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Effect of Hydrolysis by Papain on the Combining Sites of an Antibody

Nature volume 183, pages 1325–1326 (1959)Cite this article

Abstract

PORTER1 recently found that proteolysis of each of several different rabbit antiprotein antibodies with papain yielded three chromatographically separable fractions. Two of the fractions retained the capacity to combine with antigen, as shown by their ability to block specific precipitation, but would not form specific precipitates. The results indicated that the bivalent antibody molecule had in each case been split into two univalent fragments which retained specific activity and a third fragment lacking a combining site.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Biochemistry Research and Biophysics, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York

    A. NISONOFF & D. L. WOERNLEY

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  1. A. NISONOFF
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  2. D. L. WOERNLEY
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NISONOFF, A., WOERNLEY, D. Effect of Hydrolysis by Papain on the Combining Sites of an Antibody. Nature 183, 1325–1326 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1831325a0

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