Localization within the heavy chain sequence of tyrosyl peptides from the combining sites in a rabbit anti-3-azopyridine antibody preparation

Loss of an individual idiotype on chemical modification. A strategy for assigning idiotypic determinants

Two dextran-binding myeloma proteins, J558 and Hdex 24, which possess the same individual idiotype (IdI) were diazotized to low levels (1-3.3 groups per subunit) with 1-[14C]-p-aminobenzoate. Both proteins lost the IdI idiotype under these conditions with most of the label incorporated on the heavy chains of each protein. When the diazotization ws carried out in the presence of the hapten 1-O-methyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside the loss of idiotypic reactivity could be prevented for J558 but not for Hdex 24. Under these conditions most of the label was incorporated on the light chains of J558, but on the heavy chains of Hdex 24. For J558, these results show that a major determinant of the individual idiotype is within the hypervariable positions of the heavy chain. For Hdex 24 the determinant being modified is on the heavy chain but not involved in hapten binding. These results are consistent with previous work showing that J558 and Hdex 24 differ in amino acid sequence in the D and the J segments of the heavy chain and offer an alternative and complementary strategy for assigning idiotypic determinants.

Genetic determination of antibody specificity. Gene translocation and fusion, the molecular basis for the differentiation of the antibody-producing cell

The best system for the study of cell differentiation is a cell which in its differentiated state differs only by one product. This is the case in the immune system. The undifferentiated, but omnipotent stem cell differentiates into a committed B cell which produces only one type of specific antibody out of a million different, genetically fixed possibilities. Gene translocation and fusion is the basis of this differentiation process.

Location of light chain tyrosine peptides from the combining site of a rabbit anti-p-azobenzoate antibody

Peptic peptides containing a tyrosyl residue from the binding site of a rabbit anti-p-azobenzoate antibody were isolated by means of the paired-iodination procedure. The peptides were from the light chain, and the tyrosyl residue is 29, 30, 31, 32, 32A, 32B, 33 at position 30 in the sequence -Val-Tyr-Asn-Asx-Lys-Gly-Leu- and thus is in the first hypervariable region. The sequence of the N-terminal 40 residues was determined. The major antibody-site peptide isolated was a diiodotyrosyl (DIT) tetrapeptide representing residues 30-32A; the monoiodotyrosyl (MIT) tetrapeptide was also isolated, but in a smaller yield. By isoelectric focusing, the light chain appeared to be homogeneous. No heterogeneity was apparent in the light chain sequencing until position 32B when, in addition to the phenylthiohydantoin derivative of tyrosine present as the major residue, a significant amount of the phenylthiohydantoin derivative of glycine was obtained. The glycine presumably represents a light chain variant population and explains the source of the other antibody-site peptides isolated, i.e. two pentapeptides, apparently of the sequence Tyr-Asn-Asx-Lys-Gly, isolated as the DIT and MIT derivatives. The tetrapeptides must have been derived from the peptic cleavage between Lys 32A and Tyr 32B in the major light chain variant and the pentapeptides from the peptic cleavage between Gly 32B and Leu 33 in the other variant. It is interesting that position 30 is occupied by a tyrosyl residue in five out of twelve other rabbit antibody light chains of known sequence (Margolies, M.N. et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. US 1975.72: 2180). One light chain is from another rabbit anti-p-azobenzoate antibody in which Tyr 30 is apparently not important in hapten binding although a tyrosyl at position 96 is clearly involved in hapten binding (Roholt, O.A. et al., J. Immunol. 1973.111:1367). The other four of the five light chains are from anti-pneumococcal polysaccharide antibodies in which the role of this tyrosyl residue is not known.

Affinity labelling of the binding site of rabbit antibody. Evidence for the involvement of the hypervariable regions of the heavy chain

The binding sites of rabbit antibodies with affinity for the haptenic group 4-azido-2-nitrophenyl-lysine have been specifically labelled by photolysis of the hapten-antibody complex. The extent of covalent labelling was 0.5-0.9mol of hapten bound/mol of antibody and, by using an immunoadsorbent, antibody with 1.3mol of hapten/mol was obtained. The antibody was specifically labelled in the binding site and the ratio of labelling of heavy and light chains was in the range 3.3-5.0. The labelled heavy chains were cleaved by CNBr treatment and after reduction and alkylation of the intrachain bonds, were digested with trypsin. Evidence is presented that two regions of the heavy chain, positions 29-34 and 95-114, together contain about 80% of the label on the heavy chain; these two regions respectively include two of the hypervariable regions of rabbit heavy chain.