Identification of cysteine thiol-based linkages in ADAMTS13 in support of a non-proteolytic regulation of von Willebrand factor.

Background: ADAMTS13, a plasma metalloprotease, cleaves von Willebrand factor (VWF) to regulate its function. Additionally, ADAMTS13 is thought to regulate lateral association of VWF multimers to form fibrillar structures through its free thiols.

Objective: The purpose of the present study is to obtain direct evidence for ADAMTS13 to engage in thiol/disulfide exchange reactions.

Differences in N-glycosylation of recombinant human coagulation factor VII derived from BHK, CHO, and HEK293 cells.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND &

Methods: Recombinant factor VII (rFVII), the precursor molecule for recombinant activated FVII (rFVIIa), is, due to its need for complex post translational modifications, produced in mammalian cells. To evaluate the suitability of a human cell line in order to produce rFVII with post-translational modifications as close as possible to pdFVII, we compared the biochemical properties of rFVII synthesized in human embryonic kidney-derived (HEK)293 cells (HEK293rFVII) with those of rFVII expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO, CHOrFVII) and baby hamster kidney (BHK, BHKrFVII) cells, and also with those of plasma derived FVII (pdFVII), using various analytical methods. rFVII was purified from selected production clones derived from BHK, CHO, and HEK293 cells after stable transfection, and rFVII isolates were analyzed for protein activity, impurities and post-translational modifications.

Visualization of a protein-protein interaction at a single-molecule level by atomic force microscopy.

Atomic force microscopy is unmatched in terms of high-resolution imaging under ambient conditions. Over the years, substantial progress has been made using this technique to improve our understanding of biological systems on the nanometer scale, such as visualization of single biomolecules. For monitoring also the interaction between biomolecules, in situ high-speed imaging is making enormous progress.

Microchip capillary gel electrophoresis of multiply PEGylated high-molecular-mass glycoproteins.

PEGylation is the most successful approach, to date, to prolong the in vivo survival of recombinant proteins. The conjugation of the polymer to glycoproteins results in challenging analysis, and furthermore, requires a wide variety of analytical tools for the determination of the extent of PEGylation. Herein, we present microchip capillary gel electrophoresis (MCGE) with a non-commercial high-molecular-weight protein assay for the analysis of the PEGylation degree with a focus on multiple PEGylation.

Comparison of plasma-derived and recombinant von Willebrand factor by atomic force microscopy.

Human plasma protein von Willebrand factor (VWF) is composed of a series of multimers with molecular weights ranging from 600 to 20,000 kDa or even more. Plasma-derived VWF (pdVWF) and recombinant VWF (rVWF) differ in that the ultra-large molecular weight multimer portion present in rVWF is usually missing in pdVWF due to partial cleavage of VWF by the plasma protease ADAMTS13. Here, tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) was used to visualise the shape and size of rVWF and pdVWF.

MALDI linear TOF mass spectrometry of PEGylated (glyco)proteins.

PEGylation of proteins is a fast growing field in biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences owing to its ability to prolong the serum half-life time of recombinant proteins. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS) has been shown to be a powerful tool in the analysis of several PEGylated small proteins. Here we present data obtained with a standard secondary electron multiplier (SEM) and a high mass (HM) detector combined with a MALDI linear TOF MS system for the detection of PEGylated (glyco)proteins in the range of 60-600 kDa.