Multiple structural genes for the alpha chain of canine (Canis familiaris) hemoglobin

Control of Oxygen Affinity in Mammalian Hemoglobins: Implications for a System Biology Description of the Respiratory Properties of the Red Blood Cell

Hemoglobin and myoglobin have been considered for a long time the paradigmatic model systems for protein function, to the point of being defined the "hydrogen atom[s] of biology". Given this privileged position and the huge amount of quantitative information available on these proteins, the red blood cell might appear as the model system and"hydrogen atom" of system biology. Indeed, since the red cell's main function is O2 transport by hemoglobin, the gap between the protein and the cell may appear quite small. Yet, a surprisingly large amount of detailed biochemical information is required for the modelization of the respiratory properties of the erythrocyte. This problem is compounded if modelization aims at uncovering or explaining evolutionarily selected functional properties of hemoglobin. The foremost difficulty lies in the fact that hemoglobins having different intrinsic properties and relatively ancient evolutionary divergence may behave similarly in the complex milieu of blood, whereas very similar hemoglobins sharing a substantial sequence similarity may present important functional differences because of the mutation of a few key residues. Thus, the functional properties of hemoglobin and blood may reflect more closely the recent environmental challenges than the remote evolutionary history of the animal. We summarize in this review the case of hemoglobins from mammals, in an attempt to provide a reasoned summary of their complexity that, we hope, may be of help to scientists interested in the quantitative exploration of the evolutionary physiology of respiration. Indeed the basis of a meaningful modelization of the red cell requires a large amount of information collected in painstaking and often forgotten studies of the biochemical properties of hemoglobin carried out over more than a century.

Haemoglobin in normal and neoplastic canine mammary glands

Four types of globins for oxygen transport are known in vertebrates, and the haemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen in blood. In this study, we found that haemoglobin was also expressed in canine mammary glands. Samples were taken from 26 malignant mammary tumors, 16 normal mammary glands and 10 other normal tissues. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), immunoblotting and mass spectrometry were used to investigate haemoglobin in mammary tissues. The results indicated that normal canine mammary glands expressed high levels of haemoglobin protein as shown by Coomassie blue staining. The identity of haemoglobin was confirmed by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry, and the mass spectrometry data revealed that both alpha-haemoglobin and beta-haemoglobin were expressed. Relative to normal mammary glands, the levels of haemoglobin expression in mammary tumors were lower. Our results also indicated that the haemoglobin was endogenously produced in mammary gland tissues and was not derived from the erythroid cells.

Genetic variants of hemoglobin in canine erythrocytes

Genetic polymorphism of hemoglobin was found in the erythrocytes of dogs of seven Japanese native breeds by using starch gel electrophoresis. Analysis of parentage records of the dogs revealed that the phenotypic variation of hemoglobin is controlled by one autosomal locus with two codominant alleles, HbA and HbB. the allele HbA occurred only in Japanese native breeds except Shikoku. The frequency of HbA in the Japanese breeds was low and 0.08. All the dogs belonging to 25 European breeds and 5 oriental origin (except Japan) breeds examined in this experimnets had the homozygous genotype constitution HbB/HbB.

Biochemical variants in dogs

Biochemical variants of constituents of the blood are considered to be valuable markers of genes in studies on population genetics. They are being used for that purpose for human populations and also for populations of laboratory and farm animals. The present report is concerned with biochemical variants in dogs. In dog breeding an increasing interest is being shown in the origin of the breeds, in their mutual relations, and in the relationship with wild canidae. Since biochemically detectable variation can offer valuable information in this respect, an overall investigation of the possibilities for the detection of these variants has been made. In this study, eleven constituents of the blood of dogs were found to demonstrate clearly detectable genetic polymorphism. The genetic systems for these eleven constituents are described. The observed frequencies of the variants are reported.

The amino acid sequence of dog (Canis familiaris) hemoglobin

The manual sequencing of the tryptic peptic from the alpha and beta chains of dog hemoglobin is described, including evidence for the existence of two alphaT-13 peptides and thus 2 alpha chains, one with threonine and one with alanine at position 130. Although the actual sequence was published in 1970, the evidence on which it was based has not previously appeared.