title: Relationship between receptor/ligand binding affinity and adhesion strength.
abstract: Receptor-mediated cell adhesion is a central phenomenon in many physiological and biotechnological processes. Mechanical strength of adhesion is generally presumed to be related to chemical affinity of receptor/ligand bonds, but no experimental study has been previously directed toward this issue. Here we investigate the dependence of receptor/ligand adhesion strength on bond affinity using a radial fluid flow chamber assay to measure the force needed to detach polystyrene beads covalently coated with immunoglobulin G from glass surfaces covalently coated with protein A. A spectrum of animal species sources for immunoglobulin G permits examination of three decades of protein A/immunoglobulin G binding affinity. Our results for this model system demonstrate that adhesion strength varies with the logarithm of the binding affinity, consistent with a prediction from the theoretical model by Dembo et al. (Dembo, M., D.C. Torney, K. Saxman, and D. Hammer. 1988. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. Ser. B 234:55-83).
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 61801.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lauffenburger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D006041:Goats; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000737:chemistry; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008024:Ligands; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D011485:Protein Binding; D011817:Rabbits; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000502:physiology*; D012756:Sheep; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A / Q000737:chemistry; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D008024:Ligands; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D013205:Staphylococcal Protein A