Purification and characterization of glycolactin, a novel glycoprotein from bovine milk

A novel glycoprotein designated glycolactin, with a molecular weight of 64 kDa, a sequence hitherto unknown in the literature and capable of inhibiting the hemagglutinating activities of soybean lectin and Ricinus communis agglutinin 120, was isolated from bovine milk. Its lectin-inhibiting activity differed from that of lactoferrin, another milk protein. Like other milk proteins, glycolactin inhibited superoxide formation in vitro. Glycolactin inhibited cell-free translation in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system with an IC50 of about 31 nM. It exhibited ribonucleolytic (RNase) activity towards yeast transfer RNA with a pH optimum of 7.5, and specific RNase activity towards poly C. The purification protocol of glycolactin involved removal of globulin from the acid whey fraction of bovine milk by precipitation with 1.8 M (NH4)2SO4, and adsorption on the ion exchangers CM-Sepharose and Mono S. Deglycosylation of glycolactin using glycopeptidase F produced only a slight decrease of 4 kDa in the molecular weight of glycolactin.