Thermostabilized ovalbumin that occurs naturally during development accumulates in embryonic tissues.
We have reported that ovalbumin accumulates without digestion in various tissues during embryonic development of the chicken. There are different types of ovalbumin with respect to thermal stability and one of them, which was named "HS-ovalbumin" in the present study, was found to have a T(m) value of 83 degrees C and to be present dominantly in albumen, egg yolk, amniotic fluid, and serum of fertilized eggs. HS-ovalbumin, arising physiologically from its native form (N-ovalbumin), is reminiscent of the previously described intermediate form appearing during the production processes of the so-called S-ovalbumin, which disappeared shortly in fertilized eggs. We showed that HS-ovalbumin is distinguishable from S-ovalbumin by a monoclonal antibody and also from N-ovalbumin by the stability to heating. At the late stages of development, ovalbumin of amniotic fluid seems to be swallowed through pharynx, carried in the intestine through stomach, and absorbed in the blood. Analyses by monoclonal antibody and heat treatment indicated that the HS-form occupies the largest fraction of ovalbumin that accumulates in the embryonic tissues. The current findings suggest that HS-ovalbumin is crucial for embryogenesis.
Shinohara
Hiroshi
H
Department of Bioscience and Biochemistry, the United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan.
Iwasaki
Tsukasa
T
Miyazaki
Yukiko
Y
Matsuo
Kanako
K
Aoki
Takayoshi
T
Matsumoto
Mitsuharu
M
Oka
Tatsuzo
T
Kurisaki
Jun-ichi
J
Mizumachi
Koko
K
Kusakabe
Takahiro
T
Koga
Katsumi
K
Sugimoto
Yasushi
Y
D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000378:metabolism*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
D010047:Ovalbumin