Diacylglycerol-carrying lipoprotein of hemolymph of the locust and some insects.

The diacylglycerol-carrying lipoprotein (DGLP) was purified from hemolymph of the locust, Locusta migratoria, by a rapid method which included a specific precipitation at low ionic concentration and DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. The final preparation was highly homogeneous as judged by gel electrophoresis, electron microscopy, and immunodiffusion. The locust DGLP molecule was almost spherical in shape with a diameter of about 130 A. The molecular weight, determined by a sedimentation equilibrium method, was approximately 580,000. The total lipid content amounted to about 40%. The lipids comprised diacylglycerol (33% of total lipid), hydrocarbon (21%), cholesterol (8%), and phospholipids (36%). The hydrocarbon fraction contained a number of n-alkanes and methylalkanes ranging from C25 to C38 in chain length. Mannose (3%) and glucosamine (0.5%) were associated with the apoprotein of DGLP. Apoprotein of locust DGLP consisted of two subunits, heavy chain (mol wt 250,000) and light chain (mol wt 85,000); carbohydrate (mannose) was associated only with the heavy chain. Tests of physiological function of DGLPs from locust, cockroach, and silkworm suggest that the insect DGLP serves multiple roles as a true carrier molecule in transporting diacylglycerol, cholesterol, and hydrocarbon from sites of storage, absorption, and synthesis to sites where these lipids are utilized as metabolic fuel, precursors for triacylglycerol and phospholipid synthesis, or structural components of cell membrane and cuticle. In addition, the insect DGLPs displayed no species-specificity in terms of the functions, whereas they were immunologically distinguishable.