Polymorphisms within the immunoglobulin heavy chain constant region at switch (S)mu and S alpha 1 loci were studied in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and controls in parallel with Gm and A2m allotyping. S mu and S alpha 1 restriction fragment length polymorphisms were defined using a S mu probe which was hybridised to SstI digests of DNA extracted from circulating white cells. There we...

RNA blotting was employed to examine polyadenylated immunoglobulin alpha chain RNAs in a B lymphoma synthesizing membrane-bound and secretory IgA and in a hybridoma which synthesizes predominantly secretory IgA. Both cell lines were derived from the I.29 lymphoma and expressed the identical heavy chain variable region gene. In addition to the predicted mRNA precursors, four novel species of pol...

Focal adhesion kinase (Fak) has been implicated as a signaling molecule involved in the early response of cardiac myocytes to mechanical stress. The mechanism of Fak activation by mechanical stimuli is not clear. In this study, we report the load-induced Fak activation and its association with myosin heavy chain in cardiac myocytes. Pressure overload lasting from 3 to 60 minutes was shown to in...

A new immunoglobulin A abnormality, absence of assembly of alpha-chain and light-chain, was found in an adult female suffering from recurrent upper respiratory infection and tonsillitis since childhood, but otherwise healthy. The IgA abnormality was manifest in her serum by the presence of free alpha-chains, in her saliva by the presence of alpha-chains bound to secretory piece, and in her urin...

and in a case of plasmacytic reticulium cell sarcoma (Okano, Azar & Osserman, 1966). The course of the disease seems to be progressive inspite of temporary response, reported in a few cases, to cytotoxic drugs and systemic coticosteroids. In our case, the course of the disease took about 18 months from the time she developed symptoms until she died. In conclusion, the differential diagnosis of ...

We describe here the 1.7-A resolution structure of a single-chain antibody variable domain (scFv) molecule, based on the carbohydrate-binding antibody Se155-4, complexed with the trisaccharide ligand alpha-D-Gal(1-->2)[alpha-D-Abe(1-->3)]alpha-D-Manp1-->OMe, where Abe is abequose. The scFv expressed in Escherichia coli has the variable region light chain to heavy chain polarity with the domains...

NH2-terminal analysis of the alpha and beta heavy chain polypeptides (Mr greater than 400,000) from the outer arm dynein of sea urchin sperm flagella, compared with that of the 230,000- and 200,000-Mr peptides formed upon photocleavage of dynein by irradiation at 365 nm in the presence of vanadate and ATP, shows that the NH2 termini of the intact chains are acetylated and that the 230,000- and ...

To assess the contribution of individual endocytic proteins to the assembly of clathrin coated pits, we depleted the clathrin heavy chain and the alpha-adaptin subunit of AP-2 in HeLa-cells using RNA interference. 48 h after transfection with clathrin heavy chain-specific short interfering RNA both, the heavy and light chains were depleted by more than 80%. Residual clathrin was mainly membrane...