Specific binding sites for muramyl peptides on murine macrophages.

Two radiolabeled (125I) muramyl peptide derivatives of high specific activity were prepared: a tripeptide with an iodinated C-terminal tyrosine methyl ester (Ligand I), and a muramyl tripeptide with a C-terminal lysine derivatized with Bolton-Hunter reagent (Ligand II). These were used to characterize binding of muramyl peptides to monolayers of murine macrophages. Saturable high-affinity binding to resident, caseinate-elicited, and Listeria-activated peritoneal cells was observed with both radioligands. Binding affinities varied with the state of activation of the macrophages, and KD values ranged from 48 +/- 33 pM (for resident macrophages, Ligand I) to 1020 +/- 90 pM (for activated macrophages, Ligand II). Specific binding sites were also found on a macrophage-derived cell line. The ability of several unlabeled muramyl peptides to compete with Ligands I and II for their binding sites was tested. Competition was stereospecific and correlated with known biological activities of these compounds (i.e., immunoadjuvanticity, pyrogenicity, and somnogenicity). The sites identified here for Ligands I and II may mediate some of the effects that muramyl peptides have previously been demonstrated to have on macrophages.