Human cold agglutinins against "cryptic" erythrocyte antigens.

Two examples of human IgM cold agglutinins agglutinated human RBC only after enzyme treatment in vitro. Proteases were optimally effective, neuraminidase was also effective. The cold agglutinins did not coat native RBC but were directed against "cryptic" RBC determinants. The cold agglutinins belonged to the anti -I/-i complex indicating a "new" type of I/i determinants. They were strongly accessible to cold agglutinin interaction on native RBC of a patient with congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia. Enzyme treatment of RBC was shown to be not only suited for defining cold agglutinin specificities but also essential for detecting the "new" type of cold agglutinins, obviously causing autoimmune haemolytic anaemia in vivo.     

Trehalose-containing lipooligosaccharide antigens of Mycobacterium sp.: presence of a mono-O-methyltri-O-acyltrehalose "core"

We have described the surface antigens of Mycobacterium kansasii as trehalose-containing lipooligosaccharides (LOS) which at the nonreducing "epitope" end bear a unique amino sugar containing diglycosyl unit, whereas the putative reducing end consists of an acylated alpha, alpha-trehalose-containing tetraglucosyl "core" [Hunter, S. W., Jardine, I., Yanagihara, D. L., & Brennan, P. J. (1985) Biochemistry 24, 2798-2805]. The presence of a new variation on this core, in Mycobacterium szulgai, is now reported, ----3)beta-D-Glcp-(1----6)alpha-D-Glcp(1----1)3,4,6-tri-O-acyl-2-O- Me-alpha-D-Glcp, representing the first example of an O-methyltrehalose unit in nature. The simplest of the LOS class of glycolipids in M. szulgai was defined as alpha-L-2-O-Me-Fucp(1----3)alpha-L-Rhap(1----3)alpha-L-Rh ap(1----3) beta-D-Glcp(1----6)alpha-D-Glcp(1----1)3,4,6-tri-O-acyl-2-O-Me-alpha-D-G lcp. Further glycosylation of this nonantigen, by an incompletely defined 6-deoxyhexosyl residue, confers specific antigenicity on the organism. Thus, these extraordinary structures, in a manner analogous to the better known lipopolysaccharides from rough variants of Enterobactericiae, are highly amphipathic and display variability not only in the immunogenic, distal region but also in the "invariant" lipophilic core. The contribution of these glycolipids to the hydrophobic barrier, the pseudo outer membrane of mycobacteria, is discussed.     

Heat-labile antigens of Salmonella enteritidis. I. Extraction of antigens

Milne, Margaret (University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia), and F. M. Collins. Heat-labile antigens of Salmonella enteritidis. I. Extraction of antigens. J. Bacteriol. 92:543-548. 1966.-Salmonella enteritidis strains of high and low mouse virulence were grown in continuous culture. Cell walls were obtained from both strains by sonic disruption, and the washed walls were extracted at 4 C with sodium dodecyl sulfate or sodium deoxycholate. The extracts were eluted with a saline gradient from a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column, and the separated peaks were tested for precipitin activity against rabbit antisera prepared with heator ethyl alcohol-killed vaccines. The separated antigens reacted less intensely with the antiserum to heat-killed cells than they did to the antisera prepared against alcohol-killed vaccine. Little antigenic difference could be detected between the extracts prepared from the virulent and the avirulent organisms.     

Activation of "silent" antibodies and their interaction with antigens

Animal and human blood serum contains great amount of blocked (or "silent") immunoglobulins which, being activated by heating to 60 degrees C, pH decrease to 2.0-2.5 or treatment with 5M KSCN acquire a capacity to interact with different antigens. This interaction may be equally prevented or weakened by both identical and serologically non-related antigen, i.e. activated immunoglobulins are polyspecific. Polyspecific immunoglobulins show less affinity in comparison with monospecific antibodies, their interaction with antigens depends considerably on temperature.     

Tumor-associated antigens of rat moloney sarcoma cells. II. Cytosol antigens.

Rat Moloney sarcoma cells (MST) were pulsed with 35S-L-methionine for 10 and 60 min and lysed by vortexing in 0.5% deoxycholate, 0.5% NP40, 0.02 M Tris, 0.05 M NaCl, pH 7.5, for 30 sec. The lysate was centrifuged at 16,300 X G for 10 min and the supernatant was co-precipitated with Ig fractions of normal BN serum, normal Lewis serum, BN antiserum to Moloney sarcoma cells (BNaMST), BN antiserum to tumor-associated antigens (BNaTAA), BN antiserum to murine leukemia virus (BNaMuLV), BN antiserum to p30 (BNap30), BN antiserum to gp70 (BNagp70), Lewis antiserum to BN (LeaBN), and BN antiserum to BC5 tumor (BNaBC5). With BNaTAA and BNaMST, a cytoplasmic TAA with m.w. 85,000 was detected. In addition, BNaTAA detected three other species of cytoplasmic TAA with m.w. 220,000, 170,000 and 39,000.     

Tumor-associated antigens of rat moloney sarcoma cells. I. Cell-surface antigens.

The dissociated cell surface membranes of a rat Moloney sarcoma (MST), derived from a BN rat, were extracted with 2 M KI, with 6 M guanidine thiocyanate, or by papain digestion. Extracts obtained with these three reagents were fractionated on columns of controlled-pore glass, 170 A pore size. A fraction was eluted from each preparation that contained tumor-associated antigens (TAA), viral, fetal, and histocompatibility antigens. With an antibody specific for TAA, the TAA, devoid of detectable viral, fetal, and histocompatibility antigens, were co-precipitated by addition of goat antibody to rat immunoglobulin. After electrophoresis, on slab gels, three bands were detected with estimated m.w. of 185,000, 150,000, and 70,000. No such bands were detected on slab gel electrophoresis with extracts of BC5, a chemically induced tumor, of normal BN lymphoid cells, of M-MuLV, or of fetuses, after incubation with anti-TAA antibody and goat antibody to rat immunoglobulin. TAA extracts prepared with 2 M KI, 6 M guanidine thiocyanate, or papain digestion showed immunologic reactivity. Cold TAA inhibited the co-precipitation of labeled TAA by rat antibody specific for TAA; they elicited antibody in guinea pigs but not in rats; and antibodies specific for TAA were cytotoxic to MST in the presence of C.     

Patterns of expression of human "Ia-like" antigens during the terminal stages of B cell development.

The "Ia-like" antigens characteristically present on the membrane of B lymphocytes were shown to be absent in most terminally differentiated Ig-producing plasma cells. This was most evident in analyses of myeloma plasma cells that uniformly lacked the Ia-antigens. Also, in B lymphoid cell lines, the lymphoblasts were uniformly Ia-positive but the plasma cells were negative. In contrast, however, the majority of plasma cells produced after pokeweed mitogen stimulation remained positive. Plasma cells in tonsil and in the tissue of peripheral blood of patients with Wladenstr?m's macroglobulinemia were also sometimes Ia-positive although the majority were negative. Studies of membrane IgM and IgD indicated a similar loss in some instances. However, the SIg and Ia antigens were not invariably associated. These results lead to the conclusion that Ia-antigens are differentiation antigens for B cells and are usually lost by the end stage cells in this series.     

Bacterial capsular antigens. Structural patterns of capsular antigens

Structural patterns of bacterial capsular antigens including capsular polysac charides and exoglycans are given in this review. In addition, the immunological activity of capsular antigens and their role in type specificity of bacteria are discussed. Published in Russian in Biokhimiya, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 9, pp. 115–1174.