Purification and characterization of rabbit transcobalamin II

Rabbit transcobalamin II has been purified by labile ligand affinity chromatography and G-200 Sephadex gel filtration. Structural studies indicate Stokes' radii of 2.7 nm and 3.0 nm for transocobalamin II saturated and unsaturated with cobalamin. The amino acid content of the protein is very similar to that of human transcobalamin II (Allen, R. H. (1975) Prog. Hematol. 9, 59-84). The aminoterminal sequence for transcobalamin II is reported for the first time: Glu-Ile-Cys-Gly-Val-Pro-Lys-Val-Asp-Ser-Glu-Leu-Val-Glu-Lys-Leu-Gly-Gln-Arg-Leu-Leu-Pro-(Trp)-Met-Thr). The ultraviolet and circular dichroic spectra of aquo-, hydroxo-, azido- and cyanocobalamin bound to rabbit transcobalamin II are described. On complex formation the molar absorption of the cobalamins increases and the major bands shift to longer wavelengths. The spectra are little affected by change in the fifth ligand, which indicates that the electron density around the cobalt atom is kept fairly constant by the transcobalamin II molecule. This is in contrast to the observations for the same cobalamins attached to human intrinsic factor and human transcobalamin I (Nexo, E. and Olesen, H. (1976) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 446, 143-150).