Staphylococcal Protein A-Sepharose Research Articles

Defective Fc-dependent processing of immune complexes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

To explore the Fc receptor-dependent handling of immune complexes (ICs) by the fixed mononuclear phagocytic systems (MPS) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The processing in vivo of soluble model (123)I-hepatitis B/ anti-hepatitis B ICs was studied in 12 healthy subjects and 10 patients with active SLE. ICs that fixed complement poorly were prepared specifically in order to explore Fc receptor-dependent clearance mechanisms. Clearance kinetics and organ uptake were assessed by computer-aided gamma scintigraphy and serial blood sampling. In both patients and controls, the main site of IC clearance was the liver; only 2-6% of injected ICs were taken up in the spleen. The kinetics of initial IC clearance were similar in both groups, but defective hepatic retention of ICs was demonstrated in patients with SLE. At 1 hour, hepatic activity in patients had fallen to 56% of maximum, compared with 74% in controls (P = 0.0002). Precipitation studies performed on serum samples using staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose indicated that antibody-complexed tracer was released from the liver 20-50 minutes after injection. These results indicate that Fc-mediated clearance of ICs is defective in patients with SLE and suggest that ligation of ICs by Fc receptors is critical for their efficient binding and retention by the fixed MPS in the liver.

Immunoadsorption for coagulation factor inhibitors

Inhibitors to coagulation factors are among the most difficult problems in the management of coagulation disorders. Most presently available therapy does not assure hemostasis. An extracorporeal immunoadsorption system, which selectively binds IgG, was used to lower inhibitor levels in eight patients on 10 occasions. In this system, separated plasma is delivered to two staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose columns, which are coupled to an elution monitor. Columns are eluted sequentially and regenerated to maximize IgG removal. Successful removal of the inhibitor was accomplished in all six hemophiliacs on seven occasions, as well as in a patient with acquired von Willebrand disease. All patients whose inhibitors were lowered to less than 10 Bethesda units achieved measurable factor levels when factor concentrate replacement was given. Immunoadsorption facilitates efficient removal of inhibitors, which allows factor replacement therapy.

Apolipoprotein-E-binding proteins of rat liver endothelial cells

In an attempt to characterise the apolipoprotein-E-binding proteins of rat liver endothelial cells, we prepared membranes from monolayer cultures of liver endothelial cells as an enriched source of membrane receptors. The membranes could specifically bind iodinated very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and the binding could be inhibited effectively by unlabelled VLDL and high-density lipoproteins, but only moderately by low-density lipoproteins. To identify the binding proteins, we performed immunoprecipitation studies of solubilised iodinated liver endothelial cells and cell membranes, respectively, using purified apolipoprotein E and monospecific polyclonal IgG directed towards this apolipoprotein. The antibodies together with the bound apolipoprotein E and iodinated liver endothelial cell proteins were harvested with staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose R. The immunoprecipitates were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and after autoradiography of the dried gel, the M r of the liver endothelial cell proteins bound to apolipoprotein E could be determined. Two protein bands with molecular masses of 55–60 and 110, and a weak band of 170 kDa could be detected from intact cells. These proteins were specifically precipitated only in the presence of divalent cations, and might represent cell-surface receptors for apolipoprotein-E-containing lipoproteins. Additional bands were seen when cell membranes were used, the most prominent ones having molecular masses of 32 and 35 kDa. These proteins could be of intracellular origin, or they may be degradation products of the other apolipoprotein-E-binding proteins.

Detection of drug‐dependent platelet antibodies using immobilized Staphylococcal protein A

Serum samples from eight patients suspected of having drug-induced immunologic thrombocytopenia provoked by a variety of medications were tested for drug-dependent platelet antibodies with a newly developed assay that forms rosettes of antibody-coated platelets around Staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose beads. The same samples were then tested with immunofluorescence and 51Cr-release assays. Seven of eight patients (87.5%) tested positive for drug-dependent antibodies by the rosette assay. In contrast, two of eight (25.0%) and one of eight (12.5%) patients tested positive for drug-dependent antibodies by immunofluorescence and 51Cr release, respectively. These results demonstrate that the new rosette method is significantly more sensitive and specific for the detection of drug-dependent platelet antibodies than either immunofluorescence or 51Cr release.

Antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid of some Alzheimer disease patients recognize cholinergic neurons in the rat central nervous system.

The etiology of Alzheimer disease is unclear. However, immunological aberrations have been suggested to be critical factors in the pathogenesis of this neurodegenerative disease. This study was carried out to investigate if cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from Alzheimer disease patients contains antibodies that recognize specific neuronal populations in the rat central nervous system. The results indicate that in a subgroup of patients this is indeed the case. The antibodies reported in this study have the following properties: (i) they recognize neuronal populations and components in the medial septum and spinal motor neurons in rats perfused with a mixture that fixes small neurotransmitter molecules; (ii) adsorption of the patient CSF with staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose and using a polyclonal antiserum against human IgG3 indicates that the immunocytochemical reaction in these brain regions is mainly due to the subclass IgG3; and (iii) the CSF immunocytochemical reaction is blocked by preincubation of the sections with a rabbit anti-acetylcholine antiserum. These results provide evidence that antibodies in the CSF of some, but not all, Alzheimer disease patients recognize acetylcholine-like epitopes in cholinergic neurons in the rat central nervous system.

Monoclonal antibodies to the glycoprotein of vesicular stomatitis virus (New Jersey serotype): A method for preliminary mapping of epitopes

Of the nine antigenic determinants on the glycoprotein (G) of the New Jersey serotype of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) identified by competitive binding of 25 monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), those relegated to epitopes I, II, III, and IV exhibited no significant ability to neutralize virus infectivity but some nonneutralizing MAbs cross-reacted by ELISA with the G protein of VSV-Indiana. High-titered neutralization of homotypic virus was exhibited by epitope V, VI, and VII MAbs but quite variable neutralizing activity was found among MAbs of epitope “family” VIII and particularly the heterogeneous epitope “family” IX. Peptide mapping of the epitopes was not feasible because most MAbs would not bind by Western blotting to G protein under standard conditions of proteolysis or disulfide bond reduction. Therefore, a technique was devised for roughly locating epitopes by protease footprinting of G protein partially protected by individual MAbs complexed with staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose beads. Under these conditions, MAbs to all nine epitopes protected a similar 12-kDa fragment of the G protein from proteolysis by Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. N-Terminal amino acid sequencing mapped two of these 12-kDa peptide footprints to a position on the G protein extending from amino acid 219 to about 100 amino acids downstream. Although MAbs to only one epitope bound to the 12-kDa fragment by Western blotting, these data suggest, but do not prove, that all nine epitopes of the undenatured VSV-New Jersey G protein are clustered at the middle 20% of a highly structured protein. This method may help to identify the general regions for epitopes on complex proteins of as yet unknown three-dimensional structure.

A peptide secreted by human alveolar macrophages releases neutrophil granule contents.

A monoclonal antibody was developed against an 8,000-kDa enzyme-releasing peptide (ERP) released from human alveolar macrophages. ERP was isolated on an immunoaffinity column containing the antibody bound to staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. Release of ERP from the macrophages is not changed by plastic adherence, phagocytosis, calcium ionophore, or phorbol esters. The peptide was not antigenically similar to interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor, or interleukin 1 alpha or 1 beta. The release of constituents from azurophilic and specific granules was the main identified biologic function of ERP. ERP was a more effective secretagogue in the untreated neutrophils and f-met-leu-phe was more effective in the cytochalasin B-treated neutrophils. Absorption of ERP from macrophage-conditioned medium removed a small amount of the chemotactic activity; however, the immunopurified peptide was not chemotactic or chemokinetic for neutrophils, and at high concentrations, it suppressed base line chemokinesis. Treatment of washed macrophages with trypsin released active ERP of approximately the same m.w. of spontaneously secreted ERP. These studies showed that human alveolar macrophages release a peptide which is a secretagogue for human neutrophils under conditions which may be encountered in the lungs during certain disease states. Proteolytic enzymes which are free in the lungs may release the peptide and lead to the secretion of neutrophil enzymes.

Immunoprecipitation of the parathyroid hormone receptor.

An 125I-labeled synthetic analog of bovine parathyroid hormone, [8-norleucine,18-norleucine,34-tyrosine]PTH-(1-34) amide ([Nle]PTH-(1-34)-NH2), purified by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), was employed to label the parathyroid hormone (PTH) receptor in cell lines derived from PTH target tissues: the ROS 17/2.8 rat osteosarcoma of bone and the CV1 and COS monkey kidney lines. After incubation of the radioligand with intact cultured cells, the hormone was covalently attached to receptors by using either a photoaffinity technique or chemical (affinity) cross-linking. In each case, covalent labeling was specific, as evidenced by a reduction of labeling when excess competing nonradioactive ligand was present. After covalent attachment of radioligand, membranes were prepared from the cells and solubilized in the nonionic detergent Nonidet P-40 or octyl glucoside. The soluble membrane fraction present in the supernatant of a 100,000 X g centrifugation was incubated with IgG prepared from anti-PTH antiserum generated to the amino-terminal region, residues 1-34, of PTH. The IgG-PTH-receptor complex was precipitated with staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. Analysis of the immunoprecipitate on NaDod-SO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by autoradiography revealed the presence of a doublet of apparent molecular mass 69-70 kDa. Specifically labeled bands of approximate molecular mass 95 and 28 kDa were also observed. The anti-PTH IgG was affinity purified by passage over a PTH-Sepharose column and used to make an immunoaffinity column. The 70- and 28-kDa bands were also observed after labeled solubilized membrane preparations were allowed to bind to this column and then were eluted by using a [Nle]PTH-(1-34)-NH2-containing buffer or acetic acid. These studies suggest that the use of an anti-PTH antiserum that binds receptor-bound hormone is likely to be a useful step in the further physiochemical characterization and purification of the PTH receptor.

Large-scale purification of a murine antimelanoma monoclonal antibody

The 9.2.27 monoclonal antibody (murine IgG 2a), which recognizes a human melanoma-associated 250 kDa glycoprotein/proteoglycan, was produced in batch-suspension cultures and purified by staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Initially, antibody production was performed in sub-lots of eight fermenters (280 1 per run). The cells were removed by centrifugation and the antibody from supernatant was concentrated 10–20-fold using ultrafiltration. The antibody was adsorbed onto a 500-ml protein A-Sepharose column at pH 8.4, followed by extensive washing with phosphate-buffered saline, pH 8.4, to remove endotoxins and other protein contaminants. The antibody was desorbed at pH 4.5. A 60–140-fold purification of antibody with a 100–1000-fold reduction of endotoxins was achieved. 2–4 g of highly purified antibody were obtained from each column run. Pooled fractions were concentrated by ultrafiltration, formulated and sterile filled as final product. Analysis of the final product included but was not limited to sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, high-performance liquid chromatography, as well as evaluations of specific activity, endotoxin level, protein A concentration, bovine immunoglobulin G level, DNA concentration, mycoplasma contamination, sterility and reverse transcriptase activity.

Identification of Glycoprotein lb as a Target for Autoantibody in Idiopathic (Autoimmune) Thrombocytopenic Purpura

An antibody (DIL) from a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was shown to have autospecificity on the basis of reactions with autologous platelets that were identical to those obtained with platelets from normal subjects. DIL antibody also reacted strongly in an immunofluorescence test with platelets from a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, but failed to react with platelets from a patient with the Bernard-Soulier syndrome who was known to be deficient in glycoprotein Ib (GPIb). Purified GPIb and control platelets, but not Bernard-Soulier platelets, inhibited the lytic activity of DIL. Using the GPIb-specific monoclonal antibody AP1 and one-dimensional rocket electrophoresis into gels containing rabbit antihuman platelet membrane antibody, it was shown that staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose beads coated with DIL antibody selectively remove GPIb from solubilized platelet preparations. By crossed immunoelectrophoresis it was found that DIL recognizes a determinant on GPIb on the membrane side of the cleavage site of the platelet calcium-activated protease (calpain). These studies provide direct evidence for binding of a platelet autoantibody to a determinant on GPIb relatively close to the site of insertion of this protein into the platelet membrane.

Identification of glycoprotein Ib as a target for autoantibody in idiopathic (autoimmune) thrombocytopenic purpura

An antibody (DIL) from a patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was shown to have autospecificity on the basis of reactions with autologous platelets that were identical to those obtained with platelets from normal subjects. DIL antibody also reacted strongly in an immunofluorescence test with platelets from a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, but failed to react with platelets from a patient with the Bernard-Soulier syndrome who was known to be deficient in glycoprotein Ib (GPIb). Purified GPIb and control platelets, but not Bernard-Soulier platelets, inhibited the lytic activity of DIL. Using the GPIb-specific monoclonal antibody AP1 and one-dimensional rocket electrophoresis into gels containing rabbit antihuman platelet membrane antibody, it was shown that staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose beads coated with DIL antibody selectively remove GPIb from solubilized platelet preparations. By crossed immunoelectrophoresis it was found that DIL recognizes a determinant on GPIb on the membrane side of the cleavage site of the platelet calcium- activated protease (calpain). These studies provide direct evidence for binding of a platelet autoantibody to a determinant on GPIb relatively close to the site of insertion of this protein into the platelet membrane.

A monoclonal antibody to hemoglobin F.

A monoclonal antibody BMU7-17 which recognizes an antigenic site unique to the cyanogen bromide fragment, CB2 (residues 56 through 133) of the gamma-chain of human hemoglobin has been produced using cell hybridization techniques. The antibody does not crossreact with hemoglobin A, the isolated alpha- or beta-chains, or with hemoglobin of various mammals. Affinity chromatography on Staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose 4B and radial immuno-diffusion revealed the antibody to be of the mouse IgG 1 class. BMU7-17 identifies F cells in adult and in cord blood specimens, as demonstrated by an indirect immunofluorescence assay. The dissociation constant of the antibody as determined using tritiated hemoglobin F with a double antibody radioimmunoassay has a Kd = 1.2 X 10(-9) moles by Scatchard plot analysis.

Isolation of an angiotensin II-binding protein from liver.

A protein that specifically binds angiotensin II has been isolated in nearly homogeneous form by two independent approaches after solubilization from rabbit liver particles by treatment with digitonin. The protein purified by either of these methods resembles in size the single radioactive macromolecular component made by using disuccinimidyl suberate to crosslink radioiodinated angiotensin II with its receptor in the solubilized extract. In the first technique, angiotensin II as an affinity ligand specifically extracted the protein from a preparation that had been freed of angiotensin-degrading activity. In the second approach, the angiotensin II-protein complex was specifically precipitated by anti-angiotensin II antibodies and staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. The protein could be eluted from the affinity column with angiotensin II or 4 M MgCl2. The angiotensin II-protein complex dissociated in the presence of sulfhydryl-containing reagents, and these could therefore be used to elute it from either the chemical or the immunoaffinity-based matrix. This effect of sulfhydryl-containing reagents and the paradoxical observation that the isolated protein after denaturation exhibited a slower electrophoretic mobility in its reduced form that in its unreduced form suggest that the binding configuration of this protein may be sensitive to reduction.

Affinity purification of glucose-containing oligosaccharide using a monoclonal antibody

Binding of a human urinary tetrasaccharide (Glcα16Glcα14Glcα14Glc) by a mouse monoclonal antibody, 61.1, shows an unusually large dependence upon temperature. Association constants determined by equilibrium dialysis double for each 8°C downward shift in temperature from 37°C (8 × 10 3 M −1) to 4°C (1.7 × 10 5 M −1). Purified 61.1 antibody behaves as a specific temperature-sensitive affinity adsorbent when covalently bound to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose or non-covalently bound via its Fc portion to staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. A column containing 72 mg of antibody 61.1 bound to 5 ml of staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose can bind up to 0.52 μmol of reduced tetrasaccharide. The relatively large combining sites of most antibodies may permit chromatographic selection based upon structural features more complex than those recognized by most plant lectins.

Changes in Circulating Immune Complexes in Tumour Patient Serum after in Vitro or ex Vivo Affinity Chromatography of Blood Plasma or whole Blood over Immunoglobulinbinding Staphylococcal Protein A-Sepharose

Circulating immune complexes (CIC) were determined in tumour patient sera using three methods. One is based on PEG-precipitation, one on C1q-reactivity, and one on protein A-reactivity. About 25-30% of the sera were positive in at least one of the tests. Incubation of serum with protein A-Sepharose in vitro removed PEG-precipitable CIC from most sera, whereas C1q-reactive CICs had a much lower affinity to protein A. The protein A-reactive complexes showed considerable variation in their binding to protein A-Sepharose, and in some sera the amount of these CICs was actually increased. Similar changes in protein A-reactive CIC were also found during ex vivo treatment of tumour patients with immune adsorption. It is proposed that the binding of immune complexes to protein A can result in remodelling of protein A itself. Results from ultracentrifugation and fractionated PEG-precipitation support this hypothesis.

Clinical disorders associated with autoantibodies to the insulin receptor. Simulation by passive transfer of immunoglobulins to rats.

Patients with autoantibodies to the insulin receptor (Anti-R) may exhibit either fasting hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia and extreme insulin resistance. Occasionally, both these phenomena are observed in the same patient at different times in the clinical course. In an effort to understand what determines the patient's response to Anti-R, we developed an animal model of these clinical disorders by passive transfer of Anti-R IgG to rats. IgG fractions from the plasma of Anti-R patients and control subjects were prepared by affinity chromatography with staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. Anti-R IgG, injected into fasting rats, induced severe and persistent hypoglycemia (plasma glucose 30-60 mg/dl). Rats injected with control IgG maintained a plasma glucose within the range of 75 (fasting) to 165 mg/dl (feeding). In comparison with the effects of insulin, the hypoglycemic response to Anti-R IgG had a slower onset (2-4 h) and lasted longer (8-24 h). Similar, dose-dependent hypoglycemic responses were observed in rats whether the Anti-R IgG was derived from an insulin-resistant or hypoglycemic patient. When Anti-R IgG was administered in sufficiently high doses for several days to fed rats, persistent hyperglycemia (plasma glucose 200-400 mg/dl) developed. Based on these in vivo and previous in vitro studies, we attribute the hypoglycemic response to an insulin-like effect of Anti-R, and the hyperglycemic response to a desensitization of host tissues to the effects of insulin, with more prolonged exposure to higher levels of Anti-R.

Crosslinkage of antibodies to staphylococcal protein A matrices

Crosslinkage of anti-human albumin (anti-HSA) with varying concentrations of glutaraldehyde to Staphyloccus aureus Cowan 1 (SpA-Staph) and to staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose (SpA-Sepharose) was tested. A concentration of 0.0075% glutaraldehyde was found efficient for an almost complete covalent binding of IgG to the matrices. The antibody activity of crosslinked anti-HSA SpA-Staph and anti-HSA SpA-Sepharose was more than 60 and 90% respectively compared with the corresponding noncrosslinked immunosorbents. Antigen was recovered with intact antigenic properties by elution with 3.5 M MgCl 2.

Cultured human fibroblasts synthesize and secrete thrombospondin and incorporate it into extracellular matrix.

Thrombospondin, a major glycoprotein released from alpha granules of thrombin-stimulated platelets, is a disulfide-bonded trimer of 160-kilodalton subunits. Cultured human foreskin and fetal lung fibroblasts secreted thrombospondin (determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) into the culture medium in a time-dependent manner (15.7 and 5.8 micrograms per 10(6) cells per 24 hr, respectively); secretion was blocked by cycloheximide. [3H]Thrombospondin was isolated from [3H]leucine-labeled fibroblast postculture medium and from cell layers with rabbit polyclonal or mouse monoclonal anti-thrombospondin coupled to staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. The immunologically isolated [3H]thrombospondin migrated in NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels with purified marker platelet thrombospondin both with and without reduction. Immunofluorescence microscopy using rabbit polyclonal and mouse monoclonal anti-thrombospondin antibodies localized thrombospondin to the fibrillar extracellular matrix surrounding the cells. Thus, cultured human fibroblasts secrete thrombospondin and incorporate it into the extracellular matrix.

Inhibition of the thyroid adenylate cyclase response to thyroid-stimulating immunoglobulin G by crude and asialo-human chorionic gonadotropin.

In view of previous findings that crude, and particularly desialylated, forms of hCG are capable of inhibiting the increase in cAMP concentrations induced in human thyroid membranes by TSH, we have conducted experiments to determine whether hCG is capable of inhibiting the response to the stimulatory immunoglobulins of Graves' disease (G-IgG). Preparations studied were crude hCG (hCG-c; 2500 IU/mg), pure hCG (hCG-p; 13,400 IU/mg), and desialylated derivatives thereof. Slices of normal human thyroid were employed as the target tissue, and an increase in the tissue cAMP concentration was used as the index of response. G-IgG were prepared from the pooled sera of patients with untreated Graves'disease by means of chromatography on columns of staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose. Up to a concentration of 20 mg/ml, increasing concentrations of G-IgG increased tissue cAMP concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. When 10 mg G-IgG and 1.2 mg hCG-c were incubated together, a highly significant inhibition of the res...

Skin testing in farmers' lung disease

Intradermal skin tests with a culture filtrate antigen of Micropolyspora faeni grown on a synthetic medium were performed on patients with farmers' lung disease (FLD) and well farmers with and without antibodies to a panel of FLD antigens. Seventy-five percent of the FLD patients, 79% of the well farmers with M. faeni antibody, and 5% of well farmers without M. faeni antibody had a 2+ or greater intradermal immediate skin-test reaction. Prausnitz-Küstner (P-K) reactions were positive using serum of M. faeni immediate skin test-positive FLD patients. IgG-rich fractions from a staphylococcal protein A-Sepharose column of such serum contained the sensitizing factor whereas IgG-depleted fractions did not. M. faeni—specific IgE could not be detected in serum by a polystyrene radioimmunoassay. Positive late-onset (6-hr) skin tests occurred only in FLD patients and farmers with precipitating antibody. Biopsy specimens of the 6-hr reactions revealed a generalized dermal and perivascular polymorphonuclear infiltrate with deposits of immunoglobulin and complement about blood vessels. The skin-sensitizing factor noted in FLD patients and well farmers with antibody is not disease specific. This factor appears to be associated with the IgG-rich fraction of serum, and its role in the pathogenesis of FLD is unclear.