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PubMed1984

Anticoagulant properties of purified X-like fragments of human fibrinogen produced by degradation with leukocyte elastase.

The anticoagulant properties of fibrinogen digestion products change with stage of digestion. On digestion with leukocyte elastase, in the presence of calcium ions, the anticoagulant potency of fibrinogen digests first increases, then decreases sharply, and in late stages increases again. This is different from plasmin digestion where only an increase in anticoagulant activity is seen followed by a slow decrease. From SDS-gel electrophoresis it appears that both the early rise and the decrease in anticoagulant activity are associated with the stage of elastase-produced X-like fragments. This is confirmed with pure fragments: X-like fragments (purified from elastase digests of fibrinogen of different stages by ammonium sulphate precipitation and ion-exchange chromatography) give an increase and decrease in anticlotting activity which correlates very well with that of the potency of the digest from which they are purified. As expected, and in contrast with (late) plasmic X-fragments, late elastase X-like fragments have a low anticoagulant potency. The molecular basis for the gain and loss in anticoagulant activity going from early to late X-like fragments is obscure. Immunological tests, calcium-binding experiments and affinity chromatography on immobilized thrombin-activated NDSK suggest that the changes in anticoagulant activity are not due to a proteolytic change in the carboxyl-terminal part of the gamma-chain in the D moiety of the molecule. Our data suggest a correlation with the stage of digestion of the A alpha-chain in the X-like fragments.

Anticoagulants↗
PubMed1984

Self-association of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 in the presence of metal ions. Use of a covalent cross-linking reagent to study the reaction.

The interaction of metal ions with prothrombin fragment 1 has been shown by other investigators to result in conformational change(s). Previous studies based on hydrodynamic measurements from other laboratories have suggested that prothrombin fragment 1 will, in addition to undergoing conformational change, self-associate in the presence of metal ions but there is a question regarding the specificity and role of metal ions in this process. The present study has made use of a covalent cross-linking agent, dithiobis(succinimidylpropionate), to study the self-association of prothrombin fragment 1 and has focused on factors influencing the covalent dimerization of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 during reaction with this reagent. Optimal dimerization of bovine prothrombin fragment 1 required the involvement of cations in two separable processes. The "first role" is probably a reflection of a slow conformational change in the bovine prothrombin fragment 1 representing isomerization of a proline-containing peptide bond (Marsh, H. C., Scott, M. E., Hiskey, R. G., and Koehler, K. A. (1979) Biochem. J. 183, 513-517). The "second role" most likely reflects ion bridging with another prothrombin fragment 1 molecule. The ion specificities of these two roles are clearly different. Ions stabilizing the proper conformation (first role) are Ca2+, Sr2+, Mg2+, Mn2+, with Ba2+ having less capability in filling this role. Ions which have activity in the second role (ion bridge formation) are Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+. Mn2+ and Mg2+ cannot fulfill the requirements of this second role and actually inhibit the function of Ca2+.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Fusion of small unilamellar vesicles induced by bovine serum albumin fragments.

The limited pepsin proteolysis products of bovine serum albumin, fragment A (residues 307-586) and fragment B (residues 1-306), induced the fusion of small unilamellar vesicles of egg phosphatidyl choline at concentrations near 5 microM. Fusion was demonstrated and analyzed on the basis of: a) time-dependent changes in absorbance; b) dilution of the fluorescent label 2-(10-(1-pyrene)decanoyl) phosphatidyl choline, incorporated into a small percentage of the vesicles, as measured by the decrease in the excimer to monomer (E/M) ratio; c) increase of the average hydrodynamic radius of the liposomes, estimated by Sepharose 4B filtration, and d) the strict inverse relationship between the size of the liposomes and their E/M ratios. Albumin fragment B, like albumin, induced the formation of large aggregates in which rapid cooperative fusion produced vesicles having a large hydrodynamic radius. Fragment A did not produce large aggregates and the initial fusion products exhibited a hydrodynamic radius. Fragment A did not produce large aggregates and the initial fusion products exhibited a hydrodynamic radius smaller than those obtained with fragment B. Albumin and fragments A and B are fusogenic only at pH below 4.0. These data discussed in terms of a general model for a signal-dependent protein-induced membrane fusion.

Chromatography, Gel↗
PubMed1981

Europium(III) binding to bovine prothrombin residues 1-39 and to bovine prothrombin fragment 1.

Changes in the Eu3+ luminescence decay constant observed for Eu3+ bound to prothrombin fragment 1 and the peptide containing residues 1-39 of prothrombin result solely from changes in the number of water molecules in the primary hydration sphere of the ion. Highly coordinated sites which bind Eu3+ in a different manner from simple Gla-containing peptides exist on both the fragment 1 and 1-39 molecules. Metal ions bound at some of these sites do not appear to undergo rapid exchange with metal ions in solution. The binding of other lanthanide ions and calcium ions in the presence of europium ions cause a change in the conformation of the macromolecules, resulting in even tighter coordination of fragment 1 or residues 1-39 to Eu3+. Hydrophilic groups other than the actual Eu3+ binding sites on fragment 1 help to maintain its water solubility when complexes to Eu3+ or Ca2+. Because the 1-39 peptide does not contain as many of these hydrophilic groups, the peptide precipitates upon binding to di- and trivalent cations. Self-association of the 1-39 molecules appears to occur at high peptide concentrations which result in a peptide concentration effect on Eu3+ binding not seen in fragment 1. pH titration yields results which suggest a role for Gla carboxyl groups in Eu3+ complexation to both fragments 1 and 1-39. Although the two molecules are not identical with regard to Eu3+ binding behavior, enough similarities exist that residues 1-39 appear to be a reasonable model of the fragment 1 molecule for the purposes of metal ion complexation studies.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1982

Assignment of the functional loci in the colicin E1 molecule by characterization of its proteolytic fragments.

We obtained two fragments of colicin E1 by limited proteolysis with thermolysin. Both of the fragments have an ionophore-like activity. One of the fragments, Th1 (Mr = 18,000), induces an increase in membrane ion permeability comparable with that with whole colicin E1 when assayed with liposomes prepared from soybean phospholipids. This suggests that Th1 is an active fragment of colicin E1. The size of this fragment is about one-third of that of colicin E1 and it was found that the fragment is derived from the COOH-terminal part of colicin E1. A larger fragment, Th2 (Mr = 39,000), was also obtained on thermolysin treatment of colicin E1, which comprises the two-thirds of colicin E1 from the COOH terminus and has a receptor-binding activity in addition to the same ionophore-like activity of Th1. Th2 has the ability to kill osmotic shocked cells but not intact cells, suggesting that the NH2-terminal portion of colicin E1, which was lost in Th2, is responsible for the transport of the colicin molecule through the outer membrane. Thus, the regions which possess or correlate to the ionophore-like, receptor-binding, and transmembrane activities of colicin E1 were assigned to the COOH-terminal, central, and NH2-terminal parts of the molecule, respectively.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Protection from lethal coronavirus infection by immunoglobulin fragments.

Molecular mechanisms of in vitro and in vivo virus neutralization by specific Ab remain largely undefined. Murine coronaviruses provide an excellent animal model for such studies. To determine the role of Ab bivalency and the contribution of its Fc portion in the neutralization of viral infectivity and passive protection of mice by an in vitro neutralizing and in vivo protective mAb (7-10A), F(ab')2 and Fab fragments were generated and their biologic properties were examined. The two fragments reacted in ELISA like the whole Ab against viral Ag or specific anti-idiotypic Abs. The affinity constants of the different Ab preparations were determined by surface plasmon resonance using immobilized anti-idiotypic Abs. The apparent affinity constant of the whole Ab molecule was 7.0 x 10(9) M-1 and was reduced 2-fold for F(ab')2 fragments and 14-fold for Fab molecules. Like whole Ab, both F(ab')2 and Fab fragments could neutralize virus in vitro and passively protect mice in vivo. However, the efficiency of in vivo neutralization by Fab fragments was reduced compared with the bivalent molecules, despite almost identical half-lives of both types of Ab fragments. These results demonstrate that in vitro and in vivo virus neutralization mechanisms by this Ab are independent of Fc-mediated functions and bivalency, but are probably influenced by Ab avidity. Also, this is the first report of in vivo protection against a viral infection by Fab fragments of antiviral Ab.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Dde I restriction fragment length polymorphism of the alpha 2-adrenoceptor gene does not correlate with blood pressure in the F2 generation obtained from crossing stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats.

OBJECTIVE: A pathogenetic role of altered alpha 2-adrenoceptors in essential hypertension has been suggested, based on studies in humans and animals. To examine the role of the alpha 2-adrenoceptor in genetically hypertensive rats, we compared the alpha 2-adrenoceptor genes of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis using human alpha 2-adrenoceptor probes (alpha 2-C10) and Dde I restriction endonuclease, and conducted a genetic cosegregation study. METHOD: Five female WKY rats were bred with five male SHRSP. Eight pairs of F1 rats were mated in brother-sister pairs to yield an F2 population of 84 rats. Systolic blood pressure was determined by tail-cuff sphygmomanometry. Direct arterial blood pressure was taken under ether anaesthesia just before the rats were killed. Southern blots were performed using alpha 2C10 as a probe and the DNA from the F2 generation. RESULTS: A restriction fragment length polymorphism of the SHRSP allele of a 1.6-kb fragment and a WKY rat allele of a 0.9-kb fragment with a common band of 1.3 kb in SHRSP and WKY rats was found, as reported previously. The distribution of the genotype based on restriction fragment length polymorphism conformed to a 1:2:1 ratio in F2 rats, as expected for a Mendelian trait. There was no significant difference in the blood pressure of F2 rats with respect to alpha 2-adrenoceptor genotype. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the alpha 2-adrenoceptor gene restriction fragment length polymorphism distribution is a Mendelian trait in the F2 rats of crossed SHRSP and WKY rats, but failed to show genetic cosegregation of this restriction fragment length polymorphism with blood pressure in this generation.

Alleles↗
PubMed1994

A carboxyl-terminal fragment of lipoprotein lipase binds to the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein and inhibits lipase-mediated uptake of lipoprotein in cells.

It has previously been shown that lipoprotein lipase can mediate uptake of remnant lipoprotein particles via binding to the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein/alpha 2-macroglobulin receptor (LRP). Binding of lipoprotein lipase, and of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins associated with the lipase, to LRP depends on an intact carboxyl-terminal folding domain of the lipase (Nykjaer, A., Bengtsson-Olivecrona, G., Lookene, A., Moestrup, S. K., Petersen, C. M., Weber, W., Beisiegel, W., and Gliemann, J. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 15048-15055). Here we show that the site for binding to the receptor is within residues 380-425 of the bovine and residues 378-423 of the human lipoprotein lipase. We demonstrate that a carboxyl-terminal fragment of human lipoprotein lipase (residues 378-448), expressed as fusion protein in Escherichia coli, binds to purified and cellular LRP but not to lipoproteins. Binding of the fragment to purified LRP was blocked by heparin. In addition, the fragment inhibited the binding of lipase and the lipase-mediated binding of lipoproteins to the purified receptor. The fragment exhibited reduced binding to proteoglycan-deficient cells. Moreover, the fragment inhibited the uptake of lipoproteins in cells mediated by the lipase via binding to heparan sulfate proteoglycans and LRP. We conclude that the fragment contains the site for binding to LRP and a candidate site for interaction with heparan sulfate proteoglycans, whereas binding to lipoproteins is inefficient. The fragment can therefore inhibit the lipase-mediated lipoprotein uptake, a process that may promote the development of atherosclerosis when occurring in cells of the arterial wall.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1975

Differential susceptibility of rabbit sIgA subclasses to trypsin cleavage: characterization of the fragments obtained from the g subclass.

Rabbit secretory IgA (sIgA) was digested with trypsin at 37 degrees C for 30 min and four fractions were isolated by gel filtration. These fragments were characterized by ultracentrifugation, and by their antigenic properties as undigested sIgA, Fab and Fe (Two Fc fragments differing in their content of secretory component were obtained.) The IgA-f subclass molecules were resistant to cleavage and were found in the undigested sIgA fraction; the IgA-g subclass molecules were cleaved into Fe and Fab fragments. The g allotypic determinants of IgA-g molecules were found on both the Fc fragments and the Fab fragments. The Fc and Fab fragments obtained from trypsin-digested sIgA were compared by means of antigenic properties and peptide maps with the Fc and Fab fragments obtained from papain-digested sIgA; no differences attributable to the alpha-chain were found. Thus, papain and trypsin cleave the alpha-chain of IgA-g molecules at similar but not necessary identical positions.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1994

Utilization of antidrug antibody fragments for the optimization of intraperitoneal drug therapy: studies using digoxin as a model drug.

The direct administration of chemotherapeutic agents into the peritoneal cavity has been investigated as a method to treat cancers residing within the peritoneum. The benefits of i.p. drug administration are limited, however, by the systemic toxicity of antineoplastic drugs which diffuse out of the peritoneum and into the general circulation. We propose that antidrug antibody fragments may be useful in binding chemotherapeutics in the general circulation, thereby reducing the systemic tissue exposure and toxicity resulting from such i.p. therapy. Inasmuch as antibody fragments directed against antineoplastic agents are not available, we tested our hypothesis by using i.v. administered ovine antidigoxin Fab fragments and determined their ability to limit digoxin tissue exposure and toxicity in mice after an i.p. digoxin injection. The rate of digoxin disappearance from the peritoneal cavity and the fraction of digoxin unbound in the peritoneal cavity were also assessed to determine the effect of the antibody fragments on peritoneal exposure. Our results showed that the antidigoxin antibody fragments can greatly decrease digoxin tissue exposure and toxicity without affecting peritoneal exposure, unbound fraction of digoxin in the peritoneum or peritoneal digoxin disappearance rate. Although the utility of drug-binding antibodies and antibody fragments for the treatment of drug intoxication is well known, these results demonstrated the potential ability of antidrug antibody fragments to improve the site-specificity of drug therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Nonmitogenic anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments inhibit lethal murine graft-versus-host disease induced across the major histocompatibility barrier.

We have investigated the in vivo administration of nonmitogenic anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments for the prevention of lethal graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) in irradiated recipients of fully allogeneic bone marrow cells plus splenocyte (BMS) inocula. Recipients of anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments administered for 1 mo post-bone marrow transplantation (BMT) had 100% survival without clinical or histopathological evidence of GVHD. Controls given saline injections succumbed by 39 days post-BMT. Similar results were obtained in groups of recipient mice given BMS in which T cells were depleted by in vitro anti-Thy-1.2 plus C' treatment. Further studies were undertaken to define mechanistic differences in the two approaches. Using Ly-5 congenic sources of donor bone marrow and spleen, we determined that anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments induced TCR modulation and T cell depletion. Mature splenic-derived CD4+ cells were depleted to a greater extent than CD8+ cells. Early post-BMT, recipients receiving injections with control saline had the highest number of CD4+ and CD8+ cells (which may cause GVHD) followed by recipients of anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments, with the fewest CD8+ cells observed in the anti-Thy-1.2 + C' treated group. CD3+CD4-CD8- cells (which may suppress GVHD generation) were present in higher numbers early post-BMT in recipients given anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments as compared to recipients given anti-Thy-1.2 + C'-treated BMS. In long term survivors, a mononuclear T cell containing infiltrate without evidence of destruction was observed in sites of GVHD (lung and liver), consistent with a "Quilty" effect, which was not observed in either of the other two groups. Although survivors were tolerant of donor skin grafts and rejected third party grafts, recipients given anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments but not anti-Thy-1.2 + C'-treated BMS had vigorous anti-host proliferative responses. These results demonstrate that although in vitro anti-Thy-1.2 + C' treatment of BMS (which is highly depletionary) and in vivo administration of anti-CD3F(ab')2 fragments (which is modulatory and less depletionary) are both effective strategies for GVHD, the cellular events involved in achieving GVHD prevention are indeed different.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Copper replacement of cadmium-binding alpha-fragment of metallothionein expressed in Escherichia coli.

Titration studies of Cd-binding alpha-fragment, the carboxyl-terminal half of human metallothionein-2, which was independently expressed in Escherichia coli as a Cd-binding form, with Cu were performed. The Cu saturated alpha-fragment was not obtained when the alpha-fragment incubated with Cu (I), although completely saturated MT with Cu (I) was successfully obtained in the same conditions. The stoichiometry of the alpha-fragment replaced with Cu (I) was Cu 4 and Cd 1. It is considered that the Cu-binding alpha-fragment required the presence of Cd (II) to form a stable structure. Our results could suggest that each fragment was independent in the metal binding processes, e.g. alpha-fragment for Cd-binding.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1992

Effects of limited reduction on disulfide bonds in human IgA1 and IgA1 fragments.

Human IgA occurs in body fluids as monomers, dimers and secretory IgA (sIgA). Besides the cysteine residues in intra-domain, inter-chain and inter-subunit disulfide bonds IgA molecules contain several cysteine residues with unknown function and reactivity. Limited reductions on serum IgA1 and secretory IgA1 with glutathione revealed that four cysteine residues per monomer or subunit were part of labile bonds. Six cysteine residues were reduced in F(ab')2 fragments and about three in Fc fragments, but none in Fab fragments, indicating that the labile bonds occur in the Fc fragment. By SDS-PAGE analyses of reduced proteins labile inter-alpha chain bond(s) were detected in F(ab')2 and F(abc)2 fragments but not in Fc fragments and intact IgA1, thus showing the importance of the CH3 domains for the structural stability of the hinge region. Nine cysteine residues per IgA1 were reduced with 0.01 M DTT and a large proportion of the IgA1 myeloma proteins formed half-molecules consisting of an alpha- and a light chain, but sIgA1 remained intact. This indicates a relative stability of heavy to light chain and inter-subunit bonds. Reductions in the presence of 2% SDS disrupted several intra-chain bonds. Binding studies with (CH2)2-specific monoclonal antibodies, which detect an epitope expressed only on IgA molecules with disulfide linked alpha chains, were in accordance with the SDS-PAGE results. A new model for the location of labile and more stable disulfide bonds is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Physicochemical properties and amino acid composition of papain fragments of immunoglobulin G isolated from blood of cows suffering from leukosis].

It is shown that the peculiar to the malignant growth protein isolated from blood of cattle suffering from leukosis is more stable to the effect of papain than the human protein characteristic of the malignant growth. Papain breaks the studied protein up into three components, the sedimentation constants of Fab- and Fc-fragments isolated from the papain hydrolysate are 3,9 and 3,6S and their molecular mass --55000 and 45000 Daltons, respectively. In the Fab-fragment the contents of lysine, glutaminic acid, leucine, serine are higher and those of arginine, alanine, valine, methionine, phenylalanine and isoleucine are lower as compared with the Fab-fragment isolated from immunoglobulin G of healthy animals. The content of amino acids changes more significantly in the Fab-fragment that in the unsplitted molecule of the protein under study. The polar-to-nonpolar amino acids ratio is 2.27 for the Fab-fragment and 2.48 for the unsplitted molecule. For the same structures of protein isolated from immunoglobulin G of health animals these values are 1.80 and 2.24, respectively. Evidently, peculiarities of the specific to the malignant growth protein isolated from blood of cattle suffering from leukosis are characteristic mainly of its Fab-fragment.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1988

Motoneuron uptake from the circulation of the binding fragment of tetanus toxin.

Tetanus toxin enters the central nervous system from the systemic circulation after it is internalized by motoneuron terminals at the neuromuscular junction. We have demonstrated that the atoxic binding fragment (C-fragment) of tetanus toxin is internalized preferentially by motoneurons. We examined the distribution of C-fragment after intravenous injection in the nervous systems of mice by immunohistochemical methods. All animals remained asymptomatic until killed one to two days after injection. C-fragment was found only within neurons with processes outside the blood-brain barrier. Large motoneurons of the spinal cord showed the greatest accumulation of C-fragment. Motoneurons of brain-stem nuclei (particularly facial and trigeminal), also showed substantial label of C-fragment. Small amounts of C-fragment were detected in dorsal root ganglion cells. Affinity of a systemically distributed substance for synaptic components, as well as an inability to cross the blood-brain barrier, may lead to its preferential localization in motoneurons.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Surface-induced dissociation: an effective tool to probe structure, energetics and fragmentation mechanisms of protonated peptides.

The utility of surface-induced dissociation (SID) to probe the structure, energetics and fragmentation mechanisms of protonated peptides is discussed and demonstrated. High internal energy deposition provided by low-energy (eV range) ion-surface collisions yields extensive fragmentation of protonated peptides, allowing relatively uncomplicated and rapid sequence analysis of oligopeptides. SID of multiply protonated peptides is illustrated for peptides with molecular mass of up to approximately 5000 u. It is also illustrated that SID combined with electrospray ionization (ESI) provides a distinctive experimental technique to determine the energetics and mechanisms of peptide fragmentation. The relative position of ESI/SID fragmentation efficiency curves (plots of percentage fragmentation vs. laboratory collision energy) for peptides can be utilized to estimate relative energetics of peptide fragmentation and even to predict proton localization sites. The observed trends support the essential role of the mobile proton model in understanding peptide fragmentation by low-energy tandem mass spectrometry.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Screening for Down syndrome pregnancy using beta-core fragment: prospective study.

Two recent publications by Cuckle et al., and one each by Canick et al. and Kellner et al., describe the use of urine beta-core fragment measurements as a screening test for Down syndrome pregnancies. Median levels of over 5.4 MOM were reported for cases of Down syndrome, with an over 72 per cent detection rate for a 5 per cent false-positive rate. Urine beta-core fragment was suggested as a superior screening test for Down syndrome pregnancies. These four studies were retrospectives, with samples from affected cases collected at different sites from those from normal cases. In the present study, prospective data were collected for 726 pregnancies over a 9-month period at a single medical centre. Fresh samples were assayed continuously, without knowledge of the karyotype. Urinary beta-core fragment levels in 709 unaffected samples continually declined from 12 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. A logarithmic fit was optimal for the median curve. The log standard deviation of unaffected samples was 0.368. All 13 Down syndrome cases had levels exceeding 1.0 MOM, with a median value of 4.1 MOM. Eight of 13 Down syndrome cases (62 per cent) had levels exceeding the 95th centile. Results have not been adjusted for maternal age, which may improve the detection rate. The results reported here, while less impressive than those reported previously, confirm the usefulness of urine beta-core fragment as a screening test for Down syndrome. Because of the prospective nature of this study, the 62 per cent sensitivity suggested here might be more representative of the true performance of urinary beta-core fragment in clinical practice than the higher rates observed in previous studies. Results for this single urine test are similar to those for triple screen and other serum combination tests. Single analyte urine beta-core fragment tests, or beta-core fragment combination protocols, may eventually replace serum analytes in screening for Down syndrome pregnancies.

Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human↗
PubMed1992

Microelectrophoresis for the separation of DNA fragments.

A methodology has been developed which significantly reduces the linear dimension necessary for the electrophoretic separation of DNA fragments and oligonucleotides. DNA fragments are rapidly separated into compact, resolvable microscopic banding patterns which can be detected using a high-resolution electronic imaging system. Separations can be carried out in either capillary tube or thin-layer (slab) microgel formats of one centimeter or less in length. The complete separation of all eleven fragments (1353 to 72 base pairs) of the pi X174 DNA/HaeIII restriction ladder was achieved in a total running distance of less than 2 mm and in less than 2 min. The observed band widths for the larger fragments (1353-603 bp) ranged from 18 to 25 microns, with the intermediate and smaller fragments (310 to 72 bp) ranging from 30 microns to 60 microns. The ethidium bromide-stained microgels were analyzed using an epifluorescent microscope combined with an intensified charged coupled device imaging system. In other experiments, single-base resolution of fluoresceinated oligonucleotides in the 20-30 nucleotide range was demonstrated. DNA sequencing may be possible with further optimization. This new methodology departs from the conventional gel formulations and electrophoretic procedures used for the separation DNA fragments. High voltage gradients and the use of highly concentrated and crosslinked homogeneous polyacrylamide gels effects the rapid separation of DNA fragments in very short distances. Analysis of the microgels with proteins of known size (Stokes radius) indicates that separations are occurring in gels with pore sizes close to the diameter of double-stranded DNA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bacteriophage phi X 174↗