Genetic variability of proteins from plasma membranes and cytosols of mouse organs

The genetic variability of membrane proteins (structure-bound proteins) and cytosol proteins (water-soluble proteins) was investigated in two inbred strains of the mouse, C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. Membrane proteins and cytosol were isolated from the brain and liver of the mouse. The proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis. A high number of genetic variant proteins (brain, 30; liver, 72) was found in the cytosol. Most of these variants represented changes in the amount of proteins. Electrophoretic mobility changes occurred only in about 1% (brain, 6; liver, 9) of all protein spots of a two-dimensional pattern. In contrast to the cytosol proteins, no genetic variation was detected among the membrane proteins, not even for the quantitative characteristics of the protein spots. The results obtained for the two classes of proteins suggest that the degree of variability in the amount of proteins is related to the degree of variability in the structure of proteins.