A beta-galactose-specific lectin isolated from the marine worm Chaetopterus variopedatus possesses anti-HIV-1 activity

A 30 kDa beta-galactose-specific lectin named CVL was isolated from the polychaete marine worm Chaetopterus variopedatus (Annelida) and its anti-HIV-1 activity in vitro was determined. Results showed that CVL inhibited cytopathic effect induced by HIV-1 a

Extracellular carbohydrate polymers from five desert soil algae with different cohesion in the stabilization of fine sand grain

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from four filamentous cyanobacteria Microcoleus vaginatus, Scytonema javanicum, Phormidium tenue and Nostoc sp. and a coccoid single-cell green alga Desmococcus olivaceus that had been separated from desert algal crusts of Tegger desert of China, were investigated for their chemical composition, structure,and physical properties. The EPS contained 7.5-50.3% protein (in polymers ranging from 14 to more than 200 kD, SDS-PAGE) and 16.2-46.5% carbohydrate (110-460 kD, GFC). 6-12 kinds of monosaccharides, including 2-O-methyl rhamnose, 2-O-methyl glucose, and N-acetyl glucosamine were found. The main carbohydrate chains from M. vaginatus and S. javanicum consisted mainly of equal proportion of Man, Gal and Glc, that from P. tenue consisted mainly of arabinose, glucose and rhamnose. Arabinose was present in pyranose form, mainly alpha-L 1 --> 3 linked, with branches on C4 of almost half of the units. Glucose was responsible for the terminal units, in addition of having some units as beta1 --> 3 and some as beta1 --> 4 linked. Rhamnose was mainly 1 --> 3 linked with branches on C2 on half of the units. The carbohydrate polymer from D. olivaceus was composed mainly of beta1 --> 4 linked xylose, galactose and glucose. The galactose part was present both in beta-pyranose and -furanose forms. Arabinose in alpha-L-furanose form was mainly present as 1 --> 2 and 1 --> 2, 5 linked units, rhamnose only as alpha 1 --> 3 and xylose as beta 1 --> 4. The backbone of the polysaccharide from Nostoc sp. was composed of beta-1 --> 4 linked xylose, galactose and glucose. Most of the glucose was branched on position C6, terminal glucose and 2-O-methyl glucose units are also present. The relationship between structure, physical properties and potential biological function is discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on polysaccharides from three edible species of Nostoc (Cyanobacteria) with different colony morphologies: Comparison of monosaccharide compositions and viscosities of polysaccharides from field colonies and suspension cultures

Hot water-soluble polysaccharides woe extracted from field colonies and suspension cultures of Nostoc commune Vaucher, Nostoc flagelliforme Berkeley et Curtis, and Nostoc sphaeroides Kutzing. Excreted extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were isolated from the media in which the suspension cultures were grown. The main monosaccharides of the field colony polysaccharides from the three species were glucose, xylose, and galactose, with an approximate ratio of 2:1:1. Mannose was also present, but the levels varied among the species, and arabinose appeared only in N. flagelliforme. The compositions of the cellular polysaccharides and EPS from suspension cultures were more complicated than those of the field samples and varied among the different species. The polysaccharides from the cultures of N. flagelliforme had a relatively simple composition consisting of mannose, galactose, glucose, and glucuronic acid, but no xylose, as was found in the field colony polysaccharides. The polysaccharides from cultures of N. sphaeroides contained glucose (the major component), rhamnose, fucose, xylose, mannose, and galactose. These same sugars were present in the polysaccharides from cultures of N. commune, with xylose as the major component. Combined nitrogen in the media had no qualitative influence on the compositions of the cellular polysaccharides but affected those of the EPS of N. commune and N. flagelliforme. The EPS of N. sphaeroides had a very low fetal carbohydrate content and thus was not considered to be polysaccharide in nature. The field colony polysaccharides could be separated by anion exchange chromatography into neutral and acidic fractions having similar sugar compositions. Preliminary linkage analysis showed that 1) xylose, glucose, and galactose were 1-->4 linked, 2) mannose, galactose, and xylose occurred as terminal residues, and 3) branch points occurred in glucose as 1-->3,4 and 1-->3,6 linkages and in xylose as a 1-->3,4 linkage. The polymer preparations from field colonies had higher kinematic viscosities than those from corresponding suspension cultures. The high viscosities of the polymers suggested that they might DE suitable for industrial uses.

链霉菌S227抗耐药菌活性成分的研究

本论文以从四川峨嵋山森林土壤中分离筛选获得的一株产抗耐药性活性化合物的链霉菌S227为材料，对发酵液中活性物质的分离纯化及抗耐药性活性进行了研究。 建立了抗耐药性活性的定性、定量检测方法。建立的管蝶法活性定量检测的标准回归方程为：D=4.8229Ln(C)+3.6326 R=0.9972 ；纸片法活性定量检测的标准回归方程为：D=5.5Ln(C)-12.794 R=0.999。 根据建立的样品活性的检测方法，测定了发酵液的初始活性。实验证明活性物质的温度、pH稳定性好。 通过活性的定性、定量追踪方法，分别利用等体积的石油醚、乙酸乙酯、正丁醇在不同的pH梯度下萃取，确定了pH3条件下正丁醇能最大程度的萃取活性物质，说明活性物质极性很大。对正丁醇萃取相经过两次硅胶柱层析及薄层层析分离得到具有抗耐药菌活性的纯化样品S227-4。 经过核磁共振氢谱、碳谱数据分析初步确定S227-4为四聚糖，通过糖的水解实验初步确定S227-4由葡萄糖和半乳糖组成。 纸片法活性检测表明S227-4具有抗耐药菌活性。采用MIC测定法对该样品抗耐药活性进行研究。在证明该样品本身不具有抗菌活性的基础上，以临床分离的耐药性金黄色葡萄球菌为指示菌，考察了该样品与抗生素联合使用时对耐药菌抗生素MIC（最小抑菌浓度）值的影响，结果表明在不影响菌体生长的浓度条件下，该样品能明显降低多株耐药菌对多种抗生素的MIC值，不同程度地恢复所测试耐药菌对相应抗生素的敏感性。如S227-4与青霉素钠联用可以使S. aureus 12352的MIC降低8倍，而与红霉素联用可以使S. aureus 12334的MIC降低128倍。 The purification process and the activity of the anti bacterial drug resistance compounds produced by Streptomyces S227 isolated from the forest soil sample of the Mountain E’MEI in Sichuan Province were studied in this thesis. Quantitative and qualitative activity assay methods of the active compounds were established. The regression equation of the tube method was D=4.8229Ln(C)+3.6326, R=0.9972. The regression equation of the paper method was D=5.5Ln(C)-12.794, R=0.999. According to the established activity assay method, the incipient activity of the broth was evaluated. And it was proved that the stability of the active compounds was good. By quantitative and qualitative activity tracing method, petroleum ether, ethyl acetate and butanol were used to extract the active compounds at different pH. The result showed that butanol was the most effective agent for active component recovery at pH3. From the butanol extraction a purified sample, S227-4, was isolated by silica gel column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography . S227-4 was proved to be a tetra- saccharide by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. And its monosaccharides include glucose and galactose by hydrolysate analysis. The anti-drug resistant activity of S227-4 was tested in vitro by MICs assay using different drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated clinically. The sample itself showed no anti-microbial activity in growth inhibitory experiment, but when it was used together with different antibiotics, it could remarkably decrease the MICs of different clinically isolated drug-resistant bacterial strains to these antibiotics. For example, when S227-4 was used with penicillin, the MIC of S. aureus 12352 decreased 8 times compared with that when penicillin was used alone. Meanwhile when it was used with erythromycin the MIC of S. aureus 12334 deceased 128 times compared with erythromycin alone.

非粮原料燃料乙醇发酵关键技术的研究

生物质燃料乙醇是一种高度清洁的交通液体燃料，是减少温室气体排放，缓解大气污染的最佳技术选择。以非粮原料生产燃料乙醇可以在进行能源生产的同时保证粮食安全，有利于产业的可持续发展。在众多的非粮原料中，甘薯是我国开发潜力最大的生物质能源作物之一。我国占世界甘薯种植总面积和产量的90％。同时，甘薯的单位面积燃料乙醇产量远大于玉米和小麦。其成本是目前酒精中最低廉的，因此利用甘薯生产乙醇是发展生物质燃料乙醇的首要选择。目前采用薯类全原料主要采用分批发酵生产乙醇，其技术水平低，发酵强度低，一般在0.7－2.5g/（L•h），乙醇浓度低，甘薯发酵乙醇为6－8％(v/v)，能耗高，环境负荷大，污染严重。针对上述问题，本文从菌株选育、原料预处理、中试放大、残糖成分分析等方面进行研究。 为了研究乙醇发酵生产规模扩大过程中，大型发酵罐底部高压条件下，CO2对酵母乙醇发酵的影响，我们通过CO2 加压的方法进行模拟试验，研究结果表明，发酵时间随压强的升高而逐渐延长，高压CO2 对乙醇发酵效率影响不大，在0.3 MPa 以下时，发酵效率均可达到90%以上。高压CO2 对发酵的抑制作用是高压和CO2 这两个因素联合作用的结果。高压CO2 条件下，酵母胞外酶和胞内重要酶类的酶活均表现出特征性。0.2 MPa 下，酶活性的变化趋势和0.1 MPa 条件下的较为一致。而0.3 MPa 下的酶活变化趋势与0.4 MPa 下的酶活更为接近。通过全基因表达分析发现在CO2 压力为0.3 MPa 下，乙醇发酵途径中多个基因表达量下调，同时海藻糖合成酶和热激蛋白基因表达量上调。 筛选耐高温的乙醇酵母菌株能够解决糖化温度和发酵温度不协调的矛盾，实现真正意义上的边糖化边发酵。高温发酵还能够降低发酵时的冷却成本，实现乙醇的周年生产。本研究筛选出一株高温发酵菌株Y-H1，进而我们对该菌株的胞外酶和胞内乙醇代谢重要酶类的酶活性进行了分析。结果表明Y-H1 能够在40 ℃条件下正常进行乙醇发酵，发酵33h，最终乙醇浓度达到10.7%（w/w），发酵效率达到90%以上。同时发酵液最终pH 在3.5 左右，显示菌株具有一定的耐酸性能力。同时观察到40 ℃下，菌株的胞外酶和胞内乙醇代谢重要酶类的酶活性发生了变化，乙醇发酵途径中关键酶基因表达下调，而海藻糖合成酶与热激蛋白基因表达量上调，这些结果为进一步研究酵母菌耐热调控机理提供了依据。 糖蜜是一种大规模工业生产乙醇的理想原料，本研究利用选育高浓度乙醇发酵菌株结合配套的发酵稳定剂，研究了糖蜜高浓度乙醇发酵情况。结果表明采用冷酸沉淀预处理糖蜜溶液，采用分批补料的发酵方式，乙醇浓度最高达到了10.26% (w/w)，发酵时间为42 h。同时观察到在糖蜜发酵中，乙醛含量与乙醇浓度存在一定的相关性。 快速乙醇发酵对于缩短乙醇生产周期、降低乙醇生产成本、减少原料腐烂损失具有重要意义。本研究诱变和筛选得到了一株快速乙醇发酵菌株10232B。在优化后的发酵条件下，采用10L 发酵罐进行分批乙醇发酵，经过18h,乙醇的最终浓度达到88.5g/L,发酵效率93.6%，平均乙醇生产速度达到4.92 g/L/h。此菌株在保持较高乙醇生产浓度的同时，拥有快速生产乙醇的能力，适合作为快速乙醇发酵生产菌种。 由于鲜甘薯具有粘度大的特点，传统液化糖化处理很难在短时间内充分糖化原料；高粘度的醪液也难以进行管道输送，容易堵塞管路；同时，也会降低后续的乙醇发酵效率。 本文采用了快速粘度分析法对鲜甘薯糊化粘度特性进行了分析，进而对预处理条件进行了研究，在最佳预处理条件下，糖化2h 后，醪液葡萄糖值最高可达99.3，粘度4.5×104 mPa.s，而采用传统糖化工艺，醪液DE 值仅为85.8，粘度大于1.0×105 mPa.s。 此预处理方法也可用于快速糖化不加水的醪液。后续的乙醇发酵试验表明，通过此预处理方法获得的糖化醪液对乙醇发酵无负面影响。 在前期已实现了实验室水平的鲜甘薯燃料乙醇快速乙醇发酵基础上，进一步将发酵规模扩大到500L，在中试水平上对甘薯乙醇发酵进行了研究。结果表明在500L 中试规模，采用边糖化边发酵（SSF）工艺，在料液比为3∶1，发酵醪液最高粘度为6×104mPa.s 条件下，发酵37h，乙醇浓度达到了12.7%（v/v），发酵效率91%，发酵强度为2.7 g/（L•h）。与目前国内的薯类乙醇发酵生产技术水平具有明显的优越性。 为研究甘薯、木薯乙醇发酵中残糖的组成，采用了高效液相色谱—蒸发光散射检测法，对乙醇发酵残糖进行了分析。结果表明，甘薯、木薯乙醇发酵残糖均为寡聚糖，主要由葡萄糖、木糖、半乳糖、阿拉伯糖和甘露糖构成。随着发酵时间延长，寡聚糖中的葡萄糖、半乳糖、甘露糖可被缓慢的水解释放。提高糖化酶量仅在一定程度上降低残糖，过量的糖化酶反而会导致残糖增加。同时发现3, 5-二硝基水杨酸法不能准确测定甘薯、木薯乙醇发酵中的残总糖含量。进一步筛选了两株残糖降解菌株，对甘薯乙醇发酵残糖的降解利用率均达到了40%以上，而且还能显著降低发酵醪液粘度。经形态学和rRNA ITS 序列分析，确定这两株菌分别属于为木霉属和曲霉属黑曲霉组。 通过对以甘薯原料为代表的非粮原料发酵技术研究开发，以期形成乙醇转化率高，能耗低，生产效率高、季节适应性好，原料适应性广，经济性强，符合清洁生产机制的燃料乙醇高效转化技术，为具有我国特色的燃料乙醇发展模式提供技术支持。 Sweet potato is one of the major feedstock for the fuel ethanol production in China. The planting area and the yield in China take 90% of the world. Sweet potato is an efficient kind of energy crops. The energy outcome per area is higher than corn or wheat. And the manufacture cost of ethanol is the lowest, compared with corn and wheat. So sweet potato is the favorable crop for the bioethanol production in China. However, the low-level fermentation technology restricts the development of ethanol production by sweet potato, including slow ethanol production rate, low ethanol concentration and high energy cost. To solve these problems, we conducted research on the strain breeding, pretreatment, pilot fermentation test and residual saccharides analysis. To study the impact of hyperbaric condition at bottom of the large fermentor on yeast fermentation, high pressure carbon dioxide (CO2) was adopted to simulate the situation. The results showed that the fermentation was prolonged with the increasing pressure. The pressure of CO2 had little impact on the ethanol yield which could reach 90% under the pressure below 0.3 MPa. The inhibition was combined by the high pressure and CO2. Under the high CO2 pressure, the extracellular and important intracellular enzyme activities were different from those under normal state. The changes under 0.1 MPa and 0.2 MPa were similar. The changes under 0.3 MPa were closer to those under 0.4 MPa. The application of thermotolerance yeast could solve the problem of the inconsistent temperature between fermentation and saccharificaton and fulfill the real simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. And it could reduce the cooling cost. A thermotolerance strain Y-H1 was isolated in our research. It gave high ethanol concentration of 10.7%（w/w）at 40 ℃ for 33 h. The ethanol yield efficiency was over 90%. At 40 ℃, the extracellular and important intracellular enzyme activities of Y-H1 showed the difference with normal state, which may indicate its physiological changes at the high temperature. Molasses is another feedstock for industrial ethanol production. By our ethanol-tolerance strain and the regulation reagents, the fermentation with high ethanol concentration was investigated. In fed-batch mode combined with cold acid deposition, the highest ethanol concentration was 10.26% (w/w) for 42h. The aldehyde concentration in fermentation was found to be related to ethanol concentration. The development of a rapid ethanol fermentation strain of Zymomonas mobilis is essential for reducing the cost of ethanol production and for the timely utilization of fresh material that is easily decayed in the Chinese bioethanol industry. A mutant Z. mobilis strain, 10232B, was generated by UV mutagenesis. Under these optimized conditions, fermentation of the mutant Z. mobilis 10232B strain was completed in just 18 h with a high ethanol production rate, at an average of 4.92 gL-1h-1 per batch. The final maximum ethanol concentration was 88.5 gL-1, with an ethanol yield efficiency of 93.6%. This result illustrated the potential use of the mutant Z. mobilis 10232B strain in rapid ethanol fermentation in order to help reduce the cost of industrial ethanol production. As fresh sweet potato syrup shows high viscosity, it is hard to be fully converted to glucose by enzymes in the traditional saccharification process. The high-viscosity syrup is difficult to be transmitted in pipes, which may be easily blocked. Meanwhile it could also reduce the later ethanol fermentation efficiency. To solve these problems, effects of the pretreatment conditions were investigated. The highest dextrose equivalent value of 99.3 and the lowest viscosity of 4.5×104 mPa.s were obtained by the most favorable pretreatment conditions, while those of 85.8 and over 1.0×105 mPa.s was produced by traditional treatment conditions. The pretreatment could also be applied on the material syrup without adding water. The later experiments showed that the pretreated syrup had no negative effect on the ethanol fermentation and exhibited lower viscosity. The fuel ethanol rapid production from fresh sweet potato was enlarged in the 500L pilot scale after its fulfillment on the laboratory level. The optimal ratio of material to water was 3 to 1 in 500L fermentor. With low-temperature-cooking (85 ℃) using SSF, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae was able to produce ethanol 97.44 g/kg for 37h, which reached 92% of theoretical yield. The average ethanol production rate was 4.06 g/kg/h. And the maximum viscosity of syrup reached 6×104mPa.s. The results showed its superiority over current industrial ethanol fermentation. The compositions of the residual saccharides in the ethanol fermentation by sweet potato and cassava were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light-scattering detector. The results showed that all the residual saccharides were oligosaccharides, mainly composed of glucose, xylose, galactose, arabinose and mannose. The glucose, galactose and mannose could be slowly hydrolyzed from oligosaccharides in syrup during a long period. To increase the glucoamylase dosage could lower the residual saccharides to a certain extent. However, excess glucoamylase dosage led to more residual saccharides. And the method of 3, 5-dinitrosalicylic acid could not accurately quantify the residual total saccharides content. Two residual saccharides degrading strains were isolated, which could utilize 40% of total residual saccharide and lower the syrup viscosity. With the analysis of morphology and internal transcribed spacer sequence, they were finally identified as species of Trichoderma and Aspergillus niger.

Chemical modifications of carboxylated chitosan

C-6-carboxylated chitosan obtained by oxidation of chitosan was selectively modified in order to obtain derivatives similar to bacterial antigens. Selective O-acetylation of 6-carboxyl chitosan afforded a modified polysaccharide with the 2-amino group available for further modifications to create carbonyl groups. A deaminative degradation reaction allowed the formation of oligosaccharides with terminal aldehyde groups. Reductive alkylation with lactose introduced lactityl branches which were oxidized with galactose oxidase to give aldehyde groups in its -galactose residues.

Theoretical studies on the reaction mechanism of oxidation of primary alcohols by Zn/Cu(II)-phenoxyl radical catalyst

The catalytic mechanism for the oxidation of primary alcohols catalyzed by the two functional models of galactose oxidase (GOase), M-II L (M = Cu, Zn; L = N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)1-2-diiminoquinone)), has been studied by use of the density functional method B3LYP The catalytic cycle of Cu- and Zn-catalysts consists of two parts, namely, substrate oxidation (primary alcohol oxidation) and O-2 reduction (catalyst regeneration). The catalytic mechanisms have been studied for the two reaction pathways (route 1 and route 2). The calculations indicate that the hydrogen atom transfer within the substrate oxidation part is the rate-determining step for both catalysts, in agreement with the experimental observation.

Functional gold nanoparticles for studying the interaction of lectin with glycosyl complex on living cellular surfaces

In this study. lectin-conjugated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared by standard biotin-streptavidin chemistry. The lectin-conjugated GNPs call be used as ail indicator for studying the interaction of lectin with glycosyl complex on living cellular Surfaces due to the high affinity of the lectin with saccharides. The interactions of two well-known lectins (Ricinus communis agglutinin and concanavalin A) and three different cell lines (HeLa, 293, and 293T) were selected here to establish this assay. Highly binding affinity of R. communis agglutinin with cells was demonstrated by conventional microscopic and UV-visible spectroscopic Studies. In addition, the binding process can be inhibited by galactose, giving further proof of the binding mechanism. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An acidic polysaccharide with xylose branches from Porphyra yezoensis

An acidic polysaccharide (PY3) was isolated from the hot water extract of the red algae Porphyra yezoensis by successive column chromatographies over DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex G-200. PY3 with an average molecular weight of 1.8x10(5) was demonstrated to be composed of galactose (Gal), 3,6-anhydrogalactose (3,6-AnGal), 6-OSO3-galactose (6-OSO3-Gal) and xylose (Xyl) in an approximate molar ratio of 25 : 15, 10, 1. In view of Smith degradation and methylation and on the basis of spectral evidence including those of IR, GC, GC-MS, and H-1 and C-13 NMR, the most probable repeating unit of PY3 could be proposed as [(1-->3)beta -D-Gal(1 --> 4)alpha -L-3,6-AnGal](3)-[(1 --> 3)beta -D-Gal(1 --> 4)alpha -L-6-OSO3-Gal](2) with a xylose moiety at the C-6 of one of every twenty-five beta -D-Gal residues. To our knowledge, PY3 was shown to be the first porphyran possessing occasional xylose branches.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of a putative C-type lectin (Fclectin) gene in Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis

Lectin is regarded as a potential molecule involved in immune recognition and phagocytosis through opsonization in crustacean. Knowledge on lectin at molecular level would help us to understand its regulation mechanism in crustacean immune system. A novel C-type lectin gene (Fclectin) was cloned from hemocytes of Chinese shrimp Fenneropenaeus chinensis by 3' and 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) PCR. The full-length cDNA consists of 1482 bp with an 861 bp open reading frame, encoding 287 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence contains a putative signal peptide of 19 amino acids. It also contains two carbohydrate recognition domains/C-type lectin-like domains (CRD1 and CRD2), which share 78% identity with each other. CRD1 and CRD2 showed 34% and 30% identity with that of mannose-binding lectin from Japanese lamprey (Lethenteron japonicum), respectively. Both CRD1 and CRD2 of Fclectin have I I amino acids residues, which are relatively invariant in animals' C-type lectin CRDs. Five residues at Ca2+ binding site I are conserved in Fclectin. The potential Ca2+/carbohydrate-binding (site 2) motif QPD, E, NP (Gln-Pro-Asp, Glu, Asn-Pro) presented in the two CRDs of Fclectin may support its ability to bind galactose-type sugars. It could be deduced that Fclectin is a member of C-type lectin superfamily. Transcripts of Fclectin were found only in hemocytes by Northern blotting and RNA in situ hybridization. The variation of mRNA transcription level in hemocytes during artificial infection with bacteria and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) was quantitated by capillary electrophoresis after RT-PCR. An exploration of mRNA expression variation after LPS stimulation was carried out in primarily cultured hemocytes in vitro. Expression profiles of Fclectin gene were greatly modified after bacteria, LPS or WSSV challenge. The above-stated data can provide us clues to understand the probable role of C-type lectin in innate immunity of shrimp and would be helpful to shrimp disease control. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A lectin (CfLec-2) aggregating Staphylococcus haemolyticus from scallop Chlamys farreri

Lectins are a family of carbohydrate-recognition proteins which play crucial roles in innate immunity. In this study, a new lectin (CfLec-2) gene was cloned from Chlamys farreri by EST and RACE approaches. The full-length cDNA of CfLec-2 was composed of 708 bp, encoding a typical Long form carbohydrate-recognition domain of 130 residues. The deduced amino acid sequence showed high similarity to Brevican in Homo sapiens, C-type lectin-1 and lectin-2 in Anguilla japonica. The cDNA fragment encoding the mature peptide of CfLec-2 was recombined into plasmid pET-32a (+) and expressed in Escherichia coli Rosseta-Gami (DE3). The recombinant CfLec-2 (rCfLec-2) protein exhibited aggregative activity toward Staphylococcus haemolyticus, and the agglutination could be inhibited by D-mannose but not EDTA or D-galactose, indicating that CfLec-2 was a Ca2+ independent lectin. Moreover, rCfLec-2 could suppress the growth of E. coli TOP10F'. These results suggested that CfLec-2 was perhaps involved in the recognition and clearance of bacterial. pathogens in scallop. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AiC1qDC-1, a novel gC1q-domain-containing protein from bay scallop Argopecten irradians with fungi agglutinating activity

The globular C1q-domain-containing (C1qDC) proteins are a family of versatile pattern recognition receptors via their globular C1q (gC1q) domain to bind various ligands including several PAMPs on pathogens. In this study, a new gC1q-domain-containing protein (AiC1qDC-1) gene was cloned from Argopecten irradians by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approaches and expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis. The full-length cDNA of AiC1qDC-1 was composed of 733 bp, encoding a signal peptide of 19 residues and a typical gC1q domain of 137 residues containing all eight invariant amino acids in human C1qDC proteins and seven aromatic residues essential for effective packing of the hydrophobic core of AiC1qDC-1. The gC1q domain of AiC1qDC-1, which possessed the typical 10-stranded beta-sandwich fold with a jelly-roll topology common to all C1q family members, showed high homology not only to those of Cl qDC proteins in mollusk but also to those of C1qDC proteins in human. The AiC1qDC-1 transcripts were mainly detected in the tissue of hepatopancreas and also marginally detectable in adductor, heart, mantle, gill and hemocytes by fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR. In the microbial challenge experiment, there was a significant up-regulation in the relative expression level of AiC1qDC-1 in hepatopancreas and hemocytes of the scallops challenged by fungi Pichia pastoris GS115, Gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus and Gram-negative bacteria Listonella anguillarum. The recombinant AiC1qDC-1 (rAiC1qDC-1) protein displayed no obvious agglutination against M. luteus and L. anguillarum, but it aggregated P. pastoris remarkably. This agglutination could be inhibited by D-mannose and PGN but not by LPS, glucan or D-galactose. These results indicated that AiC1qDC-1 functioned as a pattern recognition receptor in the immune defense of scallops against pathogens and provided clues for illuminating the evolution of the complement classical pathway. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cflec-5, a pattern recognition receptor in scallop Chlamys farreri agglutinating yeast Pichia pastoris

C-type lectins are a superfamily of carbohydrate-recognition proteins which play crucial roles as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) in the innate immunity. In this study, the full-length cDNA of a C-type lectin was cloned from scallop Chlamys farreri (designated as Cflec-5) by expression sequence tag (EST) analysis and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) approach The full-length cDNA of Cflec-5 was of 1412 bp. The open reading frame encoded a polypeptide of 153 amino acids, including a signal sequence and a conserved carbohydrate-recognition domain with the EPN motif determining the mannose-binding specificity The deduced amino acid sequence of Cflec-5 showed high similarity to members of C-type lectin superfamily. The quantitative real-time PCR was performed to investigate the tissue distribution of Cflec-5 mRNA and its temporal expression profiles in hemocytes post pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) stimulation. In healthy scallops, the Cflec-5 mRNA was mainly detected in gill and mantle, and marginally in other tissues The mRNA expression of Cflec-5 could be significantly induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and glucan stimulation and reached the maximum level at 6 h and 12 h, respectively But its expression level did not change significantly during peptidoglycan (PGN) stimulation The function of Cflec-5 was investigated by recombination and expression of the cDNA fragment encoding its mature peptide in Escherichia coli Rosetta Gami (DE3) The recombinant Cflec-5 agglutinated Pichia pastoris in a calcium-independent way The agglutinating activity could be inhibited by D-mannose. LPS and glucan, but not by D-galactose or PGN. These results collectively suggested that Cflec-5 was involved in the innate Immune response of scallops and might contribute to nonself-recognition through its interaction with various PAMPs (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

Analysis of the monosaccharide composition of fucoidan by precolumn derivation HPLC

We developed an HPLC method for analysis of the monosaccharide composition of fucoidans. The fucoidan was hydrolyzed into monosaccharides with 2 mol/L trifluoroacetic acid. Using ribose as the internal standard, the monosaccharide derivatives, obtained with 1-Phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP), were separated by reverse-phase HPLC using a gradient elution process, and monitored by ultraviolet detection at 245 nm. In the concentration range of 0.1-2.0 mmol/L, the peak area of each monosaccharide had a good linear relationship with its concentration (r(2)> 0.998). The average recoveries of mannose, rhamnose, glucuronic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, and fucose were 86.2%, 95.1%, 62.5%, 102.0%, 94.8%, 66.6%, and 105.1%, respectively. This method was accurate and had good reproducibility and could be used to determine the monosaccharide contents of fucoidans.