Human soluble Fc gamma-binding material. I. Immunochemical properties of the material produced by the T cell line KE37.

A soluble Fc gamma-binding material (S-Fc gamma BM) is produced by the Fc gamma receptor-bearing human T cell line KE37 but not by the two Fc receptor-negative cell lines Molt 4 and Reh 6. The S-Fc gamma BM has specific affinity for the Fc fragment of IgG and none for the Fab fragments. It can be obtained in radioactive form after internal labeling with radioactive amino acids. It can then be isolated from the supernatant of the KE37 cell line by affinity chromatography, gel filtration and isoelectric focusing. The subunit components of S-Fc gamma BM are 23,000-dalton polypeptide chains. The soluble form is a dimer (42,000 to 45,000 m.w., pl 6.2), which retains Fc gamma-binding activity after isolation. Higher m.w. polymers of the 23,000-dalton subunits are also present in the supernatant of the KE37 cell line. These polymers are relatively insoluble in aqueous solvents but possess Fc gamma-binding activity. The S-Fc gamma BM molecules might be derived from a membrane-inserted form by restricted proteolytic cleavage at connecting regions of a larger polypeptide chain folded into 23,000-dalton subunits.