Electrophoretic Mobility of Serum Post-heparin Tributyrinesterase

Abstract

MUCH work has been devoted to the mechanism of the clearing action of heparin, and it is now generally accepted that its action is exerted by a lipolytic enzyme called clearing factor. On the other hand, it has been found that the injection of heparin is followed by the appearance in the serum of an eserine-resistant tributyrinesterase, which is considered to be one and the same with clearing factor¹. Various techniques were used to locate the clearing factor in the serum protein fractions, including fractional precipitation² and ultracentrifugal fractionation methods³. The findings of the different investigators are not in agreement. Thus, it has been claimed that clearing factor remains in the albumin fraction of serum after half saturation with ammonium sulphate². However, Graham et al., using ultracentrifugal and ethyl alcohol fractionation, found the enzyme in the globulin fraction³. Because of this discrepancy, investigations were made in order to study the electrophoretic mobility of the clearing factor (post-heparin tributyrinesterase¹) in comparison with the fractions of the proteinogramme.