URINARY-BLADDER GLYCOPROTEINS OF THE RABBIT - EXTRACTION, BIOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES

The mucin layer of the bladder covering the transitional epithelium is considered to be an anti-adherence substance for bacteria. Attempts to isolate and characterize the components of the mucin layer are reported. Bladders were removed from female NZW rabbits and the mucosal layers was extracted with 0.1 M NaCl. Fractional centrifugation and column chromatography on AcA 34 and AcA 22 resulted in the separation of a partially purified glycoprotein, containing 30% carbohydrate, migrating as a single peak (4.5S) in the analytical ultracentrifuge. It was immunogenic in mice and the antisera were used to develop both a radioimmunoassay and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The antigenic activity of the glycoprotein was destroyed by protease or extremes of pH, but not by several glycosidases. The murine antisera could not be inhibited by a panel of naturally occurring glycoproteins or glycosaminoglycans.