Some hydrodynamic properties of native and modified serum orosomucoids

Characterization of derivatization of sialic acid with 2-aminoacridone and determination of sialic acid content in glycoproteins by capillary electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography--ion trap mass spectrometry

A simple and highly sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for determining the content of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) in glycoproteins was developed. Neu5Ac was derivatized with 2-aminoacridone (AMAC) by reductive amination, and the AMAC-Neu5Ac adduct could be readily separated from the other 11 AMAC-derivatized neutral and acidic monosaccharides usually present in glycoproteins by CE in a 0.3 mol/L borate buffer, pH 10.5, and detected at 260 nm. The derivatization of Neu5Ac was achieved at 55 degrees C for 4 h. AMAC-Neu5Ac was stable at 20 degrees C in the dark for at least 12 h while at room temperature it spontaneously converted into another substance with a lower electrophoretic mobility, which was identified as decarboxylated AMAC-Neu5Ac by high performance liquid chromatography - ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-ITMS). Concentration and mass of Neu5Ac as low as 1 micromol/L and 35 fmol could be detected. The linear correlation coefficient between the ratio of peak area to migration time of AMAC-Neu5Ac and the concentration of Neu5Ac ranging from 10 to 120 micromol/L was 0.9978 (n=8). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of sialic acid in human urinary trypsin inhibitor (hu-UTI), bovine alpha1-acid glycoprotein (alpha1-AGP) and recombinant human erythropoietin (rhu-EPO). By combination of CE and HPLC-ITMS we found that N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) was present in bovine alpha1-AGP in addition to Neu5Ac, with a quantity comparable to that of the latter.

Kinetics and role of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein-dependent osmotic transport of water and ions in palmitoyl-L-oleoyl phosphatidylcholine liposomes

alpha 1-Acid glycoprotein isolated from human blood plasma is known to influence cell permeability, although the mechanisms of this process are unclear. Here, the glycoprotein effects on the permeability of osmotically stressed phospholipid liposomes are studied as a model of membrane permeability. Liposomes containing glycoprotein were found to be osmotically sensitive to water and chloride salts of some monovalent (Na+, K+) and bivalent (Mg2+, Ca2+) ions. The permeations of these substances were determined by light-scattering measurements of the volume changes in liposomes after mixing with hyperosmotic solutions of chloride salts. The time courses of scattered light were recorded by means of stopped-flow spectrophotometry. Two processes were studied: the fast water outflow from liposomes and slower ion permeations through the lipid membrane. The second order permeation rate constants were determined at different glycoprotein concentrations for both processes. Values from 66 to 250 x 10(3) for water outflow and 2-500 M-1 sec-1 for the different ion permeations were obtained in order to characterize the permeations of solutes across the lipid membrane. The apparent activation energies also were calculated between 18 and 33 degrees C. The mercurial sulphydryl reagent pCMBS inhibited the ion permeations in the slow phase. When pCMBS was present in this phase, higher activation energies were obtained, indicating more difficult permeations. An interpretation of these results is that membrane permeability is mediated by aqueous pores. Membrane selectivity to monovalent metal ions also was demonstrated, but no correlation was observed between the ion radius of the corresponding metal cation and permeation rate constants. The discovery of non-specific pores in liposomes containing glycoprotein shows that they can serve as vehicles for the water and ions in the processes of passive transport through lipid membranes.

One-step isolation of alpha 1-acid glycoprotein

alpha 1-Acid glycoprotein could be isolated by a one-step extraction method from human sera and plasma. Protein recovered in the water phase after extraction with phenol at 70 degrees C for 20 min was verified as human alpha 1-acid glycoprotein when it was compared with the reference standard human alpha 1-acid glycoprotein by Ouchterlony double immunodiffusion, sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blot analysis, and periodic acid-Schiff stain. The present isolation procedure is simple and fast, and can extract about 81% of the total alpha 1-acid glycoprotein in the sera and plasma, as determined by radial immunodiffusion.

A binding-protein for aldosterone in human plasma

Equilibrium dialysis of fresh human plasma revealed that aldosterone was bound to plasma proteins other than albumin. The apparent association constant of aldosterone to nonalbumin plasma proteins was one order of magnitude larger than that reported for aldosterone to corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), while its binding capacity was smaller than that of CBG. Bound aldosterone was not completely dissociated when the binding capacity of CBG was saturated with a large amount of cortisol. The addition of aldosterone under these experimental conditions further displaced its binding to nonalbumin plasma proteins. Progesterone inhibited binding of aldosterone but not to the same extent as cortisol did. Column electrophoresis of dialyzed plasma demonstrated, in addition to the peak of aldosterone binding to CBG and albumin, a peak of aldosterone comigrating with alpha 1-globulin. When the fractions containing this peak were pooled and subjected to equilibrium gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, bound aldosterone was eluted between CBG and albumin. Desialylated plasma also showed a peak of aldosterone binding different from the peaks corresponding to CBG and albumin on gel filtration. This aldosterone-binding protein was a glycoprotein precipitable with 60% saturation of ammonium sulfate and completely inactivated by heating at 60 degrees C for 30 min. These results suggest the existence of an aldosterone-binding protein in human plasma different from CBG, albumin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein.

Differential uptake of horseradish peroxidase isoenzymes by cultured neuroblastoma cells

The endocytotic uptake and intracellular decay of horseradish peroxidase isoenzymes C and A by cultured mouse neuroblastoma cells were analyzed quantitatively by a direct spectrophotometric assay. At concentrations below 1 mg/ml, the rate of uptake of the isoenzyme C was more than three times as much as the isoenzyme A. This differential uptake suggests that previous claims of horseradish peroxidase being endocytosed only in the nonselective fluid phase are oversimplified. The implication of this selectivity in the biological significance of retrograde axonal transport of proteins by neuronal systems is discussed.