Antibodies raised against purified beta-adrenergic receptors specifically bind beta-adrenergic ligands

Antibodies raised against purified beta-adrenergic receptors themselves specifically bind beta-adrenergic ligands. Digitonin-solubilized frog (Rana pipiens) erythrocyte beta-adrenergic receptors, purified 100- to 200-fold by adsorption to an alprenolol-agarose affinity support and specifically eluted from the affinity resin by 1-100 mM (+/-)-isoproterenol, were used to immunize six rabbits. All immune sera, in contrast to preimmune sera, bound the beta-adrenergic antagonist [(3)H]Dihydroalprenolol binding activity was due to immunoglobulins. By competition studies, antibody [(3)H]dihydroalprenolol binding was found to display a specificity and stereoselectivity resembling that of the beta-adrenergic receptor, [i.e., (-)-isoproterenol > (-)-epinephrine > (-)-norepinephrine; alprenolol approximately propranolol >> phentolamine = aloperidol; and (-) isomers of both agonists and antagonists 10-100 times more potent than (+) isomers]. A portion of the [(3)H]dihydroalprenolol binding antibodies could be specifically adsorbed onto purified frog erythrocyte membranes, whereas Xenopus and human erythrocyte membranes, both of which are almost devoid of beta-adrenergic receptors, were ineffective in adsorbing [(3)H]dihydroalprenolol binding antibodies. We suggest that the likely immunogen was a beta-adrenergic receptor-isoproterenol complex and that immunization with drugs noncovalently bound to their receptors might be a means of raising antibodies to biologically active otherwise nonimmunogenic small molecules. Such antibodies, whose specificity mimics that of a receptor, should also provide useful models for the study of the structure of the receptor binding sites.