Adsorption of proteins on solid surfaces and their interaction are major concerns in a number of fields such as biology, medicine, biotechnology and food processing, and play an important role from various points of view. Based on practical viewpoints, information on the conformation of the adsorbed protein as well as adsorption characteristics is essential for a system's performance. Although there are still many problems to be solved, extensive studies in recent years, owing to the development in instrumentation and instrumental techniques, reveal the adsorption behavior of proteins in detail. Here, we stress the importance and interesting aspect of protein adsorption on solid surfaces by reviewing findings that have been obtained in recent years.

EGFR mutations and increased copy numbers were significantly associated with better clinical outcome in gefitinib-treated NSCLC patients.

Oxidative and electrophilic stresses are sensed by Keap1, which activates Nrf2 to achieve cytoprotection by regulating the expression of drug-metabolizing and antioxidative stress enzymes/proteins. Because oxidative and electrophilic stresses cause many diseases, including cancer, we hypothesized that an abnormality in the Nrf2-Keap1 system may facilitate the growth of cancer cells. We sequenced the KEAP1 gene of 65 Japanese patients with lung cancer and identified five nonsynonymous somatic mutations at a frequency of 8%. We also identified two nonsynonymous somatic KEAP1 gene mutations and two lung cancer cell lines expressing KEAP1 at reduced levels. In lung cancer cells, low Keap1 activity (due to mutations or low-level expression) led to nuclear localization and constitutive activation of Nrf2. The latter resulted in constitutive expression of cytoprotective genes encoding multidrug resistance pumps, phase II detoxifying enzymes, and antioxidative stress enzymes/proteins. Up-regulation of these target genes in lung cancer cells led to cisplatin resistance. Nrf2 activation also stimulated growth of lung cancer-derived cell lines expressing KEAP1 at low levels and in mutant cell lines and in Keap1-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts under homeostatic conditions. Thus, inhibition of NRF2 may provide new therapeutic approaches in lung cancers with activation of Nrf2. [Cancer Res 2008;68(5):1303-9]

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A general approach is presented for creating polymer gels that can recognize and capture a target molecule by multiple-point interaction and that can reversibly change their affinity to the target by more than one order of magnitude. The polymers consist of majority monomers that make the gel reversibly swell and shrink and minority monomers that constitute multiple-point adsorption centers for the target molecule. Multiple-point interaction is experimentally proven by power laws found between the affinity and the concentration of the adsorbing monomers within the gels.