A new ganglioside in human meconium detected with antiserum against human milk sialyltetrasaccharide a

Antiserum directed against the alditol derivative of the human milk monosialyloligosaccharide sialyltetrasaccharide a [D. F. Smith, P. A. Prieto, and B. V. Torres (1985) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 241, 298-303] is used to detect a new ganglioside in human meconium by direct binding on nitrocellulose filters of the sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide alditol obtained from gangliosides after ozonolysis and alkali fragmentation. The sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide is purified by affinity chromatography on a column containing anti-sialyltetrasaccharide a antibodies. The affinity-purified sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide cochromatographs with the 3H-labeled alditol derivative of authentic sialyltetrasaccharide a from human milk. Results of sequential enzyme degradation of the pure sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide and cochromatography of the digestion products with standards are consistent with the presence in meconium of a monosialylganglioside with the structure NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-3GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc-ceramide. This ganglioside is presumably the biosynthetic precursor of the sialyl-Lea ganglioside [G. C. Hansson and D. Zopf (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 9388-9392], which is also a component of human meconium.     

The antifibrinolytic action of the D-dimer fragment

The effect of D-dimer on the process of plasmin hydrolysis of unstabilized and crosslinked fibrin has been studied. Less degraded early, intermediate, and late products of fibrin cleavage have been revealed by electrophoresis of reduced and nonreduced samples. The molecular mechanism of antifibrinolytic effect of the D-dimer is supposed to be determined by shielding of peptide regions of monomer fibrin, localized both in N-terminal area of beta chain and in alpha, beta, and gamma chains between D and E domains. A notion has been proposed of autoinhibition of fibrinolytic reaction as a phenomenon related to the physical-chemical regulation of fibrinogen transformation into fibrin.     

Affinity modification of human chromatin with reactive derivatives of oligonucleotides.

Reaction of 4-(N-2-chloroethyl-N-methylamino)benzylphosphamides of oligonucleotides (RCl-(pT)16 and RCl-(pApC)6) with human chromatin in intact nuclei and with metaphase chromosomes has been investigated. The oligonucleotides were targeted to poly(A) and poly(TG)-repeating DNA sequences. It was found that the reagents alkylate DNA and some proteins due to specific complex formation. The affinity character of the reaction was proved by the fact that free corresponding oligonucleotides taken in excess or preliminary treatment of chromatin with S1-nuclease both prevent the biopolymers from modification. The results obtained evidence that in human chromatin there are open DNA sequences available for affinity modification with oligonucleotide derivatives. Analysis of patterns of modified proteins within these chromatin areas may give a key to the structure of these chromatin sites.     

Demonstration of the specificity of a monkey antiserum against human melanoma

Summary The reactivity spectrum of a monkey antiserum raised against in vitro-cultured human melanoma cells was compared by means of three different assays: complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC), antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) and mixed hemadsorption (MHA). After absorption with a pool of cells from T- and B-lymphoid cell lines the antiserum was specifically cytotoxic in CDC for cultured melanoma cells. The melanoma specificity of the antiserum was confirmed by quantitative absorption experiments with cultured melanoma and nonmelanoma cells. When the lymphoid cell-absorbed antiserum was assayed by MHA, however, a high reactivity against both melanoma and nonmelanoma cells was observed. Further absorption with nonmelanoma tumor cells removed the reactivity of the antiserum with different nonmelanoma cell lines, but did not abolish its reactivity with melanoma cells. After this second absorption, the antiserum remained cytolytic against melanoma cells in CDC. In ADCC experiments this antiserum was not able to induce any cytotoxicity even before absorption.Analysis of Sephadex G 200 fractions of the antiserum revealed that the melanoma-specific antibodies cytotoxic in CDC were localized exclusively in the IgM peak. This finding was confirmed in similar studies with four other nonhuman primate melanoma antisera. Abbreviations used in this paper: CDC, complement dependent cytotoxicity: ADCC, antibody dependent cell mediated cytotoxicity; MHA, mixed hemadsorption; FCS, fetal calf serum.     

Preparation of a specific antiserum against elastin of the human aorta

Elastin was isolated from the human aorta by three different extraction methods. Immunization was carried out in sheep. The presence of antibody against each elastin preparation in the sheep sera was confirmed by immunofluorescence. However, antiserum against elastin isolated by collagenase/guanidine dithioerythritol showed the most specific reactions in the cryostat sections. No cross-reactivity to type I, III and IV collagen, fibronectin, laminin and proteoglycan BM 1 was observed.     

Immunologic reactivity of purified human urinary kallikrein (urokallikrein) with antiserum directed against human pancreas.

Donkey antiserum to normal human pancreas absorbed with lyophilized human plasma recognized human urokallikrein in concentrated crude urine or after an approximately 500-fold purification. The urokallikrein antigen was associated with kinin-generating and alpha-N-p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester (TAMe) cleaving activity on isoelectric focusing, with the isoelectric point being 3.8 to 4.4. Both kiningenerating and esterolytic activity were removed from the purified urokallikrein by an immunoadsorbent prepared by coupling the IgG fraction of the absorbed donkey antiserum to Sepharose 6B. The failure of anti-plasma kallikrein to react in immunodiffusion with purified urokallikrein indicates that urinary kallikrein is distinct from plasma kallikrein although antigenically related to glandular kallikreins.     

Preparation of antiserum against a tryptic fragment (fragment A) of dynein and an immunological approach to the subunit composition of dynein.

An improved method for purifying the tryptic fragment (Fragment A) of flagellar ATPase (dynein) from sea urchin spermatozoa is described. The preparation appears homogeneous as judged by ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gels, and immunological techniques. The molecular weight of undenatured Fragment A was determined to be 400,000 and 370,000 by the two methods of disc electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel and sedimentation equilibrium, respectively. The fragment dissociated into two principal polypeptide chains with molecular weights of 190,000 and 135,000 when heated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Antiserum against dynein was prepared in rabbits using purified Fragment A from the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina as an antigen. The specificity of this serum toward Fragment A and toward dynein was determined by double diffusion in agarose, by inhibition of ATPase activity, and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-electrophoresis of the antigen-antibody complex. This antiserum also reacted with the enzymes from two other species of sea urchin, Pseudocentrotus depressus and Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. Analysis of the precipitated antigen-antibody complex showed that the antiserum reacted specifically with the "high molecular weight" polypeptide seen in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of crude dynein fractions. This finding supports previous reports that this band derives from dynein ATPase. In our preparations, this "high molecular weight" dynein band appeared single.     

Immuno-electron-microscopic application of antiserum against elastin

The antiserum against insoluble elastin from human aorta was applied to immuno-electron microscopy. In the preembedding method, only the outer surface of the amorphous component (elastin) of elastic fibers showed a positive reaction. A major problem encountered with the preembedding method is associated with the penetration of either the primary antiserum or the secondary antibody into the tissue and, in particular, into elastin. On the contrary, a positive reaction was observed inner zones of elastin in the postembedding method. While the postembedding method employed here has limitations with nonspecific binding to the embedding medium, the postembedding method offers a decided advantage over the preembedding method.     

Determination of anti-AGE antibodies in human serum

The aim of this study was to develop an immunoenzyme method for the determination of anti-AGE antibodies in human serum. Human aortic elastin glycatedin vitro (AGE-elastin) was used as an antigen, expressing AGE-epitopes, common to all glycated proteins.Polyclonal serum from guinea-pig against AGE-Hemocyanin was obtained according to Nakayamaet al. [(1989)Biochem Biophys Res Commun 162: 740–45] and its specificity was tested via direct and competitive ELISA. Sera of 20 type 1 diabetic patients and 20 healthy subjects were tested using the method described. Seventeen patients had elevated levels of competing factors that may be anti-AGE antibodies, compared with the healthy group. The method could be used for investigation of different clinical groups of type 1 diabetic patients. Such a study would help in understanding the pathogenic role of autoantibodies against advanced glycation end products of proteins for the development of long-term diabetic complications.     

Interaction of anthracene and its oxidative derivatives with human serum albumin

Binding affinities of ten polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to albumin were determined: anthracene, its eight oxy-derivatives: anthraquinone, 9-anthracenemethanol, 9-anthraldehyde, 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid, 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone, 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone, 1,8-dihydroxyanthraquinone, 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinone and benzo[a]pyrene. The quenching of albumin fluorescence was used to measure the PAH - protein interaction. The theoretical curve of calculated fluorescence was fitted to experimental data after necessary corrections regarding PAHs fluorescence and inner filter effect. From the numerical fitting the final association constants were calculated. Anthracene and anthraquinone failed to quench the albumin fluorescence. 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid showed the highest, while 9-anthracenemethanol the weakest albumin binding affinity. The affinity constants determined for 9-anthraldehyde and benzo[a]pyrene were of the same magnitude and indicated low-affinity binding to albumin. The constants obtained for the four dihydroxyanthraquinones were higher, but dissimilar, which suggests that the position of the functional group in anthracene molecule influences the binding constant. Moreover, this study suggests that the type of substituent plays a significant role in PAH-albumin complex formation. The carboxylic group increases the binding affinity of the anthracene molecule the most rather than the presence of both carbonyl and hydroxyl groups. The lowest affinity constants were obtained for aldehyde, methyl and carbonyl substituents.     

A new ganglioside in human meconium detected by antiserum against the human milk sialyloligosaccharide, LS-tetrasaccharide b

Antibodies directed against human milk sialyloligosaccharides [D. F. Smith and V. Ginsburg (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 55-59] are used to identify human meconium gangliosides by radioimmuneoverlay-thin-layer chromatography or by direct binding on nitrocellulose filters of sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide alditols obtained from gangliosides after ozonolysis and alkali-fragmentation. Thin-layer chromatograms of meconium monosialylgangliosides immunostained with rabbit antisera specific for LS-tetrasaccharide c (NeuAc alpha 2-6Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) or LS-tetrasaccharide b (Gal beta 1-3[NeuAc alpha 2-6]GlcNAc beta 1-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) reveal their corresponding gangliosides, 6'-LM1 and a previously undescribed ceramide derivative of LS-tetrasaccharide b, respectively. The sialyl[3H]oligosaccharides derived from the monosialylganglioside fraction of meconium are separated by paper chromatography and assayed for binding to specific anti-sialyloligosaccharide sera. Antisera specific for LS-tetrasaccharide c and 3'-sialyllactose (NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-4Glc) identify their corresponding 3H-labeled haptens released from the major meconium gangliosides 6'-LM1 and GM3, respectively. Binding of a ganglioside-derived sialyl[3H]oligosaccharide by anti-LS-tetrasaccharide b serum is consistent with the presence in meconium of a monosialylganglioside with the following proposed structure: (formula; see text)     

Determination of salicylic acid in human serum with capillary zone electrophoresis

The determination of salicylic acid (SA), a metabolite of aspirin, in human serum was developed using capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with diode array detection. The reproducibility of separation and quantification with CZE analysis of the extract of SA from human serum was appropriate for the intra- and inter-day assay coefficients. A high correlation was revealed between the serum SA levels in volunteers determined by CZE and those determined by a fluorescence polarization immunoassay (r=0.973, n=12), although the former values were slightly higher than the latter. There were no peaks interfering with the assay of SA by internal standard method. This CZE method could provide a simple and efficient method for monitoring SA in patients.     

Identification of the sea urchin egg receptor for sperm using an antiserum raised against a fragment of its extracellular domain

Sea urchin egg fertilization requires the species-specific interaction of molecules on the sperm and egg surfaces. Previously, we isolated an extracellular, 70-kD glycosylated fragment of the S. purpuratus egg receptor for sperm by treating the eggs with lysylendoproteinase C (Foltz, K. R., and W. J. Lennarz. 1990. J. Cell Biol. 111:2951-2959). To characterize the receptor further, we have generated a polyclonal antiserum (anti-70KL) against the purified 70-kD fragment. Anti-70KL was found to react with a single polypeptide of approximately 350 kD on Western blots, presumed to be the intact receptor, in an egg cell surface preparation. This polypeptide appeared to be tightly associated with the plasma membrane/vitelline layer complex, as it was released from these preparations only by detergent treatment. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed that the receptor was distributed evenly over the egg surface. The anti-70KL was species specific both in its ability to recognize the egg surface protein and to inhibit sperm binding. Fab fragments generated from affinity-purified anti-70KL also bound to the egg surface and inhibited sperm binding in a concentration-dependent manner. Interestingly, treatment with Fabs caused a small percentage of eggs to undergo cortical granule exocytosis, even in the absence of external Ca2+. These results confirm earlier findings indicating that the receptor is a cell surface glycoprotein of high molecular weight that species specifically binds sperm. This antiserum provides a powerful tool for further investigation of gamete interactions and the structure of the sperm receptor.     

Proteins immunoreactive with antibody against a human leptin fragment are found in serum and tissues of the sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L

An affinity-purified, polyclonal antibody raised against a peptide corresponding to amino acids 137–156 at the carboxy terminus of human leptin (16 kD) was used to search for immunoreactive protein(s) in the lamprey, Petromyzon marinus. Immunoblots of serum from different phases of the life cycle showed the presence of a 65-kD immunoreactive protein in the larvae and all stages of metamorphosis but not in feeding juvenile and upstream migrant adults. Extracts of tissues known to store fat were also examined using the same antibody. Muscle and fat column from all phases tested (larvae, stage 2 and 4 metamorphosing animals, feeding juveniles and upstream migrants) showed 100- and 50-kD immunoreactive proteins. Extracts of nephric fold, the primary site of fat storage during metamorphosis, lacked the 100-kD protein but had the 50 kD; they also had a 16 kD immunoreactive protein not found in the other tissues. The immunoreactivity of the proteins of both serum and tissue extracts was blocked by pretreatment of the antibody with the leptin-derived antigen. The results indicate that P. marinus has proteins that share at least one epitope with mammalian leptin.     

Production of a specific antiserum by synthetic C-terminal fragment of glucagon

Seven rabbits were immunized with a synthetic C-terminal glucagon fragment [15--29] conjugated with bovine serum albumin by means of glutaraldehyde. Antisera for glucagon were produced in all the animals after six injections of the conjugate. One of them revealed a higher titer antiserum (G42), which did not cross react with gut glucagon-like immunoreactive material, secretin, insulin, gastric inhibitory polypeptide or vasoactive intestinal peptide. From the results of inhibition of 125 I-glucagon in binding with the antiserum by various glucagon-related fragments the immunogenic determinant of the antiserum was proved to be in the C-terminal residue of the glucagon molecule, although peptide [17--29] or [21--29] reacted weakly with the antiserum. The plasma glucagon levels measured by antiserum G 42 during an arginine test in five normal subjects were superposed on those obtained by other antiserum (G21), specific for pancreatic glucagon. Furthermore, a comparable standard curve for glucagon was obtained using antiserum G42, when a labelled p-hydroxyphenylacetylated glucagon fragment [15--29] was employed as a tracer. The present study clearly demonstrated that the C-terminal glucagon fragment could yield a specific antiserum for pancreatic glucagon, supporting the proposal that the C-terminal fragment of glucagon is responsible for such specific antisera. Furthermore, it is concluded that immunoassay for glucagon could be performed using the labelled glucagon fragment as a tracer.