High Affinity Humanized Antibodies without Making Hybridomas; Immunization Paired with Mammalian Cell Display and In Vitro Somatic Hypermutation

A method has been developed for the rapid generation of high-affinity humanized antibodies from immunized animals without the need to make conventional hybridomas. Rearranged IgH D(J) regions were amplified from the spleen and lymph tissue of mice immunized with the human complement protein C5, fused with a limited repertoire of human germline heavy chain V-genes to form intact humanized heavy chains, and paired with a human light chain library. Completed heavy and light chains were assembled for mammalian cell surface display and transfected into HEK 293 cells co-expressing activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Numerous clones were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and affinity maturation, initiated by AID, resulted in the rapid evolution of high affinity, functional antibodies. This approach enables the efficient sampling of an immune repertoire and the direct selection and maturation of high-affinity, humanized IgGs.     

Humanization of Antibodies Using Heavy Chain Complementarity-determining Region 3 Grafting Coupled with in Vitro Somatic Hypermutation

A method for simultaneous humanization and affinity maturation of monoclonal antibodies has been developed using heavy chain complementarity-determining region (CDR) 3 grafting combined with somatic hypermutation in vitro. To minimize the amount of murine antibody-derived antibody sequence used during humanization, only the CDR3 region from a murine antibody that recognizes the cytokine hβNGF was grafted into a nonhomologous human germ line V region. The resulting CDR3-grafted HC was paired with a CDR-grafted light chain, displayed on the surface of HEK293 cells, and matured using in vitro somatic hypermutation. A high affinity humanized antibody was derived that was considerably more potent than the parental antibody, possessed a low pm dissociation constant, and demonstrated potent inhibition of hβNGF activity in vitro. The resulting antibody contained half the heavy chain murine donor sequence compared with the same antibody humanized using traditional methods.     

Class Switch Recombination and Somatic Hypermutation of Virus-Neutralizing Antibodies Are Not Essential for Control of Friend Retrovirus Infection

Toll-like receptor 7 and Myd88 are required for antiretroviral antibody and germinal center responses, but whether somatic hypermutation and class-switch recombination are required for antiretroviral immunity has not been examined. Mice deficient in activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) resisted Friend virus infection, produced virus-neutralizing antibodies, and controlled viremia. Passive transfer demonstrated that immune IgM from AID-deficient mice contributes to Friend virus control in the presence of virus-specific CD4⁺ T cells.     

应用A蛋白亲和层析法纯化单克隆抗体

应用Protein A亲和层析法,从采集的小鼠腹水中纯化出了抗凝血因子Ⅶ单克隆抗体,用SDS-PAGE和ELISA法分别检测了纯化后单克隆抗体的纯度及效价,结果显示,电泳为两条带,分别为免疫球蛋白G(IgG)的重链和轻链,纯化后的单克隆抗体纯度达到电泳纯,应用间接ELISA法测定腹水效价为1×10-7左右,与未纯化前无差异。结果表明,应用A蛋白亲和层析法能够得到纯度较高的单克隆抗体,适用于高纯度单克隆抗体的制备。     

Nucleotide Insertions and Deletions Complement Point Mutations to Massively Expand the Diversity Created by Somatic Hypermutation of Antibodies

During somatic hypermutation (SHM), deamination of cytidine by activation-induced cytidine deaminase and subsequent DNA repair generates mutations within immunoglobulin V-regions. Nucleotide insertions and deletions (indels) have recently been shown to be critical for the evolution of antibody binding. Affinity maturation of 53 antibodies using in vitro SHM in a non-B cell context was compared with mutation patterns observed for SHM in vivo. The origin and frequency of indels seen during in vitro maturation were similar to that in vivo. Indels are localized to CDRs, and secondary mutations within insertions further optimize antigen binding. Structural determination of an antibody matured in vitro and comparison with human-derived antibodies containing insertions reveal conserved patterns of antibody maturation. These findings indicate that activation-induced cytidine deaminase acting on V-region sequences is sufficient to initiate authentic formation of indels in vitro and in vivo and that point mutations, indel formation, and clonal selection form a robust tripartite system for antibody evolution.     

RGD序列修饰的MS2噬菌体样颗粒的构建及表达

目的:构建并表达衣壳蛋白表面展示有精氨酸-甘氨酸-天冬氨酸(RGD)序列的MS2噬菌体样颗粒,以期获得肿瘤细胞靶向性RNA递送载体。方法:用分子克隆技术将RGD4C编码序列插入MS2衣壳蛋白编码基因,然后构建到p ETDuet-1质粒多克隆位点MCS1上;将含有MS2噬菌体包装位点的pre-let-7编码基因构建到p ETDuet-1质粒多克隆位点MCS2上;重组质粒转化大肠杆菌,表达产物纯化后经琼脂糖凝胶电泳、电子显微镜鉴定。结果和结论:采用分子克隆技术和原核细胞单质粒双表达系统获得表面展示有RGD序列,内部包装有pre-let-7 RNA的MS2噬菌体样颗粒,为体内和体外研究其肿瘤细胞靶向递送和功能奠定了基础。     

A Trade-off Between Thermostability and Binding Affinity of Anti-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl)Acetyl Antibodies During the Course of Affinity Maturation

The Protein Journal - Somatic hypermutation (SHM) is one of the driving forces that increases antibody (Ab) affinity. We studied the effects of SHM on thermostability and affinity using three...     

甲醇产纤维素菌株的静态发酵动力学研究

目的:为实现甲醇资源化产细菌纤维素发酵过程的优化,研究纤维素生产菌株一木醋杆菌(Gluconacetobacter χγlinus)的静态发酵动力学特性.方法:将木醋杆菌接入甲醇浓度分别为2.7%和4.5%的培养基中驯化,根据Logistic方程和LuedekingPiret方程,研究周期为13d的静态发酵动力学过程.结果:确定静态发酵过程的菌体生长、细菌纤维素合成、底物消耗的动力学参数,得到动力学方程,拟合试验值与模型值,得到甲醇模拟废水培养基平均拟合误差为16%,略高于基础培养基的14%.结论:利用甲醇产纤维索的模型方程可预测菌浓、产物浓度及底物消耗规律,实现静态发酵过程的优化.     

Bacteriophage Release in a Lysogenic Strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Bacteriophage release in a lysogenic strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens V-1 is temperature-sensitive. At 25 C and 30 C, phage was released in a ratio of 1 plaque-forming unit per 100 bacteria; at 35 C, although bacterial growth was not inhibited, phage release was suppressed. Phage synthesis was induced by heat shock, 42 C for 30 min, ultraviolet irradiation, and mitomycin C. Induction by ultraviolet light was unusual-an immediate rise in phage titer followed irradiation. A large increase occurred after a 90-min latent period. The lysogenic strain was cured of the phage by incubation at 37 C, and the cured strain produced plant tumors.     

Dual Regulatory Control of a Particle Maturation Function of Bacteriophage P1

A unique arrangement of promoter elements was found upstream of the bacteriophage P1 particle maturation gene (mat). A P1-specific late-promoter sequence with conserved elements located at positions -22 and -10 was expected from the function of the gene in phage morphogenesis. In addition to a late-promoter sequence, a -35 element and an operator sequence for the major repressor protein, C1, were found. The -35 and -10 elements constituted an active Escherichia coli sigma(70) consensus promoter, which was converted into a P1-regulated early promoter by the superimposition of a C1 operator. This combination of early- and late-promoter elements regulates and fine-tunes the expression of the particle maturation gene. During lysogenic growth the gene is turned off by P1 immunity functions. Upon induction of lytic growth, the expression of mat starts simultaneously with the expression of other C1-regulated P1 early functions. However, while most of the latter functions are downregulated during late stages of lytic growth the expression of mat continues throughout the entire lytic growth cycle of bacteriophage P1. Thus, the maturation function has a head start on the structural components of the phage particle.     

Involvement of a Bacterial Factor in Morphogenesis of Bacteriophage Capsid

A new bacterial factor has been found necessary for the activity of T4 gene 31, the only catalytic factor in the early stage of phage head formation, to process the assembly of head precursor proteins. In a mutant missing this factor, the precursors of phage head aggregate on the bacterial membrane.     

Ultrastructure of Bacterial Cells Infected with Bacteriophage PM2, a Lipid-containing Bacterial Virus

The cytological pattern of infection of a host pseudomonad with PM2, a lipid-containing bacterial virus, was investigated by electron microscopy. Normal and infected cells frequently contain a myelin figure, which is found in the nucleoid region or at the periphery of the cell. The most striking finding in this investigation was that completed virions are found in the cell adjacent to or in association with the cytoplasmic membrane. This localization is precise; virions are not found elsewhere in infected cells. The completed virions occasionally appear to be attached to the cytoplasmic membrane. The virus contains a darkly staining core surrounded by a tripartite envelope of a thickness of approximately 70 A, which is identical to the thickness of the cytoplasmic membrane. Lysing cells appear to undergo extensive damage of the cytoplasmic membrane prior to rupture of the L layer of the cell wall.     

Rapid Conformational Epitope Mapping of Anti-gp120 Antibodies with a Designed Mutant Panel Displayed on Yeast

gp120 is a substrate for protein engineering both for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) immunogen design and as a bait for isolating anti-HIV antibodies from patient samples. In this work, we describe the display of a stripped core gp120 on the yeast cell surface. Validation against a panel of neutralizing antibodies confirms that yeast-displayed gp120 presents the CD4 binding site in the correct conformation. We map the epitope of the broadly neutralizing anti-gp120 antibody VRC01 using both a random mutagenesis library and a defined mutant panel and find that the resultant epitope maps are consistent with one another and with the crystallographically identified contact residues. Mapping the VRC01-competitive antibodies b12 and b13 reveals energetic differences in their epitopes that are not obvious from existing crystal structures. These data suggest mutation sets that abrogate binding to broadly neutralizing antibodies with greater specificity than the canonical mutation D368R, useful in rapidly assessing the nature of a vaccine response.     

Somatic Mutator activity expression is dependent on the strength of Cy trans-active signals in maize

Summary Two receptor element alleles (vp-rcy and bz-rcy) that respond to the trans-active element (Cy) controlling Mutator activity were used to analyze the strength of trans-active signals from Cy elements derived from a Mutator active line. Evidence is presented that the Mutator population tested consists mainly of a class of weak Cy elements designated as Cy:Mu. When Cy:Mu element are present in only a few copies, the strength of the combined transposition signal is weak. It is only when these active elements have a high copy number that the overall transposition signal is sufficiently strong enough to elicit a high frequency of transposition events. This study seeks to investigate the nature of the trans-active signal from Cy:Mu elements. The implication of these results for molecular studies is discussed.Journal Paper No. J-13083 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, IA, Project No. 2381     

Retrotransposon gypsy and Its Role in Genetic Instability of a Mutator Strain of Drosophila melanogaster

This article summarizes the results of a ten-year study of genetic instability of a mutator strain of Drosophila melanogaster caused by transposition of the gypsy retrotransposon. The results of other authors working with an analogous system are analyzed. Possible mechanisms are suggested for the interaction of gypsy with the cell gene flamenco that participates in transposition control of this mobile element.     

Neutralizing Antibodies Against Allosteric Proteins: Insights From a Bacterial Adhesin

Allosteric proteins transition between ‘inactive’ and ‘active’ states. In general, such proteins assume distinct conformational states at the level of secondary, tertiary and/or quaternary structure. Different conformers of an allosteric protein can be antigenically dissimilar and induce antibodies with a highly distinctive specificities and neutralizing functional effects. Here we summarize studies on various functional types of monoclonal antibodies obtained against different allosteric conformers of the mannose-specific bacterial adhesin FimH – the most common cell attachment protein of Escherichia coli and other enterobacterial pathogens. Included are types of antibodies that activate the FimH function via interaction with ligand-induced binding sites or by wedging between domains as well as antibodies that inhibit FimH through orthosteric, parasteric, or novel dynasteric mechanisms. Understanding the molecular mechanism of antibody action against allosteric proteins provides insights on how to design antibodies with a desired functional effect, including those with neutralizing activity against bacterial and viral cell attachment proteins.