological activity of FIX variants containing an alanine at position +1 is not due to increased gamma-carboxylation but, at least in part, to more efficient pro-peptide cleavage.

Isolation from human cerebrospinal fluid of a new insulin-like growth factor-binding protein with a selective affinity for IGF-II.

In biological fluids IGF-I and IGF-II are bound to specific, high-affinity binding protein (BPs). Two human BPs have been isolated, one from serum, which is GH-dependent, the other from amniotic fluid (AF BP), and their cDNAs have recently been cloned. We report here the isolation of another, new species from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) where this BP predominates. The protein was purified to homogeneity by a four-step procedure: gel filtration, chromatofocusing, hydrophobic-interaction chromatography and reverse-phase chromatography. Thereafter, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gave an Mr of 34,000 (non-reduced), chromatofocusing gave an isoelectric point of 5.0m and its affinity for IGF-II (3 x 10(10) M-1) was 10 times that for IGF-I. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the first 15 residues determined in a BP preparation from the CSF of children was Leu-Ala-Pro-Gly-(/)-Gly-Gln-Gly-Val-Gln-Ala-Gly-Ala-Pro-Gly. A similar sequence was found for adult CSF, apart from residues 12 and 13 (-Leu-Leu-). These are highly analogous with the sequences starting from residue 69 of the GH-dependent BP, and from residue 61 of the AF BP. The new BP isolated is therefore related to, but distinct from, the other human BPs.

In vitro carboxylation of a blood coagulation factor IX precursor produced by recombinant-DNA technology.

Blood coagulation factor IX (Christmas factor) is a plasma protein which is required for normal haemostasis. A functional deficiency of factor IX results in haemophilia B, a bleeding disorder which is generally treated by infusions of factor IX concentrates prepared from pooled human plasma. The use of human blood products is connected with the risk of transmitting viral agents responsible for diseases such as hepatitis B and AIDS. Recombinant DNA techniques may provide the means to produce the required proteins without exposing the patients to these risks and at lower costs. One of the problems which has to be overcome before recombinant factor IX can be used for therapeutical purposes is related to the vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of its 12 NH2-terminal glutamate residues. In cell cultures this carboxylation, which is required to render the protein its procoagulant activity, is far from complete, especially at high expression levels. In this paper we describe the in vitro carboxylation of non and/or partly carboxylated recombinant factor IX produced by transformed Chinese hamster ovary cells. The identity of the newly formed Gla residues was verified and it could be demonstrated that all carboxyl groups had been incorporated into the recombinant factor IX.

Characterisation of two differently processed forms of human recombinant factor IX synthesised in CHO cells transformed with a polycistronic vector.

A stable transformed cell line constitutively expressing human factor IX has been established. Wild-type Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO cells) were transformed using a polycistronic expression vector carrying a previously isolated factor IX cDNA and a selection gene encoding the Escherichia coli xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase. One clone, CHO 622.4, contains a high number of genomically integrated plasmids and secretes 1-3 mg factor IX l-1 day-1 into the culture medium with a biological activity ranging from 25% to 40%. The recombinant molecule was purified either by conventional chromatography or by immunoaffinity chromatography using antibodies specific to a calcium-induced factor IX conformer. The purified recombinant protein migrates as a single band with the same mobility as that of natural factor IX on SDS/polyacrylamide gels. N-terminal sequencing shows tow differently processed forms of recombinant factor IX: whereas the majority of the zymogen is correctly processed, approximately 20% of the purified recombinant molecule contains an 18-amino-acid NH2-extension corresponding to the precursor form of factor IX. Analysis of the 4-carboxyglutamic acid content indicates a high but incomplete carboxylation (70%) of the recombinant molecule as compared to natural factor IX. The carbohydrate composition of both the natural and recombinant molecules has been determined. Both molecules have a N-glycan structure of similar complexity, indicating that factor IX contains all the information to direct the same glycosylation pattern in human liver cells and in an unrelated cell line such as CHO-K1.

Use of synthetic oligonucleotides in gene isolation and manipulation.

Great progress has occurred in the techniques of synthesis of DNA molecules of defined sequences in terms of speed, length of the obtained oligonucleotides, and automation of the processes. Corresponding progress also occurred in the ways of using synthetic DNA in molecular biology and recombinant DNA research. Screening of cloned DNA sequence banks with long, unique oligonucleotides, provided a new approach to isolate the genes for proteins which are present in very small quantity. This technique can present considerable advantages over the more classical use of mixtures of oligonucleotides, in reducing the number of potentially positive clones on a primary screen, and enabling cloning with a minimum of amino acid sequence data. Synthetic oligonucleotides also provide the basis of a set of techniques for site-directed mutagenesis of DNA sequences. This allows the possibility of engineering the structure of particular proteins, and the properties of new variants can be tested by expressing the protein in a heterologous host. An example of this approach is the production of variants of human alpha 1-antitrypsin. A variant where valine replaces the methionine at the active site is equally active as an antielastase, but no longer susceptible to oxidative inactivation. A second variant, where arginine replaces the methionine, now functions as an antithrombin, but no longer inhibits elastase. Total gene synthesis is now feasible for larger and larger genes, and some of the recent strategies of whole gene synthesis are presented.

High-level production of biologically active human alpha 1-antitrypsin in Escherichia coli.

A cDNA clone containing the complete human alpha 1-antitrypsin sequence was isolated from a human liver cDNA bank by screening with a chemically synthesized oligonucleotide probe. DNA sequences encoding the alpha 1-antitrypsin mature polypeptide were inserted into an Escherichia coli expression vector that allows transcription from the efficient leftward promoter of bacteriophage lambda (PL) and initiation of translation at the lambda cII gene ribosome-binding site. This construction resulted in the induction of a 45-kilodalton protein at a level of approximately 15% of total cell protein. The polypeptide produced was recognized by antisera raised against human alpha 1-antitrypsin protein and displayed normal biological activity in an in vitro antielastase assay.

Isolation of a human anti-haemophilic factor IX cDNA clone using a unique 52-base synthetic oligonucleotide probe deduced from the amino acid sequence of bovine factor IX.

A unique 52mer oligonucleotide deduced from the amino acid sequence of bovine Factor IX was synthesized and used as a probe to screen a human liver cDNA bank. The Factor IX clone isolated shows 5 differences in nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence as compared to a previously isolated clone. In addition, precisely one codon has been deleted.Images

Fusion of restriction termini using synthetic adaptor oligonucleotides.

A method is proposed for linking a DNA fragment possessing a 5' single-stranded extension to one carrying a 3' extension. Synthetic oligonucleotide adaptors can be used to (i) change the site specificity at the termini of a fragment generated by restriction enzyme cleavage and (ii) simultaneously dephosphorylate the extremities of a DNA molecule to prevent recircularisation and allow positive selection for recombinant DNA molecules.

Silica gel: an improved support for the solid-phase phosphotriester synthesis of oligonucleotides.

The phosphotriester method for the stepwise synthesis of deoxyoligonucleotides has been employed using HPLC-grade silica gel (Porasil B) as the solid support. The procedure results in a convenient flow-through system for the synthesis of oligomers where all the reaction steps including the zinc bromide method of detritylation are compatible with the selected support. Deoxyoligonucleotides of 25-30 nucleotides in length can be synthesized in high yields utilising stable phosphotriester intermediates. Ease of handling of the solid support allows convenient synthesis of mixed oligonucleotide sequences.

[Radiation-induced degradation of thymidine in deaerated aqueous solution]. / Degradation radio-induite de la thymidine en solution aqueuse désaérée.

The steady-state gamma radiolysis of deaerated aqueous solutions of thymidine generated a complex mixture of pyrimidine and nucleoside derivatives. Twenty-two of these compounds have been isolated and unambiguously characterized by spectroscopic methods including proton nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. The major 5,6-saturated products has been identified as the 5R and 5S diastereoisomers of 5,6-dihydrothymidine and their mono and dihydroxylated derivatives on the 5 and/or 6-carbons. The G values of these various compounds has been determined. The roles of the primary reactive species derived from the radiolysis of water have been studied by using specific radical scavengers i.e., ethanol, t-butanol and potassium nitrate.