IDENTIFICATION AND MOLECULAR BASIS FOR EFFICIENT ANTIFREEZE PROTEIN ENHANCERS

摘要/摘要 抗冻蛋白(AFP)是在许多生物体中发现的天然抗冻分子 包括鱼、昆虫、植物、细菌和真菌。AFP表现出极大的结构多样性，尽管它们都是 其特点是能够在不影响熔点的情况下降低水的冰点 显然是这样。由此产生的熔点和冰点之间的差异，称为热 滞后(TH)，通常用来衡量AFP的抗冻活性。AFPS和共溶质在 冷适应生物的体液是在寒冷环境中生存的关键。某些小的 分子和蛋白质共溶体可以进一步增强AFP的抗冻活性，称为增强剂， 通过离子相互作用、氢键和/或疏水作用与AFP结合。基于法新社的 防冻系统(AFP加增强剂)更有效，它们的使用更环保 与传统防冻剂相比友好，使其成为传统防冻剂的有趣替代品 防冻剂，特别是在生物医学领域。拟议的研究将调查鲜为人知的法新社- 通过测定甲胎蛋白对其他蛋白质的冷冻保护作用以及对蛋白质系统的影响 采用生物化学和生物物理相结合的方法研究这些蛋白质对AFP抗冻活性的影响。 关于甲胎蛋白-蛋白质系统中这种相互作用的信息不仅会加深我们对 生物防冻系统在适应寒冷生物的同时，也导致了有效的保护措施的发展 用于长期保存生物医学应用中的重要生物制品的系统。

Abstract/Summary Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are natural antifreeze molecules that have been found in many organisms including fish, insects, plants, bacteria, and fungi. AFPs exhibit great structural diversity, while they are all characterized by their unique ability to depress the freezing point of water without affecting the melting point apparently. The resulting difference between the melting point and the freezing point, referred to as thermal hysteresis (TH), is generally used as a measure of the antifreeze activities of AFPs. AFPs and co-solutes in body-fluids of cold-adapted organisms are responsible for survival in cold environments. Certain small molecule and protein co-solutes can further enhance the antifreeze activity of AFPs, referred to as enhancers, by binding to AFP through ionic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and/or hydrophobic interactions. AFP-based antifreeze systems (AFP plus enhancer) are much more effective and their uses are more environmentally friendly in comparison to conventional antifreezes, making them intriguing alternatives to conventional antifreezes in particular in biomedical fields. The proposed research will investigate the little known AFP- protein systems through determining the cryoprotective effect of an AFP on other proteins as well as the effect of these proteins on the antifreeze activity of the AFP using combined biochemical and biophysical methods. The information on such interplay in the AFP-protein systems would not only further our understanding of biological antifreeze system in cold-adapted organisms, but also lead to the development of effective protective systems for long-term preservation of important biologics in biomedical applications.