Western Blot Analysis of Sera Reactive to Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis and Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Agents

Laboratory diagnosis of human ehrlichioses is routinely made by an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) using cultured ehrlichia-infected whole cells as antigen. Concern has been raised that incorrect diagnoses of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME) or human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) may be made on the basis of serologic cross-reactivity between Ehrlichia chaffeensis and the agent of HGE. The present study examined whether two recombinant major outer membrane proteins, rP30 and rP44, that were previously shown to be sensitive and specific serodiagnostic antigens for HME and HGE, respectively, could be used to discriminate IFA dually reacting sera. Thirteen dually IFA-reactive sera, three sera that were IFA positive only with E. chaffeensis, and three sera that were IFA positive only with the HGE agent were examined by Western immunoblot analysis using purified whole organisms and recombinant proteins as antigens. All 16 E. chaffeensis IFA-positive sera reacted with rP30. However, none of these sera reacted with rP44, regardless of IFA reactivity with the HGE agent. The three HGE-agent-only IFA-positive sera reacted only with rP44, not with rP30. Western immunoblotting using purified E. chaffeensis and the HGE agent as antigens suggested that heat shock and other proteins, but not major outer membrane proteins, cross-react between the two organisms. Therefore, Western immunoblot analysis using rP44 and rP30 may be useful in discriminating dually HME and HGE IFA-reactive sera.     

Binding Specificities of a Polyreactive and a Monoreactive Human Monoclonal IgG Rheumatoid Factor: Role of Oligosaccharides

The immunological specificites of two human rheumatoid factor-reactive IgG monoclonal antibodies derived from unstimulated rheumatoid synovial lymphocytes have been analysed. A malaria antigen-reactive IgG monoclonal antibody from an immune donor served as a control. Purified IgG monoclonal antibody from one IgG-RF hybridoma (L1), but not from the other IgG-RF hybridoma (D1) or the anti-malaria monoclonal antibody, exhibited dose-dependent binding to multiple self and non-self antigens such as ds-DNA, cytochrome-c, bovine thyroglobulin, transferrin, cellulose and lipopolysaccharide and therefore was considered polyreactive. The immunological specificity was confirmed by inhibition experiments using the same soluble antigens as inhibitors. The polyreactivity of the IgG-RF MoAb was markedly inhibited by absorption with glycoproteins such as thyroglobulin, a commonly used target for xenoreactive natural antibodies, and cytochrome-c, indicating that the monoclonal antibody is reactive with epitopes expressed on these ligands. Since some naturally occurring antibodies are carbohydrate specific, the authors tested the IgG-RF MoAb for possible carbohydrate specificity. Absorption with certain polysaccharides containing only one or two different sugar moieties did not inhibit the binding reactivities to any of the tested antigens. Polyreactivity of the monoclonal antibody, unlike most xenoreactive natural antibodies, was not caused by reactivity with (galα1-3gal) as indicated by the remaining binding reactivity after α-galactosidase treatment of the antigen. Removal of the N-linked glycosylation sites within the Fc portion of target IgG markedly reduced the antibody binding. The findings suggest that the carbohydrate content of the antigen is necessary for binding of the polyreactive IgG-RF MoAb. Reactivity to carbohydrate antigens may readily explain the so-called multispecificity of certain antibodies.     

正常人血清中IgG类抗角蛋白自身抗体的免疫印迹分析

抗角蛋白自身抗体是正常人天然自身抗体的一部分。本研究用一组角蛋白对正常人血清中的ＩｇＧ 类抗角蛋白抗体进行了免疫印迹分析。２１ 份正常人血清均可识别至少一种角蛋白成分, 可区分出１４ 种反应性模式。３ 份合并血清的反应性模式高度均一。结果表明, 血清抗角蛋白抗体普遍存在, 但在人群中呈高度异质性; 不同个体血清可互补。角蛋白 抗角蛋白系统可能是天然自身抗体研究的一个理想模式系统。     

Evaluation of the Aspergillus Western Blot IgG Kit for Diagnosis of Chronic Aspergillosis

Immunoprecipitin detection (IPD) is the current reference confirmatory technique for anti-Aspergillus antibody detection; however, the lack of standardization is a critical drawback of this assay. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the Aspergillus Western blot (Asp-WB) IgG kit (LDBio Diagnostics, Lyon, France), a recently commercialized immunoblot assay for the diagnosis of various clinical presentations of chronic aspergillosis. Three hundred eight serum samples from 158 patients with aspergillosis sensu lato (s.l.) were analyzed. More specifically, 267 serum samples were derived from patients with Aspergillus disease, including 89 cases of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, 10 of aspergilloma, and 32 of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, while 41 samples were from patients with Aspergillus colonization, including 15 cystic fibrosis (CF) and 12 non-CF patients. For blood donor controls, the Asp-WB specificity was 94%, while the kit displayed a sensitivity for the aspergillosis s.l. diagnosis of 88.6%, with a diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of 119 (95% confidence interval [CI], 57 to 251). The DOR values were 185.22 (95% CI,78.79 to 435.45) and 43.74 (95% CI, 15.65 to 122.20) for the diagnosis of Aspergillus disease and Aspergillus colonization, respectively. Among the patients, the sensitivities of the Asp-WB in the diagnosis of Aspergillus colonization were 100% and 41.7% in CF and non-CF patients, respectively. The Asp-WB yielded fewer false-negative results than did IPD. In conclusion, the Asp-WB kit performed well for the diagnosis of various clinical presentations of aspergillosis in nonimmunocompromised patients, with an enhanced standardization and a higher sensitivity than with IPD, which is the current reference method.     

Carbodiimide crosslinking of human C1q and rabbit IgG

The water soluble carbodiimide 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide was used to covalently link carboxyl groups on rabbit IgG to lysyl groups on complement protein C1q. The interaction between C1q and IgG was disrupted by varying the pH, modifying essential residues in the IgG binding site of C1q and by reducing the interchain disulfides of IgG. Under each of these conditions the correlation found between binding and crosslinking indicated a strong requirement for the proteins to bind normally in order for crosslinking to occur. SDS-PAGE analysis of the crosslinked material showed a 210 kDa band consistent with one IgG crosslinked to two disulfide linked C1q chains. Blotting and autoradiography showed the crosslinking involved the A and/or B and C chains of C1q. The lysines flanking the intrachain half cystines are proposed as the likely candidates for crosslinking to IgG, thus delineating the immunoglobulin binding site of C1q.     

C1q solid-phase radioimmunoassay: binding properties of solid-phase C1q and evidence that C1q-binding IgG complexes in systemic lupus erythematosus are not bound to endogenous C1q

The binding properties of C1q solid-phase radioimmunoassay (C1q SPRIA) were examined, using heat-aggregated IgG (HAG) as the model of immune complexes (IC). The free, liquid-phase C1q, which was added to the C1q-coated tubes prior to the addition of HAG, had little inhibitory effect on binding of HAG to the solid-phase C1q, suggesting that the solid-phase C1q has a higher affinity for HAG than the liquid-phase C1q. On the other hand, more than 60% inhibition was seen when HAG was preincubated with the liquid-phase C1q. These binding properties of HAG to the solid-phase C1q in the presence of the liquid-phase C1q were not essentially altered by the heat inactivation or the addition of EDTA, suggesting that these pretreatments are not essential in C1q SPRIA. Next, in similar kinds of experiments, the binding properties of C1q-binding IgG complexes in SLE sera were investigated. In contrast to HAG, the binding capacity of IgG complexes in SLE sera to the solid-phase C1q was not inhibited by the preincubation with excess liquid-phase C1q. These findings suggest that C1q-binding IgG complexes in SLE sera detected by C1q SPRIA may not be bound to endogenous C1q in the circulation.     

Fra-1在胃癌中的表达与意义

目的:检测Fra-1在人胃癌、癌旁组织中的表达情况以及与临床病理参数之间的关系,以探讨Fra-1在胃癌发生、发展中的作用.方法:采用免疫印记技术检测50例人胃癌组织和30例相应癌旁组织中Fra-1的表达情况.并结合临床病理资料,分析其临床意义.结果:50例胃癌组织标本中40例Fra-1阳性表达,阳性率80%;而30例癌旁组织中17例Fra-1阳性表达,阳性率56.67%.利用免疫印记技术测得胃癌、癌旁组织中Fra-1相对表达量分别为(0.735±0.374)和(0.099±0.092),Fra-1在胃癌组织中的相对表达量较癌旁组织高(P＜0.01).胃癌组织Fra-1的相对表达量与有无淋巴结转移、TNM分期相关(P＜0.05),而与患者性别、年龄、肿瘤大小及病理分级无关(P＞0.05).结论:Fra-1可能参与胃癌的形成,并在胃癌的发展、侵袭及转移中起重要作用.但其具体作用机制仍有待进一步深入研究.     

Anti-C1q autoantibodies specific against the globular domain of the C1qB-chain from patient with lupus nephritis inhibit C1q binding to IgG and CRP

Lupus nephritis is one of the most severe manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus. Higher titers of serum anti-C1q autoantibodies correlate with disease activity in patients with lupus nephritis. Anti-C1q autoantibodies have been shown to bind neo-epitopes within the collagen region of human C1q. In a preliminary study, we recently reported that the anti-C1q autoantibodies could also recognize epitopes within the globular domain (gC1q) of the C1q molecule. Here, 38 sera from patients with renal biopsy-proven lupus nephritis were screened for the presence of anti-gC1q autoantibodies, using recombinant globular head regions of individual A (ghA), B (ghB) and C (ghC) chains of human C1q. We isolated anti-gC1q autoantibodies from three selected patients. Human C1q was pre-incubated with increasing concentrations of the isolated anti-ghA, anti-ghB or anti-ghC autoantibodies and its binding to different C1q target molecules such as IgG and CRP was then evaluated. Anti-ghB, but not anti-ghA and anti-ghC autoantibodies, markedly inhibited C1q interaction with IgG as well as CRP. These results appear to suggest that the anti-ghB autoantibodies may partially induce acquired functional C1q deficiency and thus may interfere with the biological function of C1q.     

IgG4 antibodies from patients with asymptomatic bancroftian filariasis inhibit the binding of IgG1 and IgG2 to C1q in a Fc-Fc-dependent mechanism

A striking feature of lymphatic filariasis (LF) is the clinical heterogeneity among exposed individuals. While endemic normals (EN) remain free of infection despite constant exposure to the infective larvae, a small group of patients, generally microfilaria free (Mf-) develops severe pathology (CP) such as lymphedema or hydrocele. Another group of infected individuals remains asymptomatic while expressing large amounts of microfilariae (Mf+). This Mf+ group is characterized by an immune-suppressed profile with high levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines and elevated IgG4. This particular immunoglobulin is unable to activate the complement. The complement system plays a critical role in both innate and adaptive immunity. However, its importance and regulation during LF is not fully understood. Using affinity chromatography and solid-phase-enzyme-immunoassays, we investigated the ability of antibody isotypes from LF clinical groups to bind C1q, the first element of the complement’s classical pathway. The results indicate that while C1q is similarly expressed in all LF clinical groups, IgG1–2 in the plasma from Mf+ individuals presented significantly lower affinity to C1q compared to EN, Mf−, and CP. In addition, selective depletion of IgG4 significantly enhanced the affinity of IgG1–2 to C1q in Mf+ individuals. Strikingly, no effect was seen on the ability of IgG3 to bind C1q in the same conditions. More interestingly, papain-generated IgG4-Fc-portions interacted with Fc portions of IgG1–2 as revealed by far-western blot analysis. These data suggest that while being unable to bind C1q, IgG4 inhibits the first steps of the complement classical pathway by IgG1 or IgG2 via Fc-Fc interactions.

     

Binding of complement component C1q by rat adipocyte membranes

Human C1q was found to bind to rat adipocyte membranes with an affinity comparable to that for aggregated immunoglobulin. The binding was ionic strength dependent, and modification of arginyl and histidyl residues in C1q abrogated its binding activity. Treatment of the adipocyte membranes with either high ionic strength buffers, EDTA or trypsin had little effect on their C1q-binding activity.     

Immune deposition of C1q and anti-C1q antibodies in the kidney is dependent on the presence of glomerular IgG

Anti-C1q autoantibodies are found frequently in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and several studies indicate that these autoantibodies are associated with renal involvement. We have shown earlier that administration of anti-C1q antibodies to normal BALB/c mice results in the deposition of these antibodies and C1q in the kidney. In the present study we have investigated which factors are essential for this C1q-anti-C1q deposition. Injection of anti-C1q antibodies in C57BL/6 mice results in deposition of both C1q and anti-C1q in glomeruli, while administration of equal concentrations of anti-C1q to immunoglobulin deficient Rag2-/- mice did not result in deposition of anti-C1q antibodies. Analysis of renal sections of naive Rag2-/- mice revealed absence of mouse IgG and C1q in the glomeruli, while circulating C1q was within normal levels. Reconstitution of Rag2-/- mice with IgG, either by injection with purified mouse IgG or by splenocyte transfer, resulted in restored localization of mouse IgG together with C1q in the kidney. Subsequent injection of anti-C1q antibodies in these IgG reconstituted mice resulted in clear deposition of C1q together with anti-C1q in the kidneys comparable to that found in C57BL/6 mice receiving anti-C1q. We propose that the continuous presence of serum derived non-immune IgG in the glomerulus serves as a target for low affinity interactions with C1q, which then can serve as antigen for anti-C1q antibodies. Therefore we hypothesize that high and fluctuating levels of IgG as observed in patients with SLE may contribute to flares of renal inflammation in those patients with anti-C1q autoantibodies.     

Bicentric Evaluation of Six Anti-Toxoplasma Immunoglobulin G (IgG) Automated Immunoassays and Comparison to the Toxo II IgG Western Blot

A comparative study of the Toxoplasma IgG_I and IgG_II Access (Access I and II, respectively; Beckman Coulter Inc.), AxSYM Toxo IgG (AxSYM; Abbott Diagnostics), Vidas Toxo IgG (Vidas; bioMerieux, Marcy l''Etoile, France), Immulite Toxo IgG (Immulite; Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics Inc.), and Modular Toxo IgG (Modular; Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland) tests was done with 406 consecutive serum samples. The Toxo II IgG Western blot (LDBio, Lyon, France) was used as a reference technique in the case of intertechnique discordance. Of the 406 serum samples tested, the results for 35 were discordant by the different techniques. Using the 175 serum samples with positive results, we evaluated the standardization of the titrations obtained (in IU/ml); the medians (second quartiles) obtained were 9.1 IU/ml for the AxSYM test, 21 IU/ml for the Access I test, 25.7 IU/ml for the Access II test, 32 IU/ml for the Vidas test, 34.6 IU/ml for the Immulite test, and 248 IU/ml for the Modular test. For all the immunoassays tested, the following relative sensitivity and specificity values were found: 89.7 to 100% for the Access II test, 89.7 to 99.6% for the Immulite test, 90.2 to 99.6% for the AxSYM test, 91.4 to 99.6% for the Vidas test, 94.8 to 99.6% for the Access I test, and 98.3 to 98.7% for the Modular test. Among the 406 serum samples, we did not find any false-positive values by two different tests for the same serum sample. Except for the Modular test, which prioritized sensitivity, it appears that the positive cutoff values suggested by the pharmaceutical companies are very high (either for economical or for safety reasons). This led to imperfect sensitivity, a large number of unnecessary serological follow-ups of pregnant women, and difficulty in determining the serological status of immunosuppressed individuals.Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is widespread in humans and warm-blooded animals. Although it is usually asymptomatic in immunocompetent humans, toxoplasmosis may cause severe disorders in pregnant women, because of the high risk of transplacental transmission and the occurrence of abortion or multiple congenital lesions in the fetus, and in immunocompromised individuals (5, 9).Life-threatening reactivation of a previous infection is commonly observed in cases of severe immunodeficiency (human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients, organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients). For these patients, the detection of Toxoplasma-specific antibodies showing serological reactivation or primary infection is therefore essential for the appropriate diagnosis and prevention of severe toxoplasmosis (2, 7).The follow-up of patients with obstetric toxoplasmosis mainly depends on the detection of antitoxoplasma-specific immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG antibodies (14, 16, 18). The presence of toxoplasma-specific IgM at the time of the first blood test is a cause for concern. The presence of toxoplasma-specific IgG without IgM permits confirmation of the immunization of the patients and thus allows unnecessary and expensive follow-up to be avoided.For both obstetric follow-up and diagnosis in immunocompromised patients, tests for IgG are crucial. Since the 1980s, toxoplasma-specific IgG assays have been standardized by different generations of World Health Organization (WHO) standards (15), and test results have been reported in international units per milliliter (IU/ml). The dye test (DT), first described by Sabin and Feldman 60 years ago, is still the reference method for the serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis. However, this test uses live Toxoplasma gondii and is now used in only a few laboratories (13). A good alternative, the test Toxo II IgG Western blot (LDBio, Lyon, France) has been proposed to be a confirmatory technique by Franck et al. (6). The results of this test appear to be consistent with those of DT, with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 99.2%. Thus, this immunoblotting technique can be used as a very reliable and easy confirmatory test in laboratories where DT cannot be implemented.Despite the international standardization and the availability of a reference (or confirmatory) test, automated immunoassays frequently show discordance and moderate degrees of correlation (6, 12). A comparison of six random-access immunoassays (that report IgG levels in IU/ml) and the Toxo II IgG Western blot (LDBio) as a confirmatory technique was undertaken to review the analytical performance characteristics and the degree of standardization of the tests.     

A C1q Immunosorbent Assay Compared with Thin-Layer Gel Filtration for Measuring IgG Aggregates

A new sensitive technique measures C1q-binding of human IgG aggregates. The method is based on the principle of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with C1q-coated tubes. The IgG aggregates attaching to this C1q are shown by enzyme-linked anti-human IgG. Less than 0.01 mug of aggregates per milliliter of sample can be detected. The results with this new method showed significant correlation (P less than 0.01; Spearman rank correlation test) with the estimates of IgG aggregates of 13S or more and 10S in size obtained by thin-layer gel filtration. Both of these methods showed significant correlation with the classic hemolysis inhibition method for measuring complement fixation.     

Binding of the human complement subcomponent C1q to hybrid mouse monoclonal antibodies

Activation of the classical pathway of the complement system is initiated by the binding of C1q to antibody complexes. Here we evaluated the C1q binding capacity of series of monospecific and bispecific hybrid mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and compared them with parental (conventional) mAb. The hierarchy in C1q binding capacity of the bispecific anti-HuIgA1/HRP mAb with homologous H-H chain combinations (IgG2a-2a, IgG2b-2b and IgG1-1) and the parental anti-HuIgA1 or anti-HRP mAb was identical; IgG2a greater than IgG2b much greater than IgG1. Hybrid IgG1-2a mAb bind intermediate amounts of C1q when compared with the IgG1 and IgG2a parental antibodies. IgG1-2b and IgG1-1 hybrid mAb did not bind any C1q, like the IgG1 mAb. We could not observe any difference in C1q binding efficiency between monovalently bound IgG1-2a, IgG2a-2a and IgG2b-2b anti-HuIgA1 HRP mAb and the bivalently bound IgG1-2a, IgG2a-2a and IgG2b-2b anti-HuIgA1 mAb, respectively. Furthermore, these hybrid ms anti-HuIgA1 and bs anti-HRP/HuIgA1 mAb were able to lyse HuIgA1-coated erythrocytes, in the presence of 50% human serum, as efficiently as their parental counterparts. These data indicate that a simultaneous binding of both F(ab') fragment to antigen is not a necessary prerequisite for binding and activation of C1q.     

Human C1q: rapid isolation and quantitative determination by immunodiffusion

A simple and rapid 2-step procedure for isolating C1q from human plasma at high yields (about 50%) is described. The purification involves diaminopropane precipitation followed by chromatography on IgG-Sepharose. The final product (obtained at a concentration of about 1.5 mg/ml) was electrophoretically and immunochemically pure and stable at -70 degrees C for long periods. The Mancini technique for the quantitative determination of C1q was reinvestigated and the use of gels containing high salt concentrations (1.0 M NaCl) was found to be absolutely necessary. A value of 0.076 mg/ml C1q in pooled human plasma was obtained.     

Enhancing effect of C1q on IgG monoclonal antibody binding to hapten

We have previously demonstrated that IgG antibody binding to microfilariae of Dirofilaria immitis increased in the presence of purified C1q. The present study was designed to examine the mechanism of the C1q effect using a system with an antihapten monoclonal antibody (MoAb) and a hapten as an antigen. Microtiter plates were coated with 4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl-acetyl (NP)-bovine serum albumin (BSA), and mouse anti-NP MoAb (IgG) was added in the presence of C1q. The amount of IgG which bound to NP-BSA increased with the addition of C1q (p less than 0.01) when the antibody had both specificity to the antigen and ability to fix C1q. The C1q effect, examined using two anti-NP MoAbs with different affinities, was more apparent with the low-affinity antibody (LAMoAb) than with the high-affinity (HAMoAb; percent enhancement of IgG binding was 19 vs. 12%). The C1q effect on LAMoAb binding was doubled when a small amount of HAMoAb was incubated with LAMoAb. The C1q effect on IgG binding might be operative in the early phase of infection, where a small amount of high-affinity antibody and a relatively large amount of low-affinity antibody are produced in the host.     

Interaction of C1q with the receptor calreticulin requires a conformational change in C1q

The interaction between C1q and the chaperone calreticulin was studied under various conditions. When both proteins were present in equal amounts in solution, no interaction could be demonstrated. However, C1q immobilized on a hydrophobic surface, exposed to heat-treatment or bound to immunoglobulins (Igs) showed a strong, rapid and specific binding of calreticulin. The interaction appeared to be a two-step process, and the initial phase of interaction was sensitive to high concentrations of salt but not to a physiological salt concentration. The following strong binding was insensitive to salt and extremes of pH but sensitive to strongly denaturing agents (urea and guanidine). The sensitivity to salt during the initial phase of interaction was practically identical to that observed when calreticulin was bound to type V collagen. Binding between C1q and calreticulin could be inhibited by serum amyloid P component and by proteinase K-digested ovalbumin, and the binding of calreticulin to proteinase K-digested ovalbumin was shown to be inhibited by C1q. The data indicate that C1q binds stably to the peptide-binding site of calreticulin and that the initial binding of calreticulin to C1q involves the collagen-like domain of the C1q molecule. In conclusion, our results suggest calreticulin as a potential receptor for an altered conformation of C1q as occurs during binding to Igs. Thus, the chaperone and protein-scavenging function of calreticulin may extend from the endoplasmic reticulum to the topologically equivalent cell surface, where it may contribute to the elimination of immune complexes and apoptotic cells.     

Human lung fibroblast subpopulations with different C1q binding and functional properties.

Human lung fibroblasts differing in C1q binding, steady-state levels of collagen synthesis, and other functional properties were isolated. Explants of normal human lung specimens were cultured in medium containing complement-inactivated plasma-derived human serum or complete human serum. Cells obtained were treated with C1q and fluorescein isothiocyanate-anti-C1q antibody and separated based on fluorescence intensity in a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS). FACS profiles showed that fibroblasts obtained in the presence of plasma-derived serum (HF cells) displayed higher fluorescence intensity than those obtained in complete serum (LF cells). The unsorted and sorted HF and LF fibroblasts retained their respective fluorescence phenotypes after subculture. The LF fibroblasts proliferated faster than HF cells and contained more cycling cells. However, whereas the sorted HF cells grew normally, sorted LF cells grew poorly. Collagen production and pro alpha l[I] mRNA levels in HF cells were 2.6 +/- 0.7 and 2.1 +/- 0.6 times as high as LF cells (n = 4). Collagen synthesis in both HF and LF cells was stimulated by transforming growth factor-beta and inhibited by interferon-gamma, but the stimulation was greater and inhibition less in LF cells. Our results indicate that C1q binding and the type of C1q receptors can serve as markers for fibroblast subpopulations differing in collagen synthesis, and that selection of subpopulations and their differential sensitivity to regulatory molecules can contribute to collagen alterations associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and other acquired diseases.     

Comparison of Surface Properties of Human IgA, IgE, IgG and IgM Antibodies with Identical and Different Specificities

In this paper, the authors report the use of liquid-liquid partition chromatography (LLPC) in an aqueous polyethylene glycol (PEG)/dextran two-phase system to compare the surface properties (partition properties) of human antibodies and fragments thereof. The surface properties of all the monoclonal antibodies of different classes and subclasses investigated were within the same broad range as that observed for the polyclonal antibodies and no relationship was found between the exposed surfaces of the immunoglobulins (Ig) and their heavy chain isotype. Moreover, Fc fragments from various IgG1, 2 and 4 myeloma proteins were found to exhibit similar surface properties. Employing chimeric antibodies with identical variable regions the authors found that intact IgG1, 2 and 4 displayed identical surface properties, while the corresponding IgA1, IgA2, IgG3, IgE and IgM antibodies differed both from each other and from the IgGs. The surface properties of chimeric IgG3 could be made similar to those of the IgG1, 2 and 4 chimers by partially reducing the length of the hinge section, but new differences in surface properties appeared when their hinges were of similar length. Thus, LLPC can be used to detect differences or similarities in the surface properties of the antigen-binding regions as well as the Fc part in the various isotypes. This can shed light on biological activities such as antigen binding and effector function.     

The reaction between the complement subcomponent C1q, IgG complexes and polyionic molecules.

The strength of the bond between 125I-labelled C1q and immune complexes, Fc piece, dextran sulphate, polyglutamic acid and polylysine has been investigated. The binding of C1q to Fc piece, small molecular weight (less than 10,000) dextran sulphate, polyglutamic acid and polylysine have value; for the functional affinity constant (Ko) in the range of 0.2-1.5 X 10(4) M-1. In contrast the binding of C1q to immune complexes and large molecular weight polyions (greater than 100,000 is much greater and lies in the range 3 X 10(7)--4 X 10(8) M-1. The differences in the binding constants between the two groups can be explained if the Fc piece and small molecular weight compounds bind to only 1 head of the C1q molecule but the immune complexes and large molecules bind to 2 heads. There are probably 6 binding sites on the C1q molecule for dextran sulphate. The enhancement of the binding affinity of C1q by reduction in ionic strength and the reaction with polyions, indicate that ionic groups are present near or within the binding sites.