Photoaffinity labeling of the hormone binding site of neurophysin.

The chemical structure of the hormone binding region of the neurophysins has been investigated by photoaffinity labeling with the photolabile tripeptide, L-[methyl-3H]Met-L-Tyr-p-azido-L-Phe amide. Photolysis of the photoaffinity tripeptide in the presence of bovine neurophysin I and II and a human neurophysin II led to approximately equal extents of covalent incorporation of radioactivity into protein. Photolabeled bovine neurophysin II was fractionated into binding site derivatized protein and nonbinding site derivatized protein by affinity chromatography, with results of amino acid and radiolabel analysis of the hormone binding site blocked protein indicating that 1 mol of tripeptide was covalently incorporated/mol of protein. Tyrosine 49 was the only protein amino acid modified in the binding site photolabeling reaction as assessed by peptide mapping of the performic acid oxidized and trypsin-digested photolabeled protein using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Modification of the single neurophysin tyrosine also was found by amino acid analysis of performic acid oxidized photolabeled bovine neurophysin II. The covalent bond formed in neurophysin upon photolysis was cleaved by either exhaustive acid hydrolysis or reduction-carboxymethylation without loss of the protein amino acid residues and by performic acid oxidation with loss of both protein and tripeptide tyrosine residues. These overall data indicate that tyrosine 49 is the probable site for specific covalent attachment of the photoaffinity tripeptide. Assuming that the tripeptide binding site is the high affinity hormone binding site reported for the neurophysins, this conclusion argues that tyrosine 49 is close to or within this site.

Expression of multivalency in the affinity chromatography of antibodies. Appendix: Derivation and evaluation of equations for independent bivalent interacting systems in quantitative affinity chromatography.

The expression of multivalency in the interaction of antibody with immobilized antigen was evaluated by quantitative affinity chromatography. Zones of radioisotopically labeled bivalent immunoglobulin A monomer derived from the myeloma protein TEPC 15 were eluted from columns of phosphorylcholine-Sepharose both in the absence and presence of competing soluble phosphorylcholine. At sufficient immobilized phosphorylcholine concentration, the variation of elution volume of bivalent monomer with soluble ligand was found to deviate from that observed for the univalent binding of the corresponding Fab fragment. In addition, the apparent binding affinity of the bivalent monomer increased with immobilized antigen density. Use of equations relating the variation of elution volume with free ligand concentration for a bivalent binding protein allowed calculation of microscopic single-site binding parameters for the bivalent monomeric antibody to both immobilized and soluble phosphorylcholine. The chromatographic data not only demonstrate the effect of multivalency on apparent binding affinity but also offer a relatively simple means to measure microscopic dissociation constants for proteins participating in bivalent interactions with their ligands.

Design of a photoaffinity label for the hormone binding site of neurophysin.

The photolabile peptide, L-methionyl-L-tyrosyl-p-azido-L-phenylalaninamide, was synthesized by solution methods. This peptide, as well as the analogous species containing tritiated methionine, were found to bind reversibly and specifically, in the dark, to bovine neurophysin II. The dissociation constant, stoichiometry, and pH-dependence of this noncovalent interaction are typical of those properties for hormone (oxytocin) and hormone-like ligand binding to neurophysin II. Under photolytic conditions, methionyl-tyrosyl-p-azidophenylalaninamide causes irreversible inhibition of the noncovalent ligand binding activity of neurophysin II. This inactivation was achieved to the extent of about 90%. Both the dark and light (photolytic) interactions of the photolabile peptide with neurophysin II indicate its reaction at the hormone binding site of the protein and thus its potential use to identify amino acid residues at this site by covalent photoaffinity labelling.

Bactericidal antibody in genital infection due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

An assay of bactericidial antibody has been developed to study the host response to infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae. This test for antibody was performed on the sera of women who were exposed to N. gonorrhoeae but who did not become infected, of patients with various types of genital infection with N. gonorrhoeae, and of a small number of individuals with no history of gonorrhea. Antibody was found in the sera of less than 31% of men and women with uncomplicated gonococcal infection. Prolonged mucosal infection with the gonococcus (greater than 33 days) correlated with the presence of bactericidal antibody. Bactericidal antibody was not detected in 95% of the specimens of acute-phase serum obtained from women with gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease. The convalescent-phase sera of 70% of women with clinically severe pelvic inflammatory disease showed a rise in titer of bactericidal antibody to the infecting strain of N. gonorrhoeae, whereas only 11% of the convalescent-phase sera of women with mild or moderately severe disease showed a similar rise.