Publications
Heat-induced aggregation of bovine lactoferrin at neutral pH :effect of the iron saturation
- Publication date : 2007-01-01
Reference
G. Brisson, M. Britten, Y. Pouliot. 2007. Heat-induced aggregation of bovine lactoferrin at neutral pH: effect of the iron saturation. International Dairy Journal. 17(6): 617-624.
Additional information
Lien pour l'article : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0958694606002123
Keywords
Lactoferrine Saturation en fer Réaction d'échange thiol / disulfure Agrégation thermique
Abstract
The goal of our study was to characterize the effect of iron saturation on the thermal aggregation of lactoferrin (Lf). Iron saturation markedly increased the thermal stability of Lf and decreased aggregation. Heating holo-Lf at 80 1C led to soluble polymer formation whereas apo and native Lf associated into large insoluble aggregates. The thermal aggregation of holo-Lf was mainly driven by noncovalent interactions, with intermolecular thiol/disulphide reactions also observed above 80 1C. For apo and native Lf, intermolecular thiol/disulphide reactions increased, suggesting that free thiol residues initiated cross-linking reactions and that iron saturation contributed to maintaining Lf disulphide bond integrity and protecting the protein from aggregation. We demonstrated that apo-Lf in the presence of N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) could undergo large aggregate formation through non-covalent interactions without the participation of intermolecular disulphide links. A mechanism for the thermal aggregation of Lf is proposed, emphasizing the influence of iron saturation.
