Preservation of whole antibodies within ancient teeth.

ABSTRACT: Archaeological remains can preserve some proteins into deep time, offering remarkable opportunities for probing past events in human history. Recovering functional proteins from skeletal tissues could uncover a molecular memory related to the life-history of the associated remains. We demonstrate affinity purification of whole antibody molecules from medieval human teeth, dating to the 13^th-15^th centuries, from skeletons with different putative pathologies. Purified antibodies are intact retaining disulphide-linkages, are amenable to primary sequences analysis, and demonstrate apparent immunoreactivity against contemporary EBV antigen on western blot. Our observations highlight the potential of ancient antibodies to provide insights into the long-term association betw

SUBMITTER: Shaw B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10445445 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature