Monitoring of recombinant human insulin production by narrow-bore reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, high-performance capillary electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

An analytical scheme for monitoring recombinant human insulin (rhI) production is suggested. The scheme includes high-performance separation micro-techniques (narrow-bore RP-HPLC, HPCE) based on different separation mechanisms and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight MS, and allows one to obtain unambiguous information about purity and primary structure of all intermediates of the rhI production. The use of this scheme at all production steps provided optimisation of certain technological parameters [conditions for a fusion protein (FP) refolding, temperature and duration of the FP cleavage with trypsin, conditions for carboxypeptidase B digestion of di-ArgB31-B32-insulin] and achievement of a high purity of the end-product. The proposed scheme may be used for solving various problems in monitoring production of other recombinant proteins.

Aminopeptidase PC from the hepatopancreas of the Kamchatka crab Paralithodes camtshatica.

Homogeneous aminopeptidase PC was isolated with yield 67% and purification degree 237 from the hepatopancreas of the Kamchatka crab Paralithodes camtshatica by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose, hydrophobic chromatography on Phenyl-Sepharose, and gel-filtration on Sephadex G-150. The enzyme is a homodimer with a molecular mass 220 kD (110 x 2). Aminopeptidase PC has pI = 4.1. It hydrolyzes Leu-pNA optimally at pH 6.0 and at the optimum temperature 36-40 degrees C; in the presence of Ca2+ the enzyme is stable at pH 5.5-8.0. Aminopeptidase PC is activated by Ca2+, Mg2+, and Fe2+; it is completely inhibited by EDTA, o-phenanthroline, and bestatin. The enzyme contains four Zn atoms per molecule and is therefore a metalloaminopeptidase. The aminopeptidase PC can effectively cleave N-terminal Arg and Lys residues as well as Leu, Phe, and Met residues. Km and kcat values for hydrolysis of Leu-pNA were 0.075 mM and 0.19 sec-1 and for hydrolysis of Arg-pNA 0.078 mM and 0.48 sec-1, respectively. D-Amino acid residues cannot be cleaved. Thus, aminopeptidase PC of the Kamchatka crab has a mixed substrate specificity which is characteristic of some microbe aminopeptidases. Its N-terminal sequence ESVEIELPEGLSPLV is 46% coincident with that of yeast vacuolar aminopeptidase YSCA.

[Isolation of trypsin PC from the Kamchatka crab Paralithodes camtschatica and its properties]. / Vydelenie tripsina PC kamchatskogo kraba Paralithodes camtschatica i ego svoistva.

Trypsin PC from the hepatopancreas of the king crab Paralithodes camtschatica was isolated and purified to apparent homogeneity by ion-exchange chromatography on Aminosilochrom and DEAE-Sephadex and affinity chromatography on arginine-agarose. The yield of the enzyme was 37.7%, and the purification degree was 21. Trypsin PC has a molecular mass of 29 kDa and pI < 2.5. It hydrolysis N-benzoyl-L-arginine p-nitroanilide at the optimum pH of 7.5-8.0 and at the temperature optimum of 55 degrees C (K(m) = 0.05 mM). Trypsin PC retained its activity within the pH range of 5.8-9.0 in the presence of Ca2+. The enzyme was inhibited by the specific inhibitors of serine proteases diisopropyl fluorophoshate and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, by the trypsin inhibitor N-tosyl-L-lysylchloromethylketone, and by the trypsin inhibitors from soybean and potato. Trypsin PC was found to hydrolyze amide bonds formed by carboxylic groups of lysine and arginine in peptide substrates. The N-terminal sequence of this enzyme is IVGGTEVTPG.

[Transformation of genetically engineered oxytocinoyllysine into oxytocin]. / Transformatsiia genno-inzhenernogo oksitotsinoillizina v oksitotsin.

Various methods for obtaining oxytocin from its recombinant precursor oxytocinoyllysine were studied. For splitting off the C-terminal lysine residue in oxytocinoyllysine, the carboxypeptidase B and an analogous carboxypeptidase from king crab hepatopancreas were used. Ammonolysis of oxytocinic acid methyl ester proved to be the most efficient method for the last stage of the oxytocin preparation. Reversed-phase HPLC was used for the product analysis at each stage of the recombinant oxytocinoyllysine conversion into oxytocin.

[Melanocyte-stimulating hormone induces growth of human malignant melanoma amelanotic cells with a change in cAMP, phosphatidylinositols, and inositol phosphate concentration]. / Melanotsitstimuliruiushchii gormon ingibiruet rost amelanotichnykh kletok zlokachestvennoi melanomy cheloveka s izmeneniem kontsentratsii cAMP, fosfatidilinozitolov i fosfatov inozita.

The melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) used at 10(-6)-5 x 10(-8) M concentrations inhibited the growth of amelanotic cells of human malignant melanoma BRO and influenced cell morphology without any effect on melanization or tyrosinase activity. Inhibition of tumour cell growth was accompanied by marked elevation of intracellular cAMP levels but not that of cGMP. Dibutyryl-cAMP and the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A inhibitor also inhibited the cell growth. alpha-MSH increased mono-, di- and 1.4.5-myoinositol triphosphate concentrations and influenced the activities of phosphatidylinositol kinase and phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate kinase determining phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate kinase and phosphatidylinositol-4.5-diphosphate levels. Myoinositol phosphate concentrations changed on a second scale and levelled off by the 3rd-5th min, whereas that of cAMP increased drastically by the 30th min.

Melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) inhibits the growth of human malignant melanoma cells with the induction of phosphatidyl inositol and myo-inositol phosphate levels.

It has been shown that alpha-MSH inhibits the growth of amelanotic cells of human malignant melanoma (BRO) without their melanization or the expression of tyrosinase activity. alpha-MSH changed the activity of cytosol and microsomal forms of phosphatidyl inositol kinase and phosphatidyl inositol-4-phosphate kinase determining the concentration of phosphatidyl inositol-4-phosphate and phosphatidyl inositol-4,5-bisphosphate. It also induced an "outburst" in the levels of myo-inositol phosphates (mono-, bis- and 1,4,5-trisphosphates). Changes in the levels of myo-inositol phosphates occurred within seconds, and are suggested to play a certain part in the hormonal regulation of melanoma cell growth.

Kinetics of the inactivation of the protein-lipid complex, firefly luciferase, by sodium deoxycholate and its reactivation by phosphatidylcholine.

Firefly luciferase has been shown to be a protein-lipid complex. Phospholipids and neutral lipids bound to luciferase have been identified. Sodium deoxycholate rapidly inactivated the enzyme, but an excess of phosphatidylcholine recovered luciferase activity. From the kinetics of inactivation and reactivation, a mechanism for interaction of the enzyme with detergents and phospholipids has been proposed. The substrates ATP and Mg2+ stabilized luciferase during delipidation.