DOPA Content Research Articles

Direct and Efficient Incorporation of DOPA into Resilin-Like Proteins Enables Cross-Linking into Tunable Hydrogels.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), a naturally occurring yet noncanonical amino acid, endows protein polymers with diverse chemical reactivities and novel functionalities. Although many efforts have been made to incorporate DOPA into proteins, the incorporation efficiency and production titer remain low and severely hinder the exploration of these peculiar proteins for biomaterial fabrication. Here, we report an efficient biosynthetic strategy to produce large amounts of DOPA-incorporated structural proteins for the fabrication of hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. First, synthetic genes were constructed that encode repetitive resilin-like proteins (RLPs) with varying proportions of tyrosine residues and molecular weights (Mw). Decoding of these genes into RLPs incorporated with DOPA was achieved via mis-aminoacylation of DOPA by endogenous tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) in recombinant Escherichia coli cells. By developing a stoichiometry-guided two-phase culture strategy, we achieved independent control of the bacterial growth and protein synthesis phases. This enabled hyperproduction of the DOPA-incorporated RLPs at gram-per-liter levels and with a high DOPA incorporation yield of 76-85%. The purified DOPA-containing RLPs were then successfully cross-linked into bulk hydrogels via facile DOPA-Fe3+ complexations. Interestingly, these hydrogels exhibited viscoelastic and self-healing properties that are highly dependent on the catechol content and Mw of the RLPs. Finally, exploration of the molecular cross-linking mechanisms revealed that higher DOPA contents of the proteins would result in the concomitant occurrence of metal coordination and oxidative covalent cross-linking. In summary, our results suggest a useful platform to generate DOPA-functionalized protein materials and provide deeper insights into the gelation systems based on DOPA chemistry.

Injectable pH-responsive adhesive hydrogels for bone tissue engineering inspired by the underwater attachment strategy of marine mussels

A major challenge in tissue engineering is the development of alternatives to traditional bone autografts and allografts that can regenerate critical-sized bone defects. Here we present the design of injectable pH-responsive double-crosslinked adhesive hydrogels inspired by the molecular mechanism and environmental post-processing of marine mussel adhesive. Nine adhesive hydrogel formulations were developed through the conjugation of crosslinkable catechol functional groups (DOPA) and the synthetic oligomer oligo[poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate] (OPF), varying the DOPA content (w/w%) and molecular weight (MW) of the OPF backbone to produce formulations with a range of swelling ratios, porosities, and crosslink densities. DOPA incorporation altered the surface chemistry, mechanical properties, and surface topography of hydrogels, resulting in an increase in material stiffness, slower degradation, and enhanced pre-osteoblast cell attachment and proliferation. When injected within simulated bone defects, DOPA-mediated interfacial adhesive interactions also prevented the displacement of scaffolds, an effect that was maintained even after swelling within physiological conditions. Taken together, OPF-DOPA hydrogels represent a promising new material to enhanced tissue integration and the prevention of the post-implantation migration of scaffolds that can occur due to biomechanical loading in vivo.

Comparative analysis of mussel foot protein 3B co-expressed with tyrosinases provides a potential adhesive biomaterial

Mussel foot proteins (Mfps), which help mussels attach to various surfaces, are considered to be promising biomaterials due to their outstanding adhesive properties. However, limited production and lack of post-translational modifications of tyrosine residues into 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) in bacterial expression systems have hampered their applications. In the present study, for the first time we established the expression of recombinant Mytilus galloprovincialis foot protein type 3 variant B (fp-3B) in Escherichia coli; and achieved its viable production (~51 mg/L). Additionally, the Dopa content and adhesive properties of fp-3B co-expressed using various types of tyrosinases were compared. Consequently, the co-expression of fp-3B construct together with tyrosinase from Verrucomicrobium spinosum (TyrVs) yielded up to 87 mg/L of modified fp-3B; hydroxylation of tyrosine residues accounted for 57.18% by acid-borate difference spectroscopy. The modified fp-3B also showed significant coating and adhesive ability, and its bulk-scale adhesive strength was 2.9-fold higher than that of unmodified fp-3B. Compared with other type 3 mussel foot proteins, the high-yield expression and extensive hydroxylation level of the recombinant protein indicate that fp-3B co-expressed with TyrVs (3B-Vs) has the potential to be widely used as bioglues.

Exploring the Mesoscopic Morphology in Mussel Adhesive Proteins by Soft X-ray Spectromicroscopy.

Marine mussels efficiently adhere under wet conditions by precisely controlling the hierarchical structure of the adhesive plaque through sequential mussel foot protein secretion in the foot-tip cavity. Chemical analysis of the non-uniform mussel plaque morphology has been performed using spectromicroscopy; however, the mesoscopic morphology has not been elucidated yet because of the limited spatial resolution of conventional chemical imaging techniques. We investigated the chemical speciation in the non-uniform mussel plaque morphology employing scanning transmission soft X-ray spectromicroscopy (STXM). The high-spatial-resolution STXM chemical imaging with C 1s near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure yields the distribution of the hydroxy-substituted aromatic residues in the sub-micron scale non-uniform mussel plaque morphology. The matrix consists of a high-protein-density cured product containing a large number of hydroxy-substituted aromatic carbons, including tyrosine and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa), whereas the microdomains are poor-protein-density regions with a low aromatic residue relative content. The adhesive interface was covered with the matrix phase to ensure adhesion. The cuticle layer involves a moderate Dopa content, which appears to be optimized for the mechanical performance of the skin.

Inter- and intramolecular adhesion mechanisms of mussel foot proteins

Mussel foot proteins (Mfps) secreted in the byssal plaque of marine mussels are widely researched for their relevance to mussel adhesion in water. As the abundant residue in the amino acid sequences of major adhesive proteins, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) or its catecholic moiety plays a key role in both Mfp binding to surface and cohesive cross-linking of Mfps in byssal plaques. The binding performance of an Mfp significantly depends on the content and redox state of Dopa, whereas the types of interaction vary in line with different surface chemistries and pH conditions. Thorough understanding of mussel adhesion from a molecular perspective is crucial to promote the application of synthetic mussel-bionic adhesives. This article presents a brief review of the research progress on the adhesion mechanisms of Mfps, which further emphasizes the contributions of Dopa-mediated interactions and considers other amino acids and factors. The involved inter- and intramolecular interactions are responsible for not only the diverse adhesion capacities of an adhesive byssal plaque as mussel’s adhesion precursor but also the formation and properties of the plaque structure.

Application of Chitosan and DOPO derivatives in fire protection of polyamide 66 textiles: Towards a combined gas phase and condensed phase activity

A DOPO-based phosphorus compound (DOPA) was synthesized and applied onto the pure and chitosan (CS) modified polyamide 66 (PA66) fabric surfaces via a simple pad-dry-cure method to improve the flame retardant properties of the same. The pure and chitosan modified fabric samples treated with DOPA at different content % degraded in a different way as the char residue formation and releasing of volatile and non-volatile gas species were dissimilar which were evident from the thermogravimatric and thermogravimetric-gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (TG-GC-MS) test analysis. Obtained results also showed that no dripping occurred in the vertical burning test and a sharp increase in limiting oxygen index (LOI) values was noticed for all the treated fabric samples. CS modified PA66 fabric sample treated with a 10 wt % of DOPA exhibited a greater reduction in pHRR by 40% and showed superior flame retardant performance compared to the only DOPA treated pure fabric sample. The superb flame retardant properties of CS modified fabrics were due to the co-presence of DOPA and CS; where a synchronized gas phase and a condensed phase flame retardant mechanism was realized as DOPA showed a quenching effect in a gas phase mechanism and simultaneously, catalyzed the charring of CS in a condensed phase activity which was also justified from the TG-GC-MS analysis, TGA and FTIR analysis of char residues. However, this kind of facile application showed poor wash durability and deteriorated the physical properties of the fabric materials specifically treated with a higher DOPA content.

Study on the 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine Redox State Characterization Method of Mussel Adhesive Protein

To investigate the feasibility of using liquid chromatography (HPLC) to characterize the 3, 4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) redox state of mussel adhesive protein (MAP). The DOPA and protein contents of MAP were determined by HPLC, Arnow and Bradford methods respectively. With extended oxidation time, the protein contents of MAP samples remained unchanged whereas the DOPA contents declined. The retention times of main peaks in HPLC for both the accelerated oxidation and retained samples shifted as the storage time extended, which could be related to the changes of sample redox state. The redox state of MAP can be characterized by the change of HPLC peak retention time. HPLC can be used in the research on the MAP redox state, which is beneficial to the product development and quality control.

Siderophores and mussel foot proteins: the role of catechol, cations, and metal coordination in surface adhesion.

Metal coordination, hydrogen bonding, redox reactions, and covalent crosslinking are seemingly disparate chemical and physicochemical processes that are all accomplished in natural materials by the catechol functional group. This review focuses on the reactivity of catechols in tris-2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-containing microbial siderophores and synthetic analogs, as well as Dopa-(3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine)-containing mussel foot proteins that adhere to surfaces in aqueous conditions. Mussel foot proteins with a high content of Dopa and cationic amino acids, Lys and Arg, adhere strongly to mica, an aluminosilicate mineral, in aqueous conditions. The siderophore cyclic trichrysobactin, tris-(2,3-dihydroxybenzoyl-D-Lys-L-Ser) and related synthetic analogs in which the tri-Ser macrolactone is replaced by Tren, tris-(2-aminoethyl)amine, also adheres strongly to mica. Variation in the nature of the catechol and cationic groups in synthetic analogs reveals a synergism between the cationic amino acid and the catechol, required for strong aqueous adhesion. Autoxidation and iron(III)-catalyzed oxidation of 2,3-dihydroxy and 3,4-dihydroxy catechols are also considered. These siderophore analogs provide a platform to understand catechol interactions and reactivity on surfaces, which may ultimately improve the design of synthetic materials that address diverse challenges in medicine, materials science, as well as other disciplines, in which surface adhesion in aqueous conditions is important.

Monosialotetrahexosylganglioside protect cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury through upregulating the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase by inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

To explore the new mechanism of neuroprtection of monosialotetrahexosylganglioside and providing reliable theoretical foundation and experimental evidence for the emergency treatment and rehabilitation of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. A rat model of cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury was constructed and intervened with monosialotetrahexosylganglioside(5mg/kg) and lipid peroxidation inhibitor U-101033E(40mg/kg). TTC straining and neurobiological function score were used to evaluate brain injury. 4-HNE and MDA content were measured to evaluate lipid peroxidation. The expression of tyrosine hydroxilase at both mRNA and protein levels and enzyme activity were determined to evaluate the gene disfunction. Tyrosine content in brain and in serum and the DOPA content in plasma were measured to evaluate the metabolism of tyrosine. As the study shown, cerebral ischemia/reperfusion lead to brain infarction and neurobiological function losing accompany with upregulation of 4-HNE and MDA levels and downregulation of TH expression (mRNA and protein) and decreased enzyme activity. The results above mentioned can be reversed obviously by intervening with monosialotetrahexosylganglioside and lipid peroxidation inhibitor U-101033E. Toxic aldehyde accumulation leaded to disfunction of tyrosine hydroxylase and excessive tyrosine and decreased synthesis of catecholamine neurotransmitter such as dopamine and accelerated neuron cell injury. Both monosialotetrahexosylganglioside and U-101033E presented neuroprotecion by restoring the tyrosine/dopa pathway through reversing the function of tyrosine hydroxylase by inhibiting lipid peroxidation.

Switch of Surface Adhesion to Cohesion by Dopa-Fe3+ Complexation, in Response to Microenvironment at the Mussel Plaque/Substrate Interface

Although Dopa-Fe3+ complexation is known to play an important role in mussel adhesion for providing mechanical properties, its function at the plaque/substrate interface, where actual surface adhesion occurs, remains unknown, with regard to interfacial mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) type 3 fast variant (fp-3F) and type 5 (fp-5). Here, we confirmed Dopa-Fe3+ complexation of interfacial MAPs and investigated the effects of Dopa-Fe3+ complexation regarding both surface adhesion and cohesion. The force measurements using surface forces apparatus (SFA) analysis showed that intrinsic strong surface adhesion at low pH, which is similar to the local acidified environment present during the secretion of adhesive proteins, vanishes by Dopa-Fe3+ complexation and alternatively, strong cohesion is generated in higher pH conditions similar to seawater. A high Dopa content increased the capacity for both surface adhesion and cohesion, but not at the same time. In contrast, a lack of Dopa resulted in both weak surface a...

In vitro observation of haemolymph melanization and melanin-related biosynthesis enzyme genes in silkworm, Bombyx mori

The observation statistics suggested that the haemolymph melanization speed of larvae became fast and the growth inhibition of Escherichia coli was strong as the quantities of feeding on mulberry leaves increased. The RT-PCR result showed that the mRNA expressions of melanin biosynthesis enzyme BmTan, BmPo-1, BmYellow-f and BmDdc were high in the haemolyph of 5 L 3 d larvae. The qPCR analysis showed Bmtan, Bmddc, Bmyellow, Bmebony and Bmblack, especially Bmddc expression were significantly higher in black disease larvae than in normal larvae. Compared with control, Ddc inhibitors drastically inhibited the lipopolysaccharide-induced haemolymph melanization. In addition, the content of Dopa and Dopamine markedly rose after E. coli injection. These indicated that haemolymph melanization was linked to immune defenses and Bmddc may play a role in melanization response of haemolymph immune in silkworm.

The staying power of adhesion-associated antioxidant activity in Mytilus californianus.

The California mussel, Mytilus californianus, adheres in the highly oxidizing intertidal zone with a fibrous holdfast called the byssus using 3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl-l-alanine (DOPA)-containing adhesive proteins. DOPA is susceptible to oxidation in seawater and, upon oxidation, loses adhesion. Successful mussel adhesion thus depends critically on controlling oxidation and reduction. To explore how mussels regulate redox during their functional adhesive lifetime, we tracked extractable protein concentration, DOPA content and antioxidant activity in byssal plaques over time. In seawater, DOPA content and antioxidant activity in the byssus persisted much longer than expected-50% of extractable DOPA and 30% of extractable antioxidant activity remained after 20 days. Antioxidant activity was located at the plaque-substrate interface, demonstrating that antioxidant activity keeps DOPA reduced for durable and dynamic adhesion. We also correlated antioxidant activity to cysteine and DOPA side chains of mussel foot proteins (mfps), suggesting that mussels use both cysteine and DOPA redox reservoirs for controlling interfacial chemistry. These data are discussed in the context of the biomaterial structure and properties of the marine mussel byssus.

In vivo residue-specific dopa-incorporated engineered mussel bioglue with enhanced adhesion and water resistance.

Misaminoacylation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) molecules to tRNA(Tyr) by endogenous tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase allowed the quantitative replacement of tyrosine residues with a yield of over 90 % by an in vivo residue-specific incorporation strategy, to create, for the first time, engineered mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) in Escherichia coli with a very high Dopa content, close to that of natural MAPs. The Dopa-incorporated MAPs exhibited a superior surface adhesion and water resistance ability by assistance of Dopa-mediated interactions including the oxidative Dopa cross-linking, and furthermore, showed underwater adhesive properties comparable to those of natural MAPs. These results propose promising use of Dopa-incorporated engineered MAPs as bioglues or adhesive hydrogels for practical underwater applications.

In Vivo Residue‐Specific Dopa‐Incorporated Engineered Mussel Bioglue with Enhanced Adhesion and Water Resistance

AbstractMisaminoacylation of 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) molecules to tRNATyr by endogenous tyrosyl‐tRNA synthetase allowed the quantitative replacement of tyrosine residues with a yield of over 90 % by an in vivo residue‐specific incorporation strategy, to create, for the first time, engineered mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs) in Escherichia coli with a very high Dopa content, close to that of natural MAPs. The Dopa‐incorporated MAPs exhibited a superior surface adhesion and water resistance ability by assistance of Dopa‐mediated interactions including the oxidative Dopa cross‐linking, and furthermore, showed underwater adhesive properties comparable to those of natural MAPs. These results propose promising use of Dopa‐incorporated engineered MAPs as bioglues or adhesive hydrogels for practical underwater applications.

Single Molecule Evidence for the Adaptive Binding of DOPA to Different Wet Surfaces

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) is the noncanonical amino acid widely found in mussel holdfast proteins, which is proposed to be responsible for their strong wet adhesion. This feature has also inspired the successful development of a range of DOPA-containing synthetic polymers for wet adhesions and surface coating. Despite the increasing applications of DOPA in material science, the underlying mechanism of DOPA-wet surface interactions remains unclear. In this work, we studied DOPA-surface interactions one bond at a time using atomic force microscope (AFM) based single molecule force spectroscopy. With our recently developed "multiple fishhook" protocol, we were able to perform high-throughput quantification of the binding strength of DOPA to various types of surfaces for the first time. We found that the dissociation forces between DOPA and nine different types of organic and inorganic surfaces are all in the range of 60-90 pN at a pulling speed of 1000 nm s(-1), suggesting the strong and versatile binding capability of DOPA to different types of surfaces. Moreover, by constructing the free energy landscape for the rupture events, we revealed several distinct binding modes between DOPA and different surfaces, which are directly related to the chemistry nature of the surfaces. These results explain the molecular origin of the versatile binding ability of DOPA. Moreover, we could quantitatively predict the relationship between DOPA contents and the binding strength based on the measured rupture kinetics. These serve as the bases for the quantitative prediction of the relationship between DOPA contents and adhesion strength to different wet surfaces, which is important for the design of novel DOPA based materials.

Preliminary Purification and Characterization of Adhesive Proteins from Freshwater Mussels

In this study, freshwater mussel adhesive proteins (FMAPs) were extracted by different solvents and preliminarily purified using differential precipitation with ammonium sulphate and acetone. FMAPs extracted by the fourth method (M4) were further purified by twice column chromatography and characterized in terms of isoelectric point, gel electrophoresis, and amino acid composition. Results showed that 50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5) solution containing 1 M NaCl exhibited better extraction efficiency for FMAPs. The purity of FMAPs got further enrichment after column chromatography, and two purified FMAPs fraction I and fraction II with hydroxyl amino acid of higher content (>43.3%) were obtained. Amino acid analysis demonstrated that DOPA contents in fraction I and fraction II were 13.04% and 12.02%, respectively. The isoelectric point of FMAPs was close to pH 9.5.

Marine mussel adhesion: biochemistry, mechanisms, and biomimetics

Common blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) is a sessile organism that has unique ability to attach to a wide array of organic and inorganic marine surfaces using its holdfast structures. Strong adhesion to surfaces is essential for mussel survival, movement, and self-defense. Mussel proteins from byssal thread are structural components connecting soft mussel tissues to marine surfaces via an adhesive plaque in the distal end, while adhesive proteins from byssal plaque are responsible for mussel adhesion. Adhesive proteins are small molecules containing a high proportion of post-translationally modified amino acids such as 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA). High DOPA content, small molecular size, protein flexibility, the presence of metal ions, and a high oxidation state enable strong mussel adhesion to surfaces. Mussel adhesion mechanisms depend on the composition and interactions of mussel proteins, as well as their interactions with the environment. Difficulties in the extraction of mussel adhesion proteins hamper mechanism studies and their practical applications. Development of recombinant mussel proteins and biomimetics will advance our understanding of adhesion mechanisms. In this paper, recent advances in the characterization of mussel adhesive proteins (MAPs), mussel adhesion mechanisms, application of MAPs, and the development of biomimetic biopolymers are reviewed.

Adsorption studies of mussel-inspired peptides

A decapeptide sequence derived from the blue mussel protein (mefp 1) was modified in order to study the effect of the sequence length and the content of the amino acid 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) on the peptides adsorption properties. These modifications involved varying DOPA content (n = 0; 1; 2; 4) and varying peptide sequence repetition number (x = 1; 2). The adsorption properties of these peptides were determined by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements on TiO2 and SiO2 substrates and diametrically opposed trends were observed. A key aspect of the work was to study the effect of oxidation of DOPA-containing peptides on the adsorption. This effect was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy on TiO2 substrates and augmented the QCM measurements. The results presented here provide information about the interplay between size and the DOPA content of the peptide. The results for titanium showed an increase in adsorption for a higher DOPA content, while the effect was more distinct for the shorter peptides. On the basis of these observations, possible explanations are given for the sequence length differences and the variation of the DOPA groups within mussel proteins.

Purification, cDNA Clone and Recombinant Expression of Foot Protein-3 from Mytilus coruscus

Mussels Mytilus coruscus can adhere to various solid surface in the presence of moisture. Mussel foot protein-3 (mfp-3) has been suggested as the main adhesive protein in the plaques closest to the adhesion interface and been the focus of substantial biomaterials development research within the last decade. The byssal plaques of M. coruscus were accumulated and variants of a family known as mcofp3 (Mytilus coruscus foot protein 3) were purified from acetic acid/urea extracts of plaques, with their N-terminal sequences determined thereafter. The cDNA sequence coding for the mcofp3 precursor was obtained from M. coruscus foot cDNA library. These precursors contain a putative signal peptide of 24 residues, a mature peptide sequence of 41-56 amino acids rich in Tyr, Gly, Pro, and Asn. The recombinant mcofp3 fused with a hexa-histidine affinity ligand was successfully expressed through an Escherichia coli expression system, and the recombinant mcofp3 was purified using affinity chromatography followed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The DOPA content and adhesive properties of purified recombinant mcofp3 with or without tyrosinase modification were compared with the native mcofp3. These assays showed that recombinant mcofp3 has significant adhesive ability and may be useful as a bioadhesive in medical or underwater environments.

Differential Influence of DOPG and DOPA Anionic Phospholipids on Single Channel Conductance of KcsA

Binding of anionic phospholipids to non-annular binding site of KcsA has been shown with crystallographic and biochemical methods. To gain insight into the functional importance of these specific protein-lipid interactions we studied the single channel properties of KcsA in planar lipid bilayer by varying the anionic phospholipid content of the membrane. Phospholipids with identical acyl chains and equivalent headgroup charges have been chosen for this purpose. Single channel properties of KcsA were unchanged, when the content of anionic phospholipids was kept below 30% in planar lipid bilayers formed from DOPC neutral phospholipid as remainder component. Upon gradual increase of membrane DOPG content up to 100%, a significant increase in single channel conductance was observed only at positive potentials (from 82,2±1,4 pS to 116,3±0,7 pS at +100mV in symmetrical 150 mM KCl solution). Surprisingly, equimolar increase of DOPA content of the membrane had no influence on single channel conductance of KscA. Differential influence of DOPG and DOPA phospholipids was preserved at varying K+ concentrations of recording solutions ranging from 50 to 250 mM. Using KcsA-Kv1.3 chimera we could show that the stretch of amino acids between E51 and A65 in KcsA was responsible for differential sensitivity of KcsA for DOPA and DOPG. Taken together, our data show that the structure of the phospholipid headgroup is important for phospholipid-specific modulation of single channel conductance in KcsA.