• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.67-70
• /
• 1998

In order to understand the influence of ferroxidase center on the protein assembly and solubility of tadpole ferrin, three mutant plasmids, pTH58K, pTH61G, and pTHKG were constructed with the aid of site-directed mutagenesis and mutant proteins were produced in Eshcerichia coli. Mutant ferritin H-subunits produced by the cells carrying plasmids pTH58K and pTHKG were active soluble proteins, whereas the mutant obtained from the plasmid pTH61G was soluble only under osmotic stress in the presence obtained from the plasmid pTH61G was soluble only under osmotic stress in the presence of sorbitol and betaine. Especially, the cells carrying pTH61G together with the plasmid pGroESL harboring the molecular chaperone genes produced soluble ferritin. The mutant ferritin H-subunits were all assembled into ferritin-like holoproteins. These mutant ferritns were capable of forming stable iron cores, which means the mutants are able to accumulate iron with such modified ferroxidase sites. Further functional analysis was also made on the individual amino acid residues of ferroxidase center.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.68-73
• /
• 2004

Ferritin is an iron storage protein found in most living organisms. For expression and industrial use, human light chain ferritin (L-ferritin) was cloned from human liver cDNA library and expressed in Pichia pastoris strain GS115. The recombinant L-ferritin in Pichia pastoris was glycosylated. In a fed-batch culture, the cell mass reached about 57 g/l of dry cell weight, and the L-ferritin in the cell was increased to about 95 mg/l after 150 h. In an atomic absorption spectrometry analysis, the intracellular content of iron in the L-ferritin transformant was measured as $1,694{\pm}85\;\mu\textrm{g}g/g$, which is 5.4-fold more than that of the control strain. This L-ferritin transformant could serve as iron-fortified nutrients in animal feed stock.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.225-229
• /
• 2013

Methylglyoxal (MG) is an endogenous metabolite which is present in increased concentrations in diabetics and reacts with amino acids to form advanced glycation end products. In this study, we investigated whether ferritin enhances DNA cleavage by the reaction of MG with lysine. When plasmid DNA was incubated with MG and lysine in the presence of ferritin, DNA strand breakage was increased in a dose-dependent manner. The ferritin/MG/lysine system-mediated DNA cleavage was significantly inhibited by reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers. These results indicated that ROS might participate in the ferritin/MG/lysine system-mediated DNA cleavage. Incubation of ferritin with MG and lysine resulted in a time-dependent release of iron ions from the protein molecules. Our data suggest that DNA cleavage caused by the ferritin/MG/lysine system via the generation of ROS by the Fenton-like reaction of free iron ions released from oxidatively damaged ferritin.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.323-329
• /
• 1999

Synthesis of inorganic nanophase particles was performed to verify and understand the binding of non-ferrous metal ions including Al and $UO_2$ to the apoferritin molecules. Reconstituted inorganic particles of Al or $UO_2$ were identified by TEM as discrete electron dense cores encapsulated within the protein shell. The corresponding EDXA spectra confirm the presence of metal ions in the reconstituted ferritin. The Al cores of ferritin has been studied by TEM for the first time. Bimetallic cores with Al/Fe and $UO_2/Al$ were also produced and examined under TEM. Mixed metal cores encapsulated in the protein shell are well formed and its corresponding EDXA spectra also confirm the presence of metal ions in the mineral cores. Therefore, the present study proves that ferritin can be used to synthesize inorganic nanophase particles of Al and $UO_2$.

• KSBB Journal
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.365-369
• /
• 2002

An iron-storage protein, ferritin is a spherical shell consisting of 24 H-and L-chain subunits. Soluble form of fused($F_{H}+F_{L}$ chain) ferritin was separated from disrupted recombinant E. coii cells, followed by silica powder adsorption. Ferritin was recovered from silica-poweder by distilled water, which was applied to gel filtration chromatography(GFC). Collected ferritin fractions from the GFC were assayed via iron-uptake and its molecular weight determined using GF-HPLC. Fused ferritin showed a higher activity than the M- or L- chain ferritin by two times.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.926-932
• /
• 2008

Human heavy chain (H-) and light chain (L-) ferritins were amplified from a human cDNA library. Each ferritin gene was inserted downstream of the T7 promoter of bacterial expression vectors, and two types of coexpression vectors were constructed. The expression levels of recombinant ferritins ranged about 26-36% of whole-cell protein. H-ferritin exhibited a lower expression ratio compared with L-ferritin, by a coexpression system. However, the coexpression of HL-ferritins was significantly increased above the expression ratio of H-ferritin by cultivation without IPTG induction overnight. Purified recombinant H-, L-, HL-, and LH-ferritins were shown to be homo- and heteropolymeric high molecular complexes and it was indicated that their assembled subunits would be able to work functionally in the cell. Thus, these results indicate an improvement in the expression strategy of H-ferritin for heteropolymeric production and studies of ferritin assembly in Escherichia coli.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.187-191
• /
• 2006

Serum ferritin levels are increased in subjects at-risk for or with acute lung injury (ALI), and there are observations to suggest that increases in serum ferritin levels may help predict the development of ALI in at-risk individuals. To deepen our understanding of increases of serum ferritin and their relationship to the development of ALI, we measured serum ferritin levels before and after intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats, and found that serum ferritin levels increased significantly following I/R. Increases in serum and lavage ferritin levels paralleled increases in lung inflammation (lavage leukocyte numbers and tissue myeloperoxidase activities) and lung leak (lavage protein levels). In contrast, pre-treatment of rats with mepacrine (60 mg/kg, i.p.), a phospholipase $A_2$ inhibitor, attenuated not only I/R-induced serum and lavage ferritin increases, but also the development of ALI. These findings indicate that, besides of human subjects with ALI, serum ferritin levels increase early on also in an animal model of ALI. Therefore, serum and lavage ferritin can be a candidate for early biomarker of ALI.

• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.4
• /
• pp.117-125
• /
• 2015

Iron is required for cell viability but is toxic in excess. While the iron-mediated malfunction of testicular cells is well appreciated, the underlying mechanism(s) of this effect and its relationship with fertility are poorly understood. Ferritin is a ubiquitous intracellular protein that controls iron storage, ferroxidase activity, immune response, and stress response in cells. Ferritin light chain protein (FTL) is the light subunit of the Ferritin. Previously, we had identified the FTL in bovine spermatozoa following capacitation. In present study, to investigate the role of Ferritin in sperm function, mice spermatozoa were incubated with multiple doses (1, 10 and $100{\mu}M$) of sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an iron donor. SNP was increased Ferritin levels in a dose-dependent manner. The Ferritin was detected on the acrosome in spermatozoa by immunocytochemistry. Short-term exposure of spermatozoa to SNP increased tyrosine phosphorylation and the acrosome reaction (AR). Finally, SNP affected a significant decrease in the rate of fertilization as well as blastocyst formation during early embryonic development. On the basis of these results, we propose that the effects of Ferritin on the AR may reduce overall sperm function leads to poor fertility in males and compromised embryonic development.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.33 no.3 s.130
• /
• pp.257-261
• /
• 2002

Each ferritin molecule consists of light subunit 19,000 dalton and heavy subunit 22,000 dalton. Twenty-four protein subunit about $440,000{\sim}500,000$ dalton apoferritin which contained $20{\sim}30%$ Fe as ferric hydroxyphosphate polymer form. Horse spleen-derived ferritin consists of 90% light subunit. These genetic characteristics of ferritin preparations were able to determine by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, but these ferritin preparations contained other components to be disturbed during refining, extraction and making finish products and have difficulties in deciding to be just. So, this study was performed to establish the scientific method for determine the quality of ferritin preparations with immunodiffusion methods which has high specificity between heterogeneous proteins.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.181-187
• /
• 2009

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is one of common causes of acute lung injury (ALI). Early and accurate diagnosis of patients who are like to develop serious acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) would give a therapeutic advantage. Ferritin and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) are increased by oxidative stress and are potential candidates as a predictive biomarker of ARDS. However, the mechanisms responsible for the increases of ferritin and HO-1, and their relationship to ALI, are unclear. In order to elucidate the interactions between ferritin and HO-1, we studied the changes in ferritin and HO-1 levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid after intestinal I/R injury in rats. Leukocyte number and protein contents in BAL fluid were elevated following I/R, and the increases were attenuated by mepacrine pretreatment. Both serum ferritin and HO-1 concentrations were progressively elevated throughout the 3 h observation period. Mepacrine pretreatment attenuated the increase of serum and BAL fluid ferritin concentrations, but did not suppress the increase of serum HO-1. Moreover, BAL fluid HO-1 levels did not change after I/R or after mepacrine pretreated I/R compared with sham rats. Unlike ferritin, HO-1 levels are not exactly matched with the ALI. Therefore, there might be a different mechanism between the changes of ferritin and HO-1 in intestinal I/R-induced ALI model.