Quantification of Holo-Transcobalamin, a Marker of Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Abstract

We report a new method for measurement of holo-transcobalamin (holoTC), in which magnetic beads coated with vitamin B12 (cobalamins) precipitate apo-transcobalamin (apoTC) and the holoTC present in the supernatant is measured by ELISA. Serum holoTC denotes the part of vitamin B12 accessible for the cells of the body and is considered to be a sensitive marker of vitamin B12 deficiency (1)(2)(3). Serum holoTC is not easily measured because it accounts for only approximately one-third of the circulating vitamin B12 and because the major part of TC circulates unsaturated with vitamin B12 (apoTC) (1)(2)(3). In the few published attempts to measure holoTC, TC is separated from the other vitamin B12-binding protein, haptocorrin, before quantification of vitamin B12. This allows a direct measurement of the cobalamins attached to TC (4)(5)(6) or an indirect calculation of holoTC from measurement of total plasma cobalamins and the plasma cobalamins not attached to TC (7)(8)(9). We have chosen another path. We produced B12 beads and removed apoTC before ELISA quantification (10) of the protein moiety of holoTC. Vitamin B12 (400 mg; Fluka) was modified by acid treatment (11) to produce derivatives with a free COOH group. Magnetic beads (DB M-270 amine; DYNAL) from 10 mL of the original suspension were incubated overnight at room temperature with 10 mL of 2 mmol/L derivatives in 0.1 mol/L 2-morpholinoethane sulfonic acid, pH 5.5, in the presence of 10 mmol/L 1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (Sigma). The beads were then washed twice with 50 mL of 1 mol/L Tris, pH 7.5, twice with 50 mL of 1 mol/L ammonium acetate, pH 4.6, and 10 times with 50 mL of 0.1 mol/L Tris–0.5 mol/L NaCl, …