A variety of proteins contributes greatly to the unique nutritional and functional quality of dairy cow milk. Particularly, milk casein content and composition have substantial influence on the processing capabilities. In the present study, milk of 23 multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows, grouped as high(3.49 ± 0.05%; n = 11) and low-protein (3.03 ± 0.05%; n = 12) cows, was sampled approximately ...

Calorimetry has been employed to investigate the quantitative energetic aspects and mechanism underlying protein–tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB) interactions. Differential scanning calorimetry and UV–Visible spectroscopy have been used to study the thermal unfolding of three proteins of different structure and function (bovine serum albumin, a-lactalbumin, and bovine pancreatic ribonuclease A...

Human and bovine milk differ substantially in the ratio of whey to casein protein ( 60:40 in human milk and 20:80 in bovine milk) and in the proportions of specific proteins. Although current infant formulas closely mimic the ratio of total whey to casein in human milk, the concentration of -lactalbumin (the dominant protein in human milk) is relatively low in formula, whereas -lactoglobulin, a...

Poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecules attached to surfaces have shown high potential as a protein repellent due to their flexibility and highly water solubility. A quartz crystal microbalance recording frequency and dissipation changes (QCM-D) has been used to study the adsorption from aqueous solutions, of lysozyme and α-lactalbumin proteins (the last with and without calcium) onto modified s...

Previous studies have shown that the glycoprotein orosomucoid modulates permeability of peripheral microvessels to charged molecules by contributing to the net charge on the microvessel wall. To investigate whether or not orosomucoid also modulates the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by a similar mechanism, we measured the permeability (P) of rat pial microvessels to similar-sized...

To investigate the structural mechanisms by which elevation of the intraendothelial cAMP levels abolishes or attenuates the transient increase in microvascular permeability by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), we examined cAMP effect on VEGF-induced hyperpermeability to small solute sodium fluorescein (Stokes radius = 0.45 nm) P(sodium fluorescein), intermediate-sized solute alpha-lact...

The differentiation of rat mammary epithelial cells is characterized both by morphologic changes and by the expression of a group of milk protein genes. We have previously shown that by culturing these cells on the basement membrane glycoprotein laminin, the synthesis of the milk proteins, transferrin, alpha-casein, and alpha-lactalbumin is induced. In order to determine if this effect is media...

Because of the generally more rapid amino acid absorption and lower osmotic pressure of small peptides compared with free amino acids, it has been suggested that 'elemental' diets should contain both small peptides and free amino acids as the nitrogen source. While studying protein hydrolysates intended for use in such diets we observed surprising differences in the absorption of amino acids, w...

As proteins contain both hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acids, they will readily adsorb onto interfaces between water and hydrophobic fluids such as oil. This adsorption normally causes changes in the protein structure, which can result in loss of protein function and irreversible adsorption, leading to the formation of protein interfacial films. While this can be advantageous in some applic...

In human milk α-lactalbumin is one of the main proteins which harbors tumor-selective capabilities, named human α-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells (HAMLET). HAMLET is formed by binding of α-lactalbumin with oleic acid resulting in release of its Ca2+ ion and a folding change. It induces apoptosis in tumor cells but leaves normal differentiated cells unaffected. It has the capability to en...