Structural analysis of the sugar chains of human urinary thrombomodulin

The sugar chains of human urinary thrombomodulin were studied. N- and O-linked sugar chains were simultaneously liberated by hydrazinolysis followed by N-acetylation and were tagged with 2-aminopyridine. Then the structures of the N- and O-linked pyridylamino (PA-) sugar chains were analyzed by two-dimensional sugar mapping combined with exoglycosidase digestion. The major N-linked sugar chains of human urinary thrombomodulin were found to be monosialo- and disialofucosylbiantennary chains, while the major O-linked sugar chain was +/-Siaalpha2-3Galbeta1-3(+/-Siaalpha2-6)GalNAc. Thrombomodulin also contained the reported structure SO4-3GlcAbeta1-3Galbeta1-3(+/-Siaalpha2-6)Galbeta1-4Xyl [H. Wakabayashi, S. Natsuka, T. Mega, N. Otsuki, M. Isaji, M. Naotsuka, S. Koyama, T. Kanamori, K. Sakai, and S. Hase (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 5436-5442]. In addition to these sugar chains, a single Glc was linked to Ser 287.     

The asparagine-linked sugar chains of human follicle-stimulating hormone

The asparagine-linked sugar chains of human follicle-stimulating hormone (hFSH) were liberated as radioactive oligosaccharides from the polypeptide moiety by hydrazinolysis followed by N-acetylation and NaB3H4 reduction. Ninety-five percent of the oligosaccharides were acidic and all were converted to a mixture of neutral oligosaccharides on sialidase treatment. The mixture of neutral oligosaccharides was subjected to sequential immobilized lectin column chromatography on E-PHA-agarose, AAL-Sepharose, and Con A-Sepharose, and six fractions were obtained. The results of sequential exoglycosidase digestion of each oligosaccharide and methylation analysis led us to propose that the asparagine-linked sugar chains of hFSH are a mixture of complex-type bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary sialylated sugar chains with and without a fucose residue linked at the C-6 position of the proximal N-acetylglucosamine. Some of these sugar chains contain bisecting N-acetylglucosamine residue.     

Structural studies of the carbohydrate moieties of rat kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase. An extremely heterogeneous pattern enriched with nonreducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine residues

The carbohydrate moieties of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase purified from rat kidney were released as oligosaccharides by hydrazinolysis. Fractionation of the oligosaccharide mixture by paper electrophoresis and Bi-Gel P-4 column chromatography and structural study of each component by sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis and periodate oxidation have revealed that it is composed of 23 neutral oligosaccharides, monosialyl derivatives of 67 oligosaccharides, disialyl derivatives of 62 oligosaccharides, and trisialyl derivatives of 5 oligosaccharides. The neutral oligosaccharides are either high mannose type or biantennary complex type, and the acidic oligosaccharides are bi-, tri-, and tetranntennary complex type sugar chains. Most of the complex type sugar chains contain an N-acetylglucosamine residue at the C-4 position of the beta-mannosyl residue of their trimannosyl core. Another characteristic feature of these complex type sugar chains is that they are enriched with nonreducing terminal beta-N-acetylglucosamine residues.     

A micromethod for the estimation of oligosaccharides containing glycosidically linked sialic acid or hexoses, or both, in glycoproteins

The peeling reaction, the process by which oligosaccharides are degraded in alkali, was used as the basis for an assay to provide structural information about glycosidically linked oligosaccharides in glycoproteins. Glycoproteins were treated with 0.05 M NaOH at 50 degrees to induce release, and subsequent degradation ("peeling"), of glycosidically linked, but not of N-glycosydically linked, oligosaccharides. Among the degradation products generated from O-linked chains were three 3-deoxy sugar acids whose formation was correlated with certain structural features of the oligosaccharides. N-Acetylneuraminic acid was released from terminal positions in the oligosaccharides, and iso- and meta-saccharinic acids were derived from the degradation of 4-O- and 3-O-substituted hexoses, respectively. All of these sugar acids were detected colorimetrically by periodate oxidation and reaction of the product with 2-thiobarbituric acid. The ability of the method to generate 3-deoxy sugar acids was tested in 8 alkali-treated glycoproteins. 3-Deoxy sugar acids were detected only in those glycoproteins whose glycosidically linked carbohydrates contained N-acetylneuraminic acid, or 3-O- or 4-O-substituted hexoses, or both. As little as 0.12 microgram of 3-deoxy sugar acid produced from 5 micrograms of human chorionic gonadotropin was sufficient for detection. This method is novel in its ability to distinguish sialylation of glycosidically linked carbohydrates. Furthermore, it combines the specificity of beta-elimination with the sensitivity of the 2-thiobarbituric acid assay in targeting degradation products of the peeling reaction as candidates for an assay method.     

Characterization of carbohydrates using highly fluorescent 2-aminobenzoic acid tag following gel electrophoresis of glycoproteins.

Application of the most sensitive fluorescent label 2-aminobenzoic acid (anthranilic acid, AA) for characterization of carbohydrates from the glycoproteins ( approximately 15 pmol) separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is described. AA label is used for the determination of both monosaccharide composition and oligosaccharide map. For the monosaccharide determination, bands containing the glycoprotein of interest are excised from the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane blots, hydrolyzed in 20% trifluoroacetic acid, derivatized, and analyzed by C-18 reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. For the oligosaccharide mapping, bands were digested with peptide N-glycosidase F (PNGase F) in order to release the N-linked oligosaccharides, derivatized, and analyzed by normal-phase anion-exchange chromatography. For convenience, the PNGase F digestion was performed in 1:100 diluted ammonium hydroxide overnight. The oligosaccharide yield from ammonium hydroxide-PNGase F digestion was better or equal to all the other reported procedures, and the presumed "oligosaccharide-amine" product formed in the reaction mixture did not interfere with labeling of the oligosaccharides under the conditions used for derivatization. Sequencing of oligosaccharides can be performed using the same mapping method following treatment with an array of glycosidases. In addition, the mapping method is useful for determining the relative and simultaneous distribution of sialic acid and fucose.     

Porcine oocyte zona pellucida M(r) 55,000 glycoproteins: identification of O-glycosylated domains.

The distribution of O-linked oligosaccharides on the M(r) 55,000 glycoproteins, ZP3 alpha and ZP3 beta, of the porcine oocyte zona pellucida was examined. Purified preparations of endo-beta-galactosidase digested ZP3 alpha and ZP3 beta were reduced and carboxamidomethylated and digested with trypsin. When the trypsin digests were mapped by HPLC, each glycoprotein yielded only one N-acetylgalactosamine containing glycopeptide. Purification of the O-glycopeptides was achieved by a two-step protocol. Tryptic digests were applied to jacalin-agarose and specifically-bound O-glycopeptides (alpha OGP and beta OGP) were eluted with buffer containing 50 mM alpha-methylgalactoside as the haptenic sugar. Further purification of each O-glycopeptide was accomplished by reverse phase HPLC. Purified O-glycopeptides were characterized with respect to amino acid and carbohydrate compositions and sequenced by automated Edman degradation; alpha OGP was a 41-residue glycopeptide with three O-linked sugar chains. Sequence comparisons revealed a 75% identity between alpha OGP and a corresponding segment of rabbit rec55 zona protein; beta OGP was a 25-residue glycopeptide characterized by the presence of one N-linked and five O-linked sugar chains and a trypsin-resistant internal arginine residue. Sequence alignments revealed an 80% or greater identity between beta OGP and internal peptides of mouse, hamster and human ZP3 zona proteins. These studies demonstrate that in the case of ZP3 alpha and ZP3 beta, the pig homologues of rabbit rec55 and mouse ZP3, respectively, O-linked oligosaccharides are confined within delimited domains rather than widely dispersed on the polypeptide backbone. Such clustering of O-linked oligosaccharides may represent an essential determinant of the structure and biological activity of zona proteins.     

Evidence for the existence of O-linked sugar chains consisting of glucose and xylose in bovine thrombospondin.

We have recently discovered unusual sugar chains [xylose-glucose and (xylose)2-glucose] linked to a serine residue in the first epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains of human and bovine coagulation factors VII, IX, and protein Z. The sequence surrounding this serine residue has a common -Cys-X-Ser-X-Pro-Cys- structure. Since one (residues 533-538) of the three EGF-like domains found in human thrombospondin contains the conserved sequence, we examined the presence of such O-linked sugar chains in bovine thrombospondin (bTSP) and its 210-kDa fragment. Component sugar analysis after pyridylamination (PA) of the acid hydrolysates of the S-aminoethylated proteins revealed that the proteins contain glucose (Glc) and xylose (Xyl). The oligosaccharide moieties released from intact bTSP by hydrazinolysis followed by pyridylamination were separated into two PA-oligosaccharides by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Component sugar analysis of these PA-oligosaccharides indicated that they consist of Glc and Xyl in molar ratios of 1:1 and 1:2 (or 1:3). The reducing ends of both PA-sugar chains were found to be PA-Glc, as judged from the retention time of the HPLC peak of their hydrolysates. The presence of these PA-sugar chains in bTSP was confirmed by HPLC mapping with two different columns, using standard PA-di- or PA-trisaccharide derived from coagulation factors. From these results, we concluded that bTSP contains O-linked sugar chains consisting of Glc and Xyl in one of its three EGF-like domains.     

The degradation of glycoproteins with lithium borohydride. Isolation and analysis of O-glycopeptides with reduced C-terminal amino acid residue

By the example of fetuin and a blood-group-specific mucin from porcine stomach, we showed that, under conditions of reductive degradation of glycoproteins with LiBH4-LiOH in 70% aqueous tert-butyl alcohol, the reduction and cleavage of amide bonds occur much faster than the simultaneous beta-elimination of carbohydrate chains O-linked with Ser and Thr residues of the peptide chain. The major degradation products containing the O-linked glycans are the O-glycosylated derivatives of 2-aminopropane-1,3-diol and 2-aminobutane-1,3-diol (the products of reduction of glycosylated Ser and Thr) and the glycopeptides containing 2-4 amino acid residues with reduced C-terminal amino acid. Seventeen homogeneous O-glycopeptides were isolated from the fetuin degradation products by ion-exchange and reversed-phase HPLC. Their structures were determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and by analyses for amino acids, amino alcohols, and carbohydrates. The application of the reaction for characterization of O-glycans and localization of O-glycosylation sites in O- and N,O-glycoproteins is discussed.     

Structural studies of the asparagine-linked sugar chains of two immunoglobulin M's purified from a patient with Waldenstr?m's macroglobulinemia

The structures of the sugar chains present in two human monoclonal IgM molecules purified from the serum of a patient with Waldenstr?m's macroglobulinemia have been determined. The asparagine-linked sugar chains were liberated as oligosaccharides by hydrazinolysis and labeled by reduction with NaB3H4 after N-acetylation. Their structures were studied by serial lectin column chromatography and sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis. These two IgM's were shown to contain almost the same sugar chains. The sugar chains were a mixture of a series of high-mannose-type and biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides. The complex-type oligosaccharides contain Man alpha 1----6(+/- GlcNAc beta 1----4)(Man alpha 1----3)Man beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----6)GlcNAc as their core and GlcNAc beta 1----, Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1---- and Neu5Ac alpha 2----6Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc beta 1---- groups in their outer chain moieties.     

Structures of sugar chains of human kidney gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase

gamma-Glutamyltranspeptidase purified from human kidneys contains 4-5 asparagine-linked sugar chains in each molecule. The sugar chains were released from the polypeptide portion of the enzyme by hydrazinolysis as oligosaccharides and separated by paper electrophoresis into one neutral and two acidic fractions. By sequential exoglycosidase digestion and methylation analysis, the neutral fraction, which comprised 69% of total oligosaccharides, was shown to be a mixture of bisected bi- and triantennary complex-type sugar chains with and without a fucose on the proximal N-acetylglucosamine residue and with Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc and/or Gal beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----3)GlcNAc groups in their outer chain moieties. The acidic oligosaccharide fractions were mixtures of mono- and disialyl derivatives of bisected triantennary complex-type oligosaccharides with Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc and/or Gal beta 1----4(Fuc alpha 1----3)GlcNAc group in their outer chain moieties. Some of the outer chains of the acidic oligosaccharides were considered to be sialylated X-antigenic structures.     

Glycan residues of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in the premeiotic spermatogenetic cells of the urodele amphibian Pleurodeles waltl characterize by means of lectin histochemistry

The aim of this work was the characterization of the glycoconjugates of the premeiotic spermatogenetic cells of the testis of an urodele amphibian, Pleurodeles waltl, by means of lectins in combination with several chemical and enzymatic procedures, in order to establish the distribution of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides in these cells. In the cytoplasm of the primordial germ cells, primary and secondary spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes, a granular structure can be observed close to the nucleus. These granules contain four types of sugar chains according to their appearance during the differentiation process: 1. some oligosaccharides that are identified in all the four cell types above mentioned, which include N-linked oligosaccharides with Fuc, Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and Neu5Ac alpha2,3Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and O-linked oligosaccharides with Gal beta1,4GlcNAc and Neu5Ac alpha2,3Gal beta1,4GlcNAc; 2. other glycan chains that are not present in the primary spermatocytes (N-linked oligosaccharides with DBA-positive GalNAc, GlcNAc, and a slight amount of Neu5Ac alpha2,6Gal/GalNAc and O-linked oligosaccharides with WGA-positive GlcNAc); 3. the sugar chains that are not in the earliest step of spermatogenesis (formed by both N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharides with Glc); and 4. other that appear at the earliest and latest stages, but not in the intermediate ones, (N-linked oligosaccharides with Man and O-linked oligosaccharides with SBA- and HPA-positive GalNAc and PNA-positive Gal beta1,3GalNAc). This structure could be related with the Drosophila spectrosome and fusome, unusual cytoplasmic organelles implicated in cystic germ cell development. Data from the present work, as compared with those from mammals and other vertebrates, suggest that, although no dramatic changes in the glycosylation pattern are observed, some cell glycoconjugates are modified in a predetermined way during the early steps of the spermatogenetic differentiation process.     

Improved nonreductive O-glycan release by hydrazinolysis with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid addition

The study of protein O-glycosylation is receiving increasing attention in biological, medical, and biopharmaceutical research. Improved techniques are required to allow reproducible and quantitative analysis of O-glycans. An established approach for O-glycan analysis relies on their chemical release in high yield by hydrazinolysis, followed by fluorescent labeling at the reducing terminus and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) profiling. However, an unwanted degradation known as “peeling” often compromises hydrazinolysis for O-glycan analysis. Here we addressed this problem using low-molarity solutions of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in hydrazine for O-glycan release. O-linked glycans from a range of different glycoproteins were analyzed, including bovine fetuin, bovine submaxillary gland mucin, and serum immunoglobulin A (IgA). The data for the O-glycans released by hydrazine with anhydrous EDTA or disodium salt dihydrate EDTA show high yields of the native O-glycans compared with the peeled product, resulting in a markedly increased robustness of the O-glycan profiling method. The presented method for O-glycan release demonstrates significant reduction in peeling and reduces the number of sample handling steps prior to release.     

Release of O-linked sugar chains from glycoproteins with anhydrous hydrazine and pyridylamination of the sugar chains with improved reaction conditions.

A method for preparation of pyridylamino (PA-) derivatives of O-linked sugar chains from glycoproteins was developed. A glycopeptide containing O-linked Gal beta 1-3GalNAc was prepared from fetuin and treated with anhydrous hydrazine followed by N-acetylation of free amino groups. Sugar chains released were pyridylaminated with improved reaction conditions and excess reagents were removed by gel filtration. Gal beta 1-3GalNAc-PA obtained together with PA-Gal as a by-product was quantified by HPLC. Conditions for the hydrazine treatment were investigated and the treatment at 40 degrees C for 350 h gave the best results for releasing O-linked sugar chains. The total yield of Gal beta 1-3GalNAc-PA from the glycopeptide was 53% under the established conditions and that of PA-Gal was 18%. The present method was applied to a glycoprotein, and the expected PA-O-linked sugar chains were obtained. Under these conditions, N-linked sugar chains were also released.     

Neoglycolipid micro-immunoassays applied to the oligosaccharides of human milk galactosyltransferase detect blood-group related antigens on both O- and N-linked chains

Reduced O-linked chains and reducing N-linked chains were obtained from human milk galactosyltransferase by degradation with alkaline borohydride and hydrazinolysis, and then purified by ion-exchange chromatography. The reactivities of the conjugates of the oligosaccharides with L-alpha-phosphatidyl ethanolamine dipalmitoyl (PPEADP) towards monoclonal anti-Lea and anti-SSEA-1 were then determined, either by antibody-binding assays after absorbing the neoglycolipids onto plastic wells, or by inhibition assays after incorporating the neoglycolipids into liposomes and testing them as inhibitors of antibody binding. The oligosaccharides were also immunostained with monoclonal anti-Lea after h.p.t.l.c. and coupling to PPEADP. Antigenic activities were detected in the O-linked chains by all three assay systems, whereas, for the less abundant N-linked chains, reactivities were detected by the inhibition assays only. The results provide evidence for the expression of Lea and SSEA-1 antigen activities on both the O- and N-linked chains of this enzyme glycoprotein.     

Fluorescein-5-thiosemicarbazide as a probe for directly imaging of mucin-type O-linked glycoprotein within living cells

Mucin-type O-linked glycoproteins are known for regulating many aspects of cell activity but remains a challenge to detect under physiological conditions which is due to the diversity of O-glycosylation and the lack of universal method. Here a direct labeling strategy for in situ visualizing of mucin-type O-linked glycoproteins on living cells has been developed. The strategy utilizes the combination of metabolic engineering and chemical probing technologies. Treating cells with an unnatural sugar, 2-keto Ac(4)GalNAc analogue (2-keto isostere of GalNAc) to generate keto groups upon cells, followed by chemoselective ligation of keto groups on cells with a fluorescent tag, fluorescein-5-thiosemicarbazide (FTSC), provides a promising platform to probing mucin-type O-glycosylation on living cells. The FTSC conjugates illustrated very similar fluorescent spectra as FITC, a fluorescent tag widely used in proteomics, indicating good compatibility with commonly used fluorescent equipments. The established method eliminated the need of an additional fluorescent amplification step. Cells after being treated with the method maintained a rather high level of viability of 84.3?%. Finally, the assay has been successfully applied to image the expression of mucin-type O-linked glycoproteins within CHO and HeLa cells.     

Structural study of the sugar chains of human platelet thrombospondin

The asparagine-linked sugar chains of human platelet thrombospondin were released as oligosaccharides by hydrazinolysis. About 12 mol of sugar chains was released from one thrombospondin molecule. This was converted to radioactive oligosaccharides by sodium borotritide reduction after N-acetylation, and separated into one neutral and four acidic fractions by paper electrophoresis. More than 90% of the oligosaccharides were recovered in the acidic fraction. The acidic oligosaccharides were mostly converted to neutral oligosaccharides by sialidase treatment, indicating that they are sialyl derivatives. The neutral and sialidase-treated acidic oligosaccharides were further fractionated by Bio-Gel P-4 column chromatography. Structural study of each oligosaccharide by sequential exoglycosidase digestion and methylation analysis revealed that the thrombospondin contains mono-, bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary complex-type sugar chains in addition to a small amount of high-mannose type. Approximately 70% of the complex-type sugar chains was fucosylated at asparagine-linked N-acetylglucosamine residue and 19% of the biantennary complex-type sugar chains was bisected.     

Identification of carbohydrates binding to lectins by using surface plasmon resonance in combination with HPLC profiling

A new, powerful method is presented for screening the binding in real time and taking place under dynamic conditions of oligosaccharides to lectins. The approach combines an SPR biosensor and HPLC profiling with fluorescence detection, and is applicable to complex mixtures of oligosaccharides in terms of ligand-fishing. Labeling the oligosaccharides with 2-aminobenzamide ensures a detection level in the fmol range. In an explorative study the binding of RNase B-derived oligomannose-type N-glycans to biosensor-immobilized concanavalin A (Con A) was examined, and an affinity ranking could be established for Man(5)GlcNAc(2) to Man(9)GlcNAc(2), as monitored by HPLC. In subsequent experiments and using well-defined labeled as well as nonlabeled oligosaccharides, it was found that the fluorescent tag does not interfere with the binding and that the optimum epitope for the interaction with Con A comprises the tetramannoside unit Manalpha2Manalpha6(Manalpha3)Man[D(3)B(A)4'], rather than the generally accepted trimannoside Manalpha6 (Manalpha3)Man [B(A)4' or 4(4')3]. In a similar experimental setup, the interaction of various fucosylated human milk oligosaccharides with the fucose-binding lectin from Lotus tetragonolobus purpureaus was studied, and it appeared that oligosaccharides containing blood group H could selectively be retained and eluted from the lectin-coated surface. Finally, using the same lectin and a mixture of O-glycans derived from bovine submaxillary gland mucin, minor constituents but containing fucose could selectively be picked from the analyte solution as demonstrated by HPLC profiling.     

Characterization of recombinant murine interleukin 5 expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

We have purified recombinant murine interleukin 5 (rmIL-5) from the supernatant of Chinese hamster ovary cells. Each peptide fragment of the purified rmIL-5 generated by Achromobacter protease I digestion was characterized and glycosylation sites were determined. Although rmIL-5 contains three potential sites of N-linked glycosylation (Asn-26, Asn-55 and Asn-69), Asn-69 is not glycosylated. The oligosaccharides released from the protein by hydrazinolysis were fractionated by paper electrophoresis, lectin column chromatography and gel permeation chromatography, and their structures were analysed by sequential exoglycosidase digestion in combination with methylation analysis. The results indicated that they are a mixture of bi-, tri- and tetraantennary complex-type sugar chains with and without a fucose at the C-6 position of the proximal N-acetylglucosamine residue and high-mannose-type sugar chains. Although > 80% of the sugar chains are neutral oligosaccharides similar to recombinant human IL-5 (rhIL-5; Kodama, S., Endo, T., Tsuroka, N., Tsujimoto, M. and Kobata, A. (1991) J. Biochem., 110, 693-701), rmIL-5 has more tetraantennary oligosaccharides than rhIL-5. A site differential study revealed that Asn-55 has more tetraantennary oligosaccharides than Asn-26.     

N-linked neutral sugar chains of aminopeptidase N purified from rat small intestinal brush-border membrane.

Neutral oligosaccharides, which accounted for 74% of the total N-linked sugar chains released by hydrazinolysis of rat small intestinal aminopeptidase N, were investigated on a structural basis. They are mainly composed of complex-type sugar chains with tri- and tetraantennary structures, and small amounts of high mannose type sugar chains (7% of the total neutral sugar chains) are also included. The unique feature of the complex-type sugar chains is the most of them contain terminal N-acetylglucosamine residues and blood group H antigenic determinants in their outer chain moieties, and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine residues in their trimannosyl cores. Both the type 1H and type 2H determinants are found, but the former is mainly expressed at the distal portions of the outer chain moieties of the oligosaccharides.     

High resolution and high sensitivity methods for oligosaccharide mapping and characterization by normal phase high performance liquid chromatography following derivatization with highly fluorescent anthranilic acid

Facile labeling of oligosaccharides (acidic and neutral) in a nonselective manner was achieved with highly fluorescent anthranilic acid (AA, 2-aminobenzoic acid) (more than twice the intensity of 2- aminobenzamide, AB) for specific detection at very high sensitivity. Quantitative labeling in acetate-borate buffered methanol (approximately pH 5.0) at 80 degreesC for 60 min resulted in negligible or no desialylation of the oligosaccharides. A high resolution high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for quantitative oligosaccharide mapping on a polymeric-NH2bonded (Astec) column operating under normal phase and anion exchange (NP-HPAEC) conditions. For isolation of oligosaccharides from the map by simple evaporation, the chromatographic conditions developed use volatile acetic acid-triethylamine buffer (approximately pH 4.0) systems. The mapping and characterization technology was developed using well characterized standard glycoproteins. The fluorescent oligosaccharide maps were similar to the maps obtained by the high pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), except that the fluorescent maps contained more defined peaks. In the map, the oligosaccharides separated into groups based on charge, size, linkage, and overall structure in a manner similar to HPAEC-PAD with contribution of -COOH function from the label, anthranilic acid. However, selectivity of the column for sialic acid linkages was different. A second dimension normal phase HPLC (NP-HPLC) method was developed on an amide column (TSK Gel amide-80) for separation of the AA labeled neutral complex type and isomeric structures of high mannose type oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharides labeled with AA are compatible with biochemical and biophysical techniques, and use of matrix assisted laser desorption mass spectrometry for rapid determination of oligosaccharide mass map of glycoproteins is demonstrated. High resolution of NP-HPAEC and NP-HPLC methods combined with mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) can provide an effective technology for analyzing a wide repertoire of oligosaccharide structures and for determining the action of both transferases and glycosidases.