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Biomedical subjects

R A Baffi

Publications and source records attributed to R A Baffi.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Quality control issues in the analysis of lyophilized proteins.

The assessment of protein stability requires the use of many sophisticated analytical techniques. Lyophilization procedures, commonly used to improve the stability profile of protein products, may potentiate undesirable protein degradation. The potential effects of lyophilization on proteins may include denaturation, decreased potency, aggregation, oxidation, and deamidation. Methods such as high-performance size-exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), peptide mapping, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and high-performance ion-exchange chromatography (HPIEC) may be used to evaluate these effects as well as to predict the long-term stability of the product. Typical degradation mechanisms of protein products and examples of the methods used for their analysis are described. In addition, methods for monitoring residual moisture levels in lyophilized proteins are presented with emphasis on their relative advantages and disadvantages.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗
PubMed1985

Structure-activity relationships in the dodecapeptide alpha-factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae: position 6 analogues are poor inducers of agglutinability.

Five des-Trp1,Cha3,X6 analogues of alpha-factor, where X = Ala, Val, Ile, Nle, or D-Leu and X = Leu in the natural alpha-factor sequence, were prepared by solution-phase techniques utilizing isobutyl chloroformate or 1-hydroxybenzotriazole accelerated active esters as the coupling agents. Purification to 98% or greater homogeneity was accomplished by high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase muBondapak C18 column with methanol/water/trifluoroacetic acid as the mobile phase. Three of the synthesized analogues (X6 = Val, Ile, Nle) induced morphogenesis and increased agglutinability in a cells. These substitutions demonstrate that a gamma-branched side chain at position 6 is not essential for biological activity. All of the active analogues induced morphogenesis at lower concentrations than they induced enhanced agglutinability. These results and other structure-activity relationships [Baffi, R. A., Shenbagamurthi, P., Terrance, K., Becker, J. M., Naider, F., & Lipke, P. (1984) J. Bacteriol. 158, 1152-1156] indicate that the agglutination and morphological responses to alpha-factor can be varied independently. Replacement of Leu6 with Ala or D-Leu resulted in inactive analogues that were not antagonistic for alpha-factor activity. Cell-mediated hydrolysis experiments indicated that the biological activities of the alpha-factor analogues are independent of their rates of degradation. All position 6 analogues were hydrolyzed more slowly than the parent compound, suggesting that the enzyme which degrades alpha-factor is highly specific for the native structure.

Agglutination↗
PubMed1984

Different structure-function relationships for alpha-factor-induced morphogenesis and agglutination in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Eight synthetic analogs of the mating pheromone alpha-factor-induced morphogenesis and increased agglutinability in a cells. Most analogs induced increased agglutinability at lower concentrations than those at which they induced morphogenesis, but the ratio of the potencies for the two effects varied 140-fold among different analogs. Morphological response to pheromone required exposure for at least 90 min, but increased agglutinability followed exposures of 20 s. Two synthetic analogs induced neither response. In competition experiments, both of these analogs prevented induction of increased agglutinability and morphogenesis by active alpha factor. The inactive peptides blocked increased agglutinability at lower concentrations than those at which they blocked morphogenesis. alpha factors exhibited different structure-function relationships for morphogenesis as compared with agglutinability. Thus, response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to alpha factor is complex and may be mediated by more than one receptor.

Agglutination↗