An antimicrobial substance produced by the Paenibacillus alvei strain AN5 was detected in fermentation broth. Subsequently, cell-free culture supernatant (CFCS) was obtained by medium centrifugation and filtration, and its antimicrobial activity was tested. This showed a broad inhibitory spectrum against both Gram-positive and -negative bacterial strains. The CFCS was then purified and subjected to SDS-PAGE and infrared spectroscopy, which indicated the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial compound. Some de novo sequencing using an automatic Q-TOF premier system determined the amino acid sequence of the purified antimicrobial peptide as Y-S-K-S-L-P-L-S-V-L-N-P (1,316 Da). The novel peptide was designated as peptide AN5-1. Its mode of action was bactericidal, inducing cell lysis in E. coli ATCC 29522 and S. aureus, and non-cell lysis in both S. marcescens and B. cereus ATCC 14579. Peptide AN5-1 displayed stability at a wide range of pH values (2–12) and remained active after exposure to high temperatures (100 °C). It also maintained its antimicrobial activity after incubation with chemicals such as SDS, urea and EDTA.

Tocotrienol, an analogue of vitamin E has been known for its numerous health benefits and anti-cancer effects. Of the four isoforms of tocotrienols, gamma-tocotrienol (γT3) has been frequently reported for their superior anti-tumorigenic activity in both in vitro and in vivo studies, when compared to its counterparts. In this study, the effect of γT3 treatment in the cytoplasmic and nuclear fraction of MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells were assessed using the label-free quantitative proteomics analysis. The cytoplasmic proteome results revealed the ability of γT3 to inhibit a group of proteasome proteins such as PSMA, PSMB, PSMD, and PSME. The inhibition of proteasome proteins is known to induce apoptosis in cancer cells. As such, the findings from this study suggest γT3 as a potential proteasome inhibitor that can overcome deficiencies in growth-inhibitory or pro-apoptotic molecules in breast cancer cells. The nuclear proteome results revealed the involvement of important nuclear protein complexes which hardwire the anti-tumorigenesis mechanism in breast cancer following γT3 treatment. In conclusion, this study uncovered the advancing roles of γT3 as potential proteasomes inhibitor that can be used for the treatment of breast cancer.

Entamoeba histolytica membrane proteins are important players toward the pathogenesis of amoebiasis, but the roles of most of the proteins are not fully understood. Since efficient protein extraction method is crucial for a successful MS analysis, three extractions methods are evaluated for the use in studying the membrane proteome of E. histolytica: Two commercial kits (ProteoExtract from Calbiochem and ProteoPrep from Sigma), and a conventional laboratory method. The results show that ProteoExtract and the conventional method gave higher protein yields compared to ProteoPrep. LC–ESI–MS/MS identifies 456, 482, and 551 membrane fraction proteins extracted using ProteoExtract, ProteoPrep, and a conventional method, respectively. In silico analysis predicts 108 (21%), 235 (45%), and 177 (34%) membrane proteins from the extracts of ProteoExtract, ProteoPrep, and the conventional method, respectively. Furthermore, analysis of the cytosolic and membrane fractions shows the highest selectivity of the membrane proteins using the ProteoPrep extraction kit. Overall, this study reports 828 E. histolytica membrane fraction proteins that include 249 predicted membrane proteins. The data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD010171.

A wild-type, Gram-positive, rod-shaped, endospore-forming and motile bacteria has been isolated from palm oil mill sludge in Malaysia. Molecular identification using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the bacteria belonged to genus Paenibacillus. With 97 % similarity to P. alvei (AUG6), the isolate was designated as P. alvei AN5. An antimicrobial compound was extracted from P. alvei AN5-pelleted cells using 95 % methanol and was then lyophilized. Precipitates were re-suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), producing an antimicrobial crude extract (ACE). The ACE showed antimicrobial activity against Salmonella enteritidis ATCC 13076, Escherichia coli ATCC 29522, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 and Lactobacillus plantarum ATCC 8014. By using SP-Sepharose cation exchange chromatography, Sephadex G-25 gel filtration and Tricine SDS-PAGE, the ACE was purified, which produced a ~2-kDa active band. SDS-PAGE and infrared (IR) spectroscopy indicated the proteinaceous nature of the antimicrobial compound in the ACE, and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectroscopy and de novo sequencing using an automatic, Q-TOF premier system detected a peptide with the amino acid sequence F-C-K-S-L-P-L-P-L-S-V-K (1,330.7789 Da). This novel peptide was designated as AN5-2. The antimicrobial peptide exhibited stability from pH 3 to 12 and maintained its activity after being heated to 90 °C. It also remained active after incubation with denaturants (urea, SDS and EDTA).