Improved synthesis of P(3HB-co-3HV-co-3HHx) terpolymers by mutant Cupriavidus necator using the PHA synthase gene of Chromobacterium sp. USM2 with high affinity towards 3HV

2010 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 1436-1442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kesaven Bhubalan ◽  
Devi-Nair Rathi ◽  
Hideki Abe ◽  
Tadahisa Iwata ◽  
Kumar Sudesh
2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 621-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Mifune ◽  
Satoshi Nakamura ◽  
Toshiaki Fukui

Previous studies have demonstrated that heterologous expression of PHA synthase from Aeromonas caviae (PhaCAc), capable of accepting (R)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA of C4–C7 as substrates, could confer the ability to PHA-negative mutant of Cupriavidus necator PHB-4 to synthesize poly((R)-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-(R)-3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] from vegetable oils. The mutation point within pha operon in PHB-4 was determined to be a single nonsense mutation within the PHA synthase gene (phaCCn), suggesting the much lower β-ketothiolase and NADPH-dependent acetoacetyl-CoA reductase activities observed in this strain would be a polar effect of the mutation. For further efficient biosynthesis of P(3HB-co-3HHx) copolyester, C. necator wild strain H16 was engineered by homologous recombination targeting the chromosomal phaCCn, and the PHA productivity was compared with previous PHB–4-derived strain harboring phaCAc on a multi-copy plasmid (PHB–4/pJRDEE32d13). A strain H16CAc, in which phaCCn was substituted for phaCAc on the chromosome, could produce P(3HB-co-3HHx) from soybean oil with high productivity, but the 3HHx fraction in the accumulated polymer was decreased. Meanwhile, H16ΔC/pJRDEE32d13, that lost region for the original synthase gene and expresses exochromosomal phaCAc, grew and accumulated PHA with similar properties to the PHB–4-derived strain. The results of enzyme assay suggested that low β-ketothiolase activity might be relevant for decrease of growth ability accompanied by increase of 3HHx composition when soybean oil was fed as a sole carbon source. Key words: poly(hydroxyalkanoates), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate), PHA synthase, Cupriavidus necator, vegetable oil.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Jonathan Helmuth Averesch ◽  
Vincent Evan Pane ◽  
Frauke Kracke ◽  
Marika Ziesack ◽  
Shannon Noel Nangle ◽  
...  

Synthetic materials are integral components of consumables and durable goods and indispensable in our modern world. Polyesters are the most versatile bulk- and specialty-polymers, but their production is not sustainable, and their fate at end-of-life of great concern. Bioplastics are highly regarded alternatives but have shortcomings in material properties and commercial competitiveness with conventional synthetic plastics. These constraints have limited the success in global markets. Enabling bio-production of advanced bioplastics with superior properties from waste-derived feedstocks could change this. We have created microbial cell factories that can produce a range of aliphatic and aromatic polyesters. A DphaC1 mutant of Cupriavidus necator H16 was complemented with hydroxyacyl-CoA transferases from either Clostridium propionicum (pct540) or Clostridium difficile (hadA), respectively. These were combined with a mutant PHA synthase (phaC1437) from Pseudomonas sp. MBEL 6 19, which rescued the PHA- phenotype of the knock-out mutant and allowed polymerization of various hydroxy carboxylates, including phloretic acid. This is the first-time, incorporation of an aromatic ring in the backbone of a biological polyester was achieved. Polymers contain para-hydroxyphenyl subunits are structurally analogous to synthetic aromatic polyesters like PET and high-strength polyarylates. In a further advance, the transgenic strain was cultivated in a bio-electrochemical system under autotrophic conditions, enabling synthesis of aromatic bio-polyesters from H2 and O2 generated in situ, while assimilating CO2. Follow-up elementary flux-mode analysis established the feasibility of de novo production of twenty different polyesters from five different carbon- and energy-sources. This comprehensive study opens the door to sustainable bio-production of high-performance thermoplastics and thermosets.


Author(s):  
Martin Hagopian ◽  
Michael D. Gershon ◽  
Eladio A. Nunez

The ability of cardiac tissues to take up norepinephrine from an external medium is well known. Two mechanisms, called Uptake and Uptake respectively by Iversen have been differentiated. Uptake is a high affinity system associated with adrenergic neuronal elements. Uptake is a low affinity system, with a higher maximum rate than that of Uptake. Uptake has been associated with extraneuronal tissues such as cardiac muscle, fibroblasts or vascular smooth muscle. At low perfusion concentrations of norepinephrine most of the amine taken up by Uptake is metabolized. In order to study the localization of sites of norepinephrine storage following its uptake in the active bat heart, tritiated norepinephrine (2.5 mCi; 0.064 mg) was given intravenously to 2 bats. Monoamine oxidase had been inhibited with pheniprazine (10 mg/kg) one hour previously to decrease metabolism of norepinephrine.


1978 ◽  
Vol 17 (04) ◽  
pp. 161-171
Author(s):  
H.-J. Engel ◽  
H. Hundeshagen ◽  
P. R. Lichtlen

Methodological and technical aspects as well as application and results of the precordial Xenon-residue-detection technique are critically reviewed. The results concern mainly normal flow in various regions of the heart esp. in the free wall of the right and left ventricle, poststenotic flow in patients with coronary artery disease in relation to the degree of proximal nar-rowings as well as wall motion of the corresponding LV segment, bypassgraft flow and flow after drug interventions esp. nitrates, betablockers, the calcium-antagonist Nifedipine and the coronary dilator Dipyridamole. In spite of its serious limitations (high affinity of Xenon for fatty tissue, geometrical problems in the assessment of flow and its relation to anatomy, gas exchange in situations of high flow etc.), the technique is found to be a usefull investigatory tool. Due to its technical display and the related high costs routine application is, however, prohibitive.


1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (05) ◽  
pp. 224-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Isaka ◽  
H. Etani ◽  
K. Kimura ◽  
S. Yoneda ◽  
T. Kamada ◽  
...  

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) which has a high affinity for fibrin in the clot, was labeled with 131I by the iodogen method, and its binding to de-endothelialized lesions in the rabbit was measured to assess the detectability of thrombi. The de-endothelialized lesion was induced in the abdominal aorta with a Fogarty 4F balloon catheter. Two hours after the de-endothelialization, 131I-labeled t-PA (125 ± 46 μCi) was injected intravenously. The initial half-life of the agent in blood (n = 12) was 2.9 ± 0.4 min. The degree of binding of 131I-labeled t-PA to the de-endothelialized lesion was evaluated at 15 min (n = 6) or at 30 min (n = 6) after injection of the agent. In spite of the retention of the biochemical properties of 131I-labeled t-PA and the presence of fibrin deposition at the de-endothelialized lesion, the binding of t-PA to the lesion was not sufficiently strong. Lesion-to-control ratios (cpm/g/cpm/g) were 1.65 ± 0.40 (at 15 min) and 1.39 ± 1.31 (at 30 min), and lesion-to-blood ratios were 1.39 ± 0.32 (at 15 min) and 1.36 ± 0.23 (at 30 min). These results suggest that radiolabeled t-PA may be inappropriate as a radiopharmaceutical for the scintigraphic detection of a pre-existing thrombotic lesion.


1990 ◽  
Vol 63 (02) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R Shainoff ◽  
Deborah J Stearns ◽  
Patricia M DiBello ◽  
Youko Hishikawa-Itoh

SummaryThe studies reported here probe the existence of a receptor-mediated mode of fibrin-binding by macrophages that is associated with the chemical change underlying the fibrinogen-fibrin conversion (the release of fibrinopeptides from the amino-terminal domain) without depending on fibrin-aggregation. The question is pursued by 1) characterization of binding in relation to fibrinopeptide content of both the intact protein and the CNBr-fragment comprising the amino-terminal domain known as the NDSK of the protein, 2) tests of competition for binding sites, and 3) photo-affinity labeling of macrophage surface proteins. The binding of intact monomers of types lacking either fibrinopeptide A alone (α-fibrin) or both fibrinopeptides A and B (αβ-fibrin) by peritoneal macrophages is characterized as proceeding through both a fibrin-specific low density/high affinity (BMAX ≃ 200–800 molecules/cell, KD ≃ 10−12 M) interaction that is not duplicated with fibrinogen, and a non-specific high density/low affinity (BMAX ≥ 105 molecules/cell, KD ≥ 10−6 M) interaction equivalent to the weak binding of fibrinogen. Similar binding characteristics are displayed by monocyte/macrophage cell lines (J774A.1 and U937) as well as peritoneal macrophages towards the NDSK preparations of these proteins, except for a slightly weaker (KD ≃ 10−10 M) high-affinity binding. The high affinity binding of intact monomer is inhibitable by fibrin-NDSK, but not fibrinogen-NDSK. This binding appears principally dependent on release of fibrinopeptide-A, because a species of fibrin (β-fibrin) lacking fibrinopeptide-B alone undergoes only weak binding similar to that of fibrinogen. Synthetic Gly-Pro-Arg and Gly-His-Arg-Pro corresponding to the N-termini of to the α- and the β-chains of fibrin both inhibit the high affinity binding of the fibrin-NDSKs, and the cell-adhesion peptide Arg-Gly-Asp does not. Photoaffinity-labeling experiments indicate that polypeptides with elec-trophoretically estimated masses of 124 and 187 kDa are the principal membrane components associated with specifically bound fibrin-NDSK. The binding could not be up-regulated with either phorbol myristyl acetate, interferon gamma or ADP, but was abolished by EDTA and by lipopolysaccharide. Because of the low BMAX, it is suggested that the high-affinity mode of binding characterized here would be too limited to function by itself in scavenging much fibrin, but may act cooperatively with other, less limited modes of fibrin binding.


1991 ◽  
Vol 66 (01) ◽  
pp. 049-061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Björn Dahlbäck

SummaryThe protein C anticoagulant system provides important control of the blood coagulation cascade. The key protein is protein C, a vitamin K-dependent zymogen which is activated to a serine protease by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex on endothelial cells. Activated protein C functions by degrading the phospholipid-bound coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. Protein S is a cofactor in these reactions. It is a vitamin K-dependent protein with multiple domains. From the N-terminal it contains a vitamin K-dependent domain, a thrombin-sensitive region, four EGF)epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains and a C-terminal region homologous to the androgen binding proteins. Three different types of post-translationally modified amino acid residues are found in protein S, 11 γ-carboxy glutamic acid residues in the vitamin K-dependent domain, a β-hydroxylated aspartic acid in the first EGF-like domain and a β-hydroxylated asparagine in each of the other three EGF-like domains. The EGF-like domains contain very high affinity calcium binding sites, and calcium plays a structural and stabilising role. The importance of the anticoagulant properties of protein S is illustrated by the high incidence of thrombo-embolic events in individuals with heterozygous deficiency. Anticoagulation may not be the sole function of protein S, since both in vivo and in vitro, it forms a high affinity non-covalent complex with one of the regulatory proteins in the complement system, the C4b-binding protein (C4BP). The complexed form of protein S has no APC cofactor function. C4BP is a high molecular weight multimeric protein with a unique octopus-like structure. It is composed of seven identical α-chains and one β-chain. The α-and β-chains are linked by disulphide bridges. The cDNA cloning of the β-chain showed the α- and β-chains to be homologous and of common evolutionary origin. Both subunits are composed of multiple 60 amino acid long repeats (short complement or consensus repeats, SCR) and their genes are located in close proximity on chromosome 1, band 1q32. Available experimental data suggest the β-chain to contain the single protein S binding site on C4BP, whereas each of the α-chains contains a binding site for the complement protein, C4b. As C4BP lacking the β-chain is unable to bind protein S, the β-chain is required for protein S binding, but not for the assembly of the α-chains during biosynthesis. Protein S has a high affinity for negatively charged phospholipid membranes, and is instrumental in binding C4BP to negatively charged phospholipid. This constitutes a novel mechanism for control of the complement system on phospholipid surfaces. Recent findings have shown circulating C4BP to be involved in yet another calcium-dependent protein-protein interaction with a protein known as the serum amyloid P-component (SAP). The binding sites on C4BP for protein S and SAP are independent. SAP, which is a normal constituent in plasma and in tissue, is a so-called pentraxin being composed of 5 non-covalently bound 25 kDa subunits. It is homologous to C reactive protein (CRP) but its function is not yet known. The specific high affinity interactions between protein S, C4BP and SAP suggest the regulation of blood coagulation and that of the complement system to be closely linked.


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