生物材料细胞粘附肽仿生修饰的研究进展

RGD(Arg-G1y-Asp)短肽序列是一种细胞粘附肽,能被细胞膜上的整合素识别,参与细胞与基质间的粘附.为改善合成生物材料缺乏细胞识别信号的缺点,可将含RGD序列肽经本体或表面修饰引入材料,使材料具有良好的细胞亲和性.综述了采用含RGD肽对各种合成生物材料进行仿生修饰的研究进展.     

脯氨酸肽键数据集的构建

由分辨率<0.25nm,同一性(identity)<30％的2401条肽链中计算提取了全部顺式与反式脯氨酸肽键的位置,数目分别为1221个与26401个,从而建立了一个较大规模的脯氨酸肽键数据集。统计分析了该数据集的基本特征:肽键N端残基的分布、N端残基的二面角统计、在二级结构中的分布情况、顺式肽键在脯氨酸肽键中所占比例。此数据集对于进一步研究顺反X-Pro肽键的结构、与氨基酸序列之间的关系,以及肽链折叠动力学具有重要作用。     

蚕和蛹体的抗菌肽的提纯、抗菌机理及其应用

介绍由蚕和蛹体所得的抗菌肽的提纯方法，并对抗菌肽的结构／性能、应用作了阐述。     

信号肽引导源基因在昆虫表达系统中的分泌表达

将杆状病来源的gp67信号肽引导的慈姑蛋白酶抑制剂(API)基因与植物来源的慈姑蛋白酶抑制剂信号肽引导的慈姑蛋白抑制剂(API)基因，分别克隆到昆虫杆状病毒转载体pBacPAK8中，通过共转染将它们分别整合到昆虫病毒表达载体Bm—BacPAK6中，将获得的重组病毒CrBK—API2和CrBK—bpAPI4分别接种家蚕(Bombyx mori)细胞、家蚕幼虫及蛹体中，慈姑蛋白酶抑制剂得到了高效表达。从家蚕细胞的表达来看，外源表达产物大多存在于细胞外的上清液中；从家蚕幼虫体内表达来看，信号肽能引导外源基因高效表达，且表达产物的90％以上能分泌到细胞外；蛹体中的表达情况与幼虫中的相似，但表达产物出了不均一的现象，从表达产物的分子量测定来看，这两种信号肽在表达过程中都没有被切除。     

Cysteine tagging for MS-based proteomics

Amino acid-tagging strategies are widespread in proteomics. Because of the central role of mass spectrometry (MS) as a detection technique in protein sciences, the term "mass tagging" was coined to describe the attachment of a label, which serves MS analysis and/or adds analytical value to the measurements. These so-called mass tags can be used for separation, enrichment, detection, and quantitation of peptides and proteins. In this context, cysteine is a frequent target for modifications because the thiol function can react specifically by nucleophilic substitution or addition. Furthermore, cysteines present natural modifications of biological importance and a low occurrence in the proteome that justify the development of strategies to specifically target them in peptides or proteins. In the present review, the mass-tagging methods directed to cysteine residues are comprehensively discussed, and the advantages and drawbacks of these strategies are addressed. Some concrete applications are given to underline the relevance of cysteine-tagging techniques for MS-based proteomics.     

Mass spectrometry for detection of 4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal (HNE) adducts with peptides and proteins

Despite the great technical advancement of mass spectrometry, this technique has contributed in a limited way to the discovery and quantitation of specific/precocious markers linked to free radical-mediated diseases. Unsaturated aldehydes generated by free radical-induced lipid peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, and in particular 4-hydroxy-trans-2 nonenal (HNE), are involved in the onset and progression of many pathologies such as cardiovascular (atherosclerosis, long-term complications of diabetes) and neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and cerebral ischemia). Most of the biological effects of HNE are attributed to the capacity of HNE to react with the nucleophilic sites of proteins and peptides (other than nucleic acids), to form covalently modified biomolecules that can disrupt important cellular functions and induce mutations. By considering the emerging role of HNE in several human diseases, an unequivocal analytical approach as mass spectrometry to detect/elucidate the structure of protein-HNE adducts in biological matrices is strictly needed not only to understand the reaction mechanism of HNE, but also to gain a deeper insight into the pathological role of HNE. This with the aim to provide intermediate diagnostic biomarkers for human diseases. This review sheds focus on the "state-of-the-art" of mass spectrometric applications in the field of HNE-protein adducts characterization, starting from the fundamental early studies and discussing the different MS-based approaches that can provide detailed information on the mechanistic aspects of HNE-protein interaction. In the last decade, the increases in the accessible mass ranges of modern instruments and advances in ionization methods have made possible a fundamental improvement in the analysis of protein-HNE adducts by mass spectrometry, and in particular by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) tandem mass spectrometry. The recent developments and uses of combined analytical approaches to detect and characterize the type/site of interaction have been highlighted, and several other aspects, including sample preparation methodologies, structure elucidation, and data analysis have also been considered.     

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy Analysis of Effect of Molecular Crowding on Self-Assembly of β-Annulus Peptide into Artificial Viral Capsid

Recent progress in the de novo design of self-assembling peptides has enabled the construction of peptide-based viral capsids. Previously, we demonstrated that 24-mer β-annulus peptides from tomato bushy stunt virus spontaneously self-assemble into an artificial viral capsid. Here we propose to use the artificial viral capsid through the self-assembly of β-annulus peptide as a simple model to analyze the effect of molecular crowding environment on the formation process of viral capsid. Artificial viral capsids formed by co-assembly of fluorescent-labelled and unmodified β-annulus peptides in dilute aqueous solutions and under molecular crowding conditions were analyzed using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The apparent particle size and the dissociation constant (K_d) of the assemblies decreased with increasing concentration of the molecular crowding agent, i.e., polyethylene glycol (PEG). This is the first successful in situ analysis of self-assembling process of artificial viral capsid under molecular crowding conditions.     

Enhancing the Cellular Delivery of Nanoparticles Using Lipo‐Oligoarginine Peptides

Nanoparticles have great potential as nanotherapeutics, delivery vectors, and molecular imaging agents due to their flexible properties. Although intracellular and nuclear delivery of nanoparticles is desirable for therapeutic applications, it remains a challenge. Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a powerful tool for the intracellular delivery of various cargoes. Here it is reported that functionalization of nanoparticles with a myristoylated oligoarginine CPP promotes cellular uptake without increased toxicity. It is evident that the myristoylated CPP is much more effective in transporting nanoparticles than the unmodified CPPs.