NONIMMUNE BINDING OF HUMAN PROTEIN-FV TO IMMUNOGLOBULINS FROM VARIOUS MAMMALIAN AND NONMAMMALIAN SPECIES

Reactivity of the secretory protein Fv with immunoglobulins (Ig) from various species of vertebrates was investigated. Binding was observed throughout all taxonomic classes: mammalian, avian, reptilian, amphibian and fish. Contrasting with this wide spectrum, no significant binding was found with most mammalian ungulates, such as horse (Perissodactyl), cow, sheep and goat (Artiodactyls). Nevertheless, disruption of the hydrogen bonds of Ig allowed these non-reactive molecules to bind. Such a conserved reactivity during evolution, and our previous data on the effect of the cleavage of the intra-chain disulphide bonds, suggest that protein Fv recognizes a discontinuous framework structure involving both the FR1 and FR3 regions in the variable domain of the heavy chain of Ig.