Antibodies under pressure: A Small-Angle X-ray Scattering study of Immunoglobulin G under high hydrostatic pressure

Nico König1, Michael Paulus2, Karin Julius2

  • 1Fakultät Physik/DELTA, TU Dortmund, Dortmund 44221, Germany; Bayer AG, Leverkusen 51368, Germany.

Biophysical Chemistry
|June 18, 2017
PubMed

In the present work two subclasses of the human antibody Immunoglobulin G (IgG) have been investigated by Small-Angle X-ray Scattering under high hydrostatic pressures up to 5kbar. It is shown that IgG adopts a symmetric T-shape in solution which differs significantly from available crystal structures. Moreover, high-pressure experiments verify the high stability of the IgG molecule. It is not unfolded by hydrostatic pressures of up to 5kbar but a slight increase of the radius of gyration was observed at elevated pressures.