Reduction of the diagnostic window with a new combined p24 antigen and human immunodeficiency virus antibody screening assay.

In order to reduce the window phase between time of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and laboratory diagnosis, new fourth generation screening assays which permit a simultaneous detection of HIV antigen and antibody have been developed. In a multicenter study, a new automated fourth generation assay, Enzymun-Test HIV Combi (Boehringer Mannheim GmbH) was compared to third generation assay, p24 antigen tests and Western blot. A total of 37 seroconversion panels, samples of the early infection (n = 42), HIV-1 antibody positive sera, including subtypes A E, and O (n = 1118), HIV-2 positive samples (n = 252) and cell culture supernatants infected with different HIV-1 subtypes and HIV-2 (n = 50), blood donors (n = 6649), hospitalized patients (n = 475), HIV neg. sera with indeterminate Western blot (n = 32), potentially cross reactive serum samples (n = 435) and HIV negative specimens from Cameroon (n = 68) were tested. A total of 16 of 29 seroconversions were detected on average 8.5 days earlier with Enzymun-Test HIV Combi than HIV-1/HIV-2 3rd generation EIA (Abbott Laboratories). Overall, in the 29 panels investigated comparatively with the two assays, the mean time delay between Enzymun-Test HIV Combi and HIV-1/HIV-2 3rd generation EIA was 4.7 days. HIV antigen was detected in three out of 35 seroconversions one bleed earlier with HIV-1 Ag Monoclonal than with Enzymun-Test HIV Combi. Enzymun-Test HIV Combi showed a sensitivity of 100% for HIV antibody detection for HIV-1 group M and O and HIV-2 positive specimens. While p24 antigen of different HIV-1 subtypes was detected with Enzymun-Test HIV Combi in all the 49 cell culture supernatants, HIV Ag was not detected in an HIV-2 virus lysate. A total of 66 false positive results out of 7659 HIV negative samples were obtained with the Enzymun-Test HIV Combi. The specificity for unselected blood donors was 99.6%. The Enzymun-Test HIV Combi permits an earlier diagnosis of HIV infection than third generation assays through the detection of p24 antigen, which may be present in serum samples from individuals with recent HIV infection prior to seroconversion and it shows an excellent sensitivity for antibodies to all known HIV-1 subtypes and HIV-2. The specificity in blood donors and hospitalized patients is comparable to that of other assays.

Identification of naturally processed T cell epitopes from glutamic acid decarboxylase presented in the context of HLA-DR alleles by T lymphocytes of recent onset IDDM patients.

Glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) has been defined as a major target antigen in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). To identify the molecular ligands triggering a T cell response to GAD, a panel of human GAD65-specific T lymphocyte lines was generated from peripheral blood of three recent onset IDDM patients. All lines derived from a patient expressing the high-risk-conferring HLA-DR*0301/ *0401 haplotypes recognized a single epitope localized between amino acid positions 270 and 283 of GAD65, a stretch that is located in close proximity to the homology region shared with Coxsackie virus P2-C protein. All lines with this specificity were restricted to the DRA, B1*0401 product of the DR4 haplotype. Analysis of the GAD-specific T cell response in a second patient homozygous for DR4 haplotypes demonstrated that the same DRA, B1*0401 allele selected T cells specific for a different determinant. The T cell response profile in a third patient showed that DR*1501/ *1601-encoding haplotypes could present at least three different epitopes to GAD65-specific T lymphocytes. One of these epitopes was presented by a DR allele associated with the resistance-conferring DRB1*1501 haplotype. GAD-specific T cell lines could not be isolated from HLA class II-matched normal individuals. Our data reveal that (a) the T cell response to GAD65 is quite heterogenous in recent onset IDDM patients; (b) HLA-DR, not DQ, seems to be the principal restriction element used by T cells present at the onset of the disease; and (c) T cells responding to epitopes containing identical sequences to Coxsackie virus P2-C protein were not detected.

Isolation and characterisation of antibodies which specifically recognise the peptide encoded by exon 7 (v2) of the human CD44 gene.

Aims-Exon 7 of the human CD44 gene is overexpressed in many commonly occurring carcinomas. The aim of the study was to explore the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of this frequent abnormality.Methods-A new monoclonal antibody (mAb, M-23.6.1) and a polyclonal antibody (pAb,S-6127) to the corresponding antigen were raised by immunising mice and sheep, respectively, with a specially constructed fusion protein HIV2 (gp32)-CD44 exon 7.Results-Characterisation of mAb, M-23.6.1 by ELISA, western blotting, immunocytochemistry, and FACS analysis confirmed that it specifically recognises an epitope in the region between amino acids 19 and 33 of the peptide encoded by this exon. Western blotting experiments with two cell lines, RT112 and ZR75-1, known from RT-PCR data to be overtranscribing the exon, yielded a monospecific band of approximately 220 kDa, and immunocytochemistry showed discrete membrane staining on the same cell lines. Fluorescent antibody cell sorting (FACS) revealed binding to greater than 90% of the cells of each of these lines. Specificity of recognition of the antigen was shown by inhibition of the precise immunoreactivity typically seen in ELISA and Western blots, by pre-incubation with synthetic exon 7 peptide or fragments of it.Conclusions-The new antibodies will be useful tools for the further analysis of abnormal CD44 isoforms and their clinical implications.

Lung cancer-associated keratin 19 fragments: development and biochemical characterisation of the new serum assay Enzymun-Test CYFRA 21-1.

From a panel of 4 murine monoclonal antibodies directed against keratin 19 various antibody combinations were evaluated in solid-phase enzyme-linked sandwich immunoassays for detection of soluble keratin 19 fragments in patient sera. One of these antibody combinations, comprised of the monoclonal antibodies Ks 19.1 and BM 19.21, was selected for further development to a routine test (Enzymun-Test CYFRA 21-1) because of its high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Both antibodies are specific for keratin 19, no reactivity could be observed with cytokeratin 8 or 18. The epitopes of the two antibodies were determined to be within helix 2B of the rod romain. The epitope sequences lie within the sequence 311-335 for the catcher antibody Ks 19.1 and 346-367 for the detector antibody BM 19.21. These sequences are unique, as could be confirmed from sequence databases. The standard material for the assay was prepared from a cytoskeleton fraction of cultivated MCF-7 cells. Subsequent digestion of this fraction with chymotrypsin yielded a soluble and stable standard material. Both the standard material and the serum analyte appeared as oligomers when analysed on gel chromatography: the serum analyte appeared exclusively at a M(r) of 100 +/- 10 kD, whereas the standard material eluted in fractions corresponding to 100 +/- 10 kD and 450 kD. Due to the precise definition of the antigen and the localisation of the antibody binding sequences, Enzymun-Test CYFRA 21-1 is one of the best characterised tumor markers so far.

The tumor markers TPA, TPS, TPACYK and CYFRA 21-1 react differently with the keratins 8, 18 and 19.

The commercially available tumor marker tests TPA, TPS, TPACYK and CYFRA 21-1 react with simple epithelium keratins. From clinical studies it can be deduced that the pattern of keratin recognition must be different for each of these tests. We therefore studied the reactivity of the keratin fragment combinations K8/K18 and K8/K19 in the different tests and determined the reactivity of the corresponding soluble antibodies with purified keratin 8, 18 and 19 in immunoblots. TPS and CYFRA 21-1 were found to distinguish clearly between the keratin fragment combinations K8/K18 (TPS) and K8/K19 (CYFRA 21-1). TPA and TPACYK reacted with both combinations, however, with different intensities. On immunoblots the CYFRA 21-1 antibodies reacted exclusively with K19, whereas the antibodies of the other assays reacted with at least 2 of the keratins investigated.

Chick embryo muscarinic and purinergic receptors activate cytosolic Ca2+ via phosphatidylinositol metabolism.

In dissociated cells from chick embryos or from chick limb buds, acetylcholine (ACh) induced an increase in cellular levels of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (Ins-P3) and of inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (Ins-P4). The concentration of Ins-P3 was enhanced transiently, whereas the level of Ins-P4 remained elevated for at least 20 min after addition of ACh. In most cases the increase in Ins-P4 levels was more pronounced than that of Ins-P3 levels. The inhibition of the ACh-induced inositol-phosphate response by atropine (half-maximal inhibition at 10 nM) indicates the involvement of muscarinic receptors, which in chick embryo cells induce a transient rise and a following persistent elevation of cytosolic Ca2+ activity (G. Oettling et al. (1989) J. Dev. Physiol. 12, 85-94). Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) elicited a similar transient rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity, however, without a subsequent plateau. ATP also caused an increase in inositol-oligophosphate levels. Thus, both muscarinic and purinergic receptors in chick embryo cells are coupled to phospholipase C. The enzymatically formed Ins-P3 mediates the release of Ca2+ from internal stores. The Ca2+ signal could be involved in embryonic cell migration during morphogenesis.

Mass measurements of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate in a neuronal cell line stimulated with bradykinin: inositolphosphate response shows desensitization.

In a neuronal cell line (108CC15, NG108-15) the levels of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4), as measured by receptor binding assays, rise transiently after stimulation with bradykinin (EC50 approx. 150 nM). Maximal InsP3 level of 354 pmol/mg protein (15-fold basal level) is obtained at 10-15 s after addition of bradykinin, the InsP4 level rises maximally to 78 pmol/mg protein (14-fold basal level) at 20-30 s. In a rat glioma cell line, bradykinin (2 microM) causes a fast 6-fold increase in InsP3 and InsP4 levels. In the neuronal cells the bradykinin-dependent rise of the inositolphosphate levels is diminished with reduced extracellular Ca2+ concentration. However, depletion of internal Ca2+ stores does not affect the bradykinin-induced rise in InsP3 and InsP4 levels. Homologous desensitization to bradykinin occurs in the signal transduction pathway already at the production of inositolphosphates, since after a 2 min stimulation with bradykinin the rise in cellular masses of InsP3 and InsP4, inducible by a following second bradykinin stimulus, is substantially reduced.

A high-affinity inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate receptor protein from brain is specifically labelled by a newly synthesized photoaffinity analogue, N-(4-azidosalicyl)aminoethanol(1)-1-phospho-D-myo-inositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate.

A photolabile arylazido analogue of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 selectively substituted at the 1-phosphate group was synthesized by coupling 2-aminoethanol(1)-1-phospho-D-myo-inositol 4,5-bisphosphate with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-4-azidosalicylic acid [Schäfer, Nehls-Sahabandu, Grabowsky, Dehlinger-Kremer, Schulz & Mayr (1990) Biochem. J. 272, 817-825] and subsequently phosphorylating the product by bovine brain Ins(1,4,5)P3 3-kinase. The product, N-(4-azidosalicyl)-aminoethanol(1)-1-phospho-D-myo-inositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [AsaIns(1,3,4,5)P4] was radioiodinated and purified by anion-exchange chromatography. AsaIns(1,3,4,5)P4 bound to a high-affinity Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 receptor from pig cerebellum with an affinity only 3-fold lower than that of Ins(1,3,4,5)P4. Photoirradiation of 125I-AsaIns(1,3,4,5)P4 in the presence of the receptor preparation revealed that the radioactive label was specifically associated with a protein band of apparent molecular mass 42 kDa, which Donié & Reiser [(1991) Biochem. J. 275, 453-457] had previously tentatively assigned to the Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 receptor protein. The radioactive label was displaced from the receptor when the binding reaction with 125I-AsaIns(1,3,4,5)P4 was carried out in the presence of 5 microM-Ins(1,3,4,5)P4.

Purification of a high-affinity inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate receptor from brain.

Ins(1,3,4,5)P4 has been suggested to be involved in cellular Ca2+ signalling. A receptor from pig cerebellar membranes, which binds InsP4 with high affinity and selectivity [Donié & Reiser (1989) FEBS Lett. 254, 155-158], has been solubilized and purified about 20,000-fold by chromatography using CM-cellulose, heparin-agarose and hydroxyapatite. The InsP4 receptor, identified by SDS/PAGE, had an apparent molecular mass of 42 kDa and bound 4.6 nmol of InsP4 per mg of protein, with a dissociation constant of 5.6 nM.

High-affinity inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate receptor from cerebellum: solubilization, partial purification and characterization.

Proteins which bind with high affinity Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 or Ins 1,4,5-P3 were solubilized from porcine cerebellar membranes. Both binding activities were separated by heparin-agarose chromatography. The Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 receptor was partially purified with an approximately 1000-fold enrichment as compared to the membrane preparation. In the receptor-enriched preparation the Ins 1,3,4,5-P413 binding protein had an affinity (Kd) for Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 of 4.6 nM. Ins 1,3,4,5,6-P5 displaced [3H]Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 binding with a comparable affinity. The Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 binding protein displayed high selectivity for Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 over other inositol-phosphates (IC50 for Ins 1,4,5,6-P4 150 nM, for Ins-P6 1 microM and for Ins 1,3,4-P3 5 microM). Most importantly, Ins 1,4,5-P3 did not displace [3H]Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 binding at concentrations up to 10 microM. Binding of Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 was maximal in the pH range between 4.5 and 6, was stable with Ca2+ concentration varied from 1 nM to 1 mM, and was suppressed by heparin (IC50 about 2 nM). The high affinity receptor for Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 reported here, which is distinct from the Ins 1,4,5-P3 receptor might allow to evaluate the possible functional role of Ins 1,3,4,5-P4 in the cellular signal transduction.

Mechanisms for activation and subsequent removal of cytosolic Ca2+ in bradykinin-stimulated neuronal and glial cell lines.

Mechanisms for activation and for removal of cytosolic Ca2+ after stimulation with bradykinin were investigated in two neural cell lines by measuring cytosolic Ca2+ activity and 45Ca2+ fluxes. In the neuronal (neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid) and in the glial (rat glioma) cell lines, the transient, bradykinin-induced rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity (determined by fura-2 or indo-1 fluorescence) was blocked by a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist. Ca2+ ionophores (ionomycin and 4-Br-A23187) caused a comparable transient rise in cytosolic Ca2+ activity. After addition of ionophores, the Ca2+ response to bradykinin was reduced or completely blocked in both cell lines. At the concentrations used, the ionophores primarily depleted intracellular Ca2+ stores and prevented refilling of the stores. Thus, the bradykinin-induced rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity seems to be mostly due to Ca2+ release from internal stores. In the neuronal but not in the glial cell line, a brief stimulation by bradykinin of 45Ca2+ uptake was followed by a long-lasting inhibition below control values. Thus, in the neuronal cells bradykinin presumably blocks Ca2+ channels by a readily reversible, pertussis toxin-insensitive mechanism. Excess cytosolic Ca2+ of the bradykinin-stimulated cells is mostly not resequestered into the internal Ca2+ pool accessible to bradykinin, but is mainly extruded through the plasma membrane, as indicated by (i) stimulation of 45Ca2+ release by bradykinin, (ii) quick reduction by bradykinin of cellular 45Ca2+ content of cells preequilibrated with 45Ca2+, and (iii) diminution of the ionophore-inducible Ca2+ response after the addition of bradykinin.

A novel, specific binding protein assay for quantitation of intracellular inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate (InsP4) using a high-affinity InsP4 receptor from cerebellum.

A membrane preparation from porcine cerebellum displays high-affinity binding sites for [3H]inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate ([3H]InsP4) with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 1.0 nM and a density of 220 fmol/mg protein. Specific binding was maximal in the presence of 25 mM phosphate and at pH 5.0. The receptor site was specific for InsP4, since Ins(1,3,4,5,6)P5 and Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 displaced binding of InsP4 with EC50 values of 0.2 and 0.3 microM, respectively. Ins(1,4,5)P3 and other inositol phosphates were less effective. Using this InsP4 receptor, an assay for measuring tissue content of InsP4 was developed. The detection limit of the assay was 0.1 pmol. In the same tissue samples the amount of Ins(1,4,5)P3 was determined in parallel with a similar assay using a binding protein preparation from beef liver.

Serotonin regulates cytosolic Ca2+ activity and membrane potential in a neuronal and in a glial cell line via 5-HT3 and 5-HT2 receptors by different mechanisms.

The mechanisms of action of two different serotonin receptors, found in a neuronal cell line (neuroblastoma X glioma hybrid cells) and in a non-excitable glioma cell line, were explored. In both cell lines, serotonin induced a dose-dependent, transient rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity (measured by fura-2 or indo-1 fluorescence). Ca2+ channel blockers (Ni2+ and La3+, not nifedipine) suppressed the Ca2+ response to serotonin in the hybrid cells but not in the glioma cells. After application of Ca2+ ionophores (ionomycin and A23187) in order to short-circuit internal Ca2+ stores, serotonin was still able to induce a Ca2+ response in the hybrid cells but not in the glioma cells. Serotonin dose-dependently stimulated the rate of 45Ca2+ uptake several-fold in the hybrid cells, but hardly at all in the glioma cells. Thus, in the neuronal cell line cytosolic Ca2+ activity is raised through enhancement of Ca2+ entry into the cells from the extracellular environment via 5-HT3 receptors (blocked by ICS 205-930, MDL 72222 and GR 38032 F). The depolarization response caused by serotonin in the hybrid cells is due to activation of cation conductance(s), obviously allowing entry of extracellular Ca2+. In contrast to the neuronal cell line, in the glial cell line the rise of Ca2+ activity is mediated by ketanserin-susceptible 5-HT2 receptors (not affected by treatment with pertussis toxin) mainly liberating Ca2+ from internal stores. In the glioma cells the release of Ca2+ from internal stores leads to opening of Ca2+-dependent K+ channels, responsible for the hyperpolarizing response. Thus, the neuronal and the glial cell lines might provide suitable systems in which to study the diverse cellular functions triggered by the rise of cytosolic Ca2+ activity, which is caused by different serotonin receptors.