Publications by authors named "Angel Puerta"

Capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) has been widely used for analysis of proteins according to their size. However, to our knowledge, this technique has not been optimized to immunoglobulin A (IgA) analysis, a protein of current and emerging high interest in several fields. IgA is the first barrier of human body against pathogens.

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The Capillary Electrophoresis (CE) profile of isoforms (peaks) of a glycoprotein can be useful to show alterations in its posttranslational modifications (PTMs) linked to diseases. These changes can modify the electrophoretic mobility of these isoforms in a minor extent and, therefore, very reproducible CE methods are needed to detect them. In this chapter, a method for the analysis of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis (CZE) with UV detection is detailed.

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In the last few years, biopharmaceuticals-therapeutic drugs which are generally obtained by using molecular biology techniques-have become a major growing sector in pharmaceutical industry. A large part of these biopharmaceuticals are therapeutic glycoproteins. The production of these drugs and their purification process are implying the development of efficient analytical methods, which allow quick and reliable control of the manufacturing process and ensuring the regulatory compliance about the quality of these drugs.

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Prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men worldwide. Currently prostate specific antigen (PSA) serum concentration is the most used prostate cancer marker, but it only shows limited specificity. Because PSA glycosylation is altered by prostate cancer, detecting glycosylation changes could increase PSA specificity as a prostate cancer marker.

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Serum levels of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) are not fully specific for prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and several efforts are focused on searching to improve PCa markers through the study of PSA subforms that could be cancer associated. We have previously reported by 2DE a decrease in the sialic acid content of PSA from PCa compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia patients based on the different proportion of the PSA spots. However, faster and more quantitative techniques, easier to automate than 2DE, are desirable.

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Glycoproteins expressed in the human body can experience modifications as result of pathological situations. Detection of those changes can be useful as disease biomarkers. As a result of these modifications, size and/or electrical charge of the glycoprotein can be altered.

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Pancreatic cancer (PDAC) lacks reliable diagnostic biomarkers and the search for new biomarkers represents an important challenge. Previous results looking at a small cohort of patients showed an increase in α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) fucosylation in advanced PDAC using N-glycan sequencing. Here, we have analysed AGP glycoforms in a larger cohort using several analytical techniques including mass spectrometry (MS), capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and enzyme-linked lectin assays (ELLAs) for determining AGP glycoforms which could be PDAC associated.

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Sample preparation and laser-induced fluorescence detection are two key steps of the analytical methodology to determine by capillary electrophoresis low concentrations of proteins in complex sample matrices. In this chapter the options of performing both steps in different ways are shown by detailing the analysis of the allergen β-lactoglobulin in food products for infants and the analysis of the isoforms of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein, a potential biomarker, in serum and secretome.

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Variations in the amino acid sequence, glycosylation, and/or other posttranslational modifications in glycoproteins give rise to different molecules of the glycoprotein called forms. Qualitative and/or quantitative alterations in these forms are related to pathophysiological situations in the individuals. In this study, a methodology to analyze these differences in forms of the alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) between healthy individuals and patients with two different vascular diseases is detailed.

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Analysis of protein glycosylation is a major challenge in biochemistry, here we present a nano-UHPLC-MS(MS) based methodology, which is suitable to determine site-specific N-glycosylation patterns. A few pmol glycoprotein is sufficient to determine glycosylation patterns (which opens the way for biomedical applications) and requires at least two separate chromatographic runs. One is using tandem mass spectrometry (for structure identification); the other single stage MS mode (for semi-quantitation).

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The analysis of glycoprotein isoforms is of high interest in the biomedical field and clinical chemistry. Many studies have demonstrated that some glycoprotein isoforms could serve as biomarkers for several major diseases, such as cancers and vascular diseases, among others. Capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) is a well-established technique to separate glycoprotein isoforms, however, it suffers from limited sensitivity when UV-Vis detection is used.

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Human erythropoietin (hEPO), a hormone involved in the formation of red blood cells, is a 30 kDa glycoprotein with a high carbohydrate content. The production of recombinant hEPO has made possible its widespread therapeutic use and its banned use in competition sports. Methods to analyze EPO and other erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) are necessary for the characterization and quality control of these biopharmaceuticals and also for doping control.

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α-1-Acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a serum glycoprotein that presents several isoforms. Changes in the isoforms of AGP have been related to different pathological states including cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) such as acute myocardial infarction. However, to our knowledge, the role of variations of AGP isoforms as a potential biomarker of atherothrombosis has not been addressed.

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The vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF(165)) is the predominant form of the complex VEGF-A family. Its angiogenic effect is involved in many physiological and pathological events. For this reason, its roles as a potential biomarker and as a therapeutic drug have been considered.

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The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in different sicknesses (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other). Out of the many components of the VEGF family, the A splice variant with 165 amino acids (VEGF(165)) is the main component. In spite of the potential as biomarker that this protein has, information about its physico-chemical characteristics is scarce.

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The vascular endothelial growth factor 165 (VEGF(165)) is the predominant form of the complex VEGF family. This glycoprotein has, among others, an angiogenic effect in many physiological and pathological events. For this reason, its roles as a biomarker and as a therapeutic drug have been considered.

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The effect of adding alkali salts to protein samples for capillary electrophoretic (CE) analysis of intact proteins was studied. A high degree of peak stacking, even for large proteins, was found to occur when alkali salts were added to the sample. The addition of salt to the protein sample promotes a strong improvement in the peak efficiency of individual proteins giving up to 2.

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For the first time, a capillary electrophoresis-time of flight-mass spectrometry analysis method for detecting anthocyanins in red onion was developed. The analysis method included the use of silica capillaries coated with poly-LA 313 (polycationic amine-containing polymer) and an MS-compatible volatile background electrolyte (BGE). The method was environmentally friendly and sensitive; and its rapidness combined with an acidic BGE helped in preventing anthocyanin degradation.

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In capillary electrophoresis (CE), the anionic and hydrophobic nature of the fused-silica capillary surface has long been known to present a problem in protein and peptide analysis. The use of capillary surface coating is one of the approaches to avoid the analyte-wall interactions. In this study, a new polymer, poly-LA 313, has been synthesized, physico-chemical characterized, and applied as polyamine coating for CE separations.

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High-performance frontal affinity chromatography was employed to study the adsorption-desorption kinetics characterizing the retention of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-LG) onto polyclonal anti-beta-lactoglobulin (anti-beta-LG) chromatographic supports. The adsorption and desorption processes were studied by analyzing two different elution fronts separated by a relatively long rinsing step. The method consists in performing two successive frontal injections of the protein.

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In immunochromatography, a technique of increasing use, the sample containing the antigen (Ag) to be purified or determined is introduced into a chromatographic column containing an antibody (Ab) bound to the packing material. The antigen is retained based on antigen-antibody recognition. To reuse the immunocolumn for subsequent assays, the antigen has to be eluted without causing irreversible damage of antibodies.

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Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) was used to detect an immune complex formed between beta-lactoglobulin and polyclonal anti-beta-lactoglobulin antibody in the gas phase. The most important experimental parameters to detect such a specific antibody-antigen complex by MALDI were the use of solutions at near-neutral pH and of sinapinic acid matrix prepared by the dried-droplet method. Under such conditions, predominantly one but also two molecules of antigen protein were complexed by the antibody.

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Beta-Lactoglobulin is one of the main components of whey proteins. Among other reasons, its allergenicity makes its determination in hypoallergenic foods and bio-pharmaceutical products necessary. Immunoaffinity chromatography is a widely accepted technique for purification and analysis of proteins.

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