Preparation and characterisation of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to maize membrane auxin-binding protein

Binding proteins, thought to be auxin receptors, can be solubilised from maize (Zea mays L.) membranes after acetone treatment. From these crude extracts, receptor preparations of over 50% purity can be obtained by a reliable, straight-forward procedure involving three chromatographic steps — anion exchange, gel filtration and high-resolution anion exchange. Such preparations have been used to immunise rats for subsequent production of monoclonal antibodies. By the further step of native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the semi-purified preparations yield homogeneous, dimeric (22-kilodalton, kDa) auxin-binding protein, which has been used to produce a polyclonal rabbit antiserum. The preliminary characterisation of this antiserum and of the five monoclonal antibodies is presented. Two of the monoclonal antibodies specifically recognise the major 22-kDa-binding protein polypeptide whilst the other three recognise, in addition, a minor 21-kDa species. All the monoclonal antibodies recognise the polypeptide rather than the glycan side chain and the polyclonal antiserum also recognises deglycosylated binding protein. The antibodies have been used to quantify the abundance of auxinbinding protein in a number of tissues of etiolated maize seedlings. Root membranes contain 20-fold less binding protein than coleoptile membranes.Abbreviations ABP auxin-binding protein - DEAE diethylaminoethyl - Ig immunoglobulin - kDa kilodalton - NAA naphthalene-1-acetic acid - M_r relative molecular mass - PAGE polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - SDS sodium dodecyl sulfate     

A nuclear protein associated with cell divisions in plants

A nuclear protein, present in carrot meristems and rapidly proliferating cultured cells of carrot (Daucus carota L.) has been identified by the use of a monoclonal antibody (MAb 21D7). By combining the techniques of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel analysis and blotting separated proteins onto nitrocellulose sheets, it was shown that the antibody detected a single polypeptide of apparent molecular mass (M _r) of 45000 and an isoelectric focusing point (pI) of 6.7. This protein was found by subcellular fractionation and immunofluorescence to be highly concentrated in the nucleoli of somatic and zygotic embryos of a wide range of plants. It was not detectable in logarthmically growing cells ofEscherichia coli, yeast, embryos ofDrosophila melanogaster or cultured C3H mouse cells. These data indicate that this protein is a highly conserved non-histone protein associated with nuclei of rapidly dividing plant cells.Abbreviations M _r apparent molecular mass - Da dalton - Ig immunoglobulins - MAb monoclonal antibody - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - 2-D gel two-dimensional gel electrophoresis - 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid     

Monoclonal antibodies to a fern spermatozoid detect novel components of the mitotic and cytokinetic apparatus in higher plant cells

Summary The aim of this study was to search for uncharacterized components of the plant cytoskeleton using monoclonal antibodies raised against spermatozoids of the fernPteridium (Marc et al. 1988). The cellular distribution of crossreacting immunoreactive material during the division cycle in wheat root tip cells was determined by immunofluorescence microscopy and compared to the fluorescence pattern obtained with antitubulin. Five antibodies are of special interest. Pas1D3 and Pas5F4 detect a diffuse cytoplasmic material, which, during mitosis, follows the distribution of microtubules (MTs) at the nuclear surface and in the preprophase band (PPB), spindle and phragmoplast. The immunoreactive material codistributes specifically with MT arrays of the mitotic apparatus and does not associate with interphase cortical MTs. Pas5D8 is relevant to the PPB and spatial control of cytokinesis. It binds in a thin layer at the cytoplasmic surface throughout the cell cycle, except when its coverage is transiently interrupted by an exclusion zone at the PPB site and later at the same site when the phragmoplast fuses with the parental cell wall.Pas2G6 reacts with a component of basal bodies and the flagellar band in thePteridium spermatozoid and recognizes irregularly shaped cytoplasmic vesicles in wheat cells. During interphase these particles form a cortical network.Pas6D7 binds to dictyosomes and dictyosome vesicles. At anaphase the vesicles accumulate at the equator and subsequently condense into the cell plate.Abbreviations MT microtubule - PPB preprophase band     

High cell density perfusion culture of hybridoma cells recycling high molecular weight components

We have developed a high cell density and high product concentration culture system recycling high molecular weight components. The production of monoclonal antibodies in high concentration was performed by this culture system with mouse human hybridoma H2 and V6 cells in serum-free defined media.The concentration of IgG after 48 days culture of H2 cells in ITES-eRDF reached 2 mg/ml and the purity of IgG in culture fluid was 61%. In addition, high molecular weight components in serum-free media, such as transferrin or BSA, could be reduced to 5% of the original concentration.     

Egg yolk lipoprotein,a new supplement for the growth of mammalian cells in serum-free medium

Egg yolk lipoprotein promoted growth of a wide variety of mammalian cell lines, including plasma-cytomas and epithelial cell lines, in serum-free medium. The lipoprotein was active for cell growth when used with insulin, transferrin, ethanolamine and selenite. The most active lipoprotein fraction (YLP-pI7.5) was purified to give a single peak by chromatofocusing and gel filtration, and was homogeneous on a 0.35% agarose gel electrophoretogram. The lipoprotein was characterised as a very low density lipoprotein with a protein content of only 1.3%. This lipoprotein had an optimal concentration of 300 g/ml (4 g protein/ml). It was easily separable from proteinous molecules secreted into the serum-free medium by the cells, since it floated on the surface of the medium after addition of ammonium sulfate, to precipitate protein, and centrifugation. An associated structure of lipid and protein seemed to be still necessary for the lipoprotein to exhibit a growth promoting activity.     

应用明胶颗粒凝集试验检测人免疫缺陷病病毒(HIV-1)抗体

明胶颗粒凝集试验是测定HIV-1抗体的新方法。本研究将明胶颗粒凝集试验与ELISA法、蛋白印迹法和间接免疫荧光试验做了比较,观察本方法的敏感性和特异性。共检测了195份来自法国和非洲象牙海岸的血清,凡是蛋白印迹法阳性的血清,明胶颗粒凝试验都是阳性。这表明本方法是特异和敏感的,方法简便,不需特殊仪器,省时,可用于HIV-1抗体的筛选,但多数蛋白印迹法可疑的血清,明胶颗粒试验均阴性。因此,对蛋白印迹法测出的可疑者应该用数种方法进行追踪检测。     

Appearance of an intra-acrosomal antigen during the terminal step of spermiogenesis in the rat

Summary In a survey of sperm antigens in the rat, a new intra-acrosomal antigen was found using a monoclonal antibody MC41 raised against rat epididymal spermatozoa. The MC41 was immunoglobulin G₁ and recognized spermatozoa from rat, mouse and hamster. Indirect immunofluorescence with MC41 specifically stained the crescent region of the anterior acrosome of the sperm head. Immuno-gold electron microscopy demonstrated that the antigen was localized within the acrosomal matrix. Immunoblot study showed that MC41 recognized a band of approximately 165000 dalton in the extract of rat sperm from the cauda epididymidis. Immunohistochemistry with MC41 demonstrated that the antigen was first detected in approximately step-2 spermatids, and distributed over the entire cytoplasmic region of spermatids from step 2 to early step 19. The head region became strongly stained in late step-19 spermatids and then in mature spermatozoa. Distinct immunostaining was not found in the developing acrosome of spermatids throughout spermiogenesis. These results suggest that the MC41 antigen is a unique intra-acrosomal antigen which is accumulated into the acrosome during the terminal step of spermiogenesis.     

Immunotargeting of daunomycin to localized and metastatic human colon adenocarcinoma in athymic mice

Summary A monoclonal antibody (designated SF25), which recognizes a protein antigen expressed on a large number of human colon carcinomas, was used for drug targeting. Daunomycin-antibody conjugates were prepared by two previously described procedures. In one, the drug was bound to the antibody through a spacer of small molecular mass (cis-aconitic acid), while in the other a dextran bridge served as the link between drug and antibody. High substitution rates of drug to antibody were obtained using the latter binding procedure. Both conjugates were tested in vitro against two human colon carcinoma cell lines, LS180 and KM-12. The efficacy of a daunomycin-dextran-SF25 antibody conjugate was tested against colon carcinoma LS180 tumors transplanted at different sites into athymic mice. The specific conjugate was significantly more inhibitory to a subcutaneous tumor growth than its components or their mixture. SF25 antibody alone showed antitumoral effects against all three forms of transplanted tumor tested, namely, local, metastatic or intrahepatic, whereas daunomycin, on its own, was effective only against the subcutaneous tumor. Binding of daunomycin to dextran partially improved its inhibitory activity against the metastatic tumor. The conjugate, daunomycin-dextran-SF25 antibody reduced the number of metastatic foci, increased the survival rate and delayed death. Yet against lymph node metastases it was not significantly better than a mixture of both constituents. However, results obtained with an intrahepatic tumor, a model that mimics the natural progression of the disease, resembled those described with the subcutaneous tumor. Daunomycin-dextran-SF25 antibody was significantly more effective than all components separately and than a mixture of drug and antibody, provided a highly drug-substituted conjugate was used.     

Induction of an immune response through the idiotypic network with monoclonal anti-idiotype antibodies in the carcinoembryonic antigen system.

Anti-idiotype antibodies can mimic the conformational epitopes of the original antigen and act as antigen substitutes for vaccination and/or serological purposes. To investigate this possibility concerning the tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), BALB/c mice were immunized with the previously described anti-CEA monoclonal antibody (MAb) 5.D11 (AB1). After cell fusion, 15 stable cloned cell lines secreting anti-Ids (AB2) were obtained. Selected MAbs gave various degrees of inhibition (up to 100%) of the binding of 125I-labeled CEA to MAb 5.D11. Absence of reactivity of anti-Id MAbs with normal mouse IgG was first demonstrated by the fact that anti-Id MAbs were not absorbed by passage through a mouse IgG column, and second because they bound specifically to non-reduced MAb 5.D11 on Western blots. Anti-5.D11 MAbs did not inhibit binding to CEA of MAb 10.B9, another anti-CEA antibody obtained in the same fusion as 5.D11, or that of several anti-CEA MAbs reported in an international workshop, with the exception of two other anti-CEA MAbs, both directed against the GOLD IV epitope. When applied to an Id-anti-Id competitive radioimmunoassay, a sensitivity of 2 ng/ml of CEA was obtained, which is sufficient for monitoring circulating CEA in carcinoma patients. To verify that the anti-Id MAbs have the potential to be used as CEA vaccines, syngeneic BALB/c mice were immunized with these MAbs (AB2). Sera from immunized mice were demonstrated to contain AB3 antibodies recognizing the original antigen, CEA, both in enzyme immunoassay and by immunoperoxidase staining of human colon carcinoma. These results open the perspective of vaccination against colorectal carcinoma through the use of anti-idiotype antibodies as antigen substitutes.     

The membrane dialysis bioreactor with integrated radial-flow fixed bed —a new approach for continuous cultivation of animal cells

A hybridoma cell was cultivated continuously in a membrane dialysis bioreactor with an integrated radial-flow fixed bed consisting of porous Siran^® carriers over a period of 6 weeks. Antibodies accumulated to an average of 100 mg l^?1, approx. 10 times more than in fixed bed cultures without dialysis membrane. Serum costs could be reduced about 85% due to an appropriate feeding strategy. Siran^® carriers with 3–5 mm diameter showed an advantage compared to those with 1–2 mm diameter. For the 3–5 mm carrier the specific glucose uptake rate and the MAb production rate were constant, if the velocity was between 0.09 mm s^?1 and 0.75 mm s^?1. At higher velocities cells are washed out of the bed. Furthermore antibody consistency and cell stability were verified in long-term cultivations over a period of 96 days. From an estimation of the antibody concentration reachable with the reactor concept under optimal conditions a concentration 45 times higher compared to axial-flow fixed bed reactors and 11 times higher compared to stirred tank reactors can be expected.