Bovine 'transfer factor': an oligoribonucleopeptide which initiates antigen-specific lymphocytes responsiveness.

Bovine transfer factor (TF)--active in initiating specific responsiveness in human thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes to purified protein derivative from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (PPD) in vitro--was partially purified from the dialyzable portion of medium from immune lymph node cells (DLNE). Its physiochemical properties and structure were determined by methods previously employed to characterize human PPD-specific TF isolated from dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLE). Bovine TF had a molecular weight (MW) of 1100-3000, was destroyed by heating at 56 or 80 degrees C for 30 min, was soluble in water but not in phenol or ether, and could be precipitated with ethanol. Bovine TF activity eluted as a single peak after high-pressure reverse-phase liquid chromatography (HPLC); the active moiety contained at least one free co-planar cis-diol group, as shown by boronate affinity chromatography. Additional structural features were deduced by evaluating TF activity after incubation with various endonucleases, exonucleases, and peptidases, a phosphatase, and a protease. The combined results indicate that bovine TF specific for PPD is an oligoribonucleopeptide. A simplest case molecular model was constructed on the basis of the data obtained. A comparative evaluation of the physicochemical properties and structural features of bovine TF and human TF specific for PPD indicated striking similarities and some differences.