BOVINE FIBRINOGEN - HETEROGENEITY OF GAMMA-CHAINS

Bovine fibrinogen was subjected to sulfitolysis and the resulting S-sulfo-fibrinogen was chromatographed on CM-cellulose at pH 4.8. Several major fractions, designated α(A), β(B), γ-1 and γ-2 were isolated and their electrophoretic behavior demonstrated the relationship to the three major bands observed in the unfractionated S-sulfo-fibrinogen. Although both γ-1 and γ-2 contained tyrosine as the NH2-terminal amino acid, these fractions differed slightly in their electrophoretic mobility and in their amino acid and carbohydrate compositions. Preliminary studies indicated that the molecular weight of γ-1 and γ-2 was approximately 50,000. Additional variations in carbohydrate were found in the γ(B) fraction. The differences in carbohydrate content indicate that these groups are distributed unevenly throughout the bovine fibrinogen molecule. © 1969.