Immunochemical studies of the homogeneity of bovine submaxillary mucins

Abstract

• 1.

  1. Immunochemical methods were used to study the homogeneity and immunological relationships of bovine submaxillary mucin preparations isolated according to the methods described by Gottschalk¹ and by Pigman² and their collaborators and disgnated BSM-G (“described by Gottschalk” and BSM-G (“described by Pigman”), respectively.

• 2.

  2. Antisera suitable for immunodiffusion and immunoelectrophoresis were obtained after intravenous and subcutaneous (with Freunds's adjuvant) injections into rabbits of submaxillary gland extracts and mucins. Antibodies directed against the principal mucin components were produced after injection of BSM-P; this was demonstrated by the quantitative precipitation of sialic acid upon addition of BSM-P to anti-BSM-P.

• 3.

  3. Neither BSM-G nor BSM-P were homogenous by precipitin-curve analysis. Immunoelectrophoresis showed that BSM-G preparations contained from four to nine components, three of which were glycoproteins. BSM-P did not contain extraneous proteins, but it consisted of at least two glycoproteins. Two of the glycoproteins in BSM-G formed confluent arcs with BSM-P.

• 4.

  4. Further fractionation² BSM-G afforded a fraction which was indistinguishable from BSM-P and which corresponds to approx. 60% of the dry weight of BSM-G.