Problems of the rotating-torsion-balance limit on the photon mass

We discuss the problems (and the promise) of the ingenious method introduced by Lakes, and recently improved on by Luo, to detect a possible small photon mass $\mu$ by measuring the ambient magnetic vector potential from large scale magnetic fields. We also point out how an improved ``indirect'' limit can be obtained using modern measurements of astrophysical magnetic fields and plasmas and that a good ``direct'' limit exists using properties of the solar wind.Comment: 4 pages, revised title and content

Possible multiparticle ridge-like correlations in very high multiplicity proton-proton collisions

The CMS collaboration at the LHC has reported a remarkable and unexpected phenomenon in very high-multiplicity high energy proton-proton collisions: a positive correlation between two particles produced at similar azimuthal angles, spanning a large range in rapidity. We suggest that this "ridge"-like correlation may be a reflection of the rare events generated by the collision of aligned flux tubes connecting the valence quarks in the wave functions of the colliding protons. The "spray" of particles resulting from the approximate line source produced in such inelastic collisions then gives rise to events with a strong correlation between particles produced over a large range of both positive and negative rapidity. We suggest an additional variable that is sensitive to such a line source which is related to a commonly used measure, ellipticity.Comment: Updated figure. Version to be published in Physics Letters

THE SYNTHESIS, ASSEMBLY, AND SECRETION OF GAMMA GLOBULIN BY MOUSE MYELOMA CELLS : VI. ASSEMBLY OF IGM PROTEINS

The study of the synthesis, assembly, and secretion of IgM by seven murine myeloma tumors has revealed that free mu chain can be detected intracellularly after release from the ribosome. It combines with light chains to form µL. The major intracellular protein in six of the seven tumors was the 8S subunit. One tumor contained considerable amounts of 19S material intracellularly. Those tumors that did not contain 19S IgM intracellulariy appeared to assemble the subunits outside the cell

SYNTHESIS, ASSEMBLY, AND SECRETION OF GAMMA GLOBULIN BY MOUSE MYELOMA CELLS : I. ADAPTATION OF THE MERWIN PLASMA CELL TUMOR-11 TO CULTURE, CLONING, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF GAMMA GLOBULIN SUBUNITS

MPC-11 myeloma tumor cells were adapted to growth in continuous culture. The cultured cells resembled the parent tumor in that they produced the fully assembled gamma globulin molecules as well as six unassembled molecules. Although cultured and tumor cells synthesized excess light chains, the molar ratio of light (L) to heavy (H) chains was approximately 1.7:1 in the culture, and 3.5:1 in the tumor. The cultured cells also produced fewer half molecules and free light chains than the parent tumor. Peptide column analysis did not reveal differences in the primary structure of the H chains derived from the parent tumor and the culture. The L chains may have differed by a minor peptide. As much as 20% of the newly labeled cytoplasmic proteins and almost 100% of the proteins secreted by the cultured myeloma cells could be precipitated by specific antiserum. The immune precipitates contained seven different gamma globulin molecules, six of which were characterized according to their molecular size and H and L chain content as fully assembled molecules (H2L2), heavy chain dimers (H2), half molecules (HL), H, light chain dimers (L2), and L chains. All gamma globulin subunits as well as the complete H2L2 molecule were produced and secreted by splenic clones of the parent MPC-11 tumor, and agar clones of the cultured cells. This indicates that the various gamma globulin subunits were produced by the same cell and did not reflect cellular heterogeneity with respect to gamma globulin synthesis

INDEPENDENT SYNTHESIS OF LIGHT AND HEAVY CHAINS : Quantitation of Light-Chain Production by Mouse Myeloma Variants

The rates of immunoglobulin synthesis have been examined in two MFC-11 cell lines which were independently adapted to tissue culture and in light-chain-producing variants derived from each of them. One cell line synthesized 2.5 pg immunoglobulin/cell/h, while the other synthesized 3.6 pg immunoglobulin/cell/h. The ratio of heavy and light chains in the two cell lines was approximately the same, and the size of the intracellular pool of immunoglobulin was proportioned to the rate of synthesis. Variants which had spontaneously lost the ability to produce heavy chains continued to synthesize light chains at approximately the same rate as their parent cell line

SYNTHESIS, ASSEMBLY, AND SECRETION OF GAMMA GLOBULIN BY MOUSE MYELOMA CELLS : III. ASSEMBLY OF THE THREE SUBCLASSES OF IGG

The synthesis, assembly, and secretion of the three major subclasses of mouse IgG has been examined in 14 myeloma tumors and two cultured cell lines as well as in the cells from the popliteal lymph nodes of immunized mice. The total amount of IgG synthesized was between 15 and 43% of the cytoplasmic proteins made during a 15 min period. H2 and H2L were the major precursors of IgG2a and IgG1 but, in all of the tumors, HL was also an intermediate. In contrast, HL was a major precursor of IgG2b. Most of the noncovalent and covalent assembly of IgG occurred after release of the newly synthesized H and L chains from the polyribosomes and assembly was not completed until 10 min or more after the synthesis of the polypeptide chains

Identifying protein–protein interactions in somatic hypermutation

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) in immunoglobulin genes is required for high affinity antibody–antigen binding. Cultured cell systems, mouse model systems, and human genetic deficiencies have been the key players in identifying likely SHM pathways, whereas “pure” biochemical approaches have been far less prominent, but change appears imminent. Here we comment on how, when, and why biochemistry is likely to emerge from the shadows and into the spotlight to elucidate how the somatic mutation of antibody variable (V) regions is generated

AID Overlapping and Polη Hotspots Are Key Features of Evolutionary Variation Within the Human Antibody Heavy Chain (IGHV) Genes

© Copyright © 2020 Tang, Bagnara, Chiorazzi, Scharff and MacCarthy. Somatic hypermutation (SHM) of the immunoglobulin variable (IgV) loci is a key process in antibody affinity maturation. The enzyme activation-induced deaminase (AID), initiates SHM by creating C → U mismatches on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). AID has preferential hotspot motif targets in the context of WRC/GYW (W = A/T, R = A/G, Y = C/T) and particularly at WGCW overlapping hotspots where hotspots appear opposite each other on both strands. Subsequent recruitment of the low-fidelity DNA repair enzyme, Polymerase eta (Polη), during mismatch repair, creates additional mutations at WA/TW sites. Although there are more than 50 functional immunoglobulin heavy chain variable (IGHV) segments in humans, the fundamental differences between these genes and their ability to respond to all possible foreign antigens is still poorly understood. To better understand this, we generated profiles of WGCW hotspots in each of the human IGHV genes and found the expected high frequency in complementarity determining regions (CDRs) that encode the antigen binding sites but also an unexpectedly high frequency of WGCW in certain framework (FW) sub-regions. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) of these overlapping AID hotspot profiles revealed that one major difference between IGHV families is the presence or absence of WGCW in a sub-region of FW3 sometimes referred to as “CDR4.” Further differences between members of each family (e.g., IGHV1) are primarily determined by their WGCW densities in CDR1. We previously suggested that the co-localization of AID overlapping and Polη hotspots was associated with high mutability of certain IGHV sub-regions, such as the CDRs. To evaluate the importance of this feature, we extended the WGCW profiles, combining them with local densities of Polη (WA) hotspots, thus describing the co-localization of both types of hotspots across all IGHV genes. We also verified that co-localization is associated with higher mutability. PCA of the co-localization profiles showed CDR1 and CDR2 as being the main contributors to variance among IGHV genes, consistent with the importance of these sub-regions in antigen binding. Our results suggest that AID overlapping (WGCW) hotspots alone or in conjunction with Polη (WA/TW) hotspots are key features of evolutionary variation between IGHV genes