Abstract
Erythropoietin (epo) is the glycoprotein hormone that induces normal red cell differentiation. Reaction of native or denatured epo with either [3H]iodoacetic acid or N-ethyl-2-[3H]maleimide did not result in the incorporation of any significant amount of radioactivity. Radiolabeling took place only if the protein were denatured before reduction and alkylation. When reduction was carried out in the presence of 6 M guanidine HCl, about 3.7 mol N-ethyl-2[3H]maleimide were covalently linked per mol epo. These results show that there are no free, accessible sulfhydryl groups in epo; there are two internal disulfide bonds. When epo was reduced in the presence of 6 M guanidine HCl and then reoxidized and the guanidine removed, about 85% of the biological activity was regenerated. The biological activity was lost irreversibly if the sulfhydryl groups were alkylated. Limited proteolysis of [3H]epo (labeled at sialic acid residues of the oligosaccharide chains) showed that it consists of two rather trypsin-resistant domains, each having a mol wt of about 16,000, connected by a small region of protein that is trypsin sensitive. The two large fragments contain most of the label. Biological activity and immunoreactivity are lost after limited tryptic proteolysis. Complexing epo with a neutralizing antibody protects its activity from proteolysis.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
