Separation and characterization of the C-terminal half molecule of bovine lactoferrin.

The C-terminal half molecule (C lobe) of bovine lactoferrin was isolated by mild tryptic hydrolysis of lactoferrin followed by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The identity of the fragment was established by determining its N-terminal and C-terminal amino acid sequences and comparing them with the amino acid sequence of intact lactoferrin. The isoelectric point of the C lobe ranged between pH 6.2 and 6.5 as measured by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels. The circular dichroic spectrum in the range of 250 to 350 nm of the C lobe differed slightly from that of intact lactoferrin. The pattern of lectin reactivity was similar for both the C lobe and intact lactoferrin. The C lobe showed partial antigenic identity with intact lactoferrin as demonstrated by the double immunodiffusion method, and pH dependence of iron binding of C lobe is the same as that of intact lactoferrin molecule.