High-performance liquid affinity chromatography on silica-bound alcohol dehydrogenase

Horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase was immobilized on glycerylpropyl-silica (10 micron, 1000-A pores) activated with 2,2,2-trifluoroethanesulfonyl chloride (tresyl chloride). The coupling and activity yield was almost 100%. The coenzyme-binding sites were equivalent and virtually unaffected by the immobilization process, as judged from Scatchard plots and active-site titrations. The silica-bound enzyme, packed in steel columns, was integrated with HPLC equipment and then successfully used for chromatography of adenine nucleosides, adenine nucleotides, and triazine dyes. Dissociation constants were calculated from chromatographic data and found to correspond well with literature values. The dissociation constants for a number of nucleotide derivatives with potential application in affinity chromatography were also determined. The spaces were found to affect the binding strength of the nucleotides in a qualitatively predictable way. Theoretical plate heights were calculated and found to be in the range 0.01 to 0.1 cm. Attempts to correlate peak widths with the rate constants for the binary complexes involved were only partially successful.     

Comparative studies of the binding of some ligands to human serum albumin non-covalently attached to immobilized Cibacron Blue, or covalently immobilized on Sepharose, by column affinity chromatography.

A comparative study of the ligand-binding properties of human serum albumin was performed by the technique of affinity chromatography with the protein attached to immobilized Cibacron Blue F3GA (Blue Sepharose), or covalently immobilized on Sepharose. The binding strength of octanoate, decanoate and dodecanoate is much weaker when human serum albumin is attached to immobilized Cibacron Blue, indicating that the binding sites for fatty acids are involved in the attachment of human serum albumin to immobilized Cibacron Blue. The results revealed additional alterations of the ligand binding when human serum albumin was attached to immobilized Cibacron Blue, involving sites outside of the binding domains of fatty acids. Thus the stereoselective binding of L-tryptophan was abolished, and the resolution of the warfarin enantiomers was impaired. However, the binding strength of warfarin and salicylic acid was rather close to the values observed with human serum albumin covalently immobilized on Sepharose. It is suggested that the availability of the binding sites for L-tryptophan, warfarin and salicylic acid is partially blocked by the complex between albumin and the dye without direct participation in the complex-formation. An alternative interpretation involves an allosteric mechanism brought about by complex-formation between serum albumin and the immobilized Cibacron Blue.     

Preparation of a NAD(H)-polymer matrix showing coenzyme function of the bound pyridine nucleotide

To a Sepharose gel the pyridine nucleotide NAD(H) has been bound using dicyclohexyl carbodiimide. In order to improve the steric availability of the nucleotide for added soluble enzymes such as dehydrogenases, a spacer molecule, ε-amino caproic acid, was inserted between the carbohydrate matrix and the nucleotide. The obtained preparation contained 56 μmoles NAD⁺/g dry polymer. The obtained matrix-bound NAD(H) was accepted as coenzyme by added lactate dehydrogenase. These preparations were still active after storage for several weeks at 4° C and could be used repeatedly without loss of activity. This represents the first necessary step taken in the preparation of compact closed systems consisting of “enzyme–coenzyme–coenzyme-regenerating enzyme” bound to individual polymer beads; such systems eliminate the need for continuous coenzyme addition.     

Peptides with NH2-terminal tryptophan in the adenohypophysis

Summary In the mammalian pituitary formaldehyde-ozone treatment induces strong fluorescence in the cells of the pars intermedia and moderate to strong fluorescence in numerous cells of the pars distalis. Maximum excitation is at 370–375 nm and maximum emission at 495–505 nm. The properties of the cellular fluorescence are indistinguishable from those of tryptamine or peptides with NH₂-terminal tryptophan. From chemical analysis such peptides seem to occur abundantly in the mammalian pituitary. The concentration of these peptides agrees very well with the number and fluorescence intensity of the cells in all species studied. Furthermore, the tryptophyl peptides in the various parts of the pig pituitary have a distribution quite parallel to that of the fluorescent cells. As we have failed to detect tryptamine in the pituitary, we conclude that the formaldehyde-ozone-induced fluorescence in the adenohypophysis reflects the presence of tryptophyl peptides.This study was supported by grants from the Swedish Medical Research Council (04X-1007; 04X-3764), the Ford Foundation, Harald and Greta Jeanssons stiftelse and Riksföreningen mot Cancer (660-K73-01X).For brevity occasionally referred to as tryptophyl peptides.     

Amine-producing endocrine-like cells in the epithelium of urethra and prostate of the guinea-pig a chemical,fluorescence histochemical,and electron microscopic study

Summary The urethra and prostate of the guinea-pig contain at least two types of endocrine-like cells in the epithelium. The predominant type is argentaffin and stores 5-hydroxytryptamine. Treatment with reserpine or a dopa decarboxylase inhibitor markedly reduces the 5-hydroxytryptamine content of this cell type. The other less numerous cell type, which is argyrophil but not argentaffin, is devoid of 5-hydroxytryptamine but can be induced to store dopamine if supplied with dopa. Both cell types occur disseminated in the urethral epithelium, whilst only the argyrophyl, non-argentaffin cell type devoid of 5-hydroxytryptamine is found in the prostate. At the ultrastructural level the argentaffin cell type contains numerous electron-dense cytoplasmic 800–1000 Å granules. These granules are argentaffin, suggesting that they are the storage site for 5-hydroxytryptamine. The cells sometimes reach the urethral lumen via a narrow neck, the apex being endowed with microvilli. This arrangement suggests that the cells are capable of responding to stimuli in the urethral lumen. Preliminary attempts to test the effect of depriving or loading guinea-pigs with water failed to induced changes in the 5-hydroxytryptamine content of the urethral endocrine-like cells.     

Slow and rapid electrical pulses in the caval vein at pain-evoked leg contraction in the rat

Previous in vivo experiments in rats have shown that pulsed nerve stimulations of 20-50 mV require "external" electrical communication over vessels. This indicates that potential differences also should occur in associated vessels, at physiologic muscle contractions. Pinching toes of the hind leg of anaesthetized rats in the present study caused the animals to spontaneously pull the leg. This resulted in electric potential differences over two intracaval electrodes, as well as high frequency spikes. The slow potential pulses and high frequency spikes could be recorded dominantly in the vena cava compared with the extravascular tissue fluid. The electrical prerequisites and the previous experiments support the view that the vascular-interstitial fluid represents an "external" low resistant communication route of a closed circuit over the nerve cell bodies, the axons and the muscle fibers. A closed electrical circuit evidently increases our possibilities for explaining various structural and chemical events of the synaptic membranes.     

Homogeneous penetration but heterogeneous binding of antibodies to carcinoembryonic antigen in human colon carcinoma HT-29 spheroids

Summary The monoclonal antibodies 38S1, directed against the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), were tested for penetration and binding in human colon carcinoma HT-29 spheroids. Penetration was studied with a method which has not previously been used in immunological investigations. The method, which allows unbound substances to be visualized, is based on freeze drying, vapour fixation, dry sectioning and dry autoradiography. The antibodies penetrated easily and all parts of the HT-29 spheroids seemed to be reached within 15 min. The penetration was even faster than in control glioma U-118MG spheroids that did not express CEA. Binding of the 38S1 antibodies was demonstrated after processing with conventional histology and autoradiography. The binding in the HT-29 spheroids was, after a 1-h incubation period, extremely heterogeneous and occurred mainly in the peripheral parts. More cells were binding the antibodies after 8-h and 32-h incubations and these cells were arranged in peripheral clusters. No binding at all was seen in the CEA-negative glioma spheroids. The distribution of CEA antigens in monolayers and in frozen sections of spheroids of HT-29 cells was analysed with immunohistochemical staining using polyclonal CEA antibodies. The CEA antigens were heterogeneously distributed in both spheroids and monolayers and were as heterogeneous as the binding of the monoclonal antibodies in the living spheroids. Thus, the heterogeneous binding in the living spheroids was not due to penetration barriers, but instead to the heterogeneity in the CEA antigen expression.     

Relative positions of some epitopes on carcinoembryonic antigen

Summary To investigate whether anti-(carcinoembryonic antigen) monoclonal antibodies (mAb) react with single or repeated epitopes, sandwich radioimmunoassays in homologous and heterologous combinations were performed. Four mAb (I-27, I-47, II-17 and to some degree II-16) gave homologous binding while two mAb (I-38S1 and II-10) did not. Taken together with previous immunoprecipitation studies we conclude that all these mAb except II-10 react with repeated epitopes. The relative positions of the epitopes recognized by these mAb and of three additional mAb (II-6, II-7 and CB-CEA-1) were investigated using a plate antibody competition test with enzyme-labelled carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). mAb I-38S1, II-6, II-7, II-10, II-16 and CB-CEA-1 were mutually cross-reactive, and were classified as belonging to one epitope group. mAb I-27 and I-47 fell outside this group and did not interfere with the binding of CEA conjugate to mAb II-17 either. They therefore represent a second epitope group. mAb II-17 showed no interference with the binding of CEA to any of the other mAb and must therefore represent a third epitope group. The slopes of the plate antibody competition curves were used for calculation of a correlation matrix, which in turn was used to depict the relative positions of the epitopes recognized by the mAb in the large group.