The Thermodynamic and Binding Studies of Hg+2 Ions with Egg Protein by Polarographic and pH Metric Techniques

The binding of mercury (II) ion has been studied with egg protein at different pH values and temperatures by the polarographic technique. The binding data were found to be pH and temperature dependent. The intrinsic association constants (k) and the number of binding sites (n) were calculated from Scatchard plots and found tobe at the maximum at lower pH and at lower temperatures. The free energy change (ΔG°) of the combining sites were least at the higher pH and highest at the low pH; therefore, a lower temperature and lower pH offered more sites in the protein molecule for interaction with mercury (II) ions. Statistical effects seem to be more significant at lower mercury (II) ion concentrations, while at higher concentrations electrostatic effects and heterogeneity of sites are more significant.

Negative co-operativity in the EGF receptor

Scatchard analyses of the binding of EGF (epidermal growth factor) to its receptor (EGFR) yield concave up Scatchard plots, indicative of some type of heterogenity in ligand-binding affinity. This was typically interpreted as being due to the presence of two independent binding sites: one of high affinity representing ≤10% of the receptor population, and one of low affinity making up the bulk of the receptors. However, the concept of two independent binding sites is difficult to reconcile with the X-ray structures of the dimerized EGFR that show symmetrical binding of the two ligands. A new approach to the analysis of 125I-EGF-binding data combined with the structure of the singly-occupied Drosophila EGFR have now shown that this heterogeneity is due to the presence of negative co-operativity in the EGFR. Concerns that negative co-operativity precludes ligand-induced dimerization of the EGFR confuse the concepts of linkage and co-operativity. Linkage refers to the effect of ligand on the assembly of dimers, whereas co-operativity refers to the effect of ligand binding to one subunit on ligand binding to the other subunit within a preassembled dimer. Binding of EGF to its receptor is positively linked with dimer assembly, but shows negative co-operativity within the dimer.

Binding of cadmium to soil humic acid as a function of carboxyl group content

The binding of Cd(II) to soil humic acid (HA) at pH 6.5 and in 0.1 mol/L KNO3 ionic medium, was studied by potentiometric titration with a cadmium ion selective electrode. The influence of carboxyl groups in cation-humic interactions was investigated by selective blocking of humic acid carboxyl groups with thionyl chloride and methanol. Infrared spectroscopic analysis confirmed that esterification took place. Differences between underivatized and derivatized HA complexation properties are ascribed to carboxyl groups. The Scatchard plots and incremental formation constants were used to obtain values for Cd-binding constants, for both HAs. The derivatization decreased the number of HA complexing sites by approximately 60 %, which correlates with acid-base properties of both HAs, studied by barium hydroxide and calcium acetate exchange methods. The stability constants for binding at the strongest sites (logKINT) was larger for underivatized HA (5.40) than for derivatized HA (4.92), indicating greater stability in the case when carboxyl groups are involved in complexation reaction.

The monoclonal antibody 26 raised against tetanus toxoid also recognizes tetanus toxin and β2-glycoprotein I - its binding properties in vitro and potential applications

A murine monoclonal IgG1 antibody, marked as MAb26, specific for tetanus toxoid has been immunochemically characterized. By performing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and western blot analyses, it was demonstrated that MAb26 reacted with tetanus toxoid, tetanus toxin and ?2-glycoprotein I (?2GPI). According to the results, MAb26 recognized the sequential epitope on the tetanus heavy chain. The affinity constant, calculated from Scatchard plots of MAb26 binding to tetanus toxoid, was 1.145?108 M-1 and the measurement of the relative affinity of MAb26 by ELISA using thiocyanate elution showed a significantly higher affinity of MAb26 to the toxoid (p = 0.0012) in comparison to the toxin. Additionally, the reactivity of MAb26 toward the toxoid forms increased when the tetanus toxin was detoxified using 8 mM and higher formaldehyde concentrations. The similarity of the tetanus toxoid to several sera proteins, either at the level of its conformation (IL-1?) or at the level of peptide sequences (?2GPI, laminin) favors its role in autoimmunity by the mechanism of molecular mimicry. As the induction of an autoimmune disease is dependent on the breakdown of tolerance, which could be the result of an overt hyperstimulation, the control of the presence and concentration of self-reactive epitopes in vaccine preparations is a prerequisite. In this study, it was shown that MAb26 can: 1) discriminate between the tetanus toxin and different toxoid forms, which makes it a good candidate for antibody control during vaccine preparation; 2) due to its cross-reactivity with ?2GPI, it could provide information on the presence of a potentially dangerous sequential epitope expressed at the protein surface.

Complexes of bovine serum albumin with water-soluble Cu and Co containing cationic meso-tetra(4-N-oxyethylpyridyl)-porphyrins

Bovine serum albumin complexes with water-soluble cationic porphyrins, Cu - and Co-meso-tetra(4- N -hydroxyethylpyridyl)porphyrins ( CuT4OEPyP , CoT4OEPyP ), and their 3- N -analogs, meso-tetra(3- N -hydroxyethylpyridyl)porphyrins ( CuT3OEPyP , CoT3OEPyP ), have been investigated. The porphyrin-bovine serum albumin binding was monitored by the absorption in the visible region at 400-460 nm. The stoichiometry of binding and the binding constants of the porphyrins to bovine serum albumin were determined using binding isotherms and Scatchard plots. The K b values obtained for these porphyrin- bovine serum albumin complexes are 1.7 × 105 M −1, 3.2 × 105 M −1, 1.4 × 105 M −1 and 3 × 105 M −1 respectively. Binding constants are sensitive to pH and ionic strength of the solution.

Ligand Binding Characteristics of Two Molecular Forms, One Equipped with a Hydrophobic Glycosyl Phosphatidylinositol Tail, of the Folate Binding Protein Purified from Human Milk

Two molecular forms of the folate binding protein were isolated and purified from human milk by a combination of cation exchange- and affinity chromatography. One protein (27 kDa) was a cleavage product of the other 100 kDa protein as evidenced by N-terminal amino acid sequence homology and a reduction in the molecular size of the latter protein to 27 kDa after cleavage of its hydrophobic glycosylphosphatidylinositol tail by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. High-affinity binding of [3H]folate was characterized by upward convex Scatchard plots and increasing ligand binding affinity with decreasing concentrations of both proteins. Downward convex Scatchard plots and binding affinities showing no dependence on the protein concentration were, however, observed in highly diluted solutions of both proteins. Radioligand binding was inhibited by folate analogs, and dissociation of radioligand was slow at pH 7.4 but rapid and complete at pH 5.0 and 3.5. Ligand binding quenched the tryptophan fluorescence of the 27 kDa protein suggesting that tryptophan is present at the binding site and/or ligand binding induces a conformation change that affects tryptophan environment in the protein. The 27 kDa protein representing soluble folate binding protein exhibited a greater affinity for ligand binding than the 100 kDa protein which possesses a hydrophobic tail identical to the one that anchors the folate receptor to the cell membrane.

Characterization of MIPs Using Heterogeneous Binding Models

New methods are presented for characterizing MIPs. These methods address the problems of quantitatively comparing the binding properties of different MIPs. Heterogeneous binding models were applied to MIPs based on an exponentially decaying distribution known as the Freundlich isotherm. The Freundlich isotherm was found to accurately model the binding isotherm of the majority of non-covalently imprinted MIPs. Using this model the experimental binding isotherm can be fit in log-log form to a linear equation from which the fitting parameters can be used to plot a quantitative affinity distribution which is a plot of the number of sites with respect to the binding constant of those sites. Comparison of MIPs using this methodology allowed for simpler and more accurate assessment of the binding properties than by previous methods such as the limiting slopes analysese of curved Scatchard plots.