Glycoprotein complex

Abstract: A fraction of la-like glycoproteins was prepared from rat thymocytes by lentil lectin affinity chromatography and gel filtration in deoxycholate. Spleen cells from mice immunized with this preparation were fused with myeloma cells to produce antibody-secreting hybrid cell lines. Antibody from four lines called MRC OX, 3, 4, 5, 6 reacted with the la-like glycoproteins, and MRC OX 3 antibody recognized an antigenie determinant polymorphic in the rat. All four antibodies also bound to mouse spleen cells and all detected polymorphisms. Studies on recombinant mouse strains suggest that the determinants are coded by the I-A subregion of the H-2 complex. MRC OX 3 correlates with Ia specificity 9, while MRC OX 4, 5, 6 correlate with specificity 17 or 18. MRC OX 4 monoclonal antibody was used for affinity chromatography to purify Ia glycoproteins from rat spleen. The rat Ia glycoprotein complex was composed of two noncovalently linked polypeptide chains of apparent mol. wt. (unreduced) 30 000 and 24 000 as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The purified Ia glycoprotein partially inhibited the binding to thoracic duct lymphocytes of an alloantiserum which detects Ia antigens linked to the major histocompatibility complex. The monoclonal anti-la antibodies bound to the majority of peripheral B lymphocytes and 18% of thymocytes, but did not significantly bind to peripheral T lymphocytes. There were on average 150000 molecules of Ia glycoprotein per la-positive B lymphocyte, and 45 000 molecules per la-positive thymocyte. From the same fusion, another cell line was prepared called MRC OX 2 which secretes monoclonal antibody to a previously undefined thymus glycoprotein of apparent mol. wt. 60000. Preliminary studies showed that the antigen was expressed on all thymocytes and on peripheral B lymphocytes in smaller amounts. It was also present in brain, but not liver or kidney homogenate.

Abstract: We recently demonstrated that inhibitors of nitric oxide (NO) production cause a dramatic increase in leukocyte adherence and emigration in postcapillary venules. The objective of this study was to assess whether inhibition of NO production leads to vascular protein leakage and increased microvascular permeability in feline small intestine and to determine whether adherent leukocytes contribute to these responses. Whereas NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) produced fivefold increases in microvascular fluid and protein fluxes, capillary pressure remained unchanged. In some experiments, venous pressure was elevated and the microvascular reflection coefficient for total proteins (sigma d) was estimated from lymph to plasma protein concentration ratio at high capillary filtration rates. L-NAME infusion increased 1 - sigma d (permeability index) from a control value of 0.21 +/- 0.02 to 0.41 +/- 0.07. All of the L-NAME-induced microvascular alterations were completely reversed by nitroprusside. Some animals were pretreated with a monoclonal antibody (MoAb IB4) directed against the leukocyte adhesion glycoprotein complex CD11/CD18. MoAb IB4 did not prevent the initial rise in vascular protein leakage but greatly attenuated the later (30-60 min) phase of enhanced vascular protein leakage. Local intra-arterial infusion of the NO synthesis inhibitor L-NAME (0.025 mumol.ml-1.min-1) produced a profound increase in leukocyte adhesion in postcapillary venules that was partly reversed by sodium nitroprusside administration (0.025 mumol.ml-1.min-1). These results suggest that inhibition of NO production by vascular endothelium leads to a reversible increase in microvascular protein efflux that is mediated by both leukocyte-dependent and -independent mechanisms.

Abstract: We have analyzed the unique epitope for the broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibody (MAb) 2G12 on the gp120 surface glycoprotein of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Sequence analysis, focusing on the conservation of relevant residues across multiple HIV-1 isolates, refined the epitope that was defined previously by substitutional mutagenesis (A. Trkola, M. Purtscher, T. Muster, C. Ballaun, A. Buchacher, N. Sullivan, K. Srinivasan, J. Sodroski, J. P. Moore, and H. Katinger, J. Virol. 70:1100-1108, 1996). In a biochemical study, we digested recombinant gp120 with various glycosidase enzymes of known specificities and showed that the 2G12 epitope is lost when gp120 is treated with mannosidases. Computational analyses were used to position the epitope in the context of the virion-associated envelope glycoprotein complex, to determine the variability of the surrounding surface, and to calculate the surface accessibility of possible glycan- and polypeptide-epitope components. Together, these analyses suggest that the 2G12 epitope is centered on the high-mannose and/or hybrid glycans of residues 295, 332, and 392, with peripheral glycans from 386 and 448 on either flank. The epitope is mannose dependent and composed primarily of carbohydrate, with probably no direct involvement of the gp120 polypeptide surface. It resides on a face orthogonal to the CD4 binding face, on a surface proximal to, but distinct from, that implicated in coreceptor binding. Its conservation amidst an otherwise highly variable gp120 surface suggests a functional role for the 2G12 binding site, perhaps related to the mannose-dependent attachment of HIV-1 to DC-SIGN or related lectins that facilitate virus entry into susceptible target cells.

Abstract: The few antibodies that can potently neutralize human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) recognize the limited number of envelope glycoprotein epitopes exposed on infectious virions. These native envelope glycoprotein complexes comprise three gp120 subunits noncovalently and weakly associated with three gp41 moieties. The individual subunits induce neutralizing antibodies inefficiently but raise many nonneutralizing antibodies. Consequently, recombinant envelope glycoproteins do not elicit strong antiviral antibody responses, particularly against primary HIV-1 isolates. To try to develop recombinant proteins that are better antigenic mimics of the native envelope glycoprotein complex, we have introduced a disulfide bond between the C-terminal region of gp120 and the immunodominant segment of the gp41 ectodomain. The resulting gp140 protein is processed efficiently, producing a properly folded envelope glycoprotein complex. The association of gp120 with gp41 is now stabilized by the supplementary intermolecular disulfide bond, which forms with approximately 50% efficiency. The gp140 protein has antigenic properties which resemble those of the virion-associated complex. This type of gp140 protein may be worth evaluating for immunogenicity as a component of a multivalent HIV-1 vaccine.