COOH-terminal Cyanogen Bromide Research Articles

Sequence analysis of the COOH terminus of the alpha-chain of the fourth component of human complement. Identification of the site of its extracellular cleavage.

The predominant form of the fourth component of complement in human and murine plasma (C4p) has an Mr approximately 5,000 less than C4 secreted by hepatocytes or macrophages (C4s). Here we demonstrate that the difference in Mr results from excision of a peptide from the COOH terminus of the alpha-chain of C4s. The site of truncation of the alpha-chain of C4 in plasma was established by sequence analysis of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment isolated by high performance liquid chromatography. Sequential Edman degradation, digestion with carboxypeptidase Y, analysis of amino acid composition, and partial sequence analysis of an overlapping tryptic peptide established the sequence of this peptide to be Glu-Ala-Asn-Glu-Asp-Tyr-Glu-Asp-Tyr-Glu-Tyr-Asp-Glu-Leu-Pro-Ala. Comparison of our results with reported sequences establishes the COOH-terminal alanine to be residue 748 in the alpha-chain. This identifies the site at which C4s is cleaved by an extracellular protease and suggests that the protease has an elastase-like activity.

Partial covalent structure of the human alpha 2 type V collagen chain.

Human cDNA libraries were screened with a cDNA fragment presumably encoding the 3' terminus of a procollagen carboxyl propeptide not identifiable as types I, II, III, or IV by protein sequence or Northern blot hybridization. One clone contained a 1350-base pair insert coding in part for 55 uninterrupted Gly-X-Y triplets. Comparison with the amino acid composition of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide (CB) peptides of the alpha 1 and alpha 2 type V collagen chains showed similarity only to the alpha 2(V)CB fragment. To identify the NH2 terminus of the peptide designated by methionine, an additional isolate was sequenced and found to contain a Gly-Met-Pro triplet. Thirty-one amino acids from the NH2 terminus of the alpha 2(V)CB9 fragment were then determined by Edman degradation and found to be identical to those derived from the cDNA clone. The DNA sequence encoding part of the triple helical region establishes for the first time the partial structure of a type V collagen chain. Although comparison of residues 796-1020 of the alpha 2(V) collagenous region with alpha 1 (III), alpha 1(I), and alpha 2(I) shows strong conservation of charged positions, the latter three chains appear considerably more similar to each other than to alpha 2(V). A striking feature of the alpha 2(V) sequence between 918-944 is the absence of proline residues. In the analogous region of alpha 1(I) where this amino acid is also lacking, a flexible site in the rigid triple helical structure of type I collagen has been observed (Hofmann, H., Voss, T., Kuhn, K. and Engel, J. (1984) J. Mol. Biol. 172, 325-343).

Folding of thermolysin fragments: Identification of the minimum size of a carboxyl-terminal fragment that can fold into a stable native-like structure

The COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment 206–316 of thermolysin has been shown to possess protein domain characteristics that are able to refold into a stable native-like structure (Fontana et al., 1982). We now report the results of limited proteolysis of this fragment with the aim of identifying the minimum size of a COOH-terminal fragment of thermolysin that is able to fold by itself. Proteolysis with subtilisin, chymotrypsin, thermolysin and trypsin allowed us to isolate to homogeneity eight different subfragments, which can be grouped in two sets of peptides, i.e. (218–222)-316 and (252–255)-316. These subfragments are able to acquire a stable conformation of native-like characteristics, as judged by quantitative analysis of secondary structure from far-ultraviolet circular dichroism spectra and immunochemical properties using rabbit anti-thermolysin antibodies. In addition, even the smallest fragment isolated (sequence 255–316) shows co-operative and reversible unfolding transitions mediated by heat ( t m 65 °C) and guanidine hydrochloride (midpoint transition at 2.5 m denaturant), as often observed with globular proteins. From the kinetics of the proteolytic digestion and analysis of the isolated subfragments, it is concluded that proteases lead to a stepwise degradation of fragment 206–316 from its NH 2-terminal region, leading to the highly helical fragment (252–255)-316, quite resistant to further proteolytic digestion. The results of this study provide evidence that it is possible to isolate stable supersecondary structures of globular proteins and correlate well with predictions of subdomains of the COOH-terminal structural domain of thermolysin.

Cysteine in the triple-helical domain of one allelic product of the alpha 1(I) gene of type I collagen produces a lethal form of osteogenesis imperfecta.

We studied tissue and cultured skin fibroblasts from a newborn with the lethal perinatal form of osteogenesis imperfecta born to a mother with the Marfan syndrome and her unrelated husband. Dermis from the infant was thinner and fibril diameter smaller than control; dermal fibroblastic cells had dilated endoplasmic reticulum. His fibroblasts in culture synthesized two different species of pro alpha 1(I) chains in about equal quantity. One chain was normal, the other contained cysteine within the triple-helical portion of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide alpha 1(I)CB6. Molecules which contained two copies of the mutant chain formed alpha 1(I)-dimers linked through interchain disulfide bonds. Molecules which contained either one or two mutant chains were delayed in secretion and underwent excessive lysyl hydroxylation and hydroxylysyl glycosylation of all chains in the molecule, probably as a result of delayed triple-helix formation. Molecules containing either one or two copies of the mutant chain melted at 38 degrees C instead of 41 degrees C. The most likely explanation for these findings is that a cysteine is substituted for a glycine in the triple-helical domain of the products of one of the alpha 1(I) alleles. Such a substitution would interfere with triple-helix formation and stability and thus explain 1) the decreased melting temperature, 2) the increased post-translational modification, 3) the altered rate of secretion and accumulation of intracellular material, 4) the increased intracellular degradation of newly synthesized collagen, and 5) the decreased collagen production. Since neither parental cell strain produced the same mutant chain, the findings are best explained by a new mutation in one of the alpha 1(I) genes. The role of the uncharacterized "Marfan" gene in modifying the phenotype in this patient is unclear.

Carboxy-terminal amino acid sequence of a human fibrinogen gamma-chain variant (gamma').

A normal human fibrinogen gamma-chain variant, termed gamma', is larger than the gamma chain (51 500 vs. 49 500) due to an extended COOH-terminal sequence. The extended COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide (CNBr e') was isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography, and its amino acid sequence was determined. Comparison with the corresponding COOH-terminal gamma-chain peptide (CNBr e) showed that the last four amino acids of the gamma chain were replaced in gamma' chains by a 20-residue fragment rich in aspartic and glutamic acids, having the sequence Val-Tyr-Pro-Glu-His-Pro-Ala-Glx-Thr-Glx-Tyr-Asx-Ser-Leu-Arg-Pro-Glx-Asx-Asx-Leu . Mutant gamma chains (gamma Paris I) from a congenitally dysfunctional fibrinogen molecule (fibrinogen Paris 1) express both gamma and gamma' features, suggesting that both gamma and gamma' chains are produced from a single gene. If this suggestion is correct, the observed differences in amino acid sequence could be explained by the existence of different mRNAs for gamma and gamma' chains, respectively, which are transcribed from one gene by differential RNA splicing.

Complete primary structure of human C4a anaphylatoxin.

C4a anaphylatoxin is derived from the fourth component (C4) of the blood complement system. The C4 alpha-chain is selectively cleaved between positions 77 and 78 by the protease C1s, a subcomponent of C1, generating the fragments C4a and C4b. Human C4a was isolated directly from fresh serum after C1 of the classical pathway of complement was activated by heat-aggregated gamma-globulin. The C4a anaphylatoxin is a cationic polypeptide of Mr = 9000 composed of 77 residues and devoid of histidine, tryptophan, and carbohydrate. The primary structure of human C4a was deduced from sequence analysis of two cyanogen bromide fragments and of peptides obtained after chymotryptic digestion of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment. The proposed sequence is: (formula, see text) Manual alignment of the linear structures of human C3a, C4a, and C5a, based primarily on the location of two Cys-Cys sequences in each indicate a 30% homology between C3a and C4a and a 36% homology between C5a and C4a. It was concluded from the sequence comparison that C3a, C4a, and C5a are a family of bioactive factors derived from precursor molecules that share a common genetic origin. Although the human anaphylatoxins share a partial structural identity and express similar biological activities, these factors ae immunologically distinct molecules having no antigenic determinants in common as judged by radioimmunoassay.

Amino acid sequence of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase.

The complete amino acid sequence of the Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase subunit [orthophosphoric-monoester phosphohydrolase (alkaline optimum), EC 3.1.3.1, isozyme 3] has been determined. The monomer contains 449 amino acid residues in a single unglycosylated polypeptide chain having a calculated Mr of 47,029. Isozyme 1 has an additional arginine residue at the NH2 terminus that presumably results from variability in processing of precursor molecules. Sequence data were obtained from both manual and automatic Edman degradation of the tryptic and cyanogen bromide peptides, as well as other peptides derived therefrom. The two disulfide bonds were determined from analyses of the appropriate peptic peptides. This structure confirms earlier reports of the sequence surrounding the active-site serine and both the NH2- and COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragments. A secondary structure prediction places nearly half the residues in alpha-helical segments that have 13% and 16%, respectively, in beta-strand and beta-turn orientations.

Production and characterization of a monoclonal antibody against the seed lectin of the Dolichos biflorus plant.

Spleen cells from mice immunized with the Dolichos biflorus seed lectin were fused with cells from the mouse myeloma Sp2/O-Ag14 cell line to form hybridomas. Those hybridomas producing antibodies against the seed lectin were cloned at least four times and the monoclonal antibodies from clone C11/64-56.28 were characterized and found to be specific for Subunit I of the lectin; they do not react with the structurally similar Subunit II. In previous studies, we have shown that although these two subunits appear to differ only at their COOH-terminal ends, only Subunit I has carbohydrate binding activity. Using a solid phase enzyme immunoassay, the antigenic determinant fr the monoclonal antibody was found to be located on the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment of this subunit. The monoclonal antibody inhibits the ability of the lectin to agglutinate erythrocytes and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, the specific hapten for the lectin, inhibits the ability of the antibody to combine with the lectin. These results suggest that the monoclonal antibody recognizes a determinant that is located either at or near the active site of the lectin or that is conformationally interdependent with the active site.

The amino acid sequence of yeast enolase. Preparation and characterization of peptides produced by chemical and enzymatic fragmentation.

Yeast enolase was subjected to chemical and enzymatic fragmentation, and the individual peptides produced were isolated by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. The chemical fragmentation was achieved by cleavage at the single cysteine residue with 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid, or at the 5 methionine residues with cyanogen bromide. The assignment of the two 2-nitro-5-thiocyanobenzoic acid fragments to the NH2-terminal or COOH-terminal regions (designated C1 and C2, respectively) of the enolase subunit could be done unequivocally on the basis of NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal analysis, and the same was the case for the NH2-terminal and COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptides (designated M1 and M6, respectively). From a comparison of the CNBr peptides from enolase with those from Fragment C1, the identity of methionine peptides M4, of which only the NH2-terminal half is present in C1, and M5, which along with M6 is missing in C1, could also be established. The major enzymatic fragmentation was achieved by tryptic cleavage at the 14 arginine residues after acetylation of the lysine residues. Based on overlaps with methionine peptides, most of the arginine peptides could be ordered in proper sequence during the early phases of the work. Because of the size of several of the primary fragments, secondary cleavages were required for optimal sequencing data. These secondary cleavages were accomplished by digestion with Staphylococcus aureus protease, or by tryptic cleavage at cysteine after aminoethylation.

Primary structure of murine major histocompatibility complex alloantigens: completion of the sequence of the amino-terminal 284 residues of H-2Kb.

The primary structure of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage fragment Ic (CN-Ic) of the extracellular portion of the murine histocompatibility antigen H-2Kb has been completed. CN-Ic contains a site of papain cleavage which has been utilized for solubilizing H-2Kb by cleaving off the membrane integrating portion of the molecule. The amino acid sequence of CN-Ic has been determined by using peptides recovered after trypsin digestion of CN-Ic before and after blockage of lysine groups with citraconic anhydride. Overlapping sequences for the tryptic fragments were obtained by amino-terminal sequence analysis. The sequence of fragment CN-Ic, which spans residues 229-284 in H-2Kb, is as follows: Glu-Leu-Val-Glu-Thr-Arg-Pro-Ala-Gly-Asp-Gly-Thr-Phe-Gln-Lys-Trp-Ala-Ser-Val-Val-Pro-Leu-Gly-Lys-Glu-Gln-Tyr-Tyr-Thr-Cys-His-Val-Tyr-Gln-Gln-Gly-Leu-Pro-Gln-Pro-Leu-Thr-Leu-Arg-Trp-Asp-Glu-Pro-Pro-Ser-Thr-Val-Ser-Asn-Met. This amino acid sequence determination completes the primary structure of the amino terminal 284 residues of H-2Kb, that portion of this histocompatibility antigen which is external to the cell membrane and which contains antigenic determinants. It was also possible to identify Val-281 as a papain cleavage site within CN-Ic. The completed structure was analyzed solely by radiochemical methods. The structure obtained for H-2Kb is 71% homologous to the reported structure of HLA-B7, a human homologue.

Structural characterization of the phosphorylation sites of human erythrocyte spectrin.

The phosphorylation sites of spectrin dimer were characterized before and after incubation of intact human red cells with [32P]orthophosphate. Phosphate measurements of unlabeled spectrin dimer show it contains 4.0 +/- 0.3 covalent protein phosphates, all located on band 2. Quantitation of the number of exchangeable phosphorylation sites in erythrocytes labeled with [32P]orthophosphate yields 3.9 +/- 0.3 phosphates/spectrin dimer, indicating that all four spectrin phosphorylation sites are metabolically active. Tryptic and chymotryptic peptide mapping reveals that the dimer contains three unique 32P-labeled tryptic peptides of approximately 4,600 (A1), 3,500 (A2), and 2,400 (B) daltons. Peptide A1 contains both phosphoserine and phosphothreonine while peptides A2 and B possess only phosphoserine. Peptides A1 and A2 remain associated after trypsinization of spectrin dimer and are only separable in detergents. All three 32P-labeled tryptic peptides are contained within a 20,000 dalton cyanogen bromide fragment which is within a 60,000 dalton staphylococcal protease phosphopeptide. All these fragments are found within a 90,000 dalton nitrothiocyanobenzoic acid phosphopeptide. The purified 20,000 dalton fragment contains no homoserine or homoserine lactone and is the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide of band 2. The isolated tryptic peptide B possesses no lysine or arginine and is presumably the COOH-terminal tryptic peptide of band 2 and the most distal phosphopeptide. Thus, the four phosphorylation sites of spectrin dimer are clustered at the extreme COOH-terminal end of band 2.

Structural evidence that complement factor B constitutes a novel class of serine protease.

The 28,000-dalton COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide of complement factor B was isolated disulfide bonded to a second polypeptide of Mr = 3,500. The amino acid sequence of the smaller peptide, CB2-3, and 51 of 55 NH2-terminal residues of the larger peptide, CB2-2, were determined on an automated sequenator. CB2-2 exhibited extensive homology in its primary structure to the known serine proteases and included the sequence, Ala-Ala-His-Cys, which is part of the active site of these enzymes. By contrast, CB2-3 demonstrated only limited sequence identity with the NH2 terminus of the serine proteases. Mild acid hydrolysis was employed to further cleave CB2-2 into fragments of Mr = 20,000 and 8,000. On analysis the 8,000-dalton peptide was observed to contain the active site serine sequence, Gly-Asp-Ser-Gly-Gly-Pro. The data, therefore, clearly document that factor B is also a serine protease, although its mechanism of activation differs from this class of proteolytic enzymes.

Charge forms of Wistar rat alpha-lactalbumin. A contradiction.

alpha-Lactalbumin was purified from the milk of Wistar rats and was compared to that obtained from Fisher 344 rats. alpha-Lactalbumin isolated from the Wistar rat exists as two forms which differ in their sialic acid content, as the desialyated forms migrate to one identical position on polyacrylamide gels. These two charge forms are identical with the charge Forms II and III previously characterized from Fisher rat alpha-lactalbumin. No evidence was found to verify previous reports that one form of the Wistar rat alpha-lactalbumin had a higher molecular weight than the other form. Indeed, the molecular weights and the amino acid compositions of the two forms of Wistar rat alpha-lactalbumin are identical. In addition, the partial amino acid sequence at the NH2-terminal end and the amino acid composition of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide of the two forms are identical. The results in this study contradict those reported previously and show that rat alpha-lactalbumin exists as a single molecular weight species.

Genetic mechanism accounting for precise immunoglobulin domain deletion in a variant of MPC 11 myeloma cells.

A variant of the MPC 11 cell line, M 311, produces a short immunoglobulin heavy chain. When compared with the parental gamma 2b heavy chain, M 311 was found to have a carboxyl terminal deletion comprising the CH3 domain. The COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide (CNBr) cleavage fragment of M 311 is identical to a corresponding segment ofa parental heavy chain CNBr fragment, with the exception of a substitution of asparagine for lysine at the COOH-terminal residue. This observation enabled prediction of both the parental DNA sequence in this region and the genetic mechanism which generated the variant, a frameshift followed by premature termination. This hypothesis is supported by studies of the DNA sequence of the MPC 11 gamma 2b constant region gene.

The amino acid sequence of fragment A, an enzymically active fragment of diphtheria toxin. II. The cyanogen bromide peptides.

Cyanogen bromide cleavage of Fragment A from diphtheria toxin at the four methionines present in each molecule resulted in five major peptides which were isolated and studied by sequence methods. These five peptides of 4, 11, 14, 63, and 101 residues account for all 193 residues in Fragment A and provide overlaps for the tryptic peptides from the maleylated protein. Two additional peptides were isolated and shown to be shorter forms (8 and 10 residues) of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide (11 residues).

Covalent structural analysis of yeast inorganic pyrophosphatase.

The present paper describes the amino acid sequence analysis of the internal and COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragments of yeast inorganic pyrophosphatase (Sterner, R., Noyes, C., and Heinrikson, R.L. (1974) Biochemistry 13, 91-99). This information coupled with that derived from earlier structural studies of the enzyme (Sterner, R., AND Heinrikson, R.L. (1975) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 165, 693-703) provides the complete covalent structure of the pyrophosphatase subunit. The majority of the sequence data was derived from automated Edman degradation of the intact cyanogen bromide fragments and the large tryptic peptides obtained from citraconylated derivates in which cleavages were restricted to arginyl residues. The structural determination was completed by analysis of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides from the decitraconylated fragments. The monomer peptide chain contains 285 amino acid residues and the molecular weight calculated from the sequence analysis is 32,042.

Activation of lipoprotein lipase by native and synthetic fragments of human plasma apolipoprotein C-II.

Apolipoprotein C-II (apoC-II), a protein constituent of human very low density lipoproteins, is the activator for lipoprotein lipase (LPL; triacylglycerol acyl-hydrolase, EC 3.1.1.3). The amino acid sequence of the 78 residues of apoC-II has recently been established in this laboratory. To determine the minimal sequence requirements for activation, we have prepared both native and synthetic fragments of apoC-II and tested them for their ability to activate LPL. Cyanogen bromide fragments of apoC-II corresponding to residues 1--9 and 10--59 had little ability to activate LPL. However, the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment corresponding to residues 60--78 increased hydrolysis 4-fold compared to an average of 9-fold activation for the same concentration of apoC-II. The synthetic peptide containing residues 60--78 prepared by solid-phase techniques enhanced the lipolysis 3-fold. Addition of five residues produced a synthetic fragment 55--78 that enhanced the release of fatty acid 12-fold compared to 13-fold for intact apoC-II. By contrast, the synthetic peptide containing residues 66--78 did not activate. Removal of the three COOH-terminal residues, Gly-Glu-Glu, from fragment 60--78 decreased the ability to activate LPL by greater than 95%. These studies suggest that the maximal activation of LPL by apoC-II requires a minimal sequence contained within residues 55--78.

Preparation of intact monomeric collagen from rat tail tendon and skin and the structure of the nonhelical ends in solution.

Procedures for the preparation of soluble collagen from rat skin and tail tendon were reviewed and revised to permit the preparation of native monomeric collagen with intact nonhelical ends. The degree of intactness was estimated from the tyrosine content, which is present only in the nonhelical ends, and by mobility of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide peptide of the alpha1 chain on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels. The amount of covalently cross-linked polymeric material present was estimated by molecular sieve chromatography of denatured samples. Rapid purification in the cold was sufficient to prevent or greatly reduce proteolytic alteration. Fractionation by salt precipitation at acid pH was effective in reducing the content of polymeric material. Rat tail tendon yielded completely intact native collagen, but some high molecular weight aggregates remained. Collagen from the skin of lathyritic rats was easier to obtain free of aggregates, but contained about 1 less tyrosine residue per alpha1 chain even when isolated in the presence of enzyme inhibitors. Proton NMR spectra of denatured acidic solutions of these preparations showed that 4 to 5 tyrosine residues per alpha chain were present, confirming the chemical analysis. Spectra of the native molecule showed that about the same number of tyrosine residues per chain are in rapid motion, unlike residues in the helical portion of the molecule, a result which shows that the nonhelical ends of the native molecule are unstructured in acidic solution.

The amino acid sequence of a testis-specific basic protein that is associated with spermatogenesis.

The amino acid sequence of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment (residues 12 to 54) of the testis-specific basic protein of the rat has been determined. This analysis completes the primary structure of the whole protein by over-lapping the sequence of the 23 residues from the NH-2 terminus previously published (Kistler, W. S., Noyes, C., and Heinrikson, R.L. (1974) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 57, 341-347). The complete sequence of this small, highly basic protein is: (see article for formular).

Human Plasma High Density Lipoprotein: INTERACTION OF THE CYANOGEN BROMIDE FRAGMENTS FROM APOLIPOPROTEIN GLUTAMINE II (A-II) WITH PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE

Apolipoprotein-glutamine-II (apoLP-Gln-II) is one of the two major protein constituents of human plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL). ApoLP-Gln-II contains two identical chains of 77 amino acids each, which are linked by a single disulfide bond at residue 6. Each chain contains a single methionine at position 26. In the present study we have examined the phospholipid binding properties of apoLP-Gln-II, of the NH2-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment both in the reduced form (CNBr IV, residues 1 to 26) and with the disulfide bond intact (CNBr IV)2, of the COOH-terminal cyanogen bromide fragment (CNBr III, residues 27 to 77) and of performic acid-oxidized apoLP-Gln-II. The binding of phosphatidylcholine was monitored by the inhibition of the reactivation of delipidated β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase from beef heart mitochondria and by the formation of phospholipid-protein complexes which were isolated by density gradient ultracentrifugation in sucrose. The circular dichroism and immunochemical properties of these fragments and derivatives of apoLP-Gln-II were studied both in the presence and absence of phosphatidylcholine. The results may be summarized as follows. (a) ApoLP-Gln-II and its performic acid-oxidized derivative were potent inhibitors of the reactivation of β-hydroxybutyrate apodehydrogenase. One microgram of these preparations gave approximately 50% inhibition. The COOH-terminal CNBr fragment, CNBr III, also inhibited reactivation of the apodehydrogenase at low concentrations, but was less effective than the intact protein. Both CNBr IV and (CNBr IV)2 failed to inhibit reactivation of the dehydrogenase. (b) ApoLP-Gln-II, performic acid-oxidized apoLP-Gln-II and CNBr III formed complexes with phosphatidylcholine which were isolated by density gradient ultracentrifugation in sucrose (d 1.063 to 1.210). These isolated complexes contained, respectively, 1.16, 1.56, and 2.00 mg of phosphatidylcholine per mg of protein or peptide. When (CNBr IV)2 was reconstituted with phosphatidylcholine and subjected to ultracentrifugation under identical conditions, the isolated peptide contained only 0.08 mg of phospholipid per mg of peptide. (c) Reconstitution with phosphatidylcholine resulted in an apparent increase in α helical content (as judged by an increase in θ222 nm in the circular dichroism spectrum). The magnitude of the changes were as follows: 49% to 64% for apoLP-Gln-II, 32 to 57% for performic acid-oxidized apoLP-Gln-II, and 32 to 44% for CNBr III. There was no significant change in the CD spectra of (CNBr IV)2 detected in the presence of phosphatidylcholine. (d) Performic acid oxidation of apoLP-Gln-II did not alter the qualitative immunoprecipitin lines when this antigen was tested against rabbit antisera prepared against apoLP-Gln-II. The same antisera reacted with CNBr III and (CNBr IV)2, but formed lines of only partial identity between the fragments or between each fragment and apoLP-Gln-II. Rabbit antisera to CNBr III formed precipitin lines of complete identity between this fragment, apoLP-Gln-II, and performic acid-oxidized apoLP-Gln-II. No differences were noted after reconstitution with phosphatidylcholine. Anti-CNBr III did not form detectable precipitin lines with (CNBr IV)2. By the tests we have employed, we conclude that CNBr III or the COOH-terminal two-thirds of apoLP-Gln-II exhibits preferential interaction with phosphatidylcholine, although to a lesser extent than does the intact protein. The NH2-terminal fragment did not show a significant interaction with phosphatidylcholine whether the disulfide linkage was intact or not. Modification of the disulfide linkage or of the methionine at residue 26 did not alter the qualitative immunoprecipitin test with the antisera employed.