Open AccessOptimized Triton X-114 assisted lipopolysaccharide (LPS) removal method reveals the immunomodulatory effect of food proteins
Author(s) -
Małgorzata Teodorowicz,
Olaf Perdijk,
Iris Verhoek,
Coen Govers,
H.F.J. Savelkoul,
Yongfu Tang,
Harry J. Wichers,
Kerensa Broersen
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0173778
Subject(s) - lipopolysaccharide , tlr4 , lipopolysaccharide binding protein , hek 293 cells , chemistry , protein purification , extraction (chemistry) , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , biology , chromatography , immunology , receptor , cd14
Scope Investigations into the immunological response of proteins is often masked by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contamination. We report an optimized Triton X-114 (TX-114) based LPS extraction method for β-lactoglobulin (BLG) and soy protein extract suitable for cell-based immunological assays. Methods and results Optimization of an existing TX-114 based phase LPS extraction method resulted in >99% reduction of LPS levels. However, remaining TX-114 was found to interfere with LPS and protein concentration assays and decreased viability of THP-1 macrophages and HEK-Blue 293 cells. Upon screening a range of TX-114 extraction procedures, TX-114-binding beads were found to most effectively lower TX-114 levels without affecting protein structural properties. LPS-purified proteins showed reduced capacity to activate TLR4 compared to non-treated proteins. LPS-purified BLG did not induce secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines from THP-1 macrophages, as non-treated protein did, showing that LPS contamination masks the immunomodulatory effect of BLG. Both HEK293 cells expressing TLR4 and differentiated THP-1 macrophages were shown as a relevant model to screen the protein preparations for biological effects of LPS contamination. Conclusion The reported TX-114 assisted LPS-removal from protein preparations followed by bead based removal of TX-114 allows evaluation of natively folded protein preparations for their immunological potential in cell-based studies.