Detection of a glycosylated subunit in human serum ferritin

Abstract

Ferritin was purified from the serum of 2 patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis. The protein contained 3 types of subunit.sbd.the H and L subunits of tissue ferritins (although only a trace of H could be detected) and a 3rd subunit, G, with the highest apparent MW. Only the G subunit band stained for carbohydrate, indicating that a proportion of the subunits of human serum ferritin is glycosylated. Although serum was obtained from patients with idiopathic hemochromatosis, it is probable that the G subunit is a component of normal serum ferritin.