Studies on the structure of a phosphoglycoprotein from the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

A glycoprotein (GP72) has been isolated from Trypanosoma cruzi and found to contain 41% protein, 49% carbohydrate and 10% phosphate. All phosphate was covalently attached to the carbohydrate which contained the following sugars: ribose, xylose, fucose, galactose, mannose, glucose and glucosamine. The carbohydrate side chains were linked to protein by fucose, xylose and N-acetylglucosamine; 50% of the total N-acetylglucosamine was involved in glycoprotein linkages. Two classes of carbohydrate side chains were detected. One class comprised 15% of the total carbohydrate and contained glucosamine, mannose and galactose; some of these chains were phosphorylated. The other class comprised 85% of the total carbohydrate and contained xylose, ribose, fucose, galactose, mannose, glucosamine and phosphate; these chains were antigenic and reacted with a monoclonal antibody with specificity for the whole glycoprotein.     

Structural studies on the oligosaccharide moiety of the lipopeptidophosphoglycan from Trypanosoma cruzi

The structure of the carbohydrate moiety of the lipopeptidophosphoglycan from Trypanosoma cruzi was studied by 13C NMR spectroscopy and by methylation analysis of the original and of an acid-degraded sample. An oligosaccharide, consisting of 2-O-substituted and 6-O-substituted mannoses, which is linked to the ceramide, was separated by partial acid hydrolysis from an external chain that contained 3-O-substituted mannopyranosyl residues. beta-D-Galactofuranosyl terminal units are attached to position 3 of (1----2)-linked mannopyranose. Besides the previously reported monosaccharide components (mannose, galactose, glucose and glucosamine), ribose was identified in a partial acid hydrolysate of the lipopeptidophosphoglycan. The last three sugars are minor components and their organization into the overall structure of the lipopeptidophosphoglycan has not been determined.     

Purification and characterization of major glycoproteins, PAS-6 and PAS-7, from bovine milk fat globule membrane.

Two major glycoproteins (PAS-6 and PAS-7) from bovine milk fat globule membrane were selectively extracted with urea and KCl, co-purified by repeated gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200 and then separated by affinity chromatography on concanavalin A-agarose column. The two purified glycoproteins showed a single band by SDS-PAGE, and their molecular masses were estimated to be 50 kDa for PAS-6 and 47 kDa for PAS-7. Both PAS-6 and PAS-7 were resolved several variants by analytical isoelectric focusing. These were shifted to a single band at pI 6.2 for PAS-6 and at pI 6.5 for PAS-7 by neuraminidase. PAS-6 contained 7.1% and PAS-7 5.5% of carbohydrate; the molar ratio of fucose:mannose:galactose:N-acetyl galactosamine:N-acetyl glucosamine:sialic acid was 1.0:3.0:2.0:6.1:5.0:1.3 for PAS-6 and 1.0:3.1:2.2:0:4.1:1.1 for PAS-7. Mild alkaline treatment and affinity to various lectins indicated that PAS-6 had O- and N-linked oligosaccharide chains, while PAS-7 had only the N-linked type. The major amino acid residues of PAS-6 were Glu, Ser and Gly, and those of PAS-7 were Asp, Glu, Gly and Leu. The N-terminal amino acids of both glycoproteins were blocked. PAS-6 and PAS-7 digested with trypsin had a different peptide map, two major peptides having the same retention time on HPLC and being common to PAS-6 and PAS-7 having the same amino acid sequences of H-Gln-Ser-Gly-Asn-Lys-Asn-Pro-Ser-Glu-Ile-Ser-OH and H-Ile-Phe-Pro-Gly-Asn-Met-Asp-Asn-Ser-His-Lys-OH.     

Purification and chemical characterization of human platelet membrane glycoprotein IV

Human platelet membrane glycoprotein IV (GPIV), one of the major glycoprotein components, was purified by successive affinity chromatographies on columns of Lens culinaris agglutinin-Sepharose and wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose followed by preparative polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). On SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in either the presence or absence of dithiothreitol, GPIV gave a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 97,000, suggesting that GPIV is composed of a single polypeptide chain without interchain disulfide bonds. Compositional analysis showed that GPIV contains large amounts of acidic and hydroxy amino acids, but only very small amounts of cystine and methionine, and 28.1% (w/w) carbohydrate consisting of galactose, glucosamine, and sialic acid as the principal sugars with smaller amounts of fucose, mannose, and galactosamine. This suggested that GPIV contains both N-linked and O-linked sugar chains. The O-linked sugar chains isolated from GPIV, together with those from GPIb and glycocalicin, were comparatively analyzed on a Bio-Gel P-4 column after neuraminidase treatment. The results indicated that all three glycoproteins have two common species of carbohydrate chains, a disaccharide, Gal-GalNAc, and a tetrasaccharide, Gal-GlcNAc-(Gal-)GalNAc. The ratio of the tetrasaccharide to the disaccharide in GPIV was found to be somewhat different from that in GPIb or glycocalicin.     

Biosynthesis of the Sindbis Virus Carbohydrates

The sequence in which sugars are added to the Sindbis virus glycoproteins was studied. Infected cells contain three glycosylated virus-specific proteins: the two virion glycoproteins and the immediate precursor to the smaller virion glycoprotein. Larger Sindbis-specific proteins are not glycosylated. The cell-associated forms of both of the virion glycoproteins contain glucosamine, mannose, galactose, and fucose. The glycosylated precursor contains only glucosamine, mannose, and some galactose. The conversion of precursor to virion protein involves both the addition of galactose and fucose and the loss of mannose. The apparent extent of glycosylation of each virus-specific protein is not influenced by the host cell.     

Carbohydrate Composition of Variant-Specific Surface Antigen Glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei

SYNOPSIS. The carbohydrate of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from bloodstream forms of 13 cloned variants of Trypanosoma brucei was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The glycoproteins contained from 6 to 17% carbohydrate by weight, and all contained the same 4 sugars: mannose, galactose, glucose, and glucosamine (probably as N-acetyl-glucosamine). The glycoprotein from variant 048, strain 427 contained (±20%) 11 mannose, 4 galactose, 4 glucose, and 5 glucosamine residues/mole of glycoprotein (molecular weight 65,000). Glucose was an integral component of the glycoproteins, not dissociable by sodium dodecyl sulphate, 8 M urea, or 1 M acetic acid. Some of the glucose was dissociated by trichloroacetic acid. Most of the glycoproteins formed precipitin bands with concanavalin A in Ouchterlony double diffusion, but none formed such bands with wheat germ agglutinin or Ricinus communis lectin (molecular weight 120,000).     

Carbohydrate composition of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from Trypanosoma brucei

The carbohydrate of variant-specific surface antigen glycoproteins from bloodstream forms of 13 cloned variants of Trypanosoma brucei was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The glycoproteins contained from 6 to 17% carbohydrate by weight, and all contained the same 4 sugars: mannose, galactose, glucose, and glucosamine (probably as N-acetylglucosamine). The glycoprotein from variant 048, strain 427 contained (+20%) 11 mannose, 4 galactose, 4 glucose, and 5 glucosamine residues/mole of glycoprotein (molecular weight 65,000). Glucose was an intergral component of the glycoproteins, not dissociable by sodium dodecyl sulphate, 8 M urea, or 1 M acetic acid. Some of the glucose was dissociated by trichloroacetic acid. Most of the glycoproteins formed precipitin with concanavalin A in Ouchterlony double diffusion, but none formed such bands with wheat germ agglutinin or Ricinus communis lectin (molecular weight 120, 000).     

Purification and chemical study of a Collocalia glycoprotein]

A glycoprotein was purified from the aqueous extract of "edible bird's nest" (Collocalia) using free flow preparative electrophoresis and represented the main fraction of Collocalia glycoproteins. This glycoprotein is homogeneous upon agarose electrophoresis and slightly polydisperse upon ultracentrifugation (S So 20w = 3,0). The carbohydrate moiety contains galactose, mannose, glucosamine, galactosamine and sialic acid, which is completely released by Clostridium perfringens or Diplococcus pneumoniae neuraminidases and has the same chromatographic behaviour as N-acetyl-neuraminic acid. The peptide part of the glycoprotein is rich in serine, threonine and proline. About 40 p. cent of the hydroxyaminoacids are involved in carbohydrate-peptide linkages.     

Characterization and comparison of the major glycoprotein from three strains of Rous sarcoma virus.

The major glycoprotein g2 was purified from three strains of Rous sarcoma virus, representing subgroups A, B, and C. Carbohydrate analysis showed that glucosamine, mannose, galactose, fucose and sialic acid constitute 40% of the weight of the subgroup A glycoprotein and 15% of the subgroup B and C glycoproteins. The molar ratios of sugars were very similar and amino acid compositions were similar but not identical for the three glycoproteins. Glycosidase digestions of subgroup A and C glycoproteins suggested the presence of two types of oligosaccharide chains, the complex serum type, with terminal sequences sialic acidα-Galβ-GlcNAcβ- and the high mannose type with terminal α-linked mannosyl residues. After removal of 70% of the carbohydrate by glycosidases, subgroup A glycoprotein contained only glucosamine and mannose, in the molar ratio 2.0:1.3. The sequence of sugar release was consistent with oligosaccharide structures such as those which have been described for other glycoproteins. The plant lectins concanavalin A and wheat germ agglutinin were shown to interact strongly with the g2 glycoprotein from viruses of all three subgroups.     

The relationship of structure of glucoamylase and glucose oxidase to antigenicity

Glucoamylase and glucose oxidase fromAspergillus niger have been purified to homogeneity by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and the purified enzymes have been used to investigate structural and antigenicity relationships. In structure, glucoamylase and glucose oxidase are glycoproteins containing 14% and 16% carbohydrate. Earlier methylation and reductive -elimination results have shown that glucoamylase has an unusual arrangement of carbohydrate residues, with 20 single mannose units and 25 di-, tri-, or tetrasaccharide chains of mannose, glucose, and galactose, all attached O-glycosidically to serine and threonine residues of the protein moiety. The antigenicity of the glucoamylase has now been found to reside predominantly in the types and arrangement of the carbohydrate chains. Glucose oxidase contains mannose, galactose, and glucosamine in the N-acetyl form in the native enzyme, but the complete structure of the carbohydrate chains has not yet been determined. The antigenicity of this enzyme does not reside in the carbohydrate units, but rather in the polypeptide chains of the two subunits of the enzyme. Glucose oxidase can be dissociated into subunits by mercaptoethanol and sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment, while glucoamylase cannot be dissociated, but undergoes only an unfolding of the polypeptide chain under these conditions. The subunits of glucose oxidase do not react with the anti-glucose oxidase antibodies, but the unfolded molecule and peptide fragments produced from glucoamylase by cyanogen bromide cleavage do react with antiglucoamylase antibodies.     

Comparison of the properties of glucoamylases from Rhizopus niveus and Aspergillus niger

Some properties of the glucoamylase from Rhizopus niveus have been determined and compared with the comparable properties of the glucoamylase from Aspergillus niger. The enzymes from these organisms possess the following common properties: quantitative conversion of starch to glucose, molecular weights in the range 95,500 to 97,500, and glycoprotein structures with many oligosaccharide side chains attached to the protein moieties of the enzymes. Differences in the glucoamylases exist in electrophoretic mobility, amino acid composition, nature of carbohydrate units, and types of glycosidic linkages. Lysine, threonine, serine, glutamic acid, tyrosine, and phenylalanine differ in the two glucoamylases by 25 to 50%. Whereas the enzyme from R. niveus contains mannose and glucosamine, in the N-acetyl form, as the carbohydrate constituents, the enzyme from A. niger contains mannose, glucose, and galactose. The carbohydrate chains of the R. niveus enzyme are linked by O-glycosidic and N-glycosidic linkages to the protein, while those of the A. niger enzyme are linked by O-glycosidic linkages only. Antibodies directed against the two glucosamylases have been isolated by affinity chromatography and found to be specific for the carbohydrate units of the glucoamylases. Cross reactions did not occur between the glucoamylases and the purified antibodies.     

Further Studies of Pollen Wall Glycoproteins in Cucurbita pepo L.

Samples of pollen wall protein of Cucurbita pepo were prepared as reported in previous paper. Gas chromoatographic analyses snowed that the carbohydrate fraction of the pollen wall glycoprotcin contained 20.4% rhamnose, 15.3% fucose, 11% mannose, 11% galactose, 31% glucose, 4% arabinose and traces of xylose. The glycoproteins were further purified by Con. A affinity chromatography, Isoelectric focussing electrophoresis of the purified sample showed 3 PAS-positive bands, with respective PI 5.2, 6.0 and 6.3. The glycoprotein samples were subjected to hydrolysis with 6N HC1. After hydrolysis, the mixture was analyzed for amino acid composition with Backman 121-MB automatic amino acid analyzer, Results show the amino acid composition of the 3 glycoprotein was very similar, They all have glycine, glutamic acid and serine as their major component (these three amino acids constitute 50–60% of the total amino acids); and they all contain very small amount of methionine, phenylalanine, isoleucine and tyrosine. The lysine content of each glycoprotein is consistent with its respective PI, the glycoprotein which contains more lysine has higher PI.     

Carbohydrate composition of lymphocyte plasma membrane from pig mesenteric lymph node.

Pig lymphocyte plasma membrane isolated from mesenteric lymph node contained 69 mug of carbohydrate/mg dry wt., which was made up of neutral sugar, amino sugar and sialic acid in the molar proportions 5:1.7:1. The neutral sugar comprised fucose, ribose, mannose, glucose, galactose and inositol (molar proportions 2:9:11:15:26:1), and the amino sugar glucosamine and galactosamine (molar ratio 2:1). The ribose was most probably derived from RNA. All of the fucose and mannose and almost all of the glucosamine were associated with the membrane protein whereas the membrane lipid contained all of the inositol. The remaining sugars were distributed in various ratios between the protein and lipid fractions.     

Purification method for α-1-acid glycoprotein with subsequent high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of monosaccharides in plasma of healthy subjects and patients with renal insufficiency

A simple purification method for human plasma α-1-acid glycoprotein (AAG) using an ion-exchange and hydroxyapatite column was developed. The recovery of the method was found to be high. We also improved a determination method for N-acetylneuraminic acid and monosaccharides in the carbohydrate moiety of AAG by using an ion-exchange column and pulse-amperometric detection. By this method, a composition analysis of the carbohydrate moiety of AAG (N-acetylneuraminic acid, fucose, N-acetyl glucosamine, galactose and mannose) was possible with 1.0 ml of plasma. We compared these carbohydrate concentrations in the AAG of patients with renal insufficiency with those of healthy subjects. In the AAG of the patients, the concentrations of N-acetylglucosamine, galactose and mannose were significantly higher than those in the AAG of the healthy subjects.     

Purification and partial characterization of two glycoproteins in bovine peripheral nerve myelin membrane

Two major glycoproteins of bovine peripheral nerve myelin were isolated from the acid-insoluble residue of the myelin by a procedure involving delipidation with chloroform/methanol (2:1, v/v) and chromatography on Sephadex G-200 column with a buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate. The separation patterns of the proteins on the gel were affected considerably by the dodecyl sulfate concentration in the elution buffer. At above 2% dodecyl sulfate concentration in the elution buffer, the glycoproteins could be separated clearly on the gel and were purified. The purified proteins, the BR protein (mol. wt. 28 000) and the PAS-II protein (mol. wt. 13 000), were homogeneous on dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The NH₂-terminal amino acids of the BR and the PAS-II proteins were isoleucine and methionine, respectively. The BR protein contained glucosamine, mannose, galactose, fucose and sialic acids and the PAS-II protein contained glucosamine, mannose, galactose, fucose and glucose. Neither the BR protein nor the PAS-II were a glycosylated derivative of a basic protein of bovine peripheral nerve myelin, a deduction based on the results of amino acid analysis. The two major glycoproteins were observed commonly in the peripheral nerve myelin of cows, pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs, using dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.     

Isolation and characterization of glycoprotein lectins from the bark of three species of elder,Sambucus ebulus,S. nigra and S. racemosa

Lectins have been isolated from the bark of three members of the family Caprifoliaceae, Sambucus nigra (elder), S. racemosa (red-berried elder) and S. ebulus (dwarf elder), by affinity chromatography on fetuin-agarose, ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. They are all glycoproteins of M _r 140 000 made up of at least four subunits. The lectin have similar but not identical amino-acid compositions and the carbohydrate content varies between 12% and 19% (w/w), the main sugars being (N-acetyl)glucosamine, mannose, fucose and xylose. Inhibition studies of hemagglutination with various mono- and oligosaccharides have shown that N-acetylgalactosamine and galactose together with galactose-containing oligosaccharides are the most effective inhibitors. There are some differences in specificity, in particular S. ebulus agglutinin is inhibited to the same degree by galactosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine and by galactose.Abbreviations PBS phosphate-buffered saline - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - SEA S. ebulus agglutinin - SNA S. nigra agglutinin - SRA S. racemosa agglutinin     

Purification and Characterization of a Major Cell Surface Glycoprotein in Zajdela Ascites Hepatoma Cells Which Displays a Potent Concanavalin A Receptor Activity

A major cell surface sialoglycoprotein with Concanavalin A receptor activity has been isolated from rat Zajdela ascites hepatoma cells. The sialic acid residues of the plasma membrane glycoproteins were specifically labeled by oxidation with NaIO₄ followed by reduction with NaB³H₄. Surface-labeled glycoproteins were released by short incubations with TPCK-trypsin at 37°C and then separated by gel filtration on Sepharose 6B column. The predominantly labeled fraction, GP II₂, was then purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose equilibrated with 0.05 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.5, and eluted with increasing molarities of NaCl. It was shown to be homogeneous by protein and carbohydrate staining on SDS-polyacrylamide gels, isoelectric focusing, rechromatography on DEAE-cellulose and immunoelectrophoresis. It has an apparent molecular weight of 110,000 daltons. The location of GP II₂on the cell surface was confirmed by the fact that it could be labeled metabolically with, D-(³H) glucosamine and externally through the nonpenetrating periodate-NaB³H₄ system. GP II₂could not be removed from the cell surface by high salt concentrations, chelator, or chaotropic agents but was released from the membrane by detergents. This suggests that GP II₂could be an integral protein. Analysis of the carbohydrate composition of GP II₂ revealed galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, and sialic acid as major constituents and mannose as a minor one. This suggests that it contains carbohydrate chains both O- and N-linked to the polypeptide chain, most of them being O-linked. Finally, GP II₂has a potent Concanavalin A receptor activity. It inhibits the interaction between Concanavalin A and hepatoma cells and suppresses its effects on hepatoma cell proliferation.     

Simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars by an automatic sugar analyzer: applications to glycoproteins.

The simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars commonly found in glycoproteins is described. The automatic sugar analyzer used for the determination is based on the ion-exchange chromatography of sugar-borate complexes on a strong anion-exchange resin. The sugars are identified with the orcinol/sulfuric acid reagent. While less than 40 nmol of mannose, fucose, galactose, glucose, xylose, or arabinose is sufficient for analysis at least 200 nmol mannosamine, glucosamine, or galactosamine is required; acidic monosaccharides cannot be determined. The technique of sugar analysis is applied to structural studies on natural compounds, e.g. the monosaccharide composition of lichenan and the carbohydrate moiety of the glycoproteins ovomucoid and Collocalia mucoid.     

Identification of a sialoglycopeptide released by self-digestion from human erythrocyte membranes.

Membranes from human O Rhesus-positive erythrocyte 'ghosts' were tested in vitro for their ability to digest their own glycoproteins. 'Ghost' membranes incubated in Tris/HCl buffer, pH 7.4, release a sialoglycopeptide, which contains glucosamine, galactosamine, galactose and mainly polar amino acids. Chemical composition, molecular size and aggregation properties suggest that this glycopeptide may be a fragment of glycophorin.     

Carbohydrates of Influenza Virus. I. Glycopeptides Derived from Viral Glycoproteins After Labeling with Radioactive Sugars

The carbohydrate moiety of the influenza glycoproteins NA, HA₁, and HA₂ were analyzed by labeling with radioactive sugars. Analysis of glycopeptides obtained after digestion with Pronase indicated that there are at least two different types of carbohydrate side chains. The side chain of type I is composed of glucosamine, mannose, galactose, and fucose. It is found on NA, HA₁, and HA₂. The side chain of type II contains a high amount of mannose and is found only on NA and HA₂. The molecular weights of the corresponding glycopeptides obtained from virus grown in chicken embryo cells are 2,600 for type I and 2,000 for type II. The glycoproteins of virus grown in MDBK cells have a higher molecular weight than those of virus grown in chicken embryo cells, and there is a corresponding difference in the molecular weights of the glycopeptides. Under conditions of partial inhibition of glycosylation, virus particles were isolated that contained hemagglutinin with reduced carbohydrate content. Glycopeptide analysis indicated that this reduction is due to the lack of whole carbohydrate side chains and not to the incorporation of incomplete ones. This observation suggests that glycosylation of the viral glycoproteins involves en bloc transfer of the core sugars to the polypeptide chains.