Separation of Bioactive Small Molecules, Peptides from Natural Sources and Proteins from Microbes by Preparative Isoelectric Focusing (IEF) Method

Summary

The objective is to fractionate and isolate bioactive small molecules, peptides from a complex plant extract, and proteins from pathogenic microbes by employing liquid-phase isoelectric focusing (IEF) method. Further, the separated molecules were identified and their bioactivity confirmed.

Abstract

Natural products derived from plants and microbes are a rich source of bioactive molecules. Prior to their use, the active molecules from complex extracts must be purified for downstream applications. There are various chromatographic methods available for this purpose yet not all labs can afford high performance methods and isolation from complex biological samples can be difficult. Here we demonstrate that preparative liquid-phase isoelectric focusing (IEF) can separate molecules, including small molecules and peptides from complex plant extracts, based on their isoelectric points (pI). We have used the method for complex biological sample fractionation and characterization. As a proof of concept, we fractionated a Gymnema sylvestre plant extract, isolating a family of terpenoid saponin small molecules and a peptide. We also demonstrated effective microbial protein separation using the Candida albicans fungus as a model system.

Introduction

The purification of biomolecules from complex biological samples is an essential and often difficult step in biological experiments¹. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) is well-suited for high resolution separation of complex biomolecules where carrier ampholytes travel according to their charge and establish the pH gradient in an electric field³. The first commercial carrier ampholyte for IEF was developed by Olof Vesterberg in 1964 and patented^4,5. Carrier ampholytes are aliphatic oligo-amino oligo-carboxylic acid molecules of varying length and branching

Protocol

1. Setup and prerunning of standard liquid-phase IEF unit

1. Assemble the liquid-phase IEF electrodes (anode-red button and cathode-black button) with their respective exchange membranes according to the instruction manual (see Table of Materials). Equilibrate the anion exchange membranes with 0.1 M NaOH and the cation exchange membranes with 0.1 M H₃PO₄ at least for 16 h when new membranes are used.
   1. Store the membranes in electrolytes (0.1 M NaOH or 0.1 M H₃PO₄) between runs and do not allow to dry out.
2. Assemble the inner and outer portion of the electrode by ali....

Results

Separation and purification of small molecules and peptides from Gymnema sylvestre plant extract
Using the preparative liquid-phase IEF method, we fractionated medicinal plant extracts and cell surface proteins from a human pathogenic fungus, C. albicans. A schematic of these fractionation protocols is shown in Figure 1.

From 20 fractions of G. sylvestre extract obtained from liquid-phase IEF, the dark-colored mole.......

Discussion

Small molecules from natural product sources (e.g., plants) include complex secondary metabolites that are highly diverse in chemical structure. They are believed to be involved in plant defense mechanisms. In addition, polypeptides are also present in plant tissues²². These natural product small molecules are rich sources of test molecules for drug discovery and development. However, the difficult and tedious methods required for their isolation and purification limit their use for therapeutic ap.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.45 µm syringe filter	Fisher scientfic	09-720-004
2-Mercaptoethanol	Sigma	M3148
Ammonium carbonate	Sigma-Aldrich	207861-500
Bio-Lyte 3/10 Ampholyte	Bio-Rad	163-1113
Bio-Lyte 5/8 Ampholyte	Bio-Rad	163-1192
Compact low temperature thermostat	Lauda -Brinkmann	RM 6T	Set water cooling to 4 oC and it can be run even at 0 oC as when it passes through the Rotofor cooling core, the circulating water temperature will be around 5 or more depending on the voltage.
Coomassie Brilliant Blue R	Sigma-Aldrich	B7920
Dialysis tubing (3,500 MWCO)	Spectrum Spectra/Por	132112T
Gymnema plant leaf extract powder (>25% Gymnemic acids)	Suan Farma, NJ USA
Incubator	Lab companion	SI 300R
Microscope	Leica	DM 6B
Mini protean electrophoresis	Bio-Rad
pH meter	Mettler Toledo	S20	Useful to determine the pH of the Rotofor (liquid-phase IEF) fractions
Rotofor	Bio-Rad	170-2972	http://www.bio-rad.com/webroot/web/pdf/lsr/literature/M1702950E.pdf (Rotofor Instruction manual for assembling the unit)
RPMI-1640 Medium	HyClone	DH30255.01
Sealing tape	Bio-Rad	170-2960	Scotch tape may also be used.
Sorvall legend micro 17 centrifuge	Thermo scientific	75002432
TPP tissue culture plate -96 well flat bottom	TPP	TP92696