The major hazelnut allergen Cor a 9 was purified from the natural source and crystallized. Diffraction data were collected to 1.9 Å resolution using a synchrotron-radiation source.

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana) is one of the food sources that induce allergic reaction in a subpopulation of people with food allergy. The 11S legumin-like seed-storage protein from hazelnut has been identified as one of the major hazelnut allergens and named Cor a 9. In this study, Cor a 9 was extracted from hazelnut kernels using a high-salt solution and was purified by desalting out and FPLC to a highly purified state. Diffraction-quality single crystals were obtained using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method. Diffraction data were collected and a structure solution has been obtained by molecular-replacement calculations. Further refinement of the structure is currently in progress.

In this study, the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) vicilin-type 7S seed storage protein was isolated from defatted pine-nut extract and purified by sequential gel-filtration and anion-exchange chromatography. Well diffracting single crystals were obtained by the vapour-diffusion method in hanging drops.

The cupin superfamily of proteins includes the 7S and 11S seed storage proteins. Many members of this family of proteins are known allergens. In this study, the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) vicilin-type 7S seed storage protein was isolated from defatted pine-nut extract and purified by sequential gel-filtration and anion-exchange chromatography. Well diffracting single crystals were obtained by the vapor-diffusion method in hanging drops. The crystals belong to the primitive cubic space group P213, with unit-cell parameters a = b = c = 148.174 Å. Two vicilin molecules were present in the asymmetric unit and the Matthews coefficient was determined to be 2.90 Å3 Da−1, with a corresponding solvent content of ∼58%. A molecular-replacement structural solution has been obtained using the program Phaser. Refinement of the structure is currently under way.

The halophilic bacterium Vibrio fluvialis is an enteric pathogen that produces an extracellular hemolysin. This hemolysin was purified to homogeneity by using sequential hydrophobic-interaction chromatography with phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B and gel filtration with Sephacryl S-200. It has a molecular weight of 63,000 and an isoelectric point of 4.6, and its hemolytic activity is sensitive to heat, proteases, and preincubation with zinc ions. The hemolysin lyses erythrocytes of the eight different animal species that we tested, is cytotoxic against Chinese hamster ovary cells in tissue culture, and elicits fluid accumulation in suckling mice. Lysis of erythrocytes occurs by a temperature-dependent binding step followed by a temperature- and pH-dependent lytic step. Fourteen of the first 20 N-terminal amino acid residues (Val-Ser-Gly-Gly-Glu-Ala-Asn-Thr-Leu-Pro-His-Val-Ala-Phe-Tyr-Ile-Asn-Val-Asn-Arg) are identical to those of the El Tor hemolysin of Vibrio cholerae and the heat-labile hemolysin of Vibrio mimicus. This homology was further confirmed by PCR analysis using a 5′ primer derived from the amino-terminal sequence of the hemolysin and a 3′ primer derived from the El Tor hemolysin structural gene. The hemolysin also reacts with antibodies to the El Tor-like hemolysin of non-O1 V. cholerae.

An extracellular cytolysin from Vibrio tubiashii was purified by sequential hydrophobic interaction chromatography with phenyl-Sepharose CL-4B and gel filtration with Sephacryl S-200. This protein is sensitive to heat and proteases, is inhibited by cholesterol, and has a molecular weight of 59,000 and an isoelectric point of 5.3. In addition to lysing various erythrocytes, it is cytolytic and/or cytotoxic to Chinese hamster ovary cells, Caco-2 cells, and Atlantic menhaden liver cells in tissue culture. Lysis of erythrocytes occurs by a multihit process that is dependent on temperature and pH. Twelve of the first 17 N-terminal amino acid residues (Asp-Asp-Tyr-Val-Pro-Val-Val-Glu-Lys-Val-Tyr-Tyr-Ile-Thr-Ser-Ser-Lys) are identical to those of the Vibrio vulnificus cytolysin.

Cholera vaccines developed by the deletion of CTX genes from Vibrio cholerae induce a residual reactogenicity in up to 10% of vaccinees. A novel cytotonic agent named secreted CHO cell elongating protein (S-CEP) was purified from culture supernatants of CVD 103-HgR (Levine et al., Lancet ii:467–470, 1988). Five fractionation steps yielded electrophoretically pure S-CEP with an Mr of 79,000. A partially purified preparation caused fluid accumulation in the sealed infant mouse model. The amino terminus bore a unique sequence with strong homology to a cytotonic toxin of El Tor V. cholerae.