title: Rat mammary-gland transferrin: nucleotide sequence, phylogenetic analysis and glycan structure.
abstract: The complete cDNA for rat mammary-gland transferrin (Tf) has been sequenced and also the native protein isolated from milk in order to analyse the structure of the main glycan variants present. A lactating-rat mammary-gland cDNA library in lambda gt10 was screened with a partial cDNA copy of rat liver Tf and subsequently rescreened with 5' fragments of the longest clones. This produced a 2275 bp insert coding for an open reading frame of 695 amino acid residues. This includes a 19-amino acid signal sequence and the mature protein containing 676 amino acids and one N-glycosylation site in the C-terminal domain at residue 490. Phylogenetic analysis was carried out using 14 translated Tf nucleotide sequences, and the derived evolutionary tree shows that at least three gene duplication events have occurred during Tf evolution, one of which generated the N- and C-terminal domains and occurred before separation of arthropods and chordates. The two halves of human melanotransferrin are more similar to each other than to any other sequence, which contrasts with the pattern shown by the remaining sequences. Native rat milk Tf is separated into four bands on native PAGE that differ only in their sialic acid content: one biantennary glycan is present containing either no sialic acid residues or up to three. The complete structures of the two major variants were determined by methylation, m.s. and 400 MHz 1H-n.m.r. spectroscopy. They contain either one or two neuraminic acid residues (alpha 2-->6)-linked to galactose in conventional biantennary N-acetyl-lactosamine-type glycans. Most contain fucose (alpha 1-->6)-linked to the terminal non-reducing N-acetylglucosamine.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Ciències Biològiques, Universitat de València, Spain.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Escrivá
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pierce
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coddeville
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: González
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Benaissa
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Léger
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Wieruszeski
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spik
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pamblanco
mesh_terms: D000828:Animal Population Groups / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002236:Carbohydrate Conformation; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005796:Genes; D006031:Glycosylation; D008321:Mammary Glands, Animal / Q000737:chemistry; D008892:Milk / Q000737:chemistry; D008894:Milk Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid; D009438:Neuraminic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D010802:Phylogeny; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000032:analysis; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000032:analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D013402:Sugar Alcohols / Q000032:analysis; D014168:Transferrin / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008894:Milk Proteins; D009438:Neuraminic Acids; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides; D012794:Sialic Acids; D013402:Sugar Alcohols; D014168:Transferrin; D019158:N-Acetylneuraminic Acid