Profile of sequential determinants in tissue polypeptide antigen BrCN:B fragment.

A synthetic approach has been applied to determine the profile of sequential determinants of one immunodominant region of Tissue Polypeptide Antigen (TPA). Five overlapping peptides, covering 30 of the 32 amino acid residues of this fragment, were chemically synthesized, and their antibody-binding activities for rabbit anti-TPA antibodies determined by enzyme-linked immunoadsorbant assays. Anti-TPA reacted with two overlapping fragments at the COOH-terminal end of the fragment, but not with peptides that include Arg 15 considered as essential for the antigenicity of the whole fragment. This might suggest that this critical residue is involved in the formation of a complex conformational determinant.