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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.
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.
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 patented4,5. Carrier ampholytes are aliphatic oligo-amino oligo-carboxylic acid molecules of varying length and branching6. Subsequently, Vesterberg and others improved the carrier ampholytes for their expanded use in separating biomolecules6,7.
Methods to separate biomolecules include agarose and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), isoelectric focusing, capillary electrophoresis, isotachophoresis and other chromatographic techniques (e.g., TLC, FPLC, HPLC)2. Liquid-phase IEF performed in an instrument called a “Rotofor” was invented by Milan Bier8. He pioneered the concept and design of this instrument and contributed extensively to the theory of electrophoretic migration. His team also developed a mathematical model of electrophoretic separation process for computer simulations9.
The liquid-phase IEF apparatus is a horizontally rotating cylindrical cell consisting of a nylon core divided into 20 porous compartments and a circulating water cooling ceramic rod. The porous chambers allow molecules to migrate through the aqueous phase between the electrodes and permit collection of purified samples under vacuum in fractions. This purification system can provide up to 1000-fold purification of a specific molecule in <4 hours. A valuable feature of this instrument is that it can be applied as a first step for purification from a complex mixture or as a final step to achieve purity10. If the molecule of interest is a protein, another advantage is that its native conformation will be maintained during the separation.
The use of liquid-phase IEF has been reported widely for proteins, enzymes and antibody purification6,10,11,12,13,14. Here we describe the use of this approach for separating and purifying small molecules and peptides from the medicinal plant Gymnema sylvestre. This protocol will help researchers concentrate and purify active small molecules from a plant extract for downstream applications at low cost. In addition, we also demonstrate that enrichment of proteins from a complex protein extract from Candida albicans fungus15 in this IEF-based system as a second example.
1. Setup and prerunning of standard liquid-phase IEF unit
2. Separation and purification of small molecules and peptides from Gymnema sylvestre extract
3. Separation and purification of proteins from C. albicans
4. Bioactivity of purified small molecules from plant extract Gymnema sylvestre
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...
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...
The authors would like to declare no competing financial interests.
We are thankful for the funding sources from the Division of Biology and Johnson Cancer Research Center for BRIEF and IRA awards, respectively to GV. We also thank the K-INBRE postdoctoral award to RV. This work was supported in part by the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under grant number P20 GM103418. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences or the National Institutes of Health. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
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 |
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