The sedimentation pattern of D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from bovine fetal and adult erythrocytes.

Erythrocytes from bovine fetuses contain about 2.4 times higher D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities than erythrocytes from adult cows and bulls. Studying whether this is due to the existence of a special fetal type of enzyme or an increased amount of enzyme in fetal erythrocytes, the sedimentation coefficients of the enzymes have been estimated by s-zonal ultracentrifugation, and compared to normal and deficient human erythrocyte D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, s-zonal ultracentrifugations have been performed with a computer optimized isokinetic sucrose gradient. The mainlines in the program used for calculation of sedimentation coefficients are described. Bovine fetal and adult erythrocyte D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase was found to have the same sedimentation coefficient of 7.4 S which is different from the sedimentation coefficient of 6.4 S of both human types of the enzyme. The sedimentation coefficients of 6-phospho-D-gluconate dehydrogenase from bovine fetal, bovine adult and human erythrocytes were 6 S for all three types of this enzyme. By cellulose acetate electrophoresis bovine fetal and adult D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase show the same mobility, again differing from the normal and deficient human type. The results of these experiments show that bovine fetal and adult erythrocytic D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase with respects to molecular parameters are closely related and perhaps identical enzymes.