Tyrosine sulfation of proteins from the human hepatoma cell line HepG2

[35S]Sulfate labeling of the human hepatoma cell line HepG2 showed it to contain many sulfated proteins of diverse molecular weight range. The isolation of tyrosine O-sulfate indicated the supernatant fraction to contain a 5- to 7-fold higher level than the cellular fraction at the end of a 24-hr incubation. The proteins in the supernatant fraction were immunoprecipitated and examined for sulfation. Of 15 proteins tested, 7 were found to be sulfated as indicated by [35S]sulfate incorporation into proteins separated by NaDodSO4/PAGE and detected by autoradiography. The 35S-labeled bands were excised from the dried gel and subjected to extensive Pronase hydrolysis and the hydrolysates were analyzed for tyrosine [35S]sulfate by a two-dimensional procedure combining high-voltage electrophoresis and thin-layer chromatography [Liu, M. C. & Lipmann, F. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 3695-3698]. Of the sulfated proteins, three--fibrinogen, alpha-fetoprotein, and fibronectin--were found to contain tyrosine O-sulfate. The simultaneous presence of carbohydrate-bound sulfate, however, could not be exactly determined, but the other four [35S]sulfate-containing proteins--alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, alpha 2-macroglobulin, and transferrin--did not reveal any tyrosine O-sulfate and might be sulfated on their carbohydrate moieties.