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. 1974 Nov;71(11):4298–4302. doi: 10.1073/pnas.71.11.4298

The Three-Dimensional Structure of a Phosphorylcholine-Binding Mouse Immunoglobulin Fab and the Nature of the Antigen Binding Site

David M Segal *,†, Eduardo A Padlan *, Gerson H Cohen *, Stuart Rudikoff ‡, Michael Potter ‡, David R Davies *
PMCID: PMC433869  PMID: 4530984

Abstract

The structure of the Fab of McPC 603, a mouse myeloma protein with phosphorylcholine binding activity, has been determined to 3.1-Å resoltuion. The four domains are found to be structurally similar with a well-defined double-layer structure. A large cavity exists at one end of the fragment, the walls of which are formed exclusively of hypervariable residues. Phosphorylcholine binds in this cavity and forms specific interactions with several well-defined amino-acid side chains of the protein. The hapten is bound asymmetrically and interacts more with the heavy chain than with the light chain.

Keywords: x-ray diffraction, domain structure, hypervariable cavity, hapten binding, antibody diversity

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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