Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors in sheep and ox.

1. Four protein proteinase inhibitors, belonging to the Kunitz family, were isolated and purified from several sheep organs. 2. Their structural, functional and immunological properties were determined and compared to those of similar inhibitors purified from bovine organs. 3. The Kunitz-type isoinhibitors appear differently distributed in the two species: BPTI, which is the prevailing form in bovids, is found only in minute amounts in sheep organs. 4. The presence of multiple forms of these inhibitors in sheep is discussed on the basis of the same biosynthetic and post-translational processes proposed for the molecules of bovine origin.