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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1991

Use of T7 RNA polymerase to direct expression of outer Surface Protein A (OspA) from the Lyme disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi

The OspA gene from a North American strain of the Lyme disease Spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, was cloned under the control of transciption and translation signals from bacteriophage T7. Full-length OspA protein, a 273 amino acid (31kD) lipoprotein, is expressed poorly in Escherichia coli and is associated with the insoluble membrane fraction. In contrast, a truncated form of OspA lacking the amino-terminal signal sequence which normally would direct localization of the protein to the outer membrane is expressed at very high levels (less than or equal to 100 mg/liter) and is soluble. The truncated protein was purified to homogeneity and is being tested to see if it will be useful as an immunogen in a vaccine against Lyme disease. Circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy was used to characterize the secondary structure and study conformational changes in the protein. Studies underway with other surface proteins from B burgdorferi and a related spirochete, B. hermsii, which causes relapsing fever, leads us to conclude that a strategy similar to that used to express the truncated OspA can provide a facile method for producing variations of Borrelia lipoproteins which are highly expressed in E. coli and soluble without exposure to detergents.

Dunn, John J.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Application of Rotating Wall Vessel (RWV) Cell Culture for Pancreas Islet Cell Transplantation

Type I insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in both pediatric and adult populations, despite significant advances in medical management. While insulin therapy treats symptoms of acute diabetes, it fails to prevent chronic complications such as microvascular disease, blindness, neuropathy, and chronic renal failure. Strict control of blood glucose concentrations delays but does not prevent the onset and progression of secondary complications. Although, whole pancreas transplantation restores physiological blood glucose levels, a continuous process of allograft rejection causes vascular and exocrine-related complications. Recent advances in methods for isolation and purification of pancreatic islets make transplantation of islet allografts an attractive alternative to whole pancreas transplantation. However, immunosuppressive drugs are necessary to prevent rejection of islet allografts and many of these drugs are known to be toxic to the islets. Since auto-transplants of isolated islets following total pancreatectomy survive and function in vivo, it is apparent that a major obstacle to successful clinical islet transplantation is the immunogenicity of the islet allografts.

Rutzky, Lynne P.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Monoclonal antibody to a cancer-specific and drug-responsive hydroquinone (NADH) oxidase from the sera of cancer patients

Monoclonal antibodies were generated in mice to a 34-kDa circulating form of a drug-responsive hydroquinone (NADH) oxidase with a protein disulfide-thiol interchange activity specific to the surface of cancer cells and the sera of cancer patients. Screening used Western blots with purified 34-kDa tNOX from HeLa cells and the sera of cancer patients. Epitopes were sought that inhibited the drug-responsive oxidation of NADH with the sera of cancer patients, but which had no effect on NADH oxidation with the sera of healthy volunteers. Two such antisera were generated. One, designated monoclonal antibody (mAb) 12.1, was characterized extensively. The NADH oxidase activity inhibited by mAb 12.1 also was inhibited by the quinone site inhibitor capsaicin (8-methyl- N-vanillyl-6-noneamide). The inhibition was competitive for the drug-responsive protein disulfide-thiol interchange activity assayed either by restoration of activity to scrambled RNase or by cleavage of a dithiodipyridine substrate, and was uncompetitive for NADH oxidation. Both the mAb 12.1 and the postimmune antisera immunoprecipitated drug-responsive NOX activity and identified the same 34-kDa tNOX protein in the sera of cancer patients that was absent from sera of healthy volunteers, and was utilized as immunogen. Preimmune sera from the same mouse as the postimmune antisera was without effect. Both mouse ascites containing mAb 12.1 and postimmune sera (but not preimmune sera) slowed the growth of human cancer cell lines in culture, but did not affect the growth of non-cancerous cell lines. Immunocytochemical and histochemical findings showed that mAb 12.1 reacted with the surface membranes of human carcinoma cells and tissues.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗

NASA NTRS2003

A new method for culturing Plasmodium falciparum shows replication at the highest erythrocyte densities

Plasmodium falciparum replicates poorly in erythrocyte densities greater than a hematocrit of 20%. A new method to culture the major malaria parasite was developed by using a hollow fiber bioreactor that preserves healthy erythrocytes at hematocrit up to 100%. P. falciparum replicated equally well at all densities studied. This method proved advantageous for large-scale preparation of parasitized erythrocytes (and potentially immunogens thereof), because high yields ( approximately 10(10) in 4 days) could be prepared with less cost and labor. Concomitantly, secreted proteins were concentrated by molecular sieving during culture, perhaps contributing to the parasitemic limit of 8%-12% with the 3D7 strain. The finding that P. falciparum can replicate at packed erythrocyte densities suggests that this system may be useful for study of the pathogenesis of fatal cerebral malaria, of which one feature is densely packed blood cells in brain microvasculature.

Plasmodium falciparum/growth & development↗

NASA NTRS1993

The 'tubulin-like' S1 protein of Spirochaeta is a member of the hsp65 stress protein family

A 65-kDa protein (called S1) from Spirochaeta bajacaliforniensis was identified as 'tubulin-like' because it cross-reacted with at least four different antisera raised against tubulin and was isolated, with a co-polymerizing 45-kDa protein, by warm-cold cycling procedures used to purify tubulin from mammalian brain. Furthermore, at least three genera of non-cultivable symbiotic spirochetes (Pillotina, Diplocalyx, and Hollandina) that contain conspicuous 24-nm cytoplasmic tubules displayed a strong fluorescence in situ when treated with polyclonal antisera raised against tubulin. Here we summarize results that lead to the conclusion that this 65-kDa protein has no homology to tubulin. S1 is an hsp65 stress protein homologue. Hsp65 is a highly immunogenic family of hsp60 proteins which includes the 65-kDa antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (an active component of Freund's complete adjuvant), Borrelia, Treponema, Chlamydia, Legionella, and Salmonella. The hsp60s, also known as chaperonins, include E. coli GroEL, mitochondrial and chloroplast chaperonins, the pea aphid 'symbionin' and many other proteins involved in protein folding and the stress response.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

NASA NTRS2007

Antibodies Against Three Forms of Urokinase

Antibodies that bind to preselected regions of the urokinase molecule have been developed. These antibodies can be used to measure small quantities of each of three molecular forms of urokinase that could be contained in microsamples or conditioned media harvested from cultures of mammalian cells. Previously available antibodies and assay techniques do not yield both clear distinctions among, and measurements of, all three forms. Urokinase is a zymogen that is synthesized in a single-chain form, called ScuPA, which is composed of 411 amino acid residues (see figure). ScuPA has very little enzyme activity, but it can be activated in two ways: (1) by cleavage of the peptide bond lysine 158/isoleucine 159 and the loss of lysine 158 to obtain the high molecular-weight (HMW) form of the enzyme or (2) by cleavage of the bond lysine 135/lysine 136 to obtain the low-molecular-weight (LMW) form of the enzyme. The antibodies in question were produced in mice and rabbits by use of peptides as immunogens. The peptides were selected to obtain antibodies that bind to regions of ScuPA that include the lysine 158/isoleucine 159 and the lysine 135/lysine 136 bonds. The antibodies include monoclonal and polyclonal ones that yield indications as to whether either of these bonds is intact. The polyclonal antibodies include ones that preferentially bind to the HMW or LMW forms of the urokinase molecule. The monoclonal antibodies include ones that discriminate between the ScuPA and the HMW form. A combination of these molecular-specific antibodies will enable simultaneous assays of the ScuPA, HMW, and LMW forms in the same specimen of culture medium.

Morrison, Dennis R.↗

NASA NTRS2009

Molecular-specific urokinase antibodies

Antibodies have been developed against the different molecular forms of urokinase using synthetic peptides as immunogens. The peptides were synthesized specifically to represent those regions of the urokinase molecules which are exposed in the three-dimensional configuration of the molecule and are uniquely homologous to urokinase. Antibodies are directed against the lysine 158-isoleucine 159 peptide bond which is cleaved during activation from the single-chain (ScuPA) form to the bioactive double chain (54 KDa and 33 KDa) forms of urokinase and against the lysine 135 lysine 136 bond that is cleaved in the process of removing the alpha-chain from the 54 KDa form to produce the 33 KDa form of urokinase. These antibodies enable the direct measurement of the different molecular forms of urokinase from small samples of conditioned medium harvested from cell cultures.

Atassi, M. Zouhair↗

NASA NTRS2010

Growing B Lymphocytes in a Three-Dimensional Culture System

A three-dimensional (3D) culture system for growing long-lived B lymphocytes has been invented. The capabilities afforded by the system can be expected to expand the range of options for immunological research and related activities, including testing of immunogenicity of vaccine candidates in vitro, generation of human monoclonal antibodies, and immunotherapy. Mature lymphocytes, which are the effectors of adaptive immune responses in vertebrates, are extremely susceptible to apoptotic death, and depend on continuous reception of survival-inducing stimulation (in the forms of cytokines, cell-to-cell contacts, and antigen receptor signaling) from the microenvironment. For this reason, efforts to develop systems for long-term culture of functional, non-transformed and non-activated mature lymphocytes have been unsuccessful until now. The bone-marrow microenvironment supports the growth and differentiation of many hematopoietic lineages, in addition to B-lymphocytes. Primary bone-marrow cell cultures designed to promote the development of specific cell types in vitro are highly desirable experimental systems, amenable to manipulation under controlled conditions. However, the dynamic and complex network of stromal cells and insoluble matrix proteins is disrupted in prior plate- and flask-based culture systems, wherein the microenvironments have a predominantly two-dimensional (2D) character. In 2D bone-marrow cultures, normal B-lymphoid cells become progressively skewed toward precursor B-cell populations that do not retain a normal immunophenotype, and such mature B-lymphocytes as those harvested from the spleen or lymph nodes do not survive beyond several days ex vivo in the absence of mitogenic stimulation. The present 3D culture system is a bioreactor that contains highly porous artificial scaffolding that supports the long-term culture of bone marrow, spleen, and lymph-node samples. In this system, unlike in 2D culture systems, B-cell subpopulations developing within 3D cultures that have been modified to foster lymphopoiesis retain an immunophenotype that closely recapitulates cells in fresh bone marrow harvests. The 3D culture system has been found to be capable of supporting long-lived (8 weeks) populations of B and T lymphocytes from peripheral lymphoid organs, in the absence of activation signals, to an extent not achievable by conventional culture techniques. Interestingly, it has been found that 3D-culture B cells display a phenotype that has characteristics of both B1a and B2 cells. These promising preliminary observations suggest that the 3D culture system could be used with success in the study of peripheral-B-lymphocyte biology and in the development of biotechnological techniques and processes.

Wu, J. H. David↗

NASA NTRS2011

Method for Impeding Degradation of Porous Silicon Structures

This invention relates to surface modification of porosified silicon (pSi) structures with poly(alkylene) glycols for the purpose of controlled degradation of the silicon matrix and tailored release of encapsulated substances for biomedical applications. The pSi structures are currently used in diverse biomedical applications including bio-molecular screening, optical bio-sensoring, and drug delivery by means of injectable/orally administered carriers and implantable devices. The size of the pores and the surface chemistry of the pSi structure can be controlled during the microfabrication process and thereafter. A fine regulation of the degradation kinetics of mesoporous silicon structures is of fundamental importance. Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) represent the major category of surface modifying agents used in classical drug delivery systems and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. PEGylation enables avoidance of RES uptake, thus prolonging circulation time of intravenously injectable nanovectors. PEG molecules demonstrate little toxicity and immunogenicity, and are cleared from the body through the urine (molecular weight, MW less than 30 kDa) or in the feces (MW greater than 30kDa). The invention focuses on the possibility of finely tuning the degradation kinetics of the pSi nanovectors and other structures through surface conjugation of PEGs with various backbone lengths/MWs. To prove the concept, pSi nanovectors were covalently conjugated to seven PEGs with MW from 245 to 5,000 Da and their degradation kinetics in physiologically relevant media (phosphate buffer saline, PBS pH7.4, and fetal bovine serum) was assessed by the elemental analysis of the Si using inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The conjugation of the PEG with lowest MW to the nanovectors surface did not induce any change in the degradation kinetics in serum, but inhibited degradation and consequently the release of orthosilicic acid into buffer. When PEGs with the longer chains were evaluated, Si mass loss from the nanovectors was slowed down, and the PEGylated structures were almost fully degraded within 18 24 hours in serum and within 48 hours in PBS. The most dramatic effect was observed for high MW PEGs 3,400 and 5,000 Da, which prominently inhibited the degradation of the systems, with complete degradation achieved only after four days. For these PEGs, during the early stages of the degradation, there was a lag period of little or no Si mass loss from the nanovector. The obtained profiles were in agreement with the erosion of the nanovector surface as observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Vilentchouk, Biana Godin↗