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Institute
Generating a monoclonal antibody to date is a time intense process that requires immunization of laboratory animals. The transfer of the humoral immune response into in vitro settings enables a shortening of this process and circumvents the necessity of in vivo immunization. However, to orchestrate the complex interplay of dendritic cells, T and B lymphocytes in vitro is very challenging. We therefore aimed for a simplified approach focusing on the protagonist of antibody production: the B lymphocyte. We activated purified murine B lymphocytes alone in vitro by using combinations of antigen and stimuli. We were able to induce a specific antibody response within ten days of culture against a viral coat protein as model antigen. Antibodies were of both IgM and IgG subclass. The stimulated B lymphocytes were transformed into permanently antibody-producing hybridomas by cell fusion technology. We furthermore used this method to induce a specific antibody response against L. pneumophila in vitro. We thus established a useful and effective in vitro protocol to generate monoclonal antibodies. By overcoming the necessity of in vivo immunization this protocol may be the first step towards a universal strategy to generate antibodies from various species.
A competitive immunoassay to detect a hapten using an enzyme-labelled peptide mimotope as tracer
(2002)
Mimotope peptides-peptides which mimic the binding of a hapten to its corresponding monoclonal antibody-were conjugated to peroxidase and used in competitive immunoassay. The established immunoassay was used to quantitatively determine the concentration of hapten. As model system in all the experiments described here, we used the binding of the monoclonal antibody B13-DE1 to fluorescein and the corresponding peptide mimotope.
Cell-free protein synthesis is of increasing interest for the rapid and high-throughput synthesis of many proteins, in particular also antibody fragments. In this study, we present a novel strategy for the production of single chain antibody fragments (scFv) in a eukaryotic in vitro translation system. This strategy comprises the cell-free expression, isolation and label-free interaction analysis of a model antibody fragment synthesized in two differently prepared insect cell lysates. These lysates contain translocationally active microsomal structures derived from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), allowing for posttranslational modifications of cell-free synthesized proteins. Both types of these insect cell lysates enable the synthesis and translocation of scFv into ER-derived vesicles. However, only the one that has a specifically adapted redox potential yields functional active antibody fragments. We have developed a new methodology for the isolation of functional target proteins based on the translocation of cell-free produced scFv into microsomal structures and subsequent collection of protein-enriched vesicles. Antibody fragments that have been released from these vesicles are shown to be well suited for label-free binding studies. Altogether, these results show the potential of insect cell lysates for the production, purification and selection of antibody fragments in an easy-to-handle and time-saving manner.
The mussel Mytilus edulis can be used as model to study the molecular basis of reproductive isolation because this species maintains its species integrity, despite of hybridizing in zones of contact with the closely related species M. trossulus or M. galloprovincialis. This study uses selective antibody production by means of hybridoma technology to identify molecules which are involved in sperm function of M. edulis. Fragmented sperm were injected into mice and 25 hybridoma cell clones were established to obtain monoclonal antibodies (mAb). Five clones were identified producing mAb targeting molecules putatively involved in sperm function based on enzyme immunoassays, dot and Western blotting as well as immunostaining of tissue sections. Specific localization of these mAb targets on sperm and partly also in somatic tissue suggests that all five antibodies bind to different molecules. The targets of the mAb obtained from clone G26-AG8 were identified using mass spectrometry (nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS) as M6 and M7 lysin. These acrosomal proteins have egg vitelline lyses function and are highly similar (76%) which explains the cross reactivity of mAb G26- AG8. Furthermore, M7 lysin was recently shown to be under strong positive selection suggesting a role in interspecific reproductive isolation. This study shows that M6 and M7 lysin are not only found in the sperm acrosome but also in male somatic tissue of the mantle and the posterior adductor muscle, while being completely absent in females. The monoclonal antibody G26-AG8 described here will allow elucidating M7/M6 lysin function in somatic and gonad tissue of adult and developing animals.
A direct competitive homogeneous immunoassay for progesterone - the Redox Quenching Immunoassay
(2012)
A direct competitive amperometric immunoassay format for the detection of haptens and proteins was developed. The method is based on the quenching of electroactivity of ferrocenium, which is coupled to the antigen and used as the primary reporter, upon binding to a monoclonal anti-ferrocenium antibody, which is coupled to the detection antibody and used as a secondary reporter. A separation-free progesterone immunoassay with a lower detection limit of 1 ng?mL-1 (3.18 nmol?L-1) in 1?:?2 diluted blood serum was realised by combining two bifunctional conjugates, a ferrocenium-PEG-progesterone tracer and a bioconjugate of one anti-progesterone and one anti-ferrocenium antibody. The immune complex is formed within 30 s upon addition of progesterone, resulting in a total analysis time of 1.5 min.
CTLA-4 gene constructs were designed to express CTLA-4 exclusively in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Four different CTLA-4 gene constructs were transfected into HEK 293 (human embryonic kidney) and A20 (Balb/c mouse B lymphoma) cells. All constructs contained an ER retention signal and coded for CTLA-4 expression in the ER. One of the constructs, which contained the membrane part of CTLA-4, coded for an expression both on the cell surface and in the ER. Three of the expressed CTLA-4 types (including the ER-membrane-expressed form) caused a reduced surface expression of B7 in the A20 cells. Only constructs which allow dimerization of CTLA-4 showed this effect. It is assumed that intracellular CTLA-4 bound B7 and inhibited therefore the transport of B7 to the surface. The binding obviously caused also an enhanced degradation of the complexes because both proteins showed a low concentration in the transfected cell lines. CTLA-4-transfected and B7-reduced A20 cells showed a diminished costimulating activity upon T cells. This was demonstrated by a reduced proliferation of T cells from ovalbumin-immunized Balb/c mice, incubated with ovalbumin peptide-primed CTLA-4-transfected A20 cells.
A recombinant single chain antibody fragment (designated scDE1) of the murine monoclonal anti-fluorescein antibody B13-DE1 was generated using the original hybridoma cells as source for the variable antibody heavy and light chain (VH and VL) genes. After cloning the variable genes into a phage vector a functional antibody fragment was selected by phage display panning. Recombinant antibody could be expressed as phage antibody and as soluble single chain antibody in Escherichia coli. High yield of scDE1 could also be detected in bacterial culture supernatant. The scDE1 showed the same binding specificity as the parental monoclonal antibody, i.e. it bound fluorescein, fluorescein derivatives and a fluorescein peptide mimotope. Surface plasmon resonance revealed a K(D) of 19 nM for the scDE1 compared to 0.7 nM for the monoclonal antibody. The isolated soluble scDE1 could easily be conjugated to horseradish peroxidase which allowed the use of the conjugate as universal indicator for the detection of fluorescein-labelled proteins in different immunoassays. Detection of hCG in urine was performed as a model system using scDE1. In addition to E. coli the scFv genes could also be transferred and expressed in eukaryotic cells. Finally, we generated HEK293 cells expressing the scDE1 at the cell surface.
This paper describes the principle of a homogeneous indirect fluorescence quenching immunoassay that uses monoclonal antibodies. It is a carrier-free assay system that is performed completely in solution. The assay system was established for the determination of a low molecular weight substance (hapten), the herbicide diuron, used as a model analyte. A fluorescein-monuron conjugate together with a fluorescence-quenching monoclonal anti-fluorescein antibody and an anti-analyte antibody (here an anti-diuron/monuron monoclonal antibody) were used as central components of the assay. The fluorescein-monuron conjugate can be bound either by the anti-fluorescein monoclonal antibody or by the anti-diuron/ monuron monoclonal antibody. Due to steric hindrance, binding of both antibodies to the conjugate was not possible at the same time. By selecting the antibody concentrations appropriately, a dynamic equilibrium can be established that permits the preferential binding of the anti-diuron/monuron antibody to the conjugate, which allows the fluorescein in the conjugate to fluoresce. This equilibrium can be easily altered by adding free analyte (diuron), which competes with the conjugate to bind to the anti-diuron/monuron antibody. A reduction of anti-diuron/monuron antibody binding to the conjugate results in an increase in the binding of the anti-fluorescein antibody, which leads to a decrease in the fluorescence of the conjugate. The fluorescence is therefore a direct indicator of the state of equilibrium of the system and thus also the presence of free unconjugated analyte. The determination of an analyte based on this test principle does not require any washing steps. After the test components are mixed, the dynamic equilibrium is rapidly reached and the results can be obtained in less than 5 min by measuring the fluorescence of the fluorescein. We used this test principle for the determination of diuron, which was demonstrated for concentrations of approximately 5 nM.