Studies of the three-dimensional structure of human renin and its inhibitors.
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Humans↗
Biomedical subjects
E Haber
Publications and source records attributed to E Haber.
Reversal of lethal digoxin toxicity in guinea pigs using monoclonal antibodies and Fab fragments.
To extend the potential application of digoxin-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) (Fab) fragments for the reversal of advanced digitalis intoxication, monoclonal digoxin-specific antibodies were obtained by fusion of myeloma cell lines with spleen cells from mice immunized with a digoxin-serum albumin conjugate. The monoclonal antibody from the cell line designated Dig 26-10 had high affinity (KA = 5 X 10(9) M-1) and specificity for digoxin and was tested for its efficacy in the reversal of advanced, otherwise lethal digoxin toxicity in guinea pigs given a loading dose of 500 micrograms of digoxin per kg b.wt. i.v. followed by continuous infusion of digoxin at 10 (IgG-treated group) or 50 (Fab-treated group) microgram/kg/min. Control animals given nonspecific rabbit or mouse Igs after the onset of digoxin-toxic ventricular arrhythmias all died. Administration of monoclonal digoxin-specific antibody as intact IgG in doses stoichiometrically equivalent to the digoxin dose fully reversed digoxin toxicity in six of eight animals and prolonged survival somewhat in the remaining two animals. Fab fragments from the Dig 26-10 monoclonal antibody were even more effective, with rapid reversal (mean time 7 min) of all arrhythmias and survival of all animals so treated. We conclude that murine monoclonal antibodies and their Fab fragments are capable of reversing advanced and otherwise lethal digoxin-induced arrhythmias in a guinea-pig experimental model and offer potential advantages over polyclonal antibodies in the management of this clinically important problem.
Animals↗
Molecular anatomy of the antibody binding site.
The binding region of immunoglobulins, which includes the portion of the molecule having the most variability in its amino acid sequence, is shown to have a surprisingly constant structure that can be characterized in terms of a simple, well-defined model. The binding region is composed of the antigen combining site plus its immediate vicinity and arises by noncovalent association of the light and heavy chain variable domains (VL and VH, respectively). The antigen combining site itself consists of six polypeptide chain segments ("hypervariable loops") which comprise some 80 amino acid residues and are attached to a framework of VL and VH beta-sheet bilayers. Having analyzed refined x-ray crystallographic coordinates for three antigen-binding fragments (Fab KOL (Marquart, M., Deisenhofer, J., and Huber, R. (1980) J. Mol. Biol. 141, 369-391), MCPC 603 (Segal, D., Padlan, E. A., Cohen, G. H., Rudikoff, S., Potter, M., and Davies, D. R. (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 71, 4298-4302), and NEW (Saul, F. A., Amzel, L. M., and Poljak, R. J. (1978) J. Biol. Chem. 253, 585-597] we use the results to introduce a general model for the VL-VH interface forming the binding region. The region consists of two closely packed beta-sheets, and its geometry corresponds to a 9-stranded, cylindrical barrel of average radius 0.84 nm with an average angle of -53 degrees between its two constituent beta-sheets. The barrel forms the bottom and sides of the antigen combining site. The model demonstrates that the structural variability of the binding region is considerably less than was thought previously. Amino acid residues which are part of the domain-domain interface and appear not to be accessible to solvent or antigen contribute to antibody specificity.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Monoclonal antibodies to a synthetic fibrin-like peptide bind to human fibrin but not fibrinogen.
A synthetic heptapeptide from the amino terminus of the beta chain in human fibrin was used as an antigen to produce monoclonal antibodies that bind to fibrin even in the presence of human fibrinogen at the concentration found in plasma. As expected, the antifibrin activity was inhibited by the peptide antigen but not by a control heptapeptide. In a chicken ex vivo circulatory model for fibrin detection, intravenously administered monoclonal antibodies bound to human fibrin-coated disks placed in an extracorporeal chamber. These findings may lead to better methods for identifying deep vein and coronary artery thrombi.
Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
Antibodies as models for rational drug design.
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Animals↗
Relation of immediate and delayed thallium-201 distribution to localization of iodine-125 antimyosin antibody in acute experimental myocardial infarction.
Thallium-201 (TI-201) distribution in acute experimental myocardial infarction (MI) (n = 18) was compared with cardiac-specific antimyosin Fab (AM-Fab) uptake, a specific marker for myocardial necrosis. When antimyosin was injected 4 hours after ligation with TI-201 administered 23 hours 55 minutes later and measurement of myocardial distribution determined 5 minutes after intravenous administration of TI-201, (1) TI-201 distribution closely correlated with microsphere regional blood flow, and (2) an inverse exponential relation to iodine-125 (I-125) AM-Fab uptake was apparent. In another group of 4 animals, TI-201 and AM-Fab were administered intravenously 4 hours after MI, and 36 hours later myocardial distribution was measured. This delayed TI-201 distribution had a close inverse linear correlation with I-125 AM-Fab uptake. This inverse linear relation also was apparent in 28-hour-old MIs in dogs (n = 4) where collateral circulation had been established. TI-201 was administered intravenously at 27 hours after MI, and TI-201 distribution was determined 1 hour later. The present study demonstrated that whereas immediate TI-201 distribution is flow-limited, delayed TI-201 distribution is a marker of cell viability which, due to prolonged circulation time and redistribution, is not flow-limited.
Animals↗
Crystallization of the Fab fragment of a monoclonal anti-digoxin antibody and its complex with digoxin.
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Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
Monoclonal antibodies as physiologic probes.
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Animals↗
Selectivity of angiotensin II antisera.
A significant problem in the immunoassay of angiotensin II is the cross-reactivity of most available antisera with the peptide's metabolic products, (des-Asp1)-angiotensin II and (des-Asp1.Arg2)-angiotensin II. In order to attempt to generate antisera of greater selectivity, a variety of conjugates between angiotensin II or derivative peptides and carrier proteins were examined as immunogens with the aim of generating antisera that would selectively identify the amino terminal region of the peptide. Selectivity for the amino terminus was achieved by either (1) immunization with N-acetylated angiotensin II-amide which had been coupled to rabbit serum albumin by its carboxy terminus, or (2) immunization with angiotensin-(1-7)-heptapeptide which was randomly coupled to thyroglobulin. The antisera produced with the N-acetylated immunogen cross-reacted with the unacetylated ligand (Asn1-Val5)-angiotensin, but did not recognize the human hormone (Asp1,Ile5)-angiotensin. Carboxy-terminal coupling of angiotensin without N-acetylation did not induce selectivity for the amino terminus, nor did a conjugate which was linked to the carrier protein via a diazo bond to His6 of the peptide. These findings may be explained by the fact that N-acetylated angiotensin II resists degradation by amino peptidases and thus retains its structure in the immunogen and by the fact that the (1-7)-heptapeptide has lost the immunodominant carboxy-terminal epitope, thus emphasizing the desired amino terminal determinant.
Angiotensin II↗
Induction of fibrin-specific antibodies by immunization with synthetic peptides that correspond to amino termini of thrombin cleavage sites.
Fibrin-specific antibodies have been produced in rabbits which were immunized with synthetic peptides. Specificity against human fibrin monomer was achieved because the synthetic peptide haptens were derived from sites unique to fibrin as compared with fibrinogen. Two undecapeptides were chemically synthesized according to the amino acid sequence of the amino termini of human fibrin alpha- and beta-chains which are revealed by thrombin cleavage. Rabbits immunized with either an alpha- or beta-chain peptide conjugate produced anti-peptide sera which reacted with fibrin monomer. Following immunoadsorption of the rabbit sera with human fibrinogen-Sepharose, fibrin-specific antibodies were detectable by solid-phase radioimmunoassay that did not react with fibrinogen. Antisera elicited by clotted human fibrin contained antibodies that reacted with fibrin and fibrinogen when treated in a similar manner.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Immunoaffinity chromatography of canine high-molecular-weight renin: partial purification and characterization.
Canine high-molecular-weight renin (mol. wt. 60 000) is believed to be a complex of renin (low-molecular-weight form, mol. wt. 40 000) and renin-binding substance. The immunocross-reactivity of high-molecular-weight renin and low-molecular-weight renin was demonstrated by using antibodies specific to low-molecular-weight renin. Immunoaffinity chromatography with renin-specific antibodies coupled to Sepharose provided a simple and specific method for isolation of high-molecular-weight renin. High-molecular-weight renin with a specific activity of 137 600 ng of ANG I h-1 mg-1 of protein (19.6 Goldblatt units/mg of protein) was obtained. This high-molecular-weight renin was stable in dithiothreitol (25 mmol/l), suggesting that disulphide bonds may not be involved in the binding mechanism between low-molecular-weight renin and renin-binding substance. However, exposure to low pH (3.0) resulted in conversion of high-molecular-weight renin into the low-molecular-weight form.
Animals↗
Quantitative removal of hepatitis B viral antigens from serum by a monoclonal IgM coupled to a biocompatible solid-phase support.
We covalently linked to regenerated cellulose filters a high-affinity monoclonal IgM produced against epitopes that reside on hepatitis B viral surface antigen (HBsAg). Conditions were established whereby as much as 250 micrograms of anti-HBsAg IgM could be linked to 2-4 mg of regenerated cellulose acetate by using cyanogen bromide and trichloro-s-triazine coupling agents. The immunoreactivity of the monoclonal anti-HBsAg IgM was preserved, and quantitative binding studies with HBsAg suggests that more than one functional binding site on the IgM molecule was operative. The specificity of the monoclonal anti-HBsAg IgM was established by demonstrating that a nonspecific monoclonal IgM (against influenza hemagglutinin), when coupled to the filters under identical conditions, had no effect on removal of HBsAg from serum. Most importantly, the monoclonal anti-HBsAg IgM-coupled filters quantitatively removed low levels of HBsAg from serum; after the third pass through the filter, HBsAg was undetectable in the perfusate. Further, the stability of the covalent bond between the anti-HBsAg IgM and regenerated cellulose acetate was shown by the lack of detectable murine monoclonal anti-HBsAg IgM in filtered serum despite 50 passages through the filter. Thus, we have demonstrated that monoclonal IgM antibodies with predefined specificity, when coupled to a biocompatible solid-phase support, may serve as a high-affinity and specific immunoabsorbant for quantitative removal and recovery of viral antigens from human serum. By using this approach, specific removal and recovery of many other substances from serum or plasma would seem possible.
Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
Synthesis of a cyclic fibrin-like peptide and its analysis by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry.
For immunochemical purposes, a cyclic 12-peptide was synthesized to model the gamma-gamma-chain cross-link site in human fibrin. The model was based upon the structure proposed by Chen & Doolittle (Biochemistry (1971) 10, 4486-4491) which is characterized by two reciprocating epsilon-(gamma-Glu)Lys bonds between adjacent fibrin gamma-chains oriented in an antiparallel manner. To achieve the antiparallel orientation of the peptide backbone, Pro and Gly were inserted at positions 6 and 7 of the linear 12-peptide: acetyl-Gly-Glu-Gln-His-His-Pro-Gly-Gly-Gly-Ala-Lys-Gly-amide. The insertions were made to facilitate a reverse turn of the peptide during the last synthetic step, which was formation of the epsilon-(gamma-Glu)Lys bond between Glu at position 2 and Lys at position 11 with diphenylphosphorylazide. The resulting cyclic peptide represented half of the symmetrical cross-linked region in clotted fibrin. Following purification by HPLC, both linear and cyclic 12-peptides were analyzed by fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Abundant molecular protonated ions were observed for both peptides. In addition, the amino acid sequence of the linear peptide and the location of the epsilon-(gamma-Glu)Lys bond in the cyclized peptide could be verified.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Early membrane damage during coronary reperfusion in dogs. Detection by radiolabeled anticardiac myosin (Fab')2.
There is currently great interest in acute coronary reperfusion as a therapeutic modality for severe myocardial ischemia. While some studies have demonstrated a reduction in the overall extent of necrosis by early reperfusion, other studies have identified potentially deleterious effects produced by reflow. Because membrane disruption may be an important mechanism of irreversible cell injury, we measured changes in cell membrane integrity early during reperfusion using radiolabeled anticardiac myosin (Fab')2 antibody fragments in dogs. Our method involved brief periods of exposure to the (Fab')2 so that the levels of (Fab')2 binding indicated the degree of membrane disruption at discrete times during the progression of cell injury. In the first protocol (Fab')2 fragments labeled with either 125I and 131I were injected into the left circumflex coronary artery at the onset of reflow and at 45 min of reflow after a 1-h circumflex artery occlusion. Coronary sinus flow was diverted for 5 min following each injection to prevent recirculation. The (Fab')2 binding ratio (ischemic/control) increased during the first 45 min of reflow in each of eight experiments (mean increase 170%, P less than 0.01). No significant increase in (Fab')2 binding was observed in five additional experiments in which nonspecific (Fab')2 was injected. This indicates that the increase in binding seen with antimyosin-specific (Fab')2 was due to changes in specific binding rather than to alterations in (Fab')2 delivery produced by changes in blood flow distribution. The increase in membrane damage during reflow was confirmed by a second protocol in which each animal received only a single left atrial injection of (Fab')2 followed by rapid excision of the heart. The (Fab')2 binding ratio was 1.7 +/- 0.3 (SEM) in the group that received (Fab')2 at the onset of reflow and 3.7 +/- 0.6 (SEM) (P less than 0.05) in the group that received (Fab')2 after 45 min of reflow. In a third set of experiments in which hyperosmotic mannitol was infused during reflow the mean increase in (Fab')2 binding using the first protocol was only 80 +/- 40 vs. 170 +/- 30% without mannitol (P less than 0.05). Thus, membrane damage develops early during coronary reperfusion following 1 h of circumflex coronary artery occlusion, and part of this membrane damage can be prevented by altering the conditions of reflow. A method involving brief exposure of the myocardium to antimyosin (Fab')2 is promising for detecting changes in membrane integrity during evolving ischemic injury.
Animals↗
Inhibitors of renin: present and future.
Four classes of compounds have been demonstrated to be renin inhibitors of high potency: specific antibody, general peptide inhibitors of acid proteases, analogs of angiotensinogen and peptides that are related to the amino-terminal sequence of renin's precursor (Pro-renin). With the purification of renin, specific polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies have become available. The former have already been used extensively in physiologic studies in intact animals. Pepstatin is an inhibitor of many acid proteases. Its in vivo application has been retarded by its relative insolubility, but recent chemical modifications, particularly the addition of charged amino acids at the carboxy-terminus have rendered it more useful. The minimal substrate for renin is an octapeptide segment of the protein substrate: His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr. Variants of this sequence have resulted in competitive inhibitors that are useful in vivo. Recently, remarkably active inhibitors have been synthesized by reducing the peptide bond that is cleaved by renin, producing what may be a transition state inhibitor. Several of these peptides have been shown to be effective as in vivo inhibitors of the hypertensive effect of the enzyme. The development of inhibitors based on Pro-renin sequences are awaited with interest.
Angiotensin II↗
Antibodies as specific renin inhibitors: studies with polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies and Fab fragments.
The use of antirenin antibody and Fab may provide a more specific physiologic tool and potential therapeutic agent than the existing pharmacologic inhibitors. The antibody combining site, by virtue of its larger size than organic compounds, has the capacity for a larger number of intramolecular contacts with its ligands, thus allowing increased selectivity and affinity. Renin-specific Fab obtained through immunization with purified dog renal renin has been studied. Fab had no effect on blood pressure in the sodium replete conscious dog but induced systemic hypotensive responses in the sodium deplete animal or during acute renovascular hypertension. These responses were accompanied with complete suppression of plasma renin and angiotensin II levels. The vasodepressor responses of Fab were comparable to the converting enzyme inhibitor, teprotide. However, the latter induced a greater renal vasodilator effect. Since antibodies and their fragments derived from immune sera are limited in their application to physiologic study with respect to lack of homogeneity, reproducibility and limitation of quantity, we obtained monoclonal antibodies to purified human renal renin. Fusion HR3 yielded 14 renin-antibody secreting clones. Six clones have been isolated and characterized. Isotypes include IgG1 and IgM. Kd's range from 6 X 10(-9) to 7.5 X 10(-10)M renin concentration. Five clones produce antibodies with antienzymatic activity. IC50's of these antibodies range from 1 X 10(-6) to 6 X 10(-8)M. All antibodies are renin-specific and do not bind several nonrenin enzymes and proteins examined. They are also highly species specific, i.e., do not crossreact with mouse, dog, bovine or rat renins but recognize hog renin. These catalytic-site directed antibodies may be highly potent and specific tools for physiologic studies in subhuman primates and man.
Animals↗
Peptide inhibitors of renin in cardiovascular studies.
Renin is a proteolytic enzyme that may be inhibited in vivo by three classes of compounds: specific antibody, general peptide inhibitors of acid proteases, and substrate analogs. With the availability of highly purified renin, specific polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies have become available. The former have already been used extensively in physiological studies with intact animals. Pepstatin is an inhibitor of many acid proteases. Its in vivo application has been retarded by relative insolubility, but recent chemical modifications, particularly the addition of charged amino acids at the carboxy terminus, have rendered it more useful. The minimal substrate for renin is an octapeptide segment of the protein substrate: His-Pro-Phe-His-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr. Variants of this sequence have resulted in competitive inhibitors that are useful in vivo. Effectiveness of a given peptide varies among different species of animals, possibly because of different substrate specificity. To support this hypothesis, it has been reported that the amino acid sequences of angiotensinogens around the site where renin cleaves may vary among species. Effectiveness of inhibitors is also dependent on the hydrophobicity of amino acids near the cleavage site. Recently, remarkably active inhibitors have been synthesized by reducing the peptide bond that is cleaved by renin. Studies with monkeys show that a peptide renin inhibitors may cause hypotension after sodium depletion and normalize blood pressure in Goldblatt hypertension to the same degree as a converting-enzyme inhibitor.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Immunologic approaches to the inhibition of renin and the adrenergic system.
It is uncommon for the small organic compounds used as drugs to possess unique target specificity. Thus, receptor antagonists as well as compounds that inhibit enzymes interact more widely than with their intended targets, actions that at times defeat the selectivity desired in their design. The antibody combining site, because it is a size larger than most drugs, has the capacity for a large number of interatomic contacts with its ligands, which provides the physical basis for increased selectivity and affinity. Two examples are described in applications where highly selective drugs are not available, the inhibition of the enzyme renin and the blockade of the beta 1-adrenergic receptor. Antibody specificity is achieved in the first instance by purifying the immunogen renin. In the second example, an antibody is generated in the absence of a purified beta receptor, by using a beta-blocking drug to generate an antibody that acts as a receptor model and the immunologic principle of anti-idiotypy to provide a second antibody that recognizes the receptor.
Animals↗