Expression of an epitope tagged human C5a receptor and antibody-mediated immobilization of detergent-solubilized receptor for drug discovery screening.

In order to screen combinatorial libraries of peptides and/or small organic molecules against the human C5a receptor, we have developed a novel method for immobilizing and screening 7-transmembrane segment (7-TMS) receptors. The epitope for a high affinity monoclonal antibody (mAb179) was added to the C-terminus of the human C5a receptor, and CHO cell lines expressing the epitope tagged receptor (C5aR-KH) and the wild-type receptor (C5aR) were established. The addition of the epitope tag did not affect the affinity of C5aR-KH for C5a. The epitope tag allowed for mAb179-mediated immobilization of active receptor either in intact membranes or following detergent extraction with digitonin or Chaps. If this method is generally applicable to other 7-TMS receptors it may have broad utility for drug discovery screening as well as other applications.

High affinity type I interleukin 1 receptor antagonists discovered by screening recombinant peptide libraries.

Two families of peptides that specifically bind the extracellular domain of the human type I interleukin I (IL-1) receptor were identified from recombinant peptide display libraries. Peptides from one of these families blocked binding of IL-lalpha to the type I IL-1 receptor with IC50 values of 45-140 microM. Affinity-selective screening of variants of these peptides produced ligands of much higher affinity (IC50 approximately 2 nM). These peptides block IL-1-driven responses in human and monkey cells; they do not bind the human type II IL-1 receptor or the murine type I IL-1 receptor. This is the first example (that we know of) of a high affinity peptide that binds to a cytokine receptor and acts as a cytokine antagonist.

Generation and screening of an oligonucleotide-encoded synthetic peptide library.

We have prepared a library of approximately 10(6) different peptide sequences on small, spherical (10-microns diameter) beads by the combinatorial chemical coupling of both L- and D-amino acid building blocks. To each bead is covalently attached many copies of a single peptide sequence and, additionally, copies of a unique single-stranded oligonucleotide that codes for that peptide sequence. The oligonucleotide tags are synthesized through a parallel combinatorial procedure that effectively records the process by which the encoded peptide sequence is assembled. The collection of beads was screened for binding to a fluorescently labeled anti-peptide antibody using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting instrument. Those beads to which the antibody bound tightly were isolated by fluorescence-activated sorting, and the oligonucleotide identifiers attached to individual sorted beads were amplified by the PCR. Sequences of the amplified DNAs were determined to reveal the identity of peptide sequences that bound to the antibody with high affinity. By combining the capacity for information storage in an oligonucleotide code with the tremendous level of amplification possible through the PCR, we have devised a means for specifying the identity of each member of a vast library of molecules synthesized from both natural and unnatural chemical building blocks. In addition, we have shown that the use of flow cytometry instrumentation permits facile isolation of individual beads that bear high-affinity ligands for biological receptors.

Antigen-specific immunostimulation of amino acid transport: proposed method for the diagnosis of tuberculosis in cattle.

Preliminary data on a novel method for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis (TB) has been presented. This method is based on increased amino acid transport in specifically stimulated lymphocyte cultures. Lymphocytes isolated from TB-infected or -sensitized cattle and cultured with the TB antigen PPD-B had noticeably enhanced amino acid transport after 1-3 days. Transport continued to increase for up to 5 days of culture with the antigen. PPD-B did not stimulate transport in lymphocytes from nonsensitized animals. The new method correlated well with the tuberculin skin test and antigen-induced lymphocyte proliferation measured by flow cytometry.

A method for staining 3T3 cell nuclei with propidium iodide in hypotonic solution.

A modification of the propidium-iodide hypotonic sodium citrate method has been developed specifically for high-resolution staining of mouse 3T3 cell nuclei for analysis by flow cytometry. The method employs a brief treatment of cells at 37 degrees C with Triton X-100 and RNAse in the presence of propidium iodide in hypotonic sodium citrate, followed by restoration to isotonicity with NaCl. The average CV obtained for the G1 peak was 3.5%, and the samples were stable for 1-2 weeks at 4 degrees C. Compared to this technique, previously described propidium iodide-staining methods gave poor resolution with 3T3 cells.

Antigen-specific stimulation of amino acid transport in bovine lymphocytes.

Treatment of bovine lymphocytes isolated from animals which were either infected with Mycobacterium bovis or sensitized to a purified protein derivative (PPD-B) from this organism induced an increase in the transport of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (AIB) and alpha-methylaminoisobutyric acid (MeAIB). PPD-B did not stimulate these transport activities in lymphocytes from nonsensitized animals. The transport stimulation was first measurable after about 7 hours of treatment, reached about a two-fold enhancement after 20 hours, and continued to increase to 30- to 40-fold after 6 days. The stimulation of AIB transport was inhibited by both ouabain and cycloheximide. Experiments to determine transport system specificities in nonstimulated lymphocytes showed that MeAIB transport was primarily by the Na+-dependent, A-system, and leucine transport was mostly by Na+-independent system(s). In contrast, AIB transport was about 25% by the A-system, 25% by at least one Na+-dependent, non-A-system, and 50% by one or more Na+-independent system(s). Analysis of the three components of AIB transport after treatment with PPD-B showed that: 1) transport by both the A-system and the Na+-independent system(s) was stimulated; 2) A-system transport was stimulated to a larger extent than Na+-independent transport; and 3) Na+-dependent, non-A-system transport was not stimulated significantly.

Regulation by turnover of Na,K-ATPase in HeLa cells.

As in most if not all animal cells, HeLa Na,K-ATPase is an essential enzyme of the cell surface. The three ways, referred to in the Introduction, in which it is regulated may be summarized as follows: 1) The activity of the enzyme under normal conditions responds almost linearly to small perturbations in internal (Na+); this is short-term regulation. 2) In the normal steady state, the enzyme is one of the rapidly turning over components of the cell surface; this is part of long-term regulation. The functional importance of turnover to cell homeostasis depends on the reversibility of any event that may inactive the enzyme. Thus turnover is an important, but not the only, means of recovery from ouabain intoxication, and for an inactivating ligand that dissociates more readily than ouabain turnover may be relatively unimportant. Conversely, turnover may be the only means of recovery from thermal inactivation at physiological temperatures. 3) Under conditions of prolonged stress, turnover itself may be modulated so as to enhance the number of active enzymes on the cell surface. Regulation by turnover has the advantage of permitting a prompt response to a changing cell environment, whereas regulation by synthesis would introduce a delay in response at least equal to the transit time. Broadman et al [1974] have suggested that the signal for the increase in Na,K-ATPase is elevated cellular (Na+), but how this is translated into a mechanism for altering the specific clearance of this enzyme from the membrane is not known.

Uptake of [3H]ouabain from the cell surface into the lysosomal compartment of HeLa cells.

[3H]Ouabain specifically bound at sublethal concentrations to Na,K-ATPase on the surface of HeLa cells is taken up (internalized) by the cells at a rate of three membrane equivalents of labeled sites per generation. Immediately following a pulse label with the glycoside, codistribution of radioactivity with the surface marker 5'-nucleotidase is found in both conventional sucrose-gradient fractionation and in fractionation following a digitonin treatment. At appropriate concentrations digitonin increases the buoyant density of the HeLa surface membrane and solubilizes the lysosomal marker beta-hexosaminidase (Tulkens et al., 1974). After internalization, [3H]ouabain is also solubilized by digitonin. A shear analysis is described which shows internalized ouabain and beta-hexosaminidase to be codistributed in a particulate fraction that is homogeneous with respect to shear; extrapolation to zero-shear shows that little or none of either marker is found in the soluble fraction of the cytosol. Both markers are coreleased from the particulate fraction by osmotic shock. Although internalized ouabain is subsequently released from these cells with a half-time of about 70 hr, apparently by exocytosis, the shear sensitivity of the remaining cell-associated ouabain does not change for up to 72 hr. Thus ouabain (together with Na,K-ATPase?) appears to be taken up from the surface into a lysosomal compartment and, by at least one criterion, this compartment does not change its physical properties with time, i.e., does not "age."

Turnover and regulation of Na-K-ATPase in HeLa cells.

HeLa cells in log growth have 10(6) surface Na-K-ATPase molecules as estimated by the specific binding of [3H]-ouabain. Studies utilizing ouabain as a label show that the ligand is internalized at a rate corresponding to the turnover of three sets of Na-K-ATPase enzymes per generation. The label is taken up exclusively into a particulate cell compartment where it is codistributed with beta-hexosaminidase, identifying the internal compartment as lysosomal. Turnover is an important parameter in the recovery of the cells from glycoside intoxication. The unmetabolized glycoside is subsequently released by exocytosis. 13C-density-labeled Na-K-ATPase has been identified by specific phosphorylation of its catalytic subunit with [32P]ATP or [33P]ATP, and the rate of turnover of the density label is shown to be the same as the internalization of the ouabain-labeled site. There is a transit time of about 4 h from the onset of synthesis of the catalytic subunit to its insertion in the surface membrane; 2,800 catalytic subunits are synthesized per minute per cell, and 2,100 are turned over K+-starved cells respond to the stress in 24-30 h with modulation of the surface density of Na-K-ATPase the synthetic rate remains constant; the number of functional enzymes per cell is controlled by change in the rate constant for turnover.

Na+, K+-ATPase in HeLa cells after prolonged growth in low K+ or ouabain.

Effects of long-term, subtotal inhibition of Na+-K+ transport, either by growth of cells in sublethal concentrations of ouabain or in low-K+ medium, are described for HeLa cells. After prolonged growth in 2 X 10(-8) M ouabain, the total number of ouabain molecules bound per cell increases by as much as a factor of three, mostly due to internalization of the drug. There is only about a 20% increase in ouabain-binding sites on the plasma membrane, representing a modest induction of Na+, K+-ATPase. In contrast, after long-term growth in low K+ there can be a twofold or greater increase in ouabain binding per cell, and in this case the additional sites are located in the plasma membrane. The increase is reversible. To assess the corresponding transport changes, we have separately estimated the contributions of increased intracellular [Na+] and of transport capacity (number of transport sites) to transport regulation. During both induction and reversal, short-term regulation is achieved primarily by changes in [Na+]i. More slowly, long-term regulation is achieved by changes in the number of functional transporters in the plasma membrane as assessed by ouabain binding Vmax for transport, and specific phosphorylation. Parallel exposure of cryptic Na+,K+-ATPase activity with sodium dodecyl sulfate in the plasma membranes of both induced and control cells showed that the induction cannot be accounted for by an exposure of preexisting Na+,K+-ATPase in the plasma membrane. Analysis of the kinetics of reversal indicates that it may be due to a post-translational event.