Purification and characterization of a pregnancy-associated protein: TJ6s.
OBJECTIVE
Characterization of the soluble form of a novel protein, TJ6 (TJ6s) with immune suppressive activity from murine fetoplacental units.


METHODS
Preferential ammonium sulfate precipitation, gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography were employed to purify the protein TJ6s from murine fetoplacental units using an anti-peptide antibody as a detection tool. Biological activity of the purified protein was studied in lymphocyte proliferation assays.


RESULTS
Purified TJ6s has a M(r) of approximately 18 kDa as evidenced by SDS-PAGE in both reducing and non reducing conditions. It exerted a strong anti-proliferative activity in both anti-CD3 and Con A proliferation lymphocyte proliferation assays but not in a PHA assay, suggesting that the anti-proliferative effects on T cells are exerted only on cells specifically activated directly through T cell receptor complex.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that TJ6s is a novel anti-proliferative protein that has many of the characteristics that are considered necessary for survival of the fetal allograft.
Mandal
M
M
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Finch University of Health Sciences, Chicago Medical School, IL 60064, USA.
Beaman
K D
KD
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000645:Ammonium Sulfate; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010920:Placenta / Q000737:chemistry*; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D013491:Suppressor Factors, Immunologic / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects
D000645:Ammonium Sulfate; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D006180:Proton-Translocating ATPases; D017260:Receptor-CD3 Complex, Antigen, T-Cell; D013491:Suppressor Factors, Immunologic; C432920:Atp6v0a2 protein, mouse; C525845:ATP6V0A2 protein, human