Production of Bovine Colostrum for Human Consumption to Improve Health

Colostrum contains all essential nutrients for the neonate during the first days of life, with impacts that continue far beyond these first days. Bovine colostrum has been used for human consumption due to the high concentrations of bioactive proteins, vitamins, minerals, growth factors, as well as free and conjugated oligosaccharides. Processes involved in the preparation of bovine colostrum for human consumption play a pivotal role in preserving and maintaining the activity of the bioactive molecules. As bovine colostrum is a multifunctional food that offers a myriad of benefits for human health, assessing the main processes used in preparing it with both advantages and disadvantages is a crucial point to discuss. We discuss major processes effects for colostrum production on the nutritional value, some advanced technologies to preserve processed bovine colostrum and the end-product forms consumed by humans whether as dairy products or dietary supplements.

Engineering of extracellular vesicles for small molecule-regulated cargo loading and cytoplasmic delivery of bioactive proteins

Cytoplasmic delivery of functional proteins into target cells remains challenging for many biological agents to exert their therapeutic effects. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are expected to be a promising platform for protein delivery; however, efficient loading of proteins of interest (POIs) into EVs remains elusive. In this study, we utilized small compound-induced heterodimerization between FK506 binding protein (FKBP) and FKBP12-rapamycin-binding (FRB) domain, to sort bioactive proteins into EVs using the FRB-FKBP system. When CD81, a typical EV marker protein, and POI were fused with FKBP and FRB, respectively, rapamycin induced the binding of these proteins through FKBP-FRB interaction and recruited the POIs into EVs. The released EVs, displaying virus-derived membrane fusion protein, delivered the POI cargo into recipient cells and their functionality in the recipient cells was confirmed. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CD81 could be replaced with other EV-enriched proteins, such as CD63 or HIV Gag. Thus, the FRB-FKBP system enables the delivery of functional proteins and paves the way for EV-based protein delivery platforms.

Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Means of Co-opting Macrophage Polarization in the Tumor Microenvironment

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous population of membrane-bound parcels of bioactive proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids released from almost all cell types. The diversity of cargo packaged into EVs proffer the induction of an array of effects on recipient cells. EVs released from tumor cells have emerged as a vital means of communication and immune modulation within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Macrophages are an important contributor to the TME with seemingly paradoxical roles promoting either pro- or anti-tumoral immune function depending on their activated phenotypes. Here, we discuss the influence of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles on the functional plasticity of macrophages in tumor progression.

523 Late-Breaking: Non-nutrient Factors in Colostrum: Systems Biology of Mammary Derived Bioactive Proteins and Gut Receptors That Network Functions in the Bovine Neonate

Maternal-offspring coevolution has introduced the biological concept of “neonatal programming,” in which soluble proteins of varying abundance in bovine colostrum can have targeted activities in the calf gut. Still, the identities and developmental programming mechanisms of the full profile of colostrum proteins on transiently expressed gut receptors/transporters, as well as the ultimate functional responses in the calf, remain to be completely elucidated. The objective of this study was to address this gap in knowledge using systems biology. First, we biopsied the mammary gland and examined the transcriptome in primiparous and multiparous Holstein cows (at parturition/day 0 contrasted to 40–50 days after parturition; n = 4–5/group; FDR< 0.05) and used a bioinformatics algorithm to delineate transcripts coding proteins destined to be secreted into colostrum. In parallel, we analyzed the neonatal small intestine (0 day-old contrasted to 7 day-old; n = 3–5/group; FDR< 0.05) to identify transcripts that code for membrane receptors/transporters precise to the period of colostrum consumption. Integrative analysis of these results highlighted 44 possible signaling circuits (cutoff: >10 nCPM) directed by colostrum in the neonatal gut, providing a consolidated predictive understanding of colostrum-mediated effects that might occur in the neonate during this crucial period in development. These findings also represent the first mechanistic insight into mammary-sourced components that target the neonatal gut to regulate aspects of postnatal development that encompass intestinal maturation, gut-based secondary signaling, and establishment of the gut microbiome, all relevant to long-term health and development. Towards applications, these results are poised to offer novel opportunities to enhance commercial supplements via biomimicry to better reflect the physiology supporting neonatal growth and development.

Extraction and characterisation of bioactive proteins from Pongamia pinnata and their conversion into bioproducts for food packaging applications

In this research, proteins were obtained from Pongamia pinnata oil meal and subsequently converted into films and compression molded into various packaging products. Films with a maximum tensile strength of 1.9 MPa were obtained when 15% citric acid was used as the crosslinker. Minimum swelling of 120% was seen in 20% citric acid crosslinked film whereas the uncrosslinked films readily disintegrated in water. The protein films had excellent antioxidant properties with an IC50 value of 14.6 µg/ml compared to 26.9 µg/ml for the standard ascorbic acid. The pongamia protein-based bioproducts showed good activity against Bacillus cereus and Aspergillus niger. Unique properties, low cost, and large availability make pongamia proteins an ideal biopolymer for the development of green and sustainable materials and bioproducts.