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The cytokine network of tumour microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in cancer growth and progression. The current work aims to provide a new strategy for cancer therapy based on the targeted regulation of cytokines in the TME. Here, heparin-coupled polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-H) microspheres have been developed as an adsorbent for selectively remove tumour-induced immunosuppressive cytokines, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), but not tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) which has an immune-stimulating effect and can inhibit tumour growth. The proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells after perfusion were tested by cell viability assays, flow cytometry analysis and mRNA microarray assays. Results showed that the PVA-H microspheres efficiently absorbed the majority of VEGF (74.39%) and TGF-β (86.39%), but much less TNF-α (4.16%). The regulation of the cytokines had remarkable anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on breast cancer cells, which was further confirmed from the change of mRNA expression levels. Thus, targeting regulatory pathways within the TME by an affinity adsorbent that selectively depletes immunosuppressive cytokines is potentially a new and promising strategy for cancer therapy.

The cytokine network of tumour microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in cancer growth and progression. The current work aims to provide a new strategy for cancer therapy based on the targeted regulation of cytokines in the TME. Here, heparin-coupled polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-H) microspheres have been developed as an adsorbent for selectively remove tumour-induced immunosuppressive cytokines, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), but not tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) which has an immune-stimulating effect and can inhibit tumour growth. The proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells after perfusion were tested by cell viability assays, flow cytometry analysis and mRNA microarray assays. Results showed that the PVA-H microspheres efficiently absorbed the majority of VEGF (74.39%) and TGF-β (86.39%), but much less TNF-α (4.16%). The regulation of the cytokines had remarkable anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on breast cancer cells, which was further confirmed from the change of mRNA expression levels. Thus, targeting regulatory pathways within the TME by an affinity adsorbent that selectively depletes immunosuppressive cytokines is potentially a new and promising strategy for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A strategy of modification of resin surface chemistry is presented to produce hydrophilic peptide-based alkaline-stable affinity adsorbents for the purification of biopharmaceuticals from complex media. In this work, the peptide-based affinity adsorbent HWRGWV-Toyopearl resin for the purification of IgG is presented as an example. When prepared by direct peptide synthesis on the chromatographic matrix, the peptide-based resin showed lability under alkaline conditions. In fact, the regeneration with aqueous 0.1M NaOH caused the leaching of 40% of the peptide ligand, resulting in a decrease of IgG yield from 85% to 23%. It was found that the ligand leaching was caused by the coupling of a significant amount of peptide by alkaline-labile ester bonds. A method was designed to prevent the formation of ester bonds and allow the synthesis of the ligand exclusively on alkaline-stable bonds. The method consists in activating the hydrophilic base resin, blocking the hydroxyl groups responsible for alkaline lability and performing the peptide synthesis exclusively via alkaline-stable amide bonds. Repeated cycles of IgG purification from a cell culture medium were performed, each followed by cleaning with aqueous NaOH (0.1M, 0.5M and 1M). The IgG yield decreased from 91% to 85% after 200 purification cycles with 0.1M NaOH. However, the IgG purity remained almost constant at around 95% based on SDS-PAGE analysis. The procedure presented is rapid, efficient and inexpensive and does not require any equipment other than the conventional instrumentation for peptide synthesis. The method also has a broad application since it is valid for any peptide ligand identified for the purification of a biopharmaceutical target. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This work aimed to compare two types of affinity ligands, i.e. polymeric and monomeric ligands, by investigating their adsorption affinity, capacity and selectivity to oligopeptide. The peptide NH2-VVRGCTWW-COOH (VW-8) was chosen as the target adsorbate, while histidine (His), aspartic acid (Asp), and leucine (Leu) were selected as the ligands, respectively. For each kind of ligand, both monomeric (M) and polymeric (P) forms were introduced onto the Sepharose matrix respectively to obtain the corresponding adsorbents. Both affinity tests using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and adsorption capacities using static adsorption experiments indicated that the adsorbents with polymeric ligands (MX-P) exhibited better adsorption ability for VW-8 than the adsorbents with monomeric ligands (MX-M). In particular, the MX-PHis exhibited its affinity constant of 2.39×106 M−1 and its adsorption capacity of 77.4mg/g for VW-8, which was approximately 8–10 times higher than that of MX-MHis. Such distinct adsorption abilities between polymeric and monomeric ligands were interpreted based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ITC data, and the results indicated that such better characters of polymeric ligands were ascribed to their good flexibility which facilitated the cooperative effects as well as the accessibility of ligands to the peptide. Additionally, the selective adsorption experiments indicated that all the adsorbents with polymeric ligands exhibited good selectivity to the peptide VW-8. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To exploit efficient adsorbents for removing middle molecular peptides containing DFLAE (DE5, a typical peptide sequence accumulated in uremic serum) sequence by hemoperfusion, we designed and synthesized three affinity adsorbents (C1-Zn, C2-Zn and C3-Zn) that could have high affinity to DE5. Subsequently, we evaluated the corresponding adsorption ability of each adsorbent by static adsorption experiments and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The results showed that C1-Zn had the best adsorption ability to DE5-containing peptides and the adsorption capacity for DE5 was 8.52 mg/g. By changing the adsorption conditions, the adsorption mechanism was elucidated. The main driving force of the adsorption is metal-carboxyl coordination and the hydrophobic force affords the cooperative effect. It is expected that our present work can provide basic understanding for the design of adsorbents with high affinity and selectivity towards oligopeptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A major challenge in the development of affinity adsorbents is the design of specific adsorbents for target molecules. In this paper, a two-step strategy was used to design a specific adsorbent for oligopeptides. Based on the structural characteristics of target peptide DFLAE (DE5), the affinity ligand CDenHis bearing hydrophobic inclusion and electrostatic interaction sites was prepared by grafting histidine onto β-cyclodextrin (CD) using ethylenediamine; ligands with single hydrophobic inclusion or electrostatic interaction sites (CDen and HisOMe) were used as reference ligands. Results indicated that the binding affinity (K a) of CDenHis with DE5 was 6.23×104 M−1, 23- and 61-fold higher than that of CDen and HisOMe, respectively. Computer simulations were used to further optimize the steric configuration of CDenHis. It was found that the optimized ligand CDdnHis exhibited a much improved binding affinity for DE5 (K a =1.02×105 M−1). Moreover, the corresponding adsorbent A-CDdnHis not only showed much better adsorption ability compared with A-CDenHis, but also excellent adsorption specificity for DE5-containing peptides. Kinetic analysis and adsorption mechanism studies suggested that the configuration matching of CDdnHis with DE5 and the cooperation of multiple interactions led to the fast and selective adsorption of DE5-containing peptides to A-CDdnHis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: α-Amylase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was purified by the immobilized metal ion affinity adsorbent, β-CDcl-IDA-Cu2+. The adsorbent was prepared by reacting the cross-linked β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) with the ligand, iminodiacetic acid (IDA). The copper ion was further linked to the adsorbent. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was added to the fermentation broth to improve the adsorption efficiency of the adsorbent toward α-amylase. The effort was to provide hydrophobic interactions with the impurities which might interfere with the adsorption of α-amylase. It also provided a polymer shielding effect to prevent non-specific interactions. With the addition of PEG, the adsorption efficiency could be increased to 98%. Imidazole containing a phosphate buffer and NaCl was used to elute the bound α-amylase. By consecutive adsorption/desorption steps, up to 81% of the α-amylase activity could be recovered. Regarding the reutilization of the affinity adsorbents, α-amylase could be adsorbed and desorbed six times consecutively without a significant loss of α-amylase activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Low-cost protein purification methods are in high demand for mass production of low-selling price enzymes that play an important role in the upcoming bioeconomy. A simple protein purification method was developed based on affinity adsorption of a cellulose-binding module-tagged protein on regenerated amorphous cellulose (RAC) followed by modest desorption. The biodegradable cellulosic adsorbent RAC had a very high protein-binding capacity of up to 365mg of protein per gram of RAC. The specifically-bound CBM-protein on the external surface of RAC was eluted efficiently by ethyl glycol or glycerol. This protein separation method can be scaled up easily because it is based on simple solid/liquid unit operations. Five recombinant proteins (CBM-protein), regardless of intercellular or periplasmic form, were purified successfully for demonstration purpose. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) was chosen as the matrix material for the affinity binding of α-amylase in this work. β-CD was cross-linked with epichlorohydrin to improve its rigidity. Iminodiacetic acid (IDA), as a ligand, was bond with the cross-linked β-CD to increase the binding affinity for α-amylase. The affinity adsorbent thus prepared was further chelated with Cu2+ for the purpose of binding affinity and stability. The prepared affinity adsorbent was notated as β-CDcl–IDA-Cu2+. Excellent binding as well as de-binding was achieved within an extremely short period of time. Consequently, β-CDcl–IDA–Cu2+ successfully performed its ability on the affinity adsorption towards α-amylase. The adsorbent was also tested by its ability on repeated utilization. The result further confirmed that it could be repeatedly used and maintained the adsorption/desorption performance stably through many batches of operation. In addition, the bound α-amylase after many adsorption batches could be desorbed with a very high efficiency and hence rather high α-amylase activity could be collected. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]