1. A new approach for the separation, characterization and testing of potential prionoid protein aggregates through hollow-fiber flow field-flow fractionation and multi-angle light scattering
- Author
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Andrea Alessandrini, Andrea Zattoni, Paolo Facci, Marinella Portolani, Valentina Marassi, Tullia Maraldi, Pierluigi Reschiglian, Barbara Roda, Francesca Beretti, Marassi V., Beretti F., Roda B., Alessandrini A., Facci P., Maraldi T., Zattoni A., Reschiglian P., and Portolani M.
- Subjects
Light ,Prions ,Ion chromatography ,Multiangle light scattering ,Amyloidogenic Proteins ,02 engineering and technology ,Fractionation ,Field flow fractionation to study aggregation-dependent disease ,Protein aggregation ,Prionoid protein aggregate ,Microscopy, Atomic Force ,01 natural sciences ,Biochemistry ,Analytical Chemistry ,Protein–protein interaction ,Field flow fractionation to study aggregation-dependent diseases ,HF5 MALS of protein aggregates ,Prionoid protein aggregates ,Protein-derived toxic pathways ,HF5 MALS of protein aggregate ,Protein Aggregates ,Cell Line, Tumor ,Humans ,Scattering, Radiation ,Environmental Chemistry ,Particle Size ,Cytotoxicity ,Spectroscopy ,Chemistry ,010401 analytical chemistry ,Chromatography, Ion Exchange ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Fractionation, Field Flow ,Amyloidogenic Protein ,0104 chemical sciences ,Prion ,Biophysics ,Protein-derived toxic pathway ,Molar mass distribution ,Protein folding ,0210 nano-technology ,Human - Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation are the common mechanisms in a variety of aggregation-dependent diseases. The compromised proteins often assemble into toxic, accumulating amyloid-like structures of various lengths and their toxicity can also be transferred both in vivo and in vitro a prion-like behavior. The characterization of protein interactions, degradation and conformational dynamics in biological systems still represents an analytical challenge in the prion-like protein comprehension. In our work, we investigated the nature of a transferable cytotoxic agent, presumably a misfolded protein, through the coupling of a multi-detector, non-destructive separation platform based on hollow-fiber flow field-flow fractionation with imaging and downstream in vitro tests. After purification with ion exchange chromatography, the transferable cytotoxic agentwas analyzed with Atomic Force Microscopy and statistical analysis, showing that the concentration of protein dimers and low n-oligomer forms was higher in the cytotoxic sample than in the control preparation. To assess whether the presence of these species was the actual toxic and/or self-propagating factor, we employed HF5 fractionation, with UV and Multi-Angle Light Scattering detection, to define proteins molar mass distribution and abundance, and fractionate the sample into size-homogeneous fractions. These fractions were then tested individually in vitro to investigate the direct correlation with cytotoxicity. Only the later-eluted fraction, which contains high-molar mass aggregates, proved to be toxic onto cell cultures. Moreover, it was observed that the selective transfer of toxicity also occurs for one lower-mass fraction, suggesting that two different mechanisms, acute and later induced toxicity, are in place. These results strongly encourage the efficacy of this platform to enable the identification of protein toxicants.
- Published
- 2019