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Calorimetric studies of the haemoglobin-haptoglobin reaction.

ABSTRACT: Haptoglobin binds haemoglobin so firmly that there is practically no dissociation. It would be expected that the heat of the reaction would be relatively large. The development of the microcalorimeter by Benzinger offered the opportunity to measure the heat of reaction. The experiments were carried out in the Beckman 190B Microcalorimeter in two ways: (1) a constant amount of haptoglobin (Kabi; 65mg.) with different amounts of haemoglobin, and (2) a constant amount of haemoglobin (32.5mg.) with different amounts of haptoglobin. The proteins, each in 5ml. of 0.15m-phosphate buffer, pH7.4, were placed in equal-volume calorimeter cells. The heat produced/mg. of haemoglobin was calculated from the slope of the curve for a constant amount of haptoglobin and from the maximum heat for a constant amount of haemoglobin. This heat is about 70kcal./mole at 37 degrees . DeltaH varies with temperature, being -70.2 at 37 degrees , -29.7 at 20 degrees and 7.2 at 4 degrees . From the amount of haptoglobin required to attain maximum heat with 32.5mg. of haemoglobin and the amount of haemoglobin required to attain maximum heat with 65mg. of haptoglobin, it appears that at excess of haptoglobin there is competition between the reactions of 2moles of haptoglobin with 1mole of haemoglobin (or 2 alphabeta-chains) and 1mole of haptoglobin with 1mole of haemoglobin.

SUBMITTER: Adams EC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1185122 | biostudies-other | 1969 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:Trypanosoma brucei requires haemoglobin for survival in the mammalian bloodstream. Haptoglobin (Hp), a host protein known to bind haemoglobin, was determined as a key component for haemoglobin acquisition by the parasite. Here, we investigated the impact of haptoglobin deficiency on T. brucei brucei infection and the parasite´s capacity to internalise haemoglobin in the Hp-/- mouse model. The infected Hp-/- mice exhibited normal disease progression, with minimal weight loss and no apparent organ pathology similarly to control mice. While the proteomic profile of mouse sera significantly changed in response to T. b. brucei, no differences in the infection response markers of blood plasma have been observed between Hp-/- and control Black mice. Similarly, very few quantitative differences have been observed between the proteomes of parasites harvested from Hp-/- and Black mice, entailing both endogenous proteins and internalised host proteins. While haptoglobin was indeed absent from parasites isolated from Hp-/-mice, haemoglobin peptides were unexpectedly detected in parasites from both Hp-/- and Black mice. This was verified by western blotting, EM immunolabeling of parasites cryosections, and analytical quantification of haem cofactors in the parasites extracts. Combined, the data support the Hp dispensability for haemoglobin internalisation by T. b. brucei during infection in mice. To further explore this phenomenon, we have generated T. b. brucei haptoglobin-haemoglobin receptor (HpHbR) knock-outs and used them to infect Hp-/- and control mice. The HpHbR-knock-out trypanosomes internalised significantly less haemoglobin from Hp-/- mice compared to those isolated from Black mice strongly suggesting that T. b. brucei employs an HpHbR-independent Hp-mediated mode for haemoglobin internalisation. Our study reveals a so-far hidden flexibility of haemoglobin acquisition by T. b. brucei and offers novel insights into alternative haemoglobin uptake pathways.

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Calorimetric studies of the haemoglobin-haptoglobin reaction.

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