Antibody-Antigen Interaction (Anti-Nucleotide Antibody/Anti-Hapten Antibody) ROBERT J
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Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 77, No. 12, pp. 7410-7414, December 1980 Immunology Anti-AMP antibody precipitation of multiply adenylylated forms of glutamine synthetase from Escherichia coli: A model relating both concentration and density of antigenic sites with the antibody-antigen interaction (anti-nucleotide antibody/anti-hapten antibody) ROBERT J. HOHMAN*, SUE Goo RHEEt, AND EARL R. STADTMANtt tLaboratory of Biochemistry, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20205; and *Department of Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742 Contributed by E. R. Stadtman, September 12, 1980 ABSTRACT Sheep antibodies directed against an AMP- ylylated forms of GS to determine the effects of the total con- bovine serum albumin conjugate exhibit highly specific binding centration of antigenic determinants, density of determinants toward AMP. These antibodies bind to the AMP moiety of ad- enylylated glutamine synthetase [-glutamate:ammonia ligase per antigen, and the topological distribution of antigenic de- (ADP-forming), EC 6.3.1.2] from Escherichia coli and to no other terminants, on the initial antibody-antigen binding, lattice antigenic determinant on the protein. E. coli glutamine syn- formation, and immunoprecipitation.§ Some of the experi- thetase can exist in variously modified (isomeric) forms that mental data were presented in an earlier preliminary com- differ with respect to the number (0-12) and the distribution of munication (3). identically adenylylated subunits [Ciardi, J. E., Cimino, F. & Stadtman, E. R. (1973) Biochemistry 12,432143301. Using this MATERIALS AND METHODS enzyme, together with the AMP-specific antibodies, we have investigated the effects of the total concentration, population Purification and Assay of GS. Various GS preparations with density, and topographical distribution of multiple identical different if values were obtained from E. coli cells that had been antigenic determinants on the antigen-antibody interaction. cultured under various degrees of nitrogen availability. GS was Stopped-flow fluorescence measurements show that the rate and extent of initial binding of the antibodies to the antigen are a purified by Zn2+ precipitation (4), followed by the acetone and function of the total concentration of AMP groups and are in- acid (NH4)2SO4 steps described by Woolfolk et al. (5). Total dependent of the number of AMP groups per dodecamer. enzyme activity and the average state of adenylylation, n, were However, the rate of lattice formation increases with increasing determined at pH 7.57 by means of the 7-glutamyltransferase epitope density, and the maximal amount of glutamine syn- reaction (6). The presence of normal sheep serum or anti-AMP thetase precipitated is directly proportional to the average antibodies in the mixture had no effect on number of adenylylated subunits per dodecamer. The data assay enzyme activity suggest that partially adenylylated enzyme preparations are or measurements of the state of adenylylation. composed of subpopulations of glutamine synthetase molecules Preparation of Antiserum and Immunoprecipitation Tests. that differ in their tendency to form precipitable aggregates, Preparation of sheep anti-AMP antiserum and the procedure due presumably to differences in the topographical distribution for immunoprecipitation tests have been described (3). of antigenic determinants on the surface of the enzyme. The Purification of Antibodies. Partially purified antibody enzyme species that form soluble immune complexes do so preparations used for immunoprecipitation experiments were possibly due to intramolecular crosslinkage of the bivalent an- tibodies with adenylylated subunits to the exclusion of inter- obtained by (NH42S04 fractionation (7) followed by dialysis molecular crosslinkage. against 10 mM imidazole/150 mM KC1 at pH 7.3. The serum was sterilized by filtration and stored at -20°C. Glutamine synthetase [GS; L-glutamate:ammonia ligase The AMP-specific antibodies used in light scattering and (ADP-forming), EC 63.1.2] from Escherichia coli is a mul- stopped-flow experiments were purified by immunoadsorbant timeric enzyme consisting of 12 identical subunits (Mr 50,000) chromatography on a gel consisting of fully adenylylated GS arranged in two superimposed hexagonal arrays. Regulation covalently coupled to AH-Sepharose 4B (Pharmacia). Partially of the enzyme involves a bicyclic cascade system that catalyzes purified serum was added to this gel, which had been equili- a covalent attachment of a 5'-AMP moiety to a specific tyrosyl brated with 10 mM imidazole/150 mM KC1 (pH 7.3), and in- residue in each subunit (1). cubated for 12 hr at 4°C with gentle mixing. The Sepharose Depending on growth conditions, the enzyme in E. coli then was washed on a coarse sintered glass filter funnel with contains, on the average, between 0 and 12 covalently bound cold 20 mM imidazole/500 mM KC1 (pH 7.3) until the effluent AMP groups per dodecamer (2). We previously reported the was free of protein. The washed gel was packed into a 0.9 X 10 isolation of sheep antibodies directed against an AMP-bovine cm column and AMP-specific antibodies were eluted with 10 serum albumin conjugate that precipitated adenylylated, but not unadenylylated GS (3). Thus, for these antibodies, aden- Abbreviations: GS, glutamine synthetase; GS-, a glutamine synthetase ylylated GS serves as a large protein antigen with between 0 and preparation containing on the average ni adenylylated subunits per 12 precisely defined antigenic determinants per protein mol- dodecameric molecule. The value of nT varies between 0 and 12 and is referred to as the average state of adenylylation. ecule. t To whom reprint requests should be addressed. We report here the results of studies with variously aden- § "Concentration of antigenic determinants" refers to the total con- centration of adenylylated subunits, in the reaction mixture, irre- The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page spective of the state of adenylylation. "Concentration of antigenic charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "ad- determinants per antigen" refers to the number of adenylylated vertisement" in accordance with 18 U. S. C. §1734 solely to indicate subunits per GS dodecamer and is synonymous with the terms "ep- this fact. itope density" or "state of adenylylation." 7410 Downloaded by guest on September 26, 2021 Immunology: Hohman et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77 (1980) 7411 mM imidazole/250 mM KCI/50 mM AMP, pH 7.3. The frac- tions containing protein were pooled, concentrated by ultra- 1. filtration, and dialyzed extensively against 10 mM imidazole/ M. 150 mM KCl, pH 7.3. The purified antibodies were stored aseptically at 4VC until used. 0.8 Radioimmunoassay. Binding data for the Sips plot and competition experiments were obtained by the Farr technique 0.E (8). The experiments were performed by adding, in the fol- lowing order: buffer (10 mM imidazole/150 mM KCI, pH 7.3), 0.4 1.81 AM [14C]AMP, nonradioactive competing ligand (if any), and antiserum. Samples then were incubated for 18 hr at 4VC. 0.2 Bound AMP,,M 6.. The radioactivities of duplicate samples were measured in 10 L.I j ml of Aquasol. Nonimmune sheep IgG was used as a control. 0 Rapid Mixing Experiments. A stopped-flow apparatus was -0.2 used to mix purified antibodies and GS (2 msec) into a spec- trofluorometer with excitation and emission monochromators -0.4 set at 300 nm and 340 nm, respectively. Initial rates of light Ko = 4.3 MI scattering were observed by setting both excitation and emission -0.6 a = 0.89 monochromators to 400 nm and measuring the rate of increase of scattered light at a 900 angle to the incident beam. -0.8 Large-Scale Immunoprecipitation and Repurification of Partially Adenylylated GS. Eight milligrams of GS-62 in 10 mM -1.0 imidazole/100 mM KCI/1 mM MnC12, (pH 7.0) was added to a sufficient amount of partially purified antiserum to give -1.2 maximal precipitation without approaching antibody excess. After incubation at 370C for 25 min, followed by 18 hr at 40C, -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 precipitated and soluble immune complexes were separated log[free AMP], M by centrifugation. The precipitated and supernatant enzyme FIG. 1. Binding of anti-AMP antibodies to unconjugated fractions were further treated separately, but identically. To [14C]AMP. All experiments were performed at 4°C in 10 mM imid- dissociate the immune complexes, 1% by volume of 1.0 M AMP azole/150 mM KCl at pH 7.3. (Inset) Scatchard plot ofbinding data was added to each fraction, and the fractions were incubated from radioimmunoassays of partially purified anti-AMP antiserum at 370C for 20 min. The dissociated mixture of GS and IgG was and [14C]AMP. Straight lines are least-squares fit of data points in loaded onto a DEAE-agarose column that had been equili- the high- and low-affinity regions ofthe binding curve and represent brated with 10 mM imidazole/100 mM KCl/10 mM the two extremes of the range of binding affinity. The value at the x AMP/1 intercept of the extrapolated curve gives the total number of antibody mM MnCl2, pH 7.0 (room temperature). IgG, which does not binding sites that was used for the Sips plot (11). The main figure is bind to DEAE-agarose, was washed off the column with binding data represented in a Sips plot. r = mol of AMP bound per equilibration buffer. GS was eluted with buffer containing 300 mol of antibody; n = number of binding sites per antibody molecule mM KC1. Fractions containing GS were pooled, concentrated = 2. The value of the x intercept of the Sips plot is the logarithm of by ultrafiltration, and loaded onto an immunoadsorbant column the free hapten concentration that gives 50% saturation of antibody consisting of rabbit anti-sheep IgG coupled to Affigel 10 (Bio- sites. Due to the heterogeneity of binding affinity of the antiserum Rad) that had been equilibrated with 10 mM imidazole/100 for AMP, this half-saturation value (4.3 ,uM) cannot rigorously be mM referred to as a Kd (which requires normal rectangular hyperbolic KCl/1 mM MnCI2/50 mM AMP.