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Biomedical subjects

I Pecht

Publications and source records attributed to I Pecht.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Spectroscopic properties of light-chain derivatives of murine MOPC-315 immunoglobulin A.

Three light-chain derivatives of the homogeneous IgA, secreted by the mouse myeloma MOPC-315, were studied employing circular dichroism and thermal-perturbation spectroscopy: (a) the light-chain dimer with intact native inter-chain disulfide bond, L2,cov; (b) the light-chain dimer with this bond reduced and alkylated, L2,ncov; and (c) the dimer of only the variable regions of the light chains, (VL)2. Comparison of the well resolved circular dichroism spectra of these derivatives allowed the assignments of the bands above 290 nm to the following chromophores: Trp-35L and Trp-91L in the variable domains, and Trp-148L, Trp-185L and the disulfide of Cys-214L in the constant domains. The differences in the spectral characteristics of L2,cov as compared to those of L2,ncov and (VL)2 illustrate the significant influence of the disulfide bridge on the conformation of the L2,cov. Pronounced differences are found between these light-chain derivatives ant the light chain--heavy chain associates, namely the intact protein M-315 and FV fragment. The comparison between the CD spectra of the free and the hapten-bound L2,cov, L2,ncov and (VL)2 directly demonstrates the existence of the conformational transitions in these proteins induced by hapten binding.

Alkylation↗
PubMed1980

A binding site on mast cells and basophils for the anti-allergic drug cromolyn.

Calcium permeability of basophil and mast cell membranes is stimulated on allergen binding to its specific membrane-bound IgE. This entry of Ca2+ ions into the cell triggers the degranulation and secretion process. Disodium cromoglycate (cromolyn DSCG), the disodium salt of 1,3-bis(-2-carboxychromon-5-yloxy)-2-hydroxypropane, inhibits the degranulation and release of anaphylactic mediators, and has found wide application in the treatment of allergic bronchial asthma. Accumulated evidence indicates that this inhibition takes place by blocking the calcium uptake. To localize its site of action, the drug has been covalently conjugated to fluorescent polyacrylamide and polyglutaraldehyde beads (0.7 and 0.2 microns in diameter, respectively). We show here that these drug-bead conjugates (DBC) do prevent the drug penetrating into the cell without reducing its ability to inhibit histamine release (Table 1). Furthermore, we show a specific Ca2+-dependent binding of the DBC to the membranes of rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMC) and basophils.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

A common mechanism of hapten binding to immunoglobulins and their heterologous chain recombinants.

Kinetics and thermodynamics of binding of the hapten beta-D-(1-6)-galactotriose to the homogeneous IgA T-601 and to heterologous recombinants of heavy and light chains prepared from mouse myeloma IgA's X-24, J-539, and T-601, which all have the same galactan specificity, have been studied by the chemical relaxation method. All the immunoglobulin-hapten systems investigated were found to exhibit two relaxation times. The reciprocal value of the fast time increased linearly, while that of the slow time leveled off with increasing hapten concentration. This behavior indicates the presence of a fast bimolecular association and a slower monomolecular step. The data obtained for homologous and hybrid immunoglobulins were all found to fit a mechanism where the proteins exist in two conformations and hapten binding shifts their equilibrium to the higher affinity conformer. Furthermore, the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the hapten binding by the hybrids were found to be similar to those of their parent proteins. These results strongly suggest that this conformational transition is an inherent property of the tertiary domain structure of the antibody, probably involving changes in the interactions between heavy- and light-chain domains.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Folding pathways of immunoglobulin domains. The folding kinetics of the Cgamma3 domain of human IgG1.

The in vitro folding kinetics of a fragment corresponding to an intact dimer of the Cgamma3 domain of human IgG1 (pFc') were monitored via the large changes in tryptophan fluorescence which accompany these processes. In going from the guanidine hydrochloride (Gdn.HCl) induced unfolded state (4.0 M Gdn.HCl) to the native state (0.5 M Gdn.HCl), three well-separated first-order processes were observed having time constants of 5, 50, and 350 s and roughly equal amplitudes. These values were concentration independent, a fact consistent with there being no fluorescence change accompanying dimerization. These time constants are one to two orders of magnitude slower than those observed for proteins of similar size such as ribonuclease or cytochrome c, most probably reflecting the complex processes involved in forming the correct beta-sheet arrangement of immunoglobulin domains. The corresponding unfolding transition is biphasic having time constant values of 50 and 500 s, the latter comprising 80% of the fluorescence change. These data indicate the presence of at least one species with intermediate fluorescence along the unfolding pathway. Gdn.HCl concentration jumps were also performed over various intervals within the transition zone. The results are not consistent with a fully reversible mechanism. In the absence of the intrachain disulfide bond, pFc' exists in an unfolded state even at 0.5 M Gdn.HCl. In a concomitant refolding and reoxidation experiment (at 0.5 M Gdn.HCl and using an optimal disulfide interchange catalytic system), the time constant for disulfide formation was in the range of 80--200 s and the fluorescence change revealed a lag phase analyzable in terms of rate-limiting reoxidation and refolding times consistent with those observed for the initially disulfide bonded species. Under similar conditions but a 4 M Gdn.HCl, reoxidation was more than two orders of magnitude slower, suggesting that reoxidation is directed by a refolding nucleation event.

Disulfides↗
PubMed1979

Allosteric cooperative interactions among redox sites of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase.

Anaerobic reductive spectrophotometric titrations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cytochrome oxidase were performed. Both types of hemes (C and D) of the dimeric enzyme were monitored. The reduction process was found to involve cooperative allosteric and spectroscopic interactions between the two subunits. The model fitting the data best involves the following features. (1) The redox potential of heme C is about 60 mV higher than that of heme D. (2) In the electron uptake, a positive cooperativity of about 30 mV exists between the two D-type hemes residing in the two subunits. (3) A negative cooperativity of the same magnitude (30 mV) is found between the two C-type hemes bound to two subunits. (4) No interaction was found between heme C and D in the same subunit or in the different subunits. (5) It is suggested that the reduction of the heme, of each kind, has about twice the spectral change compared to that observed upon reduction of the second one. The possible significance of this model for the mechanism of action of the enzyme is discussed

Allosteric Regulation↗
PubMed1979

Subnanosecond motions of tryptophan residues in proteins.

The dynamics of protein molecules in the subnanosecond and nanosecond time range were investigated by time-resolved fluorescence polarization spectroscopy. Synchrotron radiation from a storage ring was used as a pulsed light source to excite the single tryptophan residue in a series of proteins. The full width at half maximum of the detected light pulse was 0.65 nsec, making it feasible to measure emission anisotropy kinetics in the subnanosecond time range and thereby to resolve internal rotational motions. The proteins investigated exhibit different degrees of rotational freedom of their tryptophan residue, ranging from almost no mobility to nearly complete freedom in the subnanosecond time range. The tryptophan residue of Staphylococcus aureus nuclease B (20,000 daltons) has a single rotational correlation time (varphi) of 9.9 nsec at 20 degrees C, corresponding to a rotation of the whole protein molecule. By contrast, bovine basic A1 myelin protein (18,000 daltons) exhibits varphi of 0.09 and 1.26 nsec, showing that the tryptophan residue in this protein is highly flexible. The single tryptophan of human serum albumin (69,000 daltons) has almost no rotational freedom at 8 degrees C (varphi = 31.4 nsec), whereas at 43 degrees C it rotates rapidly (varphi(1) = 0.14 nsec) within a cone of semiangle 26 degrees in addition to rotating together with the whole protein (varphi(2) = 14 nsec). Of particular interest in the large angular range (semiangle, 34 degrees ) and fast rate (varphi(1) = 0.51 nsec) of the rotational motion of the tryptophan residue in Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin (14,000 daltons). This residue is known to be located in the hydrophobic interior of the protein. The observed amplitudes and rates of these internal motions of tryptophan residues suggest that elementary steps in functionally significant conformational changes may take place in the subnanosecond time range.

Apoproteins↗
PubMed1979

Effect of interchain disulfide bond on hapten binding properties of light chain dimer of protein 315.

The hapten binding characteristics of the covalent light chain dimer, derived from the murine IgA secreted by plasmacytoma MOPC-315, to two nitroaromatic compounds, epsilon-N-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)-L-lysine and 4-(alpha-N-alanine)-m-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, were investigated by differential spectroscopic titrations. The binding curves for both haptens were found to display sigmoidity similar to that reported earlier for the reduced and alkylated dimer held together by noncovalent bonds only. However, the presence of the interchain disulfide bond in the covalent dimer was found to cause marked changes in its binding properties. The data, like those obtained for the noncovalent dimer, fit the allosteric model of Monod, Wyman, and Changeux in which binding of the first hapten to the dimer causes a conversion of both sites of the protein molecule from a lower to a higher affinity conformation. However, the binding parameters show that both the affinity and the positive cooperativity in the interaction between haptens and the covalent dimer are significantly enhanced. The differences in the parameters of the binding and of the allosteric transition caused by the presence of the interchain disulfide bond demonstrate the existence of longitudinal interactions in immunoglobulin derivatives. These properties of the light chain dimer make it a potential model for the receptors present on thymus-derived lymphocytes.

Allosteric Regulation↗