Difference in content ratio of components among horse serum transferrin variants

Each of five genetic variants of horse serum transferrin (Tf), D, F, H, O, and R, was separated into two bands by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing (PAGIEF). The more acidic band, termed component a, was more abundant than the other one, termed component b, in all variants. Components a and b of TFO variant were immunologically indistinguishable from each other by double immunodiffusion test. Determination of the content ratio of component a to component b in each variant revealed that the variants were classified into two groups: one group (D, F, and H) had a relatively high ratio within a range from 3.4 to 4.0 and the other group (O and R) had a relatively low ratio of 1.8 to 2.3. From these results and reference data on carbohydrate compositions of components a and b, it was proposed that there is a difference in glycosylation between the two groups.