高产蛋白酶菌株的分离、鉴定及酶学性质研究

该研究旨在从非传统环境（磷矿）中分离、筛选高产胞外蛋白酶菌株，对菌株进行形态学观察、生理生化和分子生物学鉴定，并研究其蛋白酶的酶学性质。结果表明，分离筛选到一株蛋白酶高产菌株，编号为PB5，该菌株被鉴定为贝莱斯芽孢杆菌（Bacillus velezensis），该菌株产胞外蛋白酶活力为562.3 U/mL，胞外蛋白酶的最适pH值为10，在pH 7～10有较好的pH稳定性；最适温度为60 ℃，20～50 ℃时有较好的稳定性；Na+、Mg2+、Mn2+、K+对蛋白酶活力有明显的促进作用；Fe2+、Ag+、乙二胺四乙酸（EDTA）、苯甲基磺酰氟（PMSF）、十二烷基硫酸钠（SDS）对蛋白酶活力有明显抑制效果。     

Alcalase蛋白酶酶解大豆蛋白制备啤酒糖浆复配液的研究

采用Alcalase蛋白酶酶解大豆蛋白,通过测定酶解产物的蛋白质回收率、水解度、隆丁(Lundin)区分以及SDS-PAGE电泳图谱分析,确定在酶解条件为酶解温度55℃、底物质量分数5%、酶量750 U/g、pH 8.0、反应时间0.5～1.0 h时所得的酶解液为浅棕色,其Lundin分布较为接近麦汁Lundin区分分布的要求,蛋白质回收率约65%,可与啤酒糖浆复配作为啤酒发酵的氮源。     

Potent HIV-1 Protease Inhibitors Containing Carboxylic and Boronic Acids: Effect on Enzyme Inhibition and Antiviral Activity and Protein-Ligand X-ray Structural Studies

We report the synthesis and biological evaluation of phenylcarboxylic acid and phenylboronic acid containing HIV-1 protease inhibitors and their functional effect on enzyme inhibition and antiviral activity in MT-2 cell lines. Inhibitors bearing bis-THF ligand as P2 ligand and phenylcarboxylic acids and carboxamide as the P2′ ligands, showed very potent HIV-1 protease inhibitory activity. However, carboxylic acid containing inhibitors showed very poor antiviral activity relative to carboxamide-derived inhibitors which showed good antiviral IC₅₀ value. Boronic acid derived inhibitor with bis-THF as the P2 ligand showed very potent enzyme inhibitory activity, but it showed lower antiviral activity than darunavir in the same assay. Boronic acid containing inhibitor with a P2-Crn-THF ligand also showed potent enzyme K_i but significantly decreased antiviral activity. We have evaluated antiviral activity against a panel of highly drug-resistant HIV-1 variants. One of the inhibitors maintained good antiviral activity against HIV_DRV^R_P20 and HIV_DRV^R_P30 viruses. We have determined high resolution X-ray structures of two synthetic inhibitors bound to HIV-1 protease and obtained molecular insight into the ligand-binding site interactions.     

Nutrient Enhancement of Corn Distillers Dried Grains by Addition of Coproducts of the Enzyme-Assisted Aqueous Extraction Process of Soybeans in Corn Fermentation

Corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) are not nutritionally complete as a nonruminant ingredient owing to poor essential amino acid profile, and high fat and fiber contents. Coproducts of soybean enzyme-assisted aqueous extraction process, skim (wastewater) and insoluble fiber (IF; solid residue), and/or enzymes (pectinase, cellulase, and acid protease; referred to as PCF) were evaluated as distillers dried grains (DDG) nutritional quality enhancers in corn fermentation. Corn-soy DDG had ~10% higher protein, ~3% lower fat, and ~2% lower fiber contents compared to corn DDG; fiber content was further reduced with PCF treatment (~4% total decrease). Concentrations of all essential amino acids in corn-soy DDG showed at least a threefold increase, except for allo-isoleucine and tryptophan, compared to corn DDG. Corn-soy DDG had ~25% decrease in total fatty acid (TFA) and ~6% decrease in free fatty acid (FFA) contents compared to corn DDG; TFA and FFA contents further decreased with PCF treatment. Corn-soy DDG had ~15%, 3%, and 1.7% lower hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin contents, respectively, compared to corn DDG; hemicellulose content further decreased with PCF treatment. Mineral composition of corn-soy DDG was in the recommended range, except Na and S were out of range by 0.79% and 0.74%, respectively. All results, except for Na and S, suggest strong potential of using skim and IF as DDG nutritional quality enhancers.     

Improving antioxidant activity of black bean protein by hydrolysis with protease combinations

This study explored the use of a simplex centroid design to produce protein hydrolysates with antioxidant properties using Alcalase^® 2.4L, Flavourzyme^® 500L and Neutrase^® 0.8L. Proteases kinetic parameters and the ultrafiltration of protein hydrolysates were also investigated. The highest antioxidant activity, in the studied conditions, was reached when the mixture of Alcalase^® 2.4L and Flavourzyme^® 500L was used in the hydrolysates production. The antioxidant power of the black bean proteins, measured by the total antioxidant capacity and reducing power assay, increased after hydrolysis by 31% and 70%, respectively. The black bean proteins hydrolysates fractions (3–30 kDa) showed an antioxidant activity decrease along with a reduction in molecular weight, demonstrating that a set of varied molecular weight peptides was responsible for the antioxidant characteristics of black bean protein hydrolysates.     

SP3-FAIMS Chemoproteomics for High-Coverage Profiling of the Human Cysteinome**

Chemoproteomics has enabled the rapid and proteome-wide discovery of functional, redox-sensitive, and ligandable cysteine residues. Despite widespread adoption and considerable advances in both sample-preparation workflows and MS instrumentation, chemoproteomics experiments still typically only identify a small fraction of all cysteines encoded by the human genome. Here, we develop an optimized sample-preparation workflow that combines enhanced peptide labeling with single-pot, solid-phase-enhanced sample-preparation (SP3) to improve the recovery of biotinylated peptides, even from small sample sizes. By combining this improved workflow with on-line high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) separation of labeled peptides, we achieve unprecedented coverage of >14000 unique cysteines in a single-shot 70 min experiment. Showcasing the wide utility of the SP3-FAIMS chemoproteomic method, we find that it is also compatible with competitive small-molecule screening by isotopic tandem orthogonal proteolysis–activity-based protein profiling (isoTOP-ABPP). In aggregate, our analysis of 18 samples from seven cell lines identified 34225 unique cysteines using only ∼28 h of instrument time. The comprehensive spectral library and improved coverage provided by the SP3-FAIMS chemoproteomics method will provide the technical foundation for future studies aimed at deciphering the functions and druggability of the human cysteineome.