Antibodies have the intrinsic capacity to destroy antigens

Abstract

Research throughout the last century has led to a consensus as to the strategy of the humoral component of the immune system. The essence is that, for killing, the antibody molecule activates additional systems that respond to antibody-antigen union. We now report that the immune system seems to have a previously unrecognized chemical potential intrinsic to the antibody molecule itself. All antibodies studied, regardless of source or antigenic specificity, can convert molecular oxygen into hydrogen peroxide, thereby potentially aligning recognition and killing within the same molecule. Aside from pointing to a new chemical arm for the immune system, these results may be important to the understanding of how antibodies evolved and what role they may play in human diseases.

Hydrogen peroxide production driven by UV-B in planktonic microorganisms: a photocatalytic factor in sea warming and ice melting in regions with ozone depletion?

“…Whereas modest heat fluxes coming from the degradation of chemical energy originally fixed by photosynthesis have been detected in aquatic ecosystems (Pamatmat 2003), it is paradoxical that such a powerful WPO-Cat remained thus far unknown. Certainly, H 2 O 2 detection has made WPO discovery possible in isolated proteins (Wentworth et al 2000(Wentworth et al , 2001). But in microorganisms, H 2 O 2 is a potent microbicide being instantly transformed into water and oxygen by catalase activity (Fig.…”

“…The oxidation of water (H 2 O) by dioxygen (O 2 ) yielding hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in antibodies exposed to ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B) (280-320 nm) is an amazing photocatalysis discovered a decade ago (Wentworth et al 2000(Wentworth et al , 2001. Of note, such a UV-B-driven process, hereafter referred to as water photooxidation (WPO), cannot take place in antibodies under natural conditions.…”

“…Of note, such a UV-B-driven process, hereafter referred to as water photooxidation (WPO), cannot take place in antibodies under natural conditions. However, preliminary studies showed that in the absence of UV-B, H 2 O 2 is also produced from H 2 O and singlet O 2 ( 1 O 2 *) (Wentworth et al 2000(Wentworth et al , 2001, which is an activated species produced in inflammatory processes. Due to the fact that H 2 O 2 is a potent microbicide, the latter H 2 O 2 production by 1 O 2 * in the absence of UV-B-the so-called antibody-catalyzed water oxidation pathway-was subsequently featured as a new chemical arm to immune defence (Nieva and Wentworth 2004), which, however, has been questioned by others (Parren et al 2003).…”

“…Interestingly, WPO is not unique for antibodies, but rather a common activity being catalyzed with variable efficiency in most proteins usually found in the laboratory, such as b-lactoglobulin, b-galactosidase, ovoalbumin, trypsinogen, lectins, bovine serum albumin, and a-lactalbumin (Wentworth et al 2000). Extrapolating these data, no doubt there will be countless proteins actually photoproducing H 2 O 2 in microorganisms subjected to UV-B in natural conditions.…”

Anticorps catalytiques ou abzymes

“…En 1986, A. Tramontano a produit des anticorps monoclonaux hydrolysant les liaisons ester en utilisant comme haptène une molécule analogue de l'état de transition de l'hydrolyse des esters carboxyliques (Figure 1) [25]. À ce titre, l'activité d'oxydation de l'eau des anticorps ne permet pas de les assimiler à des « abzymes » dans la mesure où cette activité n'est pas dépendante de la nature des gènes qui codent pour les régions variables des anticorps et n'est pas associée à une spécificité particulière des anticorps pour un substrat/ antigène donné.…”