Multichain Polyproline Coated with Histidyl and Glutamyl Residues — A Potent Synthetic Immunogen

A new, water soluble multichain polypeptide coated with short peptides containing histidyl and glutamyl residues was prepared, using the 2,4-dinitro-phenyl group for masking the imidazole imino-nitrogen during synthesis. The polymer obtained after thiolytic deblockage (multi-poly(L-histidyl, L-glutamyl)-poly-L-prolyl – – poly-L-lysine) was shown to be a potent synthetic immunogen, capable of provoking a high titer of antibodies in mice already at the primary response, and useful for studying the genetic control of the immune response.