Transferrin microheterogeneity

Qualitative modifications in the glycosylation of this protein occur after prolonged heavy alcohol consumption and also in patients with rare congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG). Therefore, measurement of transferrin microheterogeneity has been used both as a biomarker for detection and follow-up of alcohol abuse [known as carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT)]" and for diagnosis of CDG. This chapter will review the microheterogeneity of human transferrin and the methods used for the measurement of transferrin... 

AlO. Anderson, N. L., and Anderson, N. G., Microheterogeneity of serum transferrin, haptoglobin and as HS glycoprotein examined by high resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 88, 258-265 (1979). 

In conclusion, the characteristics of the carbohydrate moieties of transferrins are specific to each of them on the basis of the primary structure of glycans and of their number and position in the peptide chain as demonstrated in Figs. 2 to 4. In addition, each transferrin presents unexplained microheterogeneity. 

Microheterogeneous proteins Transferrin Mixtures of drugs, peptides, tryptic digests of proteins, biological fluids Urinary CPlll and CPI... 

Stibler, H. et al.. Abnormal microheterogeneity of transferrin in serum and cerebrospinal-fluid in alcoholism, Acta Med. Scand., 204, 49, 1978. 

Several pure proteins have been purified and checked for their purity, microheterogeneity, or diagnostic significance by CE. In this case, coated capillaries are preferred for this separation. Many of the proteins can be analyzed by CE however, sensitive detectors such as fluorescence are necessary [68-70]. Examples of proteins studied by CE separately or in a profile are transferrin isoforms, which are important as markers of alcoholism [71], a-1 antitrypsin [72], recombinant human erythropoietin glycoforms that stimulates erythopiosis [73], plasminogen tissue activator [74], prions [75], urothelial carcinoma proteins in urine [76,77], and numerous urinary proteins [78]. 

Microheterogeneous glycoproteins investigated using AE include aj-fetoprotein (two glycoforms with con A) and fetal malformations, aj-antichymo-trypsin and testicular and colorectal cancer, ai-feto-protein and cancer (Figure 2), and transferrin and alcoholism. 

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