Rat androgen-binding protein: evidence for identical subunits and amino acid sequence homology with human sex hormone-binding globulin.

The cDNA for rat androgen-binding protein (ABP) was previously isolated from a bacteriophage lambda gt11 rat testis cDNA library and its identity was confirmed by epitope selection. Hybrid-arrested translation studies have now demonstrated the identity of the isolates. The nucleotide sequence of a near full-length cDNA encodes a 403-amino acid precursor (Mr = 44,539), which agrees in size with the cell-free translation product (Mr = 45,000) of ABP mRNA. Putative sites of N-glycosylation and signal peptide cleavage were identified. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of rat ABP with the amino-terminal amino acid sequence of human sex hormone-binding globulin revealed that 17 of 25 residues are identical. On the basis of the predicted amino acid sequence the molecular weight of the primary translation product, lacking the signal peptide, was 41,183. Hybridization analyses indicated that the two subunits of ABP are coded for by a single gene and a single mRNA species. Our results suggest that ABP consists of two subunits with identical primary sequences and that differences in post-translational processing result in the production of 47,000 and 41,000 molecular weight monomers.