Immunochemical characterization of two activator proteins stimulating enzymic sphingomyelin degradation in vitro. Absence of one of them in a human Gaucher disease variant.

Two nonenzymic activator proteins shown previously to strongly stimulate enzymic sphingomyelin degradation in vitro were purified from human Gaucher type 1 and control spleen. Activator A1 (molecular mass 6,500 Da) had affinity for ConA-Sepharose, while activator A2 (molecular mass 3,500 Da) did not. Monospecific antibodies to each activator protein were prepared in rabbits by immunization with protein purified from type 1 Gaucher spleen. A1 and A2 activators from Gaucher type 1 spleen were shown to be immunochemically identical to A1 and A2 activators from control spleen. However, A1 and A2 activators, whether isolated from Gaucher type 1 or control spleen, were shown to be distinct proteins. Immunochemical examination of all collected fractions during the purification revealed the existence of a third activator (molecular mass 6,000 Da), which was antigenically identical to A1 activator but had no affinity for ConA-Sepharose. The two forms of A1 activator showed similar mobility on immunoelectrophoresis differing from that of A2 activator. Fibroblast extracts from controls and patients with different variants of Gaucher disease were investigated using immunodiffusion against antisera to A1 or A2 activator. In contrast to normal and Gaucher (types 1, 2 and 3) cell extracts, those of a Gaucher patient with normal glucosylceramidase activity had no visible precipitin line towards the antiserum against the two forms of A1 activator. The lack of crossreacting material to antibodies against A1 activator was confirmed by radial immunodiffusion and rocket immunoelectrophoresis. A1 activator stimulated the basal glucosylceramidase activity 5-6 fold in fibroblasts from this patient, whereas the normal effect was only a 1.2-1.5-fold stimulation. The immunological results together with the biochemical data provide evidence for the lack of an activator protein in a variant form of human Gaucher disease for the first time.