scholarly journals Binding of antibodies to acetylcholine receptors in Electrophorus and Torpedo electroplax membranes.

1978 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 577-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Karlin ◽  
E Holtzman ◽  
R Valderrama ◽  
V Damle ◽  
K Hsu ◽  
...  

Antisera against purified acetylcholine receptors from the electric tissues of Torpedo californica and of Electrophorus electricus were raised in rabbits. The antisera contain antibodies which bind to both autologous and heterologous receptors in solution as shown by an immunoprecipitation assay. Antibodies in both types of antisera bind specifically to the postjunctional membrane on the innervated surface of the intact electroplax from Electrophorus electric tissue as demonstrated by an indirect immunohistochemical procedure using horseradish peroxidase conjugated to anti-rabbit IgG. Only anti-Electrophorus receptor antisera, however, cause inhibition of the receptor-mediated depolarization of the intact Electrophorus electroplax. The lack of inhibition by anti-Torpedo receptor antibodies, which do bind, suggests that the receptor does not undergo extensive movement during activity. The binding of anti-Torpedo antibodies to receptor-rich vesicles prepared by subcellular fractionation of Torpedo electric tissue was demonstrated by both direct and indirect immunohistochemical methods using ferritin conjugates. These vesicles can be conveniently collected and prepared for electron microscopy on Millipore filters, a procedure requiring only 25 micrograms of membrane protein per filter. In addition, it was possible to visualize the binding of anti-Torpedo receptor antibodies directly, without ferritin. These anti-Torpedo receptor antibodies, however, do not inhibit the binding of acetylcholine or of alpha-neurotoxin to receptor in Torpedo microsacs but do inhibit binding of alpha-neurotoxin to Torpedo receptor in Triton X-100 solution. It is likely that the principal antigenic determinants on receptor are at sites other than the acetylcholine-binding sites and that inhibition of receptor function, when it occurs, may be due to a stabilization by antibody binding of an inactive conformational state.

Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (10) ◽  
pp. 1865-1875 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Joliot ◽  
A. Trembleau ◽  
G. Raposo ◽  
S. Calvet ◽  
M. Volovitch ◽  
...  

We report here that the homeoproteins Engrailed-1 and Engrailed-2 are present in specific non-nuclear subcellular compartments. Using electron microscopy, we observed that chick-Engrailed-2 expressed in COS-7 cells associates with membrane fractions that are characterized as caveolae. This characterization is based on morphological, biochemical and immunological criteria such as, in particular, the absence of clathrin coat and the presence of caveolin and cholera toxin-binding sites. These data are fully confirmed by subcellular fractionation experiments, which demonstrate that transfected chick-Engrailed-2 is present in low density membrane fractions that are resistant to Triton X-100, enriched in caveolin and solubilized by the addition of a cholesterol-binding detergent, a set of properties highly characteristic of caveolae. The association of Engrailed-2 with specific membrane fractions observed after transfection in COS-7 cells is also observed for endogenous Engrailed-1 and Engrailed-2 expressed at late embryonic stages in the cerebellum and posterior mesencephalon of the rodent. Indeed, the two proteins are present in membrane fractions that bear all the characteristics of microdomains or caveolae-like domains, i.e. Triton X-100 resistance, saponin solubilization, low density on sucrose gradients, enrichment in glycosphingolipid GM1, absence of transmembrane Neural Cell Adhesion Molecule, presence of the glypiated (GPI-anchored) glycoprotein F3/F11 and of the acylated growth-associated protein GAP-43. Finally we demonstrate that part of the membrane-associated Engrailed, either expressed in COS-7 cells or endogenously present in neural tissues, is not accessible to proteolytic enzymes unless the membranes have been permeabilized with detergent. This study suggests that, in addition to their well-known presence in the nucleus, Engrailed proteins are also associated with caveolae-like vesicles that are primarily transported anterogradely into the axon, and that they can get access to a compartment compatible with secretion.


1975 ◽  
Vol 250 (15) ◽  
pp. 6101-6106
Author(s):  
S J Edelstein ◽  
W B Beyer ◽  
A T Elderfrawi ◽  
M E Elderfrawi

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
Lina Son ◽  
Elena Kryukova ◽  
Rustam Ziganshin ◽  
Tatyana Andreeva ◽  
Denis Kudryavtsev ◽  
...  

Cobra venoms contain three-finger toxins (TFT) including α-neurotoxins efficiently binding nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). As shown recently, several TFTs block GABAA receptors (GABAARs) with different efficacy, an important role of the TFTs central loop in binding to these receptors being demonstrated. We supposed that the positive charge (Arg36) in this loop of α-cobratoxin may explain its high affinity to GABAAR and here studied α-neurotoxins from African cobra N. melanoleuca venom for their ability to interact with GABAARs and nAChRs. Three α-neurotoxins, close homologues of the known N. melanoleuca long neurotoxins 1 and 2, were isolated and sequenced. Their analysis on Torpedocalifornica and α7 nAChRs, as well as on acetylcholine binding proteins and on several subtypes of GABAARs, showed that all toxins interacted with the GABAAR much weaker than with the nAChR: one neurotoxin was almost as active as α-cobratoxin, while others manifested lower activity. The earlier hypothesis about the essential role of Arg36 as the determinant of high affinity to GABAAR was not confirmed, but the results obtained suggest that the toxin loop III may contribute to the efficient interaction of some long-chain neurotoxins with GABAAR. One of isolated toxins manifested different affinity to two binding sites on Torpedo nAChR.


1986 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 762-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Nicolet ◽  
M Pinçon-Raymond ◽  
F Rieger

After denervation in vivo, the frog cutaneus pectoris muscle can be led to degenerate by sectioning the muscle fibers on both sides of the region rich in motor endplate, leaving, 2 wk later, a muscle bridge containing the basal lamina (BL) sheaths of the muscle fibers (28). This preparation still contains various tissue remnants and some acetylcholine receptor-containing membranes. A further mild extraction by Triton X-100, a nonionic detergent, gives a pure BL sheath preparation, devoid of acetylcholine receptors. At the electron microscope level, this latter preparation is essentially composed of the muscle BL with no attached plasmic membrane and cellular component originating from Schwann cells or macrophages. Acetylcholinesterase is still present in high amounts in this BL sheath preparation. In both preparations, five major molecular forms (18, 14, 11, 6, and 3.5 S) can be identified that have either an asymmetric or a globular character. Their relative amount is found to be very similar in the BL and in the motor endplate-rich region of control muscle. Thus, observations show that all acetylcholinesterase forms can be accumulated in frog muscle BL.


Biochemistry ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 3796-3800 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Lindstrom ◽  
J. F. Cooper ◽  
L. W. Swanson

1988 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen T. Prusky ◽  
Max S. Cynader

AbstractThe autoradiographic distribution of [3H]nicotine binding sites was examined in the superior colliculus in normal rats and cats, and in animals in which one or both eyes were removed. [3H]Nicotine binding sites in normal animals were densely concentrated in the superficial layers of the colliculus corresponding to the zone of termination of optic nerve fibers. Following bilateral enucleation, [3H]nicotine binding in the superficial collicular layers was drastically reduced. Unilateral enucleation markedly reduced [3H]nicotine binding sites in the colliculus contralateral to the removed eye, with little effect on the ipsilateral colliculus. These results provide further evidence that nicotinic acetylcholine receptors have a presynaptic location on optic tract terminals and may therefore modulate retinotectal transmission in both the rat and cat visual system.


1984 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tjerk W. A. de Bruin ◽  
Daan van der Heide ◽  
Maria C. Krol

Abstract. The effect of the anti-TSH receptor antibodies present in the sera of 8 patients with Graves' disease on the affinity constant (Ka) and the number (R) of TSH receptors in autologous human thyroid plasma membranes was investigated. Kinetic analysis of [125I]bTSH binding to human thyroid plasma membranes in the presence of autologous Graves' and normal gammaglobulins was carried out by means of a computer fitting programme. Analysis of the TSH-TSH receptor interaction in the presence of TSH alone yielded curvilinear Scatchard plots, indicating the existence of two independent classes of binding sites (high affinity Ka: 8.5 ± 4.8 × 108 m−1; low affinity Ka: 5.3 ± 2.7 × 106 m−1). Similarly the Scatchard plot for this interaction in the presence of normal gammaglobulins is also curvilinear. Linear Scatchard plots, indicating the existence of only one class of high affinity TSH binding sites (Ka: 3.5 ± 1.8 × 108 m−1), were obtained for both autologous gammaglobulins and pure IgG from 8 patients with Graves' disease. The number of high affinity TSH binding sites in the presence of Graves' gammaglobulins had increased on the average by a factor 3.76 ± 0.74 (sd) with respect to the number found in the presence of normal gammaglobulins. This marked change in the kinetic behaviour of the TSH binding sites provided evidence that there is a direct interaction between anti-TSH receptor antibodies and autologous TSH receptors. Divalency of Graves' IgG or linkage of Fab fragments by anti-Fab antiserum proved to be necessary to produce this specific change in the kinetic behaviour of TSH binding sites. Graves' IgG monovalent Fab and Fc fragments had no effect. We suggest that the mechanism by which anti-TSH receptor antibodies in Graves' disease mimick the biological action of TSH is the IgG-induced cross-linkage of TSH receptors.


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