Structural and functional characterization of a canine minor glycosylated hemoglobin, Hb Can AIc.

Structural and functional studies of minor glycosylated hemoglobins in non-human mammals have been very few. Therefore, we attempted further characterization of a canine glycosylated hemoglobin (tentatively designated as Hb Can AIc) which had been isolated by Bio-Rex 70 chromatography (Enoki, Y. et al. (1982) Hemoglobin 6, 143-151). After isolation of the constituent subunits by hybridization-mercuration technique, we found by peptide mapping that the structural modification was confined in amino-termini of the beta subunits in which glycosyl ketoamine linkage was also shown to be localized by thiobarbituric acid reaction. Compared with the major hemoglobin (Hb Can A0), Hb Can AIc was characterized by such functional properties as a slightly lower oxygen affinity and a markedly reduced response to the allosteric effects of carbon dioxide and organic phosphates. The anion and H+ Bohr effects were not different from those in Hb Can A0. All these facts support that this hemoglobin is a canine counterpart of Hb AIc.