scholarly journals Biosynthesis of immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin M (IgM). Requirement for J chain and a disulphide-exchanging enzyme for polymerization

1973 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Della Corte ◽  
R. M. E. Parkhouse

Mouse myeloma cells secreting 19S IgM (immunoglobulin M) (MOPC 104E and TEPC 183) or monomer and polymer IgA (immunoglobulin A) (MOPC 315) were incubated with radioactive leucine and the intracellular and secreted immunoglobulins and immunoglobulin subunits were prepared by preparative sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. Samples were reduced in the presence or absence of isolated J chain, passed over Sephadex G-25 and then incubated at 37°C for 30min with or without a source of disulphide-interchange enzyme. The extent of reassembly of reduced subunits was then evaluated by electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. Provided that J chain and the disulphide-interchange enzyme were supplied, both IgM and IgA could be assembled from their respective subunits, obtained by reductive cleavage of polymeric forms. Under similar conditions, assembly of polymeric forms from intracellular or secreted 7S monomer subunits also occurred. Under these conditions polymerization was total, there being no residue of the monomeric form. Reassembly did not occur in the absence of either J chain or the enzyme. All of the J chain released from IgM by reductive cleavage was incorporated back into the reassembled polymer. The J chain is therefore likely to be an essential structural requirement for polymeric immunoglobulins. A variety of controls ruled out non-specific interactions, and further suggested that the amino acid sequence of polypeptide chains determines the specificity of polymerization. The fact that intracellular IgA and IgM monomer subunits known to be deficient in galactose and fucose can be completely polymerized suggests that the addition of carbohydrate does not control polymerization.

1971 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 629-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigitte A. Askonas ◽  
R. M. E. Parkhouse

We have shown previously that immunoglobulin M (IgM) is present within IgM-forming cells mainly in its 7S subunit form (IgMs), whereas only fully assembled IgM pentamers are secreted. There is no spontaneous polymerization of intracellular IgMs in cell lysates, suggesting that the 7S subunits had blocked cysteine residues. This suggestion was explored and confirmed in the present paper. Radioactive IgM (secreted) and IgMs (intracellular) were prepared by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation after incubation of cells of the IgM-producing mouse myeloma MOPC 104E with [3H]leucine. We investigated the susceptibility to reduction of fully assembled mouse IgM and its reconstitution from subunits by analysis by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis under dissociating conditions. With increasing concentrations of dithioerythritol, interchain disulphide bonds were cleaved in the following order: inter-IgMs subunit, intra-IgMs subunit H-H, intra-IgMs subunit H-L. Removal of the reducing agent from IgM-reduction mixtures by filtration through Sephadex G-25 caused partial reconstitution of IgM at low protein concentrations (5–100μg/ml) and total reconstitution at higher protein concentrations (300μg/ml or more). Isolated radioactive intracellular IgMs showed no tendency to polymerize unless first treated with a reducing agent; under optimum conditions removal of the reducing agent caused 70% of the subunits to be assembled into IgM. Similar assembly occurred when IgMs was isolated from cells that had been lysed in the presence of an irreversible alkylating reagent (iodoacetamide). The intracellular IgMs cysteine residues responsible for inter-IgMs linkage therefore appear to be reversibly blocked within the cells. Assembly into IgM is thus controlled by removal of this block during secretion.


1969 ◽  
Vol 115 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. E. Parkhouse ◽  
Brigitte A. Askonas

Immunoglobulin M biosynthesis was studied with mouse plasma cell tumour MOPC 104E as a model system. Cell suspensions prepared from solid tumours were incubated in vitro with tritiated leucine; the radioactivity incorporated into intracellular and secreted proteins was analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation and precipitation with rabbit antiserum specific for the macroglobulin. The tumour was found to secrete immunoglobulin M and light chains in a 1:2 weight ratio, with lag periods of 20–30min. Within the cells there was a 7s component precipitable with specific antiserum to the macroglobulin that was shown to consist of heavy and light chains. This 7s subunit of the macroglobulin appeared to accumulate in the intracellular environment, so that even after long periods of incubation (3hr.) no more than trace amounts of fully assembled 19s molecules could be detected in cell lysates. Polymerization of the subunits into the pentamer therefore appears to take place shortly before, or simultaneously with, secretion of the molecules.


1971 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. E. Parkhouse

Immunoglobulin M (IgM) biosynthesis was studied with mouse plasma-cell tumour MOPC 104E as a model system. Cell suspensions prepared from solid tumours were incubated in vitro with [3H]leucine; the radioactivity incorporated into intracellular and secreted proteins was analysed by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation and polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The tumour secretes IgM and light chains. ‘Pulse–chase’ experiments indicated average secretion times of 1.5h for light chain and 2.5h for IgM. The order of disulphide-bond assembly within the cell was shown to be heavy chain+light chain → heavy chain–light chain intermediate → IgMs. The 7S subunit (IgMs) was polymerized into IgM just before or at the time of secretion. Measurements of heavy-chain/light-chain radioactivity ratios in intracellular HL and IgMs and secreted IgM demonstrated the existence of a light-chain pool participating in IgM biosynthesis. The size of the light-chain pool, together with analysis of clones isolated in vivo, suggested that the tumour contains cells in which light-chain synthesis is in excess of heavy-chain production.


1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (04) ◽  
pp. 848-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marjorie B Zucker ◽  
David Varon ◽  
Nicholas C Masiello ◽  
Simon Karpatkin

SummaryPlatelets deprived of calcium and incubated at 37° C for 10 min lose their ability to bind fibrinogen or aggregate with ADP when adequate concentrations of calcium are restored. Since the calcium complex of glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa is the presumed receptor for fibrinogen, it seemed appropriate to examine the behavior of these glycoproteins in incubated non-aggregable platelets. No differences were noted in the electrophoretic pattern of nonaggregable EDTA-treated and aggregable control CaEDTA-treated platelets when SDS gels of Triton X- 114 fractions were stained with silver. GP IIb and IIIa were extracted from either nonaggregable EDTA-treated platelets or aggregable control platelets with calcium-Tris-Triton buffer and subjected to sucrose density gradient centrifugation or crossed immunoelectrophoresis. With both types of platelets, these glycoproteins formed a complex in the presence of calcium. If the glycoproteins were extracted with EDTA-Tris-Triton buffer, or if Triton-solubilized platelet membranes were incubated with EGTA at 37° C for 30 min, GP IIb and IIIa were unable to form a complex in the presence of calcium. We conclude that inability of extracted GP IIb and IIIa to combine in the presence of calcium is not responsible for the irreversible loss of aggregability that occurs when whole platelets are incubated with EDTA at 37° C.


1974 ◽  
Vol 141 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. V. Nayudu ◽  
Fraser B. Hercus

Polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and Bio-Gel P-300 molecular-sieve chromatography of mouse duodenal alkaline phosphatase demonstrates its molecular heterogeneity, which, in a kinetic sense, is manifest also in the differential relative velocities of the heterogeneous forms of the enzyme with two substrates, phenylphosphate and β-glycerophosphate. Different treatments that eliminate most of the electrophoretic and chromatographic variability of the enzyme also decrease the velocities with both substrates so that the molar ratio of hydrolysis of one substrate relative to the other is also altered to a low but stable value. Concomitant with these changes, lipids and peptides are dissociated from the enzyme. The lipids are tentatively identified as a sterol and phospholipids. The peptides have an average composition of four to six amino acids and appear to be strongly electropositive. The conditions of dissociation suggest that their binding to the enzyme is non-covalent and predominantly based on hydrophobic and ionic bonding. The concept of lipid and peptide association would suggest prima facie differential molecular weights as a factor in the observed electrophoretic and chromatographic heterogeneity. However, the molecular forms of the enzyme with differences in elution volume equivalent to more than one-half the void volume of the Bio-Gel P-300 column, or even enzyme fractions dissociated from the lipids and peptides compared with undissociated portions, do not show any differences in sedimentation on sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. This may be because the alterations in molecular weight owing to binding of small molecules are too small to be detected by this method. Alternatively, since lipids are involved, the binding may alter the partial specific volume in such a way that the buoyant density is not significantly altered.


1983 ◽  
Vol 210 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Hubbard ◽  
M Kalimi

Citrate greatly stabilized rat hepatic unbound glucocorticoid receptors in cell-free conditions at 4 degrees C with optimal effectiveness at 5-15 mM. Control receptors were inactivated at 4 degrees C with a half-life of less than 12 h. However, in the presence of 10 mM-citrate, unbound receptors were almost completely stabilized for 48 h at 4 degrees C. Citrate at a concentration of 1-2 mM yielded half-maximal stabilization. The stabilizing effect of citrate was rather specific, as succinate, alpha-oxoglutarate, oxaloacetate, malate and pyruvate had no apparent stabilizing action. Citrate stabilized receptors over a wide range of H+ concentrations, with complete protection between pH 6.5 and 8.5. In addition, citrate appeared to have a significant effect on glucocorticoid-receptor complex activation into a nuclear binding form. Thus 5-10 mM-citrate enhanced nuclear binding, with optimal activation achieved at 10 mM concentration. As analysed by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation and DEAE-cellulose chromatography, no apparent change was observed in the physical characteristics of the glucocorticoid receptor in the presence of citrate.


1973 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Giorgini ◽  
F. L. De Lucca

Instability of 28S rRNA of Crotalus durissus terrificus liver was observed during hotphenol extraction: purified 28S rRNA is converted into an 18S RNA component by heat treatment. It was also found that ‘6S’ and ‘8S’ low-molecular-weight RNA species were released during the thermal conversion. This conversion and the release of the low-molecular-weight species were also induced by 8m-urea and 80% (v/v) dimethyl sulphoxide at 0°C. Evidence is presented that this phenomenon is an irreversible process and results from the rupture of hydrogen bonds. The 18S RNA product was shown to be homogeneous by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and by sucrose-density-gradient centrifugation. The base composition of the 18S RNA products obtained by heat, urea or dimethyl sulphoxide treatments was similar. The C+G content of the 18S RNA product was different from that of the native 18S rRNA, but similar to that of 28S rRNA.


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