muramidase and acetic-anhydride

Chitin is widely found in fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons, and is used as a biomedical material. However, chitin is not water-soluble, restricting its use for controlled release materials. We found that water-soluble chitosan can be acetylated to produce a chitin equivalent, or chitin gel. Chitin gel, produced by mixing chitosan solution with acetic anhydride, can be degraded by lysozyme and fetal bovine serum, so could provide an ideal means for controlled release in biological systems. We tested a combination of chitin gel with a chitin binding domain (CBD) fusion protein as a controlled release system regulated by chitin degradation. A fusion protein consisting of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) fused to CBD bound the chitin gel, and was released time-dependently rather than as an initial burst during lysozyme degradation, suggesting that this system could provide a means for controlled drug release in biological systems. Contrastingly, the trinitrophenyl residue (TNP-X) covalently bound to chitin gel, and was released by lysozyme degradation with an initial burst. If release of CBD-FGF-2 were simply dependent on lysozyme degradation of the chitin gel, the release behavior of CBD-FGF-2 would be similar to that of TNP-X, with an initial burst. Therefore, we propose that CBD-FGF-2 repeats the cycle of binding, release, and re-binding to the chitin gel during degradation. This system allows for a time-dependent, controlled release of CBD-FGF-2 without an initial burst.

Topics: Acetic Anhydrides; Biocatalysis; Biocompatible Materials; Chitin; Chitosan; Delayed-Action Preparations; Drug Delivery Systems; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; Kinetics; Muramidase

A lysozyme library was employed to study the effects of protein surface modification on protein retention and to elucidate preferred protein binding orientations for cation exchange chromatography. Acetic anhydride was used as an acetylating agent to modify protein surface lysine residues. Partial acetylation of lysozyme resulted in the formation of a homologous set of modified proteins with varying charge densities and distribution. The resulting protein charge ladder was separated on a cation exchange column, and eluent fractions were subsequently analyzed using capillary zone electrophoresis and direct infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The ion exchange separation showed a significant degree of variation in the retention time of the different variants. Several fractions contained coelution of variants, some with differing net charge. In addition, several cases were observed where variants with more positive surface charge eluted from the column prior to variants with less positive charge. Enzymatic digest followed by mass spectrometry was performed to determine the sites of acetylation on the surface of the variants eluting in various fractions. Electrostatic potential maps of these variants were then generated to provide further insight into the elution order of the variants.

Topics: Acetic Anhydrides; Acetylation; Chromatography, Ion Exchange; Ion Exchange; Lysine; Mass Spectrometry; Models, Molecular; Models, Theoretical; Muramidase; Protein Binding

Studies on the aggregation of mutant proteins have provided new insights into the genetics of amyloid diseases and the role of the net charge of the protein on the rate, extent, and type of aggregate formation. In the present work, hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) was employed as the model protein. Acetylation and (separately) citraconylation were employed to neutralize the charge on lysine residues. Acetylation of the lysine residues promoted amyloid formation, resulting in more pronounced fibrils and a dramatic decline in the nucleation time. In contrast, citraconylation produced the opposite effect. In both cases, native secondary and tertiary structures appeared to be retained. Studies on the effect of pH on aggregation suggested greater possibilities for amorphous aggregate formation rather than fibrillation at pH values closer to neutrality, in which the protein is known to take up a conformation more similar to its native form. This is in accord with reports in the literature suggesting that formation of amorphous aggregates is more favored under relatively more native conditions. pH 5 provided a critical environment in which a mixture of amorphous and fibrillar structures were observed. Use of Tango and Aggrescan software which describe aggregation tendencies of different parts of a protein structure suggested critical importance of some of the lysine residues in the aggregation process. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of the net charge in control of protein-protein interactions leading to aggregate formation and possible specific roles of lysine residues 96 and 97.

Topics: Acetic Anhydrides; Acetylation; Amyloid; Animals; Chickens; Citraconic Anhydrides; Female; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Kinetics; Lysine; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; Muramidase; Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs; Protein Structure, Secondary; Spectrometry, Fluorescence

Proteins are functional biopolymers; viewed as molecules, they are also monodisperse polyamides with chemically reactive side chains. This paper describes the use of proteins as starting materials for the synthesis of monodisperse polymers with nonbiological functionalities attached to the side chains. It demonstrates the complete derivatization of amine groups (lysine side chains and N-termini) on three different proteins by addition of activated carboxylate reagents in aqueous solutions containing sodium dedecyl sulfate (SDS), under denaturing conditions. Several different acylating reagents were used to generate derivatized proteins; the resulting compounds constitute a new class of monodisperse, semisynthetic polymers, having the potential for wide variation in the structure of the backbone and of the side chains. Modification of lysozyme on a gram scale demonstrated that the method can generate useful quantities of material.

Topics: Acetic Anhydrides; Acetylation; Animals; Carbonic Anhydrase II; Cattle; Lysine; Muramidase; Polymers; Proteins; Ubiquitin

Cell walls of Bacillus anthracis were found to be resistant to lysozyme, and partially resistant to mutanolysin, a muramidase from Streptomyces globisporus. Following treatment with acetic anhydride, it was observed that the walls were highly susceptible to hydrolysis by lysozyme or mutanolysin. Analyses of cell walls, prior to and following derivatization with fluorodinitrobenzene, revealed that approximately 88% of the glucosamine residues and 34% of the muramic acid residues of the peptidoglycan contained unsubstituted amino groups, thereby providing an explanation for the resistance of the walls to lysozyme. The walls of B. anthracis were approximately 19% cross-linked, based on the findings that 81% of the diaminopimelic acid residues could be modified by fluorodinitrobenzene. Walls of B. thuringiensis 4040 and B. cereus ATCC 19637 also contained high percentages of unsubstituted amino sugars, and unless acetylated, were also relatively resistant to lysozyme and mutanolysin. When B. anthracis, B. cereus, or B. thuringiensis were grown in the presence of 100 micrograms/mL lysozyme, there was a decrease in the average number of cells per chain, but there was no decrease in growth rates, suggesting that the enzyme was acting at septa. It is unlikely that lysozyme and autolysins act synergistically in Bacillus, because azide anion, which activates autolysins, did not enhance the lytic action of lysozyme in B. anthracis, B. cereus, or B. thuringiensis.

Topics: Acetic Anhydrides; Acetylation; Bacillus anthracis; Bacteriolysis; Cell Wall; Dinitrofluorobenzene; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Endopeptidases; Glucosamine; Muramidase