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C Pinilla

Publications and source records attributed to C Pinilla.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Elucidation of discontinuous linear determinants in peptides.

Synthetic peptides, made by the method of simultaneous multiple peptide synthesis, were coupled to the protein carrier keyhole limpet hemocyanin and used to raise mAb. Omission and substitution analogs of the original peptides were tested by ELISA to characterize their reactivity with the respective mAb. Linear antigenic determinants were located for 18 different peptides by using omission analogs. The length of the antigenic determinants ranged from 2 to 8 residues, with an average of 6 residues. The three aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and tyrosine, the charged hydrophilic amino acids, aspartic acid and lysine, and the neutral amino acid alanine were found to occur most often in the determinant region of the peptides tested, whereas asparagine, cysteine, and histidine occurred the least often. Alanine substitution analogs provided more information than omission analogs by enabling the determination of which side chain groups of the antigenic determinant residues were not critical for binding to the mAb. Detailed, "fingerprint" information about the interaction of the peptide, GASPYPNLSNQQT, and its mAb was obtained by synthesizing a complete series of analogs with individual substitutions for each position of the antigenic determinant, PYPNLS, with the 19 other amino acids. These results suggest that, at the amino acid level, all antigenic determinants of synthetic peptides defined by mAb can be considered discontinuous linear determinants.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Elucidation of monoclonal antibody polyspecificity using a synthetic combinatorial library.

The potential polyspecificity of an antipeptide monoclonal antibody was systematically examined using a soluble synthetic combinatorial library (SCL). This SCL was composed of 400 different hexapeptide mixtures, each of which consisted of more than 130,000 peptides totalling 50 million individual sequences in approximately equimolar concentration. The 400 peptide mixtures making up this SCL were screened by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for their ability to inhibit monoclonal antibody binding to the original immunizing peptide. Individual peptides were derived from three different peptide mixtures of the peptide library through an iterative screening and selection process. In addition to the identification of the six-residue antigenic determinant recognized by this monoclonal antibody, two other hexapeptides were found to have binding affinities 5- to 10-fold higher than the original antigenic determinant sequence. These peptide sequences represent analogs in which a polar amino acid (threonine) in the original antigenic determinant was substituted with a large, aromatic amino acid (either tryptophan or tyrosine). Peptide analogs of the antigenic determinant, ranging from single to multiple substitutions, as well as peptide sequences completely unrelated to the immunizing peptide, were also identified having binding affinities comparable to the original immunogen. The present study illustrates the power of SCLs for the determination of alternative binding motifs for antigen antibody interactions. The use of SCLs in this manner may help to elucidate the extent of cross-reactivity, polyspecificity and molecular mimicry found in antigen-antibody interactions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Highly specific, cross-reactive sequences recognized by an anti-HBsAg antibody identified from a positional scanning synthetic combinatorial library.

The binding specificity of a monoclonal antibody (MAb 12) known to recognize the surface antigen of hepatitis B virus (HBsAg) was studied using a positional scanning synthetic combinatorial library. A hexapeptide library totaling more than 30 x 10(6) sequences, made up of 120 mixtures having a single position defined with individual amino acids and the remaining five positions composed of mixtures of amino acids, was screened by competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). This led to the identification of Ac-STTSMM-NH2 (IC50 = 170 nM), which specifically inhibited the interaction between HBsAg and MAb 12. One of the most active individual mixtures from the library was Ac-XXXPXX-NH2; however, none of the individual peptides synthesized containing proline at the fourth position showed significant activity (IC50 > 100,000 nM). To identify the individual peptide(s) responsible for the activity of Ac-XXXPXX-NH2, a bidirectional iterative synthesis and selection process was carried out. A completely different but active peptide sequence was identified (Ac-SVGPPH-NH2, IC50 = 165 nM). The two different hexapeptide sequences were prepared as linear homo- and heterodimer peptides in an attempt to improve the antigenicity. Of the four different sequences prepared, one heterodimer (Ac-STTSMMGGGSVGPPH-NH2) was found by ELISA to have a 10-fold improvement in activity over the two individual hexapeptides, and was equal to the inhibitory activity of the protein antigen. The equilibrium affinity constant of the MAb 12 toward this heterodimer sequence was 50-fold higher than the protein antigen when measured in a biosensor system. Since motifs from these two hexapeptides, namely, -STTS- and -GP-, were located in the primary sequence of the protein (residues 114-120, subtype ad), overlapping hexapeptides of this region were synthesized and assayed. The most active hexapeptide, namely, Ac-TTSTGP-NH2 (IC50 = 2.3 microM), was 10-fold less active than either hexapeptide found from the library. Extending the specific motif sequences to eleven residues resulted in an analog (Ac-STTSTGPSRTC-NH2) having an equilibrium affinity constant similar to the heterodimer. The combined use of positional scanning libraries and the iterative synthesis and selection process in this study illustrates the power of these methods for the identification of novel peptides that inhibit anti-protein antibodies. These methods can be directly applied to the development of improved immunodiagnostics.

Amino Acid Sequence↗