The role of alpha-lactalbumin and the A protein in lactose synthetase: a unique mechanism for the control of a biological reaction. | Zendy

Keith Brew | Zendy; Thomas Vanaman | Zendy; Robert L. Hill | Zendy

Open Access

The role of alpha-lactalbumin and the A protein in lactose synthetase: a unique mechanism for the control of a biological reaction.

Author(s) -

Keith Brew,

Thomas Vanaman,

Robert L. Hill

Publication year - 1968

Publication title -

proceedings of the national academy of sciences

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011

H-Index - 771

eISSN - 1091-6490

pISSN - 0027-8424

DOI - 10.1073/pnas.59.2.491

Subject(s) - alpha lactalbumin , mechanism (biology) , lactose , lactalbumin , control (management) , medical diagnosis , information sharing , alpha (finance) , computer science , psychology , computational biology , chemistry , medicine , mathematics , biology , statistics , biochemistry , artificial intelligence , pathology , world wide web , psychometrics , philosophy , construct validity , epistemology

A soluble, partially purified form of the enzyme, found in bovine milk, can be separated by gel filtration into two protein components, designated the A and B proteins. Neither component will catalyze reaction (1) separately, but when they are combined, lactose synthesis is obtained. More recently, the B protein has been found to be identical with the familiar milk protein, a-lactalbumin.2 3 Work in our laboratory has shown that the amino acid sequence of bovine a-LA is very similar to that of hen egg-white lysozyme.4 This homology in primary structure suggests that the structural genes for lysozyme and a-LA have evolved from a relatively recent, common ancestor. The structural similarities also suggest that a-LA may have a conformation quite similar to that established for lysozyme.A It is possible to fit the side chains of bovine a-LA to the lysozyme polypeptide backbone, and thereby generate a structure which retains the major structural features of the lysozyme molecule.6 The studies reported here have been designed to define the roles of the A protein and a-LA in lactose synthetase. The separated A protein has been found to be a UDP-galactose: N-acetylglucosamine galactosyltransferase which catalyzes the following reaction:

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