Identification and partial characterization of a glycoprotein species with high affinity for methylmercury in peripheral nervous tissues of man and experimental animals.

A small amount of a glycoprotein species (21-kDa glycoprotein) with high affinity for methylmercury (MeHg) was detected in the post-nuclear or post-mitochondrial supernatant fraction of the homogenate of rat sciatic nerve on electrophoresis and autoradiography after binding of Me203Hg to the fraction. The 21-kDa glycoprotein was also found in the subcellular fractions of mouse, hamster, guinea pig, rabbit and human peripheral nervous tissues. Experiments with the cellular fractions of the tissues revealed that the 21-kDa glycoprotein is localized mainly in the myelin fraction, whereas it was not found in the cellular fractions of brain, spinal cord and nonneural tissues, such as kidney and liver. The specific binding activity of the 21-kDa glycoprotein with MeHg was 12-15 fold that of the major myelin protein, Po. It was shown that the interaction of the 21-kDa glycoprotein with MeHg was mediated through sulfhydryl groups in experiments with iodoacetamide and dithiothreitol. The amino acid compositions of the rat and human 21-kDa glycoproteins were similar but very different from that of a typical metallothionein. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the two components of the rat 21-kDa glycoprotein were identical to those of P0 and PMP-22, respectively. The in vitro binding of MeHg was also observed in the myelin fraction obtained from the sciatic nerves of MeHg-dosed rats.