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Biomedical subjects

N R Cooper

Publications and source records attributed to N R Cooper.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Neutralization of influenza virus by normal human sera: mechanisms involving antibody and complement.

All normal human sera examined neutralized WS/33 H1N1 influenza virus efficiently by one of two antibody-dependent mechanisms. A minority of the sera contained moderate levels of IgG antibody directed against the viral hemagglutinin that had the ability to directly neutralize the virus. The majority of sera tested contained very low levels of IgG anti-hemagglutinin antibody, which was detectable with a specific ELISA but not by conventional HAI assays. Such IgG antibody was unable to directly neutralize the virus. Studies with agammaglobulinemic serum and with sera depleted of and reconstituted with complement components established essential roles for IgG and the components of the classical complement pathway through C3 for neutralization. The components of the alternative and membrane attack pathways were not needed for neutralization. As anticipated from the requirement for IgG and exclusive mediation of neutralization by the classical pathway, the virus-IgG immune complex activated purified C1. Binding of C3 and C4 to the virus was demonstrated, as was classical pathway-mediated triggering of the alternative pathway, with recruitment of properdin. In addition, the H1N1 influenza virus also directly activated the alternative complement pathway in human serum, leading to C3 and properdin deposition on the viral envelope. Such direct alternative pathway activation also required immunoglobulin. However, the alternative pathway alone was unable to neutralize the virus. Thus, most normal sera examined contain low levels of IgG anti-hemagglutinin antibody, which activate the classical pathway of the complement system and neutralize WS/33 influenza virus by deposition of C3 and C4 on the viral envelope.

Agammaglobulinemia↗
PubMed1982

Neutralization of Epstein-Barr virus by nonimmune human serum. Role of cross-reacting antibody to herpes simplex virus and complement.

These studies were carried out to investigate the mechanism of neutralization of purified Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by fresh human serum from normal individuals lacking antibody to the EBV viral capsid (VCA) and nuclear antigens (EBNA). Such individuals thus lack serological evidence of immunity to EBV. Although an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with highly purified immobilized EBV detected low levels of IgG antibody reactive with EBV in these normal nonimmune sera, this antibody failed to neutralize EBV in the absence of complement. Studies with depleted sera and mixtures of purified complement proteins at physiologic concentrations showed that the IgG antibody and C1, C4, C2, and C3 of the classical pathway were able to fully neutralize EBV. Mixtures of the purified components of the alternative pathway at physiologic concentrations failed to neutralize purified EBV in the presence or absence of the antibody and the alternative pathway did not potentiate classical pathway-mediated neutralization. No evidence for a requirement for C8 was obtained, precluding lysis as the mechanism of neutralization. Since C3 deposition on the viral surface accompanied classical pathway activation, viral neutralization is most likely secondary to the accumulation of complement protein on the viral surface. A coating of protein on the virus could interfere with attachment to, or penetration of potentially susceptible cells. Experiments were undertaken to determine the specificity of the IgG antibody in the sera of EBV nonimmune individuals which, together with complement, neutralized EBV. Both purified EBV and herpes simplex I (HSV-1) absorbed the EBV ELISA reactivity and EBV-neutralizing activity of nonimmune sera, whereas another member of the herpesvirus group, cytomegalovirus, was inactive in this regard. HSV-1 was quantitatively more efficient than EBV in absorbing reactivity, a finding that indicates that the antibody has a higher affinity for HSV-1 than for EBV. Further absorption studies indicated that the cross-reaction occurred in both directions as EBV also absorbed HSV-1 reactive antibodies as tested in an HSV-1 ELISA. EBV was also less efficient than HSV-1 in absorbing reactivity with HSV-1. A serum lacking detectable antibodies to both EBV and HSV-1 failed to neutralize EBV. These studies cumulatively indicate that fresh serum from EBV nonimmune individuals neutralizes EBV by the combined action of a previously undescribed cross-reacting antibody apparently elicited by HSV-1 and C1, C4, C2, and C3 of the classical complement pathway.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1981

Nucleophilic modification of human complement protein C3: correlation of conformational changes with acquisition of C3b-like functional properties.

Inactivation of C3 by enzymatic cleavage, nucleophilic addition, or slow freezing and thawing resulted in the acquisition of similar end-state conformations as judged by near-UV circular dichroism. Although inactivation by the two nonenzymatic processes involves no peptide bond scission, the inactivated C3 resembled C3b in that it possessed a free sulfhydryl group not present in the native protein and an increased surface hydrophobicity as evidenced by enhanced binding of the fluorophore 8-anilino-1-naphthalensulfonate (ANS). The C3b-like functional properties of modified C3 [Pangburn, M. K., & Müller-Eberhard, H. J. (1980) J. Exp. Med. 152, 1102-1114] may thus be understood in terms of the similarity of its conformation to that of C3b. The rate of the conformational change following proteolytic cleavage was fast and appeared to be limited by the rate of the enzymatic reaction. In contrast, the rate of conformational change following addition of methylamine was slow and rate limited by the conformational rearrangement itself, not by the chemical modification. A kinetic analysis of the changes in circular dichroism and ANS fluorescence enhancement suggested that the nucleophilic addition was spectroscopically undetectable and was followed by a minimally biphasic, spectroscopically demonstrable conformational rearrangement. The appearance of C3b-like functional activity in nucleophile-modified C3 largely parallels the time course of the spectroscopically detectable conformational change but is distinctly slower than the rate at which hemolytic activity is lost. While fully transconformed methylamine-inactivated C3 can bind factor B and is susceptible to cleavage by C3b inactivator and its cofactor beta 1H, this cleavage occurs at a substantially slower rate than the equivalent process in C3b. The implications of these findings in terms of the mechanism through which the alterative pathway of complement is initiated are discussed.

Anilino Naphthalenesulfonates↗
PubMed1981

Neutralization of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) by human complement requires a natural IgM antibody present in human serum.

Neutralization of VSV by human serum ws previously shown to involve C1, C2, C3, and C4 of the classical complement (C) pathway. All normal human sera tested were equivalently active in this regard. However, purified C1, C2, C3, and C4 were unable to mediate VSV neutralization. In the present studies an additional factor required for C-mediated neutralization was isolated from normal human serum and identified as a natural IgM antibody specific for a viral encoded antigen. Purified IgM bound to the virus and formed a complex that activated component C1. Normal serum concentrations of purified IgM, C1, C2, C3, C4 neutralized VSV to the same extent as normal serum. Purified IgM did not neutralize VSV alone or in conjunction with C1, C2, and C4. Inclusion of C3 resulted in full neutralization and C3b binding to the virus was demonstrated. Thus, normal human serum contains a natural antibody of the IgM class that is directed toward a viral antigen. The antibody facilitates neutralization by forming an immune complex that activates C1 and thus efficiently initiates the classical pathway at the viral surface. Neutralization occurs with C3b deposition on the viral envelope and probably results from a blanket of C protein that interferes with viral attachment to susceptible cells.

Absorption↗
PubMed1981

Isolation of Epstein Barr-virus and studies of its neutralization by human IgG and complement.

An isolation procedure for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) that yields substantial quantities of purified infectious virus is described. The transforming strain of EBV was obtained from the marmoset lymphoma cell line B95-8 after stimulation with the tumor promoter, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). Purification was achieved by dextran density gradient ultracentrifugation in the presence of bacitracin, which was included to prevent viral aggregation. When assayed in cord blood leukocytes, isolated EBV stimulated DNA synthesis and induced the formation of colonies of transformed cells. The yield of infectious virus as determined by these assays was 13 to 29%. Electron microscopic (EM) examination of negatively stained virions revealed the presence of 115-nm spherical enveloped particles containing an internal 55-nm ring-shaped nucleoid. Interactions between 3H-thymidine labeled EBV, IgG and complement (C) were examined by rate zonal ultracentrifugation. High concentrations of immune IgG aggregated the virus whereas IgG together with C induced lysis as demonstrated by release of labeled EBV nucleic acid. EM studies of the IgG and C mixtures performed in parallel revealed accumulation of protein on the viral envelope, progressive separation of the envelope from the nucleocapsid, and disintegration of the nucleoid. Approximately 25-fold less IgG was required for neutralization than for viral aggregation. Although C did not enhance the IgG dependent neutralization, physiologic concentrations of C in normal nonimmune human serum also inactivated the virus.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Identification of types of cells in human peripheral blood that bind C1q.

Earlier studies showed that approximately 26% of the cells present in human mononuclear cell preparations had the ability to bind purified monomeric C1q. The present studies were initiated to identify the cell types comprising the C1q binding population. Double marker fluorescence, rosetting, and morphologic studies on cell preparations depleted of or enriched in various cell types were simultaneously employed to identify those subpopulations that bound C1q. C1q binding was detected by fluorescent techniques (with FI-F(ab')2 anti-C1q). Monocytes in mononuclear cell preparations were detected by the ability to phagocytose carbonyl iron. B cells were identified by reactivity with rhodamine-conjugated F(ab')2 anti-human F(ab')2 and by rosetting with erythrocytes bearing C3b. These studies showed that monocytes and B lymphocytes comprised the majority of C1q-binding cells in mononuclear cell preparations, whereas T lymphocytes lacked this property. In addition, a minor population of nonphagocytic cells in such preparations that lacked B and T cell markers also bound C1q. Finally, a high but variable proportion of polymorphonuclear leukocytes bound C1q. Binding of C1q to PMN was concentration-dependent, saturable and specific and exhibited an equilibrium constant of 0.76 X 10(7) M-1. Thus, PMN also possess a specific receptor for C1q.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Purification and radiolabeling of human C1q.

A new procedure for isolating human C1q from serum or plasma is described. The method, that is highly selective, rapid and involves minimal handling, yields fully active, immunoglobulin-free unaggregated C1q. Several different methods of radiolabeling C1q are compared. These include two methods selective for tyrosine residues, two that label lysine residues, and a method that labels sialic acid residues. The effect of each of the labeling procedures on C1q hemolytic activity was assessed. Also appraised for each method was the ability of the labeled molecules to bind to antibody sensitized cells and to interact with C1r and C1s to form C1. The distribution of each of the radiolabels among the three polypeptide chains of C1q and between the collagenous and globular regions of C1q was determined. Methods were identified that selectively labeled the globular portion of either the A or C polypeptide chain of the C1q molecule without loss of functional activity. Another of the methods labeled all three polypeptide chains relatively uniformly without significant loss of activity.

Carbon Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1980

The interaction of C5 with C3b in free solution: a sufficient condition for cleavage by a fluid phase C3/C5 convertase.

We have measured the interactions of C3b with C5 in free solution under conditions that favor detecting weak binding interactions (high C3b and low C5 concentrations and low ionic strength). When a mixture of 125I-C5 (2 X 10(-8) M) and unlabeled C3b (3.8 x 10(-5) M) was ultracentrifuged in a sucrose gradient, virtually all of the C5 sedimented to the position of a 13 to 14S complex. In contrast, a sedimentation rate for C5 of 9S was obtained in the absence of C3b. The ability to bind C5 was observed to be a property of C3b since native C3 was unable to bind C5. It was also found that beta 1H by itself could inhibit the binding of C5 to cell-bound C3b. From inhibition studies, we estimate that the association constant for the C3b-C5 interaction is on the order of 2 x 10(6) M-1 in a low ionic strength buffer (mu = 0.06) and 5-fold weaker at physiologic ionic strength. C5 bound to C3b in free solution was cleaved by nephritic factor-stabilized fluid phase C3bB. C5 activation did not occur on omitting C3b. We conclude that the ability to bind C5 is a property of C3b molecules whether surface bound or in free solution and that when C5 is bound in either fashion, it can be cleaved by a fluid phase C3/C5 convertase.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Analysis of receptor-mediated C1q binding to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The binding of C1q to human peripheral blood leukocytes has been investigated. Studies with fluorescein conjugated F(ab')2 anti-C1q show that few (0 to 4%) normal leukocytes isolated in the presence of EDTA have C1q on their surface. However, approximately 26% of the mononuclear cell population is able to bind added C1q. Quantitative binding studies using 125I-C1q show that the binding to mononuclear cells is specific, saturable, and reversible. Scatchard plot analyses indicate an approximate equilibrium constant of 1.2 times 10(7) M-1. C1q binding appears to be mediated via the collagenous portion of the molecule in that 1) type I collagen inhibits this binding; 2) C1 reconstituted from purified C1q, C1r, and C1s does not bind to mononuclear cells, whereas the same amount of free C1q binds avidly; and 3) C1q enhances the binding of aggregated IgG to mononuclear cells.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1980

The effects of mild reduction on the structure and function of C3.

Reduction and alkylation of C3 in nondenaturing buffers by 2 mM DTT (1 hr, 23 degrees C) (C3 R/A) results in a > 99% loss of C3 hemolytic activity. In contrast, sham alkylated protein, or protein allowed to reoxidize from the mildly reduced state, showed full activity. The loss in lytic activity correlated with the alkylation of approximately 6 liberated sulfhydryls, all of which arose from intrachain disulfides in the alpha polypeptide chain of C3. Data from CD experiments indicate that these bonds are essential for maintaining the native conformation of the protein. The loss of hemolytic activity of C3 R/A was neither due to its inability to be cleaved by C3 convertases nor to a dysfunction of the cleavage-induced labile membrane binding site as cells bearing C3 convertases firmly bound C3 R/A to an extent 80% that of native C3. The hemolytic defect in C3 R/A was found to result from its inability, once deposited on C42-bearing cells, to bind C5 and thereby participate in the formation of a C5 convertase. Unlike the effect on hemolytic activity, C3 R/A showed only a partial loss (3-fold) in its ability to bind to C3 receptors on monocytes. Taken together, these studies differentiate in molecular terms several of the functional sites in C3 and stress the significance of intra-alpha-chain disulfides in maintaining the conformation in activated C3 required for binding of C5.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1979

Lysis of measles virus-infected cells by the purified cytolytic alternative complement pathway and antibody.

The dependence of antibody-and-complement-mediated lysis of virus-infected cells on the alternative pathway was examined utilizing the isolated cytolytic alternative pathway--a system consisting of the six purified proteins of the alternative pathway of activation (C3, factors B and D, beta 1H, C3b inactivator and properdin), and the five proteins of the membrane attack pathway (C5--9) of complement. HeLa cells acutely infected with measles virus were lysed by anti-viral IgG and the isolated cytolytic alternative pathway with an efficiency comparable to whole human serum. IgG and its F(ab')2 fragment were equally effective in inducing lysis by the isolated cytolytic alternative pathway, binding of approximately equal to 5 X 10(7) molecules per cell being required for 50% lysis; in contrast, no lysis occurred when equivalen or greater amounts of Fab' were bound to the virus-infected cell. Properdin was required for lysis. No lysis occurred if properdin was deleted from the isolated cytolytic alternative pathway, and lysis was diminished by 80% in properdin-depleted serum. Uptake of [125I]C3b from the isolated alternative pathway onto measles virus-infected cells occurred in the absence of properdin, but was accelerated in the presence of properdin. The 11 proteins of the isolated cytolytic alternative pathway are thus sufficient for lysis of measles virus-infected cells bearing anti-viral IgG or F(ab')2 without any other serum protein.

Antibodies, Viral↗