Interaction of carboxypeptidase A with monoclonal antibodies

Several mouse monoclonal antibodies to carboxypeptidase A (CPA) were prepared and purified, and their interaction with the enzyme was investigated. CPA is a well-characterized zinc-containing exopeptidase exhibiting peptidase as well as esterase activity. The antibodies obtained could be classified as follows: antibodies inhibiting mainly the peptidase activity of the enzyme, antibodies inhibiting mainly its esterase activity, antibodies affecting both activities, and antibodies which bind to the enzyme but have no marked effect on its catalytic properties. Binding constants of approximately 10(6) M-1 were obtained for most of the antibody-enzyme complexes tested. Additional information on the effect of the monoclonal antibodies on the active site of CPA was obtained by determining the change in the circular dichroism spectra of arsanilazotyrosine-248 carboxypeptidase A occurring as a result of the interaction of the enzyme with the antibodies studied. These findings suggest that CPA possesses at least three different specific antigenic sites, and that the active site of the enzyme for its peptidase activity differs from that for its esterase activity, though both sites seem to overlap to a considerable extent.