Biomedical subjects

Francisco Valero

Publications and source records attributed to Francisco Valero.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

A simple model-based control for Pichia pastoris allows a more efficient heterologous protein production bioprocess.

A predictive control algorithm coupled with a PI feedback controller has been satisfactorily implemented in the heterologous Rhizopus oryzae lipase production by Pichia pastoris methanol utilization slow (Mut(s)) phenotype. This control algorithm has allowed the study of the effect of methanol concentration, ranging from 0.5 to 1.75 g/L, on heterologous protein production. The maximal lipolytic activity (490 UA/mL), specific yield (11,236 UA/g(biomass)), productivity (4,901 UA/L . h), and specific productivity (112 UA/g(biomass)h were reached for a methanol concentration of 1 g/L. These parameters are almost double than those obtained with a manual control at a similar methanol set-point. The study of the specific growth, consumption, and production rates showed different patterns for these rates depending on the methanol concentration set-point. Results obtained have shown the need of implementing a robust control scheme when reproducible quality and productivity are sought. It has been demonstrated that the model-based control proposed here is a very efficient, robust, and easy-to-implement strategy from an industrial application point of view.

Bioreactors↗

PubMed2006

Sublingual versus vaginal misoprostol (400 microg) for cervical priming in first-trimester abortion: a randomized trial.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare the sublingual administration and the vaginal administration of misoprostol for cervical priming before first-trimester surgical abortion. DESIGN: We used an open, multicenter, randomized trial. LOCATIONS: We conducted the study in four clinics (in Valencia, Castelló, Murcia and Murcia Capital) in Spain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1424 healthy pregnant women with amenorrhea of <or=84 days who voluntarily decided to terminate their pregnancy participated in the study. METHODS: Women were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of 400 microg of misoprostol either sublingually or vaginally 1-3 h before aspiration. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures assessed were cervical dilation before surgery and surgical time needed for aspiration. The incidence of side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever/chills and paresthesia, was evaluated. RESULTS: The mean cervical dilation achieved was 6.8+/-0.8 and 6.7+/-0.9 mm for the sublingual and vaginal groups, respectively. The mean surgical time was 7.0+/-2.8 and 7.4+/-2.5 min for the sublingual and vaginal groups, respectively. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were more frequent in the sublingual group. CONCLUSIONS: Both regimens had equal efficacy; however, the sublingual route caused more side effects.

Abortifacient Agents, Nonsteroidal↗

PubMed2006

Operational strategies, monitoring and control of heterologous protein production in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris under different promoters: a review.

The methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has been widely reported as a suitable expression system for heterologous protein production. The use of different phenotypes under PAOX promoter, other alternative promoters, culture medium, and operational strategies with the objective to maximize either yield or productivity of the heterologous protein, but also to obtain a repetitive product batch to batch to get a robust process for the final industrial application have been reported. Medium composition, kinetics growth, fermentation operational strategies from fed-batch to continuous cultures using different phenotypes with the most common PAOX promoter and other novel promoters (GAP, FLD, ICL), the use of mixed substrates, on-line monitoring of the key fermentation parameters (methanol) and control algorithms applied to the bioprocess are reviewed and discussed in detail.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Parallel factor analysis combined with PLS regression applied to the on-line monitoring of Pichia pastoris cultures.

Various key variables (biomass, substrate and product) of bioprocesses should be monitored in order to retrieve useful information on the system, with the biomass (the cell density) the principal target. Although several analytical methods have been adapted and used to monitor the evolution of cell density evolution in cultures, a general method for performing this determination has not yet been established, as each technique has its own advantages and drawbacks. In the present work, noninduced glycerol batch cultures (for which biomass and substrate are the key variables) were monitored using multiwavelength fluorescence spectroscopy. The data gathered were modelled via PARAFAC-PLS chemometric methodologies, resulting in important qualitative and quantitative information about the behaviours of different biogenic fluorophors in batch cultures of the yeast Pichia pastoris. This information was used to predict the target process variables in such cultures; this permitted the applicability of this combined technique to bioprocess monitoring to be assessed.

Biomass↗

PubMed2006

State variables monitoring by in situ multi-wavelength fluorescence spectroscopy in heterologous protein production by Pichia pastoris.

State variables throughout non-induced and induced cultivations of Pichia pastoris for the heterologous Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL) production were monitored with a multi-wavelength on-line fluorescence sensor. Based on this work, the use of in situ multi-wavelength fluorometry combined with chemometrics models (PLS-1 models) provided a quantitative prediction of biomass and substrates (glycerol and methanol) during non-induced and induced ROL production. The mean prediction errors for both variables were about 7% and 10%, respectively. ROL is also quite satisfactory estimated in the exponential growth phase with prediction errors similar to biomass and substrate variables. However, in the stationary phase, where proteolytic degradation of ROL is observed, the prediction error could get a value about 20%. This fact is due to the lower reproducibility of protein production from batch to batch.

Biomass↗

PubMed2006

Cloning, disruption and protein secretory phenotype of the GAS1 homologue of Pichia pastoris.

The aim of the study was the identification, cloning and disruption of the GAS1 homologue of Pichia pastoris. Gas1p is a glycoprotein anchored to the outer layer of the plasma membrane through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Gas1p is a beta-1,3-glucanosyltransglycosylase (EC 2.4.1.-). This cross-linking enzyme highly affects the structure and permeability of the yeast cell wall. The gene coding for the GAS1 homologue of P. pastoris was cloned by PCR, and its functionality was proven in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAS1 null mutant. Based on the nucleotide sequence information of the P. pastoris GAS1 homologue, a disruption cassette was constructed for the knockout of the GAS1 in P. pastoris. The morphology of DeltaGAS1 P. pastoris was identical to that of S. cerevisiae GAS1 mutants. Finally, the impact of GAS1 disruption on secretion of three recombinant model proteins in P. pastoris, human trypsinogen, human serum albumin and Rhizopus oryzae lipase, was evaluated. While the disruption had no effect on the secretion of trypsinogen and albumin, the amount of lipase released from the cells was doubled.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Developing high cell density fed-batch cultivation strategies for heterologous protein production in Pichia pastoris using the nitrogen source-regulated FLD1 Promoter.

A Pichia pastoris strain expressing a Rhizopus oryzae lipase gene under the transcriptional control of the promoter from the P. pastoris formaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 gene (PFLD) was utilized to study the feasibility of this expression system for recombinant protein production using methanol-free fed-batch high cell density cultivations. We have developed a simple and reliable fed-batch strategy using the PFLD system based on the use of methylamine and sorbitol as nitrogen and carbon sources, respectively, for the induction phase. Three different fed-batch fermentations were performed at three different constant growth rates, i.e., at a low growth rate (0.005/h), at an intermediate growth rate of (0.01/h), and at a constant residual sorbitol concentration of 8 g/L, i.e., allowing cells to grow at high (near micro(max)) growth rate (0.02/h). Important differences were observed between the lower and higher growth rate cultivation phases in terms of specific production rate (q(p)) profiles. In all three cases, maximum q(p) were reached soon after the start of the induction phase; after that maximum, an exponential decrease reaching final values close to zero were observed, except for the cells growing at near micro(max). The best results in terms of Y(P/X), productivity and specific productivity were obtained when the microorganism was growing at the highest growth rate. Furthermore, such results were significantly better in relation to those obtained with the PAOX-based system expressing the same protein.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed2005

Combined effect of the methanol utilization (Mut) phenotype and gene dosage on recombinant protein production in Pichia pastoris fed-batch cultures.

An important number of heterologous proteins have been produced in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris using the alcohol oxidase promoter. Two factors that drastically influence protein production and cultivation process development in this system are gene dosage and methanol assimilation capacity of the host strain (Mut phenotype). Using a battery of four strains which secrete a Rhizopus oryzae lipase (ROL), the combined effects of gene dosage and Mut phenotype on recombinant protein production in Pichia pastoris was studied in fed-batch cultures. Regarding the effect of phenotype, the specific productivity and the Y(P/X) were 1.29- and 2.34-fold higher for Mut(s)ROL single copy strain than for Mut+ROL single copy strain. On the contrary, the productivity of Mut+ROL single copy strain was 1.34-fold higher than Mut(s)ROL single copy strain. An increase in ROL gene dosage seems to negatively affect cell's performance in bioreactor cultures, particularly in Mut(s) strains. Overall, the Mut(s) strain may be still advantageous to use because it allows for easier process control strategies.

Cell Proliferation↗

PubMed2005

Rational strategy for the production of new crude lipases from Candida rugosa.

Candida rugosa was cultured using different inducers (oleic acid, olive oil, sunflower oil, n-dodecanol and glycerol) as the only carbon source in batch conditions, as well as in several fed-batch fermentations (oleic acid as inducer) at variable feed rate conditions. The N-terminal analysis of each crude lipase revealed that, while the isoenzymes Lip2 and Lip3 are always secreted (at different proportions depending on the inducer), Lip1 was produced only using n-dodecanol (batch conditions) or oleic acid (fed-batch at high feed rate). The nature of the inducer controls the isoenzyme percentage; when this is fixed, as well as the feed rate in fed-batch fermentation, the isoenzymatic profile remained unaltered and the samples differed only in the activity of the lipases, as determined by heptyl oleate synthesis.

Candida↗

PubMed2004

Expression of a Rhizopus oryzae lipase in Pichia pastoris under control of the nitrogen source-regulated formaldehyde dehydrogenase promoter.

A Rhizopus oryzae lipase gene has been expressed in Pichia pastoris as a reporter using the formaldehyde dehydrogenase 1 promoter (PFLD1) of this organism, which has been reported to be strongly and independently induced by either methanol as sole carbon source or methylamine as sole nitrogen source. Levels of lipase expressed and secreted under the control of the PFLD1 at different induction conditions have been compared to those obtained with the commonly used alcohol oxidase 1 promoter (PAOX1) in small (shake flask) and 1l bioreactor batch cultures. PFLD1-controlled heterologous gene expression was strongly repressed by excess of either glycerol or glucose-but not sorbitol-during growth using methylamine both as sole nitrogen source and inducing substrate. Co-induction of PFLD1 with methanol and methylamine resulted in a synergistic effect on extracellular lipase expression levels. In all tested conditions, the substitution of ammonium for methylamine as carbon source provoked a clear decrease in the specific growth rate and yield of biomass per gram of carbon source. Overall, this study demonstrates that the PFLD1 promoter is at least as efficient as the PAOX1 for extracellular expression of heterologous proteins in P. pastoris bioreactor cultures and provides a first basis for the further design of methanol-free high cell density fed-batch cultivation strategies for controlled overproduction of foreign proteins in P. pastoris.

Aldehyde Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed2004

Model based soft-sensor for on-line determination of substrate.

A software sensor for on-line determination of substrate was developed based on a model for fed-batch alcoholic fermentation process and on-line measured signals of ethanol, biomass, and feed flow. The ethanol and biomass signals were obtained using a colorimetric biosensor and an optical sensor developed in previous works that permitted determination of ethanol at a concentration of 0-40 g/L and biomass of 0-60 g/L. The volume in the fermentor could be continuously calculated using the total measured signal of the feed flow. The results obtained show that the model used is adequate for the proposed software sensor and determines continuously the substrate concentration with efficiency and security during the fermentation process.

Alcohols↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Reactivity of pure Candida rugosa lipase isoenzymes (Lip1, Lip2, and Lip3) in aqueous and organic media. influence of the isoenzymatic profile on the lipase performance in organic media.

Three pure isoenzymes from Candida rugosa lipase (CRL: Lip1, Lip2, and Lip3) were compared in terms of their stability and reactivity in both aqueous and organic media. The combined effect of temperature and pH on their stability was studied applying a factorial design. The analysis of the response surfaces indicated that Lip1 and Lip3 have a similar stability, lower than that of Lip2. In aqueous media, Lip3 was the most active enzyme on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters, whereas Lip1 showed the highest activity on the hydrolysis of most assayed triacylglycerides. The highest differences among isoenzymes were found in the hydrolysis of triacylglycerides. Thus, a short, medium, and long acyl chain triacylglyceride was the preferred substrate for Lip3, Lip1, and Lip2, respectively. In organic medium, Lip3 and Lip1 provided excellent results in terms of enantioselectivity in the resolution of ibuprofen (EF value over 0.90) and conversion, whereas initial esterification rate was higher for Lip3. However, the use of Lip2 resulted in lower values of conversion, enantiomeric excess, and enantioselectivity. In the case of trans-2-phenyl-1-cyclohexanol (TPCH) resolution, initial esterification rates were high except for Lip3, which also produced poor results in conversion and enantiomeric excess. The performance of the pure isoenzymes in the enantioselectivity esterification of these substrates was compared with different CRL crude preparations with known isoenzymatic content and the different results could not be explained by their isoenzymatic profile. Therefore, it can be concluded that other factors can also affect the catalysis of CRL and only the reproducibility between powders can ensure the reproducibility in synthesis reactions.

Candida↗