Monoclonal antibody against DNA adducts with osmium structural probes.

Osmium tetroxide complexes with nitrogen ligands (Os,L) have been widely used as probes of the DNA structure. A monoclonal antibody OsBP7H8 against DNA adducts with Os,L was produced in mice. OsBP7H8 does not bind to proteins or total yeast RNA modified with Os,2,2'-bipyridine (bipy) nor to the unmodified nucleic acids and proteins. The antibody recognizes DNA modified with Os,bipy (DNA-Os,bipy) or with OsO4,1,10-phenanthroline (DNA-Os,phen) but it does not cross-react with oxidized DNA and with DNA adducts of osmium tetroxide complexes with other ligands (such as pyridine, TEMED and bathophenanthroline disulfonic acid). The affinity of OsBP7H8 to DNA-Os,phen is about five-fold higher as compared to DNA-Os,bipy. The antibody can be thus applied either for recognition of single-stranded and distorted regions in DNA (after DNA modification with Os,bipy) or for detection of both single-stranded and double-stranded DNAs (after DNA modification with Os,phen). A new simplified procedure for the dot-blot analysis is proposed, not requiring the purification of DNA-osmium adduct prior to its application to the membrane.

Use of rifampicin in T7 RNA polymerase-driven expression of a plant enzyme: rifampicin improves yield and assembly.

Expression systems based on high selectivity and activity of T7 RNA polymerase and presence of a strong T7 promoter have been commonly used for cloning and expression of various recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. When the expression system is designed in such a way that the produced protein is not being transferred into periplasm, bacterial cells must be lysed in order to isolate and purify the protein. The final yield and quality of the synthesized protein then depend on various factors, protein size, amino acid sequence, solubility in cytoplasm, and folding requirements among them. The yield in the T7 RNA polymerase/promoter system can be positively influenced by use of rifampicin. In this report we demonstrate usefulness of the antibiotic in detail. We describe rifampicin-enhanced expression of a plant cytokinin-specific beta-glucosidase. Two bacterial cultures are compared, one expressing the enzyme without and one in the presence of rifampicin. The antibiotic not only increased the yield of the recombinant protein, which seems to be a general phenomenon, but also favored the final assembly of the protein's subunits into a catalytically active dimer form.

Creation of a ribonuclease abzyme through site-directed mutagenesis.

The development of abzymes (antibody/enzymes) is one method of creating reagents with novel catalytic activity. To date, most abzymes have been obtained by immunization with transition state analogs. We have chosen to start with an existing antibody and convert it into an enzyme by the addition of catalytic residues to the binding site. We have introduced a histidine residue into antibody Jel 103 and converted it into an abzyme that cleaves poly(rI) with a kinetic efficiency of about 100 M(-1) sec(-1).

Characterization of four nucleic acid-binding single-chain Fv fragments by direct and competitive solid-phase radioimmunoassays.

The heavy- and light-chain variable region genes of four different nucleic acid-binding antibodies (Jel 274 and Jel 72 (specific for duplex DNA), Jel 103 (specific for poly(rI)), and Jel 318 (specific for DNA triplexes)) were cloned. Single-chain Fv fragments (scFv) in which the heavy and light chains were joined by a linker were constructed by polymerase chain reaction. The linker of 21 amino acids also served as a tag since it consisted of a repeating heptapeptide that was recognized by a specific antipeptide antibody. scFv were expressed in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies. After purification and renaturation, a cross-linking assay was used to demonstrate that > 90% of scFv were in the form of monomers. The specificity of scFv was analyzed by both direct and competitive solid-phase radioimmunoassays. scFv.103 retained its specificity for poly(rI), whereas the other three scFv still bound the original antigen, but subtle changes in the overall specificity were noted. Thus, in some cases, the conformation of the binding site may be different in the context of an scFv compared with the original IgG.

Preparation, characterization and crystallization of an antibody Fab fragment that recognizes RNA. Crystal structures of native Fab and three Fab-mononucleotide complexes.

Fab fragments from Jel 103, an antibody which specifically binds to single-stranded poly(rl), were prepared by papain digestion, separated into eight isoforms and characterized by mass spectrometry. One of the purified isoforms yielded crystals suitable for structural studies by X-ray diffraction and its crystal structure was determined to 2.4 A resolution. Soaking the crystals in solutions containing either of the mononucleotides inosine-5'-diphosphate, guanosine-5'-diphosphate or deoxyinosine-5'-monophosphate resulted in binding of the nucleotide in a single binding site. However, adenosine-5'-diphosphate does not bind to this antibody. The recognition of the base is achieved through hydrogen bonds to the C6 carbonyl oxygen and the imino NH group of the purine in a pattern similar to that of the base-base interactions in a double-stranded nucleic acid. Additional binding energy is provided by stacking of the base and the Tyr32L side-chain and by interaction of the alpha-phosphate with the antibody in an anionic binding site. Most of the side-chains interacting with the nucleotide come from the light chain. Surprisingly, this antibody shares the VL sequence with another nucleic acid-binding antibody, BV04-1. The latter binds to a single stranded DNA with a high preference for thymine bases. The structures of the unliganded and complexed Jel 103 Fab are compared to those of BV-04-1 Fab and while they show similarity in recognition of the base of the immunodominant nucleotide, their 5' phosphates occupy different positions, suggesting different orientation of the nucleic acid bound to these two antibodies. Differences in the conformations of the L1 loops between the two Fabs have been noted.