Characterization of amyloidogenic immunoglobulin light chains directly from serum by on-line immunoaffinity isolation

Primary systemic amyloidosis (AL) is characterized by the overproduction of immunoglobulin light chain proteins by a monoclonal, terminally differentiated B-lymphocyte or plasma cell clone. The free immunoglobulin light chains are deposited in an abnormal conformation as amyloid in a variety of organs in the body. The mechanism of amyloid formation is not well understood, but appears to be associated with some form of cleavage of the immunoglobulin light chain with subsequent aggregate formation. In an attempt to characterize the structure of amyloid-forming light chain proteins we developed an on-line immunoaffinity purification and subsequent characterization of free kappa and free lambda immunoglobulin light chains by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The methodology is totally automated and requires 20 micro L of serum. Mass spectral analysis of Bence Jones proteins under non-denaturing conditions was also utilized to examine the tertiary and quaternary structure of light chain proteins and clearly shows covalent dimer formation of lambda type light chain. This type of on-line assay may prove helpful in elucidating distinguishing features capable of discriminating AL from benign monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance as well as diagnosing AL.     

Skew Derivations with Central Invariants

If is an automorphism and is a -derivation of a ring R, thenthe subring of invariants is the set R⁽⁾={rR|(r)=0}. The mainresult of this paper is ‘let R be a semiprime ring withan algebraic -derivation such that R⁽⁾ is central; then R iscommutative’. This theorem generalizes results on theinvariants of automorphisms and derivations and is proved byreducing down to the special cases of automorphisms and derivations.     

Mass spectral determination of skeletal/cardiac actin isoform ratios in cardiac muscle

Skeletal and cardiac muscle contains actin isoforms that vary by two juxtaposed amino acids and two amino acid substitutions (Met299Leu and Ser358Thr). This close sequence homology does not allow cardiac and skeletal actin isoforms to be resolved in traditional SDS-PAGE analysis as the molecular weights (Deltamass = 32 Da) are not significantly different and the pIs are identical (5.2). Although cardiac actin is the predominant form in cardiac muscle, there appears to be a specific skeletal/cardiac actin ratio in a normal heart that may vary in a compromised or diseased heart. In an effort to ascertain the validity of this hypothesis we developed a mass spectrometric technique to measure the ratio of skeletal to cardiac actin. The technique involves purification of muscle actin and subsequent liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cylcotron resonance (LC/FTICR-MS) mass spectrometry. A 7 Tesla FTICR mass spectrometer was utilized to compare skeletal/cardiac actin isoform ratios. Additionally, a new dual electrospray ionization source was employed to determine accurate masses of the alpha-skeletal and alpha-cardiac actins.     

Smash products and outer derivations

LetR be a prime ring andL a Lie algebra acting onR as “Q-outer” derivations (if charR=p≠0, assume thatL is restricted). We study ideals and the center of the smash productR #U(L) (respectivelyR #u(L) ifL is restricted) and use these results to study the relationship betweenR and the ring of constantsR ^L . More generally, for any finite-dimensional Hopf algebraH acting onR such thatR #H satisfies the “ideal intersection property”, we useR #H to study the relationship betweenR and the invariant ringR ^H . The first author wishes to thank the University of Southern California for its hospitality while this work was being done. Research of the second author was partially supported by NSF Grant MCS 83-01393.     

A general approach to association using cluster partition functions

A systematic and fundamental approach to associating mixtures is presented. It is shown how the thermodynamic functions may be computed starting from a partition function based on the cluster concept such as occurs in chemical theory. The theory provides a basis for and an extension of the existing chemical theory of (continuous) association. It is applicable to arbitrary association schemes. Analysis of separate cases is not necessary. The assumptions that were made to allow the development were chosen such as to make the principle of reactivity valid. It is this same principle that links various theories: the chemical theory of continuous association, the lattice fluid hydrogen bonding model, and first-order perturbation theory. The equivalence between these theories in appropriate limits is shown in a general and rigorous way. The theory is believed to provide a practical framework for engineering modeling work. Binary interaction parameters can be incorporated. The association scheme is accounted for by a set of generic equations, which should facilitate robust implementation in computer programs.     

Lie superalgebras whose enveloping algebras satisfy a non-matrix polynomial identity

Let L be a Lie superalgebra with its enveloping algebra U(L) over a field F. A polynomial identity is called non-matrix if it is not satisfied by the algebra of 2×2 matrices over F. We characterize L when U(L) satisfies a non-matrix polynomial identity. We also characterize L when U(L) is Lie solvable, Lie nilpotent, or Lie super-nilpotent.     

Invariants of Skew Derivations

If is an automorphism and is a -derivation of a ring , then the subring of invariants is the set The main result of this paper is Theorem. Let be a -derivation of an algebra over a commutative ring such that

for all , where and .

(i)

If , then .

(ii)

If is a -stable left ideal of such that , then .

This theorem generalizes results on the invariants of automorphisms and derivations.

     

Enveloping algebras of lie color algebras: primeness versus graded-primeness

Let be a finite abelian group and let be a, possibly restricted, -graded Lie color algebra. Then the enveloping algebra is also -graded, and we consider the question of whether being graded-prime implies that it is prime. The first section of this paper is devoted to the special case of Lie superalgebras over a field of characteristic . Specifically, we show that if and if has a unique minimal graded-prime ideal, then this ideal is necessarily prime. As will be apparent, the latter result follows quickly from the existence of an anti-automorphism of whose square is the automorphism of the enveloping algebra associated with its -grading. The second section, which is independent of the first, studies more general Lie color algebras and shows that if is graded-prime and if most homogeneous components of are infinite dimensional over , then is prime. Here we use -methods to study the grading on the extended centroid of . In particular, if is generated by the infinite support of , then we prove that is homogeneous.