IMMUNOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF PROTEINS IN CATTLE URINE AND THEIR COMPLEXES WITH SILICIC ACID

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Abstract
Electrophoresis of total non-dialyzable solids (TNDS) from cattle urine showed the presence of components with mobilities covering the same range as noted for serum. Although most of the components had mobilities in the albumin to α-globulin region, they appeared to contain more glycoprotein than serum components with similar mobilities. Immunoelectrophoresis of TNDS against rabbit antibovine serum and rabbit anti-TNDS revealed the presence of four components giving reactions of identity with serum proteins and of one that originated from the urinary tract. Gel filtration of TNDS on Sephadex G-200 produced six poorly resolved peaks, four of which were shown by immunoelectrophoresis to contain the four serum components of TNDS. The fifth peak contained the urinary tract component. This component constituted about half the total weight of the proteinaceous constituents of TNDS and contained considerably more sialic acid than the other components. The substance represented by the sixth peak obtained by gel filtration was unidentified because it failed to elicit antibody formation in the rabbit. It was low in protein and sialic acid but had a much larger absorbance at 280 nm than the other constituents. Reaction of TNDS with polymerized silicic acid removed half the TNDS from solution by formation of an insoluble complex. One component was completely removed from solution and portions of others were partially removed by this procedure. It was concluded that in the process of formation of siliceous urinary calculi in cattle, precipitation of polymerized silicic acid is a generalized process that does not rely on the presence in urine of any single protein species.