Abstract
The a1-protease inhibitor (Pi) system in light breed horses has been classified into11 basic types (F, G, I, L, L1, M, N, S1, S2, U and Z) using horizontal isoeletric focusing (IEF), and its usefulness as a marker gene has become very high.However, as heterogeneity within Pi phenotypes is very high in comparison with other serum protein systems, and the F band of esterase (Es) types is detected within the same isoelectric point (pI) region, typing for the Pi system is complicated. Accordingly, the adoption of the Pi marker system in routine work for equine typing cause some ambiguities.It was, therefor, considered necessary to develop a new technique so that the results for the Pi phenotypes judged by horizontal IEF could be confirmed. As described by YOKOHAMA et al., genetic variants have been observed in Pi-I proteins detected by microscale multisample two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoresis, so that it is tho tight that 2-D electrophoresis could be adopted as a new technique for detecting Pi types.
This report describes the successful characterization of equine Pi types by 2-D electrophoresis.
