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Acidic acrosin inhibitors from bull seminal plasma. Structural differences
Biological Chemistry Hoppe-Seyler
|December 1, 1985
Summary
Three bull seminal plasma inhibitors (BUSI) were analyzed. Differences were found in their N-terminal regions, with one inhibitor having a pyroglutamic acid residue and another having glutamic acid. A new method was developed to separate these acrosin inhibitors.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Proteomics
- Reproductive Biology
Background:
- Bull seminal plasma contains acidic acrosin inhibitors crucial for sperm function.
- Understanding structural variations in these inhibitors is key to reproductive research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare three acidic acrosin inhibitors from bull seminal plasma: BUSI I A, BUSI I B1, and BUSI I B2.
- To elucidate the structural differences, particularly in the N-terminal regions, of these inhibitors.
Main Methods:
- S-carboxymethylation of the inhibitors followed by tryptic digestion.
- Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint analyses of the digests.
- Development of an HPLC-based method for separating the inhibitor variants.
Main Results:
- The three inhibitors (BUSI I A, BUSI I B1, BUSI I B2) exhibit variations exclusively in their N-terminal sequences.
- BUSI I B1 features a pyroglutamic acid at its N-terminus.
- BUSI I B2 has glutamic acid substituting the pyroglutamic acid found in BUSI I B1, and BUSI I A is four residues shorter at the N-terminus.
Conclusions:
- The N-terminal region is the primary site of structural divergence among these bull seminal plasma acrosin inhibitors.
- A novel HPLC method enables effective separation of these closely related inhibitor variants.