Phage antibodies: filamentous phage displaying antibody variable domains

New ways of making antibodies have recently been demonstrated using gene technology. Immunoglobulin variable (V) genes are amplified from hybridomas or B cells using the polymerase chain reaction, and cloned into expression vectors. Soluble antibody fragments secreted from bacteria are then screened for binding activities. Screening of V genes would, however, be revolutionized if they could be expressed on the surface of bacteriophage. Phage carrying V genes that encode binding activities could then be selected directly with antigen. Here we show that complete antibody V domains can be displayed on the surface of fd bacteriophage, that the phage bind specifically to antigen and that rare phage (one in a million) can be isolated after affinity chromatography.     

Structure of a phage 434 Cro/DNA complex

Comparison of the crystal structure of a complex of the phage 434 Cro protein and a synthetic DNA operator with the complex of the same operator and the 434 repressor DNA-binding domain shows different DNA conformations in the two structures. Binding of the protein determines the precise conformation of the DNA in each case.     

Biopanning of HGV epitope from a phage displayed library

Three mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAb) specific to E2 antigen of human hepatitis G virus (HGV) were used to bio-panning of a phage displayed random peptide library of 15 amino acid residues. After 3 rounds of screening, the ratio of output to input increased to 1.1 x 10" and the false positive rate reduced to 0.2% , which means the enrichment was effective. At the third round of screening, 15 plage clones were selected for the use in binding and competitive inhibition tests. Thirteen of them could specifically react with the mAb M6. The inhibition rates of phage 10 clones out of 15 were over 60% . From the deduced insert sequence in the coat protein VIII, the core sequence NPLWP was found in 6 phage clones which are homologeous to the amino acids 301—305 of HGV E2.The sera from the mice immunized with the phage clone C2 containing motif sequence were found positive for anti-HGV. These indicate the possibility that NPLWP motif in the short peptide is the mimic of HGV E2 epitope that can be recognized by HGV mAb M6.     

一株渤海丝状海洋真菌的分子生物学复核鉴定

采用真菌形态观察的标准培养条件,结合18S rDNA—ITS片段克隆测序和序列特征GeneBank比较分析,对本实验室分离保藏的海洋真菌Penicillium sp．BH06进行了培养特征和显微形态的复核鉴定研究,依据分子生物学和形态结构特征,认定该菌株应修订为桔青霉（Penicillium citrinum）．研究结果提示,基于传统形态学观察并结合ITS序列分析,可为丝状真菌的分类鉴定提供可靠的分子生物学依据．     

Isolation by phage display and characterization of a single-chain antibody specific for O6-methyldeoxyguanosine

New approaches of making single chain Fv antibodies against O⁶-methyl-2′-deoxyguanosine (O⁶MdG) have been demonstrated by using the phage antibody display system. Using O⁶MdG as an antigen, 21 positive clones were identified by ELISA from this library, one of which, designated H3, specifically binds to O⁶MdG with high affinity. The H3 scFv antibody has an affinity constant (K_aff) of 5.94×10O¹¹(mol/L)^-1. H3 scFv has been successfully used to detect O⁶MdG in DNA hydrolyses from yeast or E. coli cells treated with a DNA methylating agent. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the selection of a specific scFv against DNA adducts. The results demonstrate the potential applications of the phage display technology for the detection of DNA lesions caused by mutagens and carcinogens.     

Epidermal growth factor receptor is a cellular receptor for human cytomegalovirus

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread opportunistic herpesvirus that causes severe and fatal diseases in immune-compromised individuals, including organ transplant recipients and individuals with AIDS. It is also a leading cause of virus-associated birth defects and is associated with atherosclerosis and coronary restenosis. HCMV initiates infection and intracellular signalling by binding to its cognate cellular receptors and by activating several signalling pathways including those mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase, interferons, and G proteins. But a cellular receptor responsible for viral entry and HCMV-induced signalling has yet to be identified. Here we show that HCMV infects cells by interacting with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and inducing signalling. Transfecting EGFR-negative cells with an EGFR complementary DNA renders non-susceptible cells susceptible to HCMV. Ligand displacement and crosslinking analyses show that HCMV interacts with EGFR through gB, its principal envelope glycoprotein. gB preferentially binds EGFR and EGFR-ErbB3 oligomeric molecules in Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with erbB family cDNAs. Taken together, these data indicate that EGFR is a necessary component for HCMV-triggered signalling and viral entry.     

尿激酶短肽抑制剂的初步研究

以尿激酶为目标蛋白, 在噬菌体表面展示六肽库中对尿激酶的短肽类抑制剂进行了三轮特异性筛选. 提高噬菌体与尿激酶的比例及缩短作用时间从而提高筛选压力后, 与尿激酶亲和结合的噬菌体得到富集. 通过对第三轮筛选到的重组噬菌体的DNA序列分析, 获得一组相对保守的肽序列. 相应的合成短肽 NEPKAN 和VSPKVL 对尿激酶的抑制常数分别为32.5 μmol/L和88.6 μmol/L.     

Absence of thermodynamic phase transition in a model glass former

The glass transition can be viewed simply as the point at which the viscosity of a structurally disordered liquid reaches a universal threshold value. But this is an operational definition that circumvents fundamental issues, such as whether the glass transition is a purely dynamical phenomenon. If so, ergodicity gets broken (the system becomes confined to some part of its phase space), but the thermodynamic properties of the liquid remain unchanged across the transition, provided they are determined as thermodynamic equilibrium averages over the whole phase space. The opposite view claims that an underlying thermodynamic phase transition is responsible for the pronounced slow-down in the dynamics at the liquid-glass boundary. Such a phase transition would trigger the dynamic standstill, and then be masked by it. Here we perform Monte Carlo simulations of a two-dimensional system of polydisperse hard disks far within its glassy phase. The approach allows for non-local moves in a way that preserves micro-reversibility. We find no evidence for a thermodynamic phase transition up to very high densities; the glass is thus indistinguishable from the liquid on purely thermodynamic grounds.