Oligosaccharide structures present on asparagine-289 of recombinant human plasminogen expressed in a Chinese hamster ovary cell line

The oligosaccharide structures linked to Asn289 of a recombinant (r) variant (R561S) human plasminogen (HPg) expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, after transfection of these cells with a plasmid containing the cDNA coding for the variant HPg, have been determined. Employing high-performance anion-exchange liquid chromatography mapping of the oligosaccharide units cleaved from the protein by glycopeptidase F, compared with elution positions of standard oligosaccharides, coupled with monosaccharide compositional determinations and analyses of sequential exoglycosidase digestions and specific lectin binding, we find that considerable microheterogeneity in oligosaccharide structure exists at this sole potential N-linked glycosylation site on HPg. A variety of high-mannose structures, as well as bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary complex-type carbohydrate, has been found, in relative amounts of 1-25% of the total oligosaccharides. The complex-type structures contain variable amounts of sialic acid (Sia), ranging from 0 to 5 mol/mol of oligosaccharide in the different glycan structures. Neither hybrid-type molecules, N-acetylglucosamine bisecting oligosaccharides, nor N-acetyllactosaminyl-repeat structures were found to be present in the complex-type carbohydrate pool in observable amounts. Of interest, a significant portion of the Sia exists an outer arm structures in an (alpha 2,6) linkage to the penultimate galactose, a novel finding in CHO cell-directed glycosylation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Comparative study of the carbohydrate moieties of normal and pathological human immunoglobulins M.

The well-known heterogeneity of normal and pathological immunoglobulins M was investigated in a study involving the characterization of their carbohydrate moieties. Oligosaccharide units were released from the native molecule by hydrazinolysis, and they were fractionated by affinity chromatography on a concanavalin A-Sepharose column to yield separate N-acetyl-lactosaminic-type and oligomannosidic-type structures. Further identification of these oligosaccharides was attempted by t.l.c. on silica gel and by determination of their monosaccharide compositions. A comparative study of the oligosaccharide units belonging to each population of immunoglobulin M was possible. Similarities were found in the occurrence of both types of oligosaccharide structures, and, in addition, a common double heterogeneity could be demonstrated for N-acetyl-lactosaminic-type structures: they could be resolved by affinity chromatography into bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary structures, and they also showed differences in N-acetylneuraminic acid content. Though some variations were observed in the exact composition of the oligosaccharide units within each population, it was possible to consider a representative oligosaccharide-unit composition of normal immunoglobulin M as a standard for comparison. On this basis a predominance of multi-antennary structures was observed in the more glycosylated pathological immunoglobulins M (10% carbohydrate content), whereas oligomannosidic structures were increased in pathological immunoglobulins M with a lower content of carbohydrates (7%). These variations are thought to reflect differences in the biosynthetic processing pathway of the carbohydrate units of the pathological immunoglobulins M or the enhanced expression of a molecular clone.     

Characterization of the oligosaccharide units of the bovine erythrocyte membrane glycoprotein.

The major glycoprotein of the bovine erythrocyte membrane was purified by extraction of the ghosts with lithium 3,5-diiodosalicylate followed by phenol-water extraction and acidification. The glycoprotein contains 20% protein and 80% carbohydrate by weight and gives a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with an estimated molecular weight of 230000 daltons. The carbohydrate composition of the glycoprotein was determined to be (in residues relative to sialic acid): sialic acid, 1.0; fucose, less than 0.01; mannose, 0.1; galactose, 3.3; N-acetylgalactosamine, 0.9; and N-acetylglucosamine, 2.4. Pronase digestion of the isolated glycoprotein followed by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration resulted in the separation of a small pool of glycopeptides (pool III), which included all of the mannose-containing glycopeptides, from the bulk of the glycopeptide material which was in the void fractions of the column (pool I). Alkaline borohydride treatment released over 95% of the oligosaccharide units in pool I and approximately 30% of the oligosaccharide units in pool III. These oligosaccharides were isolated by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The oligosaccharides released from pool I had molecular weights of 1100-1400 daltons and contained sialic acid, galactose, and N-acetylglucosamine in molar ratios of 0.5-1:3:2 as well as a partial residue of N-acetylgalactosaminitol. The oligosaccharides released from pool III by alkali had molecular weights of 1300-1600 daltons and contained sialic acid, galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine and N-ACETYLgalactosaminitol in molar ratios of 1-2:2:1:1:1. These data indicate that the majority of the oligosaccharide units of the bovine erythrocyte glycoprotein are linked O-glycosidically to the peptide backbone of the molecule.     

Carbohydrate structures of HVJ (Sendai virus) glycoproteins

The carbohydrate structures of two membrane glycoproteins (HANA protein and F protein) of HVJ have been determined on materials purified from virions grown in the allantoic sac of embryonated chicken eggs. Both glycoproteins contain fucose, mannose, galactose, and glucosamine but not galactosamine, indicating that their sugar chains are exclusively of the asparagine-linked type. The radioactive oligosaccharide fractions obtained from the two glycoproteins by hydrazinolysis followed by NaB[3H]4 reduction gave quite distinct fractionation patterns after paper electrophoresis. More than 75% of the oligosaccharides from F protein were acidic and separated into at least four components by paper electrophoresis. Only 18% of the oligosaccharide from HANA protein was an acidic single component. These acidic oligosaccharides could not be converted to neutral oligosaccharides by sialidase digestion. Structural studies of the neutral oligosaccharide fractions from HANA and F proteins revealed that both of them are mixtures of a series of high mannose type oligosaccharides and of complex type oligosaccharides with Gal beta 1 leads to (Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3) GlcNAc group in their outer chain moieties.     

Purification and characterization of a sulfated glycoprotein secreted by Sertoli cells

Sulfated glycoprotein 2 (SGP-2), the major secretion product of Sertoli cells, was purified from cell culture medium by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The native protein consists of disulfide-linked monomers of 41,000 and 29,000 daltons which have a strong tendency to associate into multimers. The purified SGP-2 was subjected to amino acid analysis and contained high levels of Asx (11.1%), Glx (15.1%), and leucine (11.5%). The oligosaccharides on the purified SGP-2 were analyzed to determine the monosaccharide compositions and the molecular weights of the intact carbohydrate moieties. SGP-2 was shown to be 23.7% carbohydrate and consisted of 1% fucose, 3.5% mannose, 4.1% galactose, 7.1% N-acetylglucosamine, and 8.0% N-acetylneuraminic acid. No N-acetylgalactosamine was detected. When the SGP-2 was digested with proteases, the intact oligosaccharides were chromatographed over a Bio-Gel P-6 column and found to elute in a single symmetrical peak of approximately 3,300 g/mol. On the basis of these results, the oligosaccharides on SGP-2 were proposed to consist of triantennary chains similar to those found on fetuin. When the 35SO4(2-)-labeled SGP-2 was digested with Pronase, the free amino acids could be separated by chromatography from the oligosaccharide. The 35SO4(2-) was shown to be associated with the oligosaccharide portion of SGP-2.     

The structure of carbohydrate chains of blood-group substance. Isolation and elucidation of the structure of higher oligosaccharides from blood-group substance H

Twenty individual higher reduced oligosaccharides, having from seven to eleven monosaccharide units, were isolated after sodium borohydride degradation of blood-group substance H from pig stomach linings. Anion-exchange high-pressure liquid chromatography appears to be a very convenient and effective method for this kind of higher oligosaccharide mixtures separation. The oligosaccharide structures were determined by means of periodate oxidation, methylation analysis, partial acid and enzymic hydrolysis. It has been found that all the oligosaccharides investigated can be divided into four series. The oligosaccharides belonging to each series have the common oligosaccharide fragment to which terminal L-fucose and/or N-acetyl-D-glucosamine residues are attached. Comparison of all the oligosaccharide structures, including tri, penta and hexasaccharides described earlier, shows that the lower oligosaccharides represent the structural element of the higher oligosaccharides.     

The glycoprotein nature and antigenicity of a fungal D-glucosyltransferase

D-Glucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.24) from Aspergillus niger has been prepared in pure form by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. The enzyme transfers D-glucosyl units from maltose and other alpha-linked D-glucosyl oligosaccharides to glucosyl co-substrates resulting in the synthesis of new types of oligosaccharides. The glucosyltransferase has been found to be a glycoprotein containing 20% of carbohydrate consisting of mannose, glucose, and galactose. The carbohydrate residues are attached as either single units or as short oligosaccharide chains by O-glycosyl linkages to the serine and threonine residues of the protein. Antibodies directed against glucosyltransferase have been induced in animals by appropriate immunization regimes. These antibodies combine with the carbohydrate components of the enzyme and, therefore, the carbohydrate residues are the immunodeterminant groups of the glucosyltransferase.     

Fractionation and Characterization of the Sulfated Oligosaccharide Chains of Ovomucin

The O-glycosidically linked carbohydrate units of ovomucin were released from serine and threonine in peptide as oligosaccharide chains by alkali treatment with and without borohydride. Two sulfated oligosaccharides were fractionated by using gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatography. The yield of sulfated oligosaccharides released by alkali treatment was higher in the presence of borohydride than in the absence of borohydride. The sulfated oligosaccharides released by alkali treatment with borohydride were as follows: an oligosaccharide composed of N-acetylgalactosaminitol, galactose, N-acetylneuraminic acid and sulfate in a molar ratio of about 1: 1: 1: 1 and another oligosaccharide in a molar ratio of about 1:1: 0.6: 0.5.     

Oligosaccharide processing in the expression of human plasminogen cDNA by lepidopteran insect (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells

A comparison has been made between the Asn289-linked oligosaccharide structures of human plasma plasminogen and a recombinant human plasminogen, expressed in lepidopteran insect (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells, after infection of these cells with a recombinant baculovirus containing the entire human plasminogen cDNA. Using anion-exchange liquid chromatography mapping of the oligosaccharide units cleaved from the proteins by glycopeptidase F, compared with elution positions of standard oligosaccharide structures, coupled with monosaccharide compositional analysis, we find that the human plasma protein contained only bisialo-biantennary complex-type carbohydrate and asialo-biantennary complex carbohydrate, confirming earlier work published by this laboratory. The glycosylation pattern of the insect cell expressed recombinant human plasminogen showed considerable microheterogeneity, with identifiable high-mannose carbohydrate (Man9GlcNAc2) and truncated high-mannose oligosaccharide (Man5GlcNAc2, Man4GlcNAc2, and Man3GlcNAc2). Of major importance, approximately 40% of the oligosaccharide population consisted of complex carbohydrate (bisialo-biantennary), identical in structure with that of the human plasma protein. This is the first direct identification of complex carbohydrate in proteins produced in insect cells and demonstrates that trimming and processing of high-mannose carbohydrate into complex-type oligosaccharide can occur. Our data indicate that both normal and alternate pathways exist in these cells for incorporation and trimming of high-mannose oligosaccharides and that mannosidases, as well as galactosyl-, hexosaminidasyl-, and sialyltransferases are present, and/or can be induced, in these cells. From these observations, we conclude that amino acid sequences and/or protein conformational properties can control oligosaccharide processing events.     

Analysis of protein glycosylation by mass spectrometry

There is a growing pharmaceutical market for protein-based drugs for use in therapy and diagnosis. The rapid developments in molecular and cell biology have resulted in production of expression systems for manufacturing of recombinant proteins and monoclonal antibodies. These proteins are glycosylated when expressed in cell systems with glycosylation ability. For glycoproteins intended for therapeutic administration it is important to have knowledge about the structure of the carbohydrate side chains to avoid cell systems that produce structures, which in humans can cause undesired reactions, e.g., immunological and unfavorable serum clearance rate. Structural analysis of glycoprotein oligosaccharides requires sophisticated instruments like mass spectrometers and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers. However, before the structural analysis can be conducted, the carbohydrate chains have to be released from the protein and purified to homogeneity, and this is often the most time-consuming step. Mass spectrometry has played and still plays an important role in analysis of protein glycosylation. The superior sensitivity compared to other spectroscopic methods is its main asset. Structural analysis of carbohydrates faces several problems, however, due to the chemical nature of the constituent monosaccharide residues. For oligosaccharides or glycoconjugates, the structural information from mass spectrometry is essentially limited to monosaccharide sequence, molecular weight, and only in exceptional cases glycosidic linkage positions can be obtained. In order to completely establish an oligosaccharide structure, several other structural parameters have to be determined, e.g., linkage positions, anomeric configuration and identification of the monosaccharide building blocks. One way to address some of these problems is to work on chemical pretreatment of the glycoconjugate, to specifically modify the carbohydrate chain. In order to introduce specific modifications, we have used periodate oxidation and trifluoroacetolysis with the objective of determining glycosidic linkage positions by mass spectrometry.     

The identification of furanose and pyranose ring forms of the reducing units of oligosaccharides

Several types of oligosaccharides with glucose, arabinose, or galactose units have been prepared by chemical degradation of oligosaccharides of known structures and by enzymatic syntheses utilizing macerans amylase or yeast galactosyltransferase and appropriate substrates and cosubstrates. The ring forms of reducing units of these oligosaccharides and of oligosaccharides composed of glucose and mannose have been identified by a combined method of analysis based on methylation, gas-liquid chromatography, and mass spectrometry. In the dimethyl sulfoxide solvent used for the methylations, the oligosaccharides with arabinose or galactose units at the reducing ends occur as arabinofuranose or galactofuranose ring forms to the extent of 55 and 65%, respectively. The remainder of these monosaccharide units are present in the pyranose ring form. Oligosaccharides with glucose or mannose units at the reducing ends occur primarily in the pyranose ring form. An interesting observation is the finding that the reducing units which carry substituents linked by alpha-glycosidic linkages occur in a higher percentage in the furanose ring forms than those which carry substituents linked by beta-glycosidic linkages.     

Multiple oligosaccharide chains in the voltage-sensitive Na channel from electrophorus electricus: evidence for alpha-2,8-linked polysialic acid

Carbohydrate substituents on the large peptide of the voltage-sensitive Na channel from Electrophorus electricus electroplax have been partially characterized by their sensitivity to endoglycosidases H and F, peptide:N-glycosidase F, Endo-N-acetylneuraminidase, and to neuraminidase. The results suggest the presence of at least two classes of oligosaccharides: neutral, high mannose or hybrid oligosaccharides, and acidic, complex oligosaccharides with a core-structure terminating in an unbranched homopolymer of sialosyl units in alpha-2,8 linkages (much greater than 5 tandem sialic acids). Large decreases in apparent Mr produced by sialidase treatments suggest an extended carbohydrate structure that could inhibit protein-protein interaction. Polysialic acid was formerly proposed to be a unique constituent of neural cell adhesion molecules (N-CAMs) in vertebrates. However, ratios of sialic acid to galactose reported for mammalian brain and muscle Na channels suggest they may also carry this oligosaccharide.     

A novel carbohydrate structure in bovine and ovine luteinizing hormones

Bovine and ovine lutropins (bLH and oLH) have three similar asparagine-linked carbohydrate units made up of Fuc, Gal (present only in oLH), Man, GlcNAc and GalNAc. The structural analyses of these carbohydrate units were performed on the oligosaccharides obtained by the alkaline borohydride treatment of the hormones and on the native hormones. The determination of intersugar and anomeric linkages, monosaccharide sequences and the polypeptide-carbohydrate linkage was carried out by methylation, periodate oxidation and deamination techniques and treatment with exoglycosidases. Based on these studies the structure for the oligosaccharide of bLH and oLH is proposed.     

Structural characterization of neutral oligosaccharides of human H+Leb+ gastric mucin

The structure of carbohydrate chains of human gastric mucin was investigated. The mucin, purified from pronase-degraded gastric aspirates of the secretors with blood group H+Leb, was subjected to alkaline borohydride treatment and a heterogeneous population of neutral (72.1%) and acidic (27.9%) oligosaccharide alditols was obtained. Ten oligosaccharides (I-X), representing 80.3% of the neutral oligosaccharide fraction, have been purified to homogeneity and their structures determined. These oligosaccharides ranged in length from 4 to 12 sugar units and contained mono-, bi-, and triantennary structures. Based on hemagglutination inhibition data in H-anti-H, Leb-anti-Leb, and I-anti-I systems, and the results of structural analyses, we proposed the following structures for these oligosaccharides: (formula, see text)     

Binding sub-site dissection of a carbohydrate-binding module reveals the contribution of entropy to oligosaccharide recognition at "non-primary" binding subsites

The optimal ligands for many carbohydrate-binding proteins are often oligosaccharides comprising two, three, or more monosaccharide units. The binding affinity for these sugars is increased incrementally by contributions from binding subsites on the protein that accommodate the individual monosaccharide residues of the oligosaccharide. Here, we use CsCBM6-1, a xylan-specific type B carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) from Clostridium stercorarium falling into amino acid sequence family CBM6, as a model system to investigate the structural and thermodynamic contributions of binding subsites in this protein to carbohydrate recognition. The three-dimensional structures of uncomplexed CsCBM6-1 (at 1.8 A resolution) and bound to the oligosaccharides xylobiose, xylotriose, and xylotetraose (at 1.70 A, 1.89 A, and 1.69 A resolution, respectively) revealed the sequential occupation of four subsites within the binding site in the order of subsites 2, 3, 4 then 1. Overall, binding to all of the xylooligosaccharides tested was enthalpically favourable and entropically unfavourable, like most protein-carbohydrate interactions, with the primary subsites 2 and 3 providing the bulk of the free energy and enthalpy of binding. In contrast, the contributions to the changes in entropy of the non-primary subsites 1 and 4 to xylotriose and xylotetraose binding, respectively, were positive. This observation is remarkable, in that it shows that the 10-20-fold improvement in association constants for oligosaccharides longer than a disaccharide is facilitated by favourable entropic contributions from the non-primary binding subsites.     

Bilberry xyloglucan--novel building blocks containing beta-xylose within a complex structure

Bilberries are known to have one of the most complex xyloglucan structures described in the plant kingdom until now. To characterise this structure, xyloglucans were enzymatically degraded and the oligosaccharides obtained were analysed. More than 20 different building blocks were found to make up the xyloglucan polymer. Bilberry xyloglucan was of XXXG-type, but some XXG-type oligomers were present, as well. The building blocks contain galactose-xylose (L) and fucose-galactose-xylose (F) side chains. In both side chains, the galactose units can be acetylated. In addition, beta-xylose-alpha-xylose (U) side chains were shown. This U chain was present in three building blocks described before (XUXG, XLUG and XUFG) and four novel blocks that have not been described in the literature previously: XUG, XUUG, XLUG and XXUG.     

Microanalysis of N-linked oligosaccharides in a glycoprotein by capillary liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

We have studied rapid and simple sugar mapping using liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/MS) equipped with a graphitized carbon column. The oligosaccharide mixture was separated on the basis of the sequence, branching structure, and linkage, and each oligosaccharide was characterized based on its molecular mass. In this study we demonstrated the usefulness of capillary LC/MS (CapLC/MS) and capillary liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (CapLC/MS/MS) as sensitive means for accomplishing the structural analysis of oligosaccharides in a low-abundance glycoprotein. The carbohydrate heterogeneity and molecular mass information of each oligosaccharide can be readily obtained from CapLC/MS of a small amount of glycoprotein. CapLC/MS/MS provided b-ion series, which is informative with regard to monosaccharide sequence. Exoglycosidase digestion followed by CapLC/MS elucidated a carbohydrate residue linkage. Using this method, we characterized N-linked oligosaccharides in hepatocyte growth factor produced in mouse myeloma NS0 cells as the complex-type bi-, tri-, and tetraantennary terminated with N-glycolylneuraminic acids and alpha-linked galactose residues. Sugar mapping with CapLC/MS and CapLC/MS/MS is useful for monitoring glycosylation patterns and for structural analysis of carbohydrates in a low-abundance glycoprotein and thus will become a powerful tool in biological, pharmaceutical, and clinical studies.     

Nonrandom structural features in the heparin polymer

Computer simulation studies were used to prepare an ensemble of heparin number chains. The polydispersity of these chains was simulated by introducing a specific "fraction of terminators", and it closely resembled the experimentally observed polydispersity of a porcine mucosal, glycosaminoglycan heparin. The same percentage of simulated chains contained antithrombin III (ATIII) binding site sequences as are typically found to contain ATIII binding sites using affinity chromatography. Heparin lyase action was then simulated by using Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In one model, heparin chains were constructed from the random assembly of monosaccharide units using the observed mole percentage of each. After simulated depolymerization, the final oligosaccharides formed were compared to the observed oligosaccharide products. The simulation which assumed a random distribution of monosaccharide units in heparin did not agree with experimental observations. In particular, no ATIII binding site sequences were found in the simulated number chains. The results of this simulation indicate that heparin is not simply a random assembly of monosaccharide units. These results are consistent with the known, ordered biosynthesis of heparin. In a second model, heparin chains were constructed from randomly assembled oligosaccharides at the mole percentage in which each is found in the final product mixture. The action of heparin lyase was then simulated, and the distribution of the oligosaccharide products was measured throughout the simulated time course of the depolymerization reaction. The simulated rate of formation and final concentration of a particular oligosaccharide which contains a portion of heparin's ATIII binding site were similar to those observed experimentally. These results are consistent with the random distribution of ATIII binding sites within glycosaminoglycan heparin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Rapid characterization of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides isolated from glycoproteins using a carbohydrate analyzer

Chromatographic methods were developed for the separation and characterization of acidic (sialylated) and neutral (asialo-complex and high-mannose) oligosaccharides released from glycoproteins with peptide N-glycosidase F. endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase F and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H using a carbohydrate analyzer (Dionex BioLC). All the carbohydrate separations were carried out on a polymeric pellicular anion-exchange column HPIC-AS6/CarboPac PA-1 (Dionex) using only two eluants namely, 0.5 M NaOH and 3% acetic acid/NaOH pH 5.5, which were mixed with water to generate various gradients. Developed conditions for quantitative detection of carbohydrates with pulsed amperometry were necessary to obtain steady baselines at 0.1-0.3 microA output with suitable sensitivity (less than 5 pmol) in separations employing a variety of acidic and alkaline sodium acetate gradients. Oligosaccharides released from heat-denatured and trypsin-treated glycoproteins were purified initially from large-scale digestion (greater than 0.1 g) by extraction of peptide material into phenol/chloroform and finally by ion-exchange chromatography of the acqueous phase. Oligosaccharides isolated from the peptide N-glycosidase digests of bovine fetuin, human transferrin and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein gave multiple peaks in each charge group in separations based on the charge content at pH 5.5. Alkaline sodium acetate gradients were developed to obtain oligosaccharide maps of the glycoproteins within 60 min, in which separated oligosaccharides eluted in the order of neutral, mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-sialylated species based on both charge, size and structure. Baseline separations were obtained with neutral oligosaccharide types but mixtures of high-mannose and complex types were poorly resolved. The high-mannose peaks were eliminated specifically from complex oligosaccharides by digesting with alpha-mannosidase. Treatment with beta-galactosidase, beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase and alpha-mannosidase resulted in a decrease of the oligosaccharide elution times corresponding to the number of sugar residues lost, the profile of changes was highly reproducible. In contrast, treatment with alpha-L-fucosidase, endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase F and endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H resulted in an increase in their corresponding oligosaccharide retention times similar to the presence of an additional sugar residue. Conditions developed for separation of the reduced oligosaccharides and also a mixture of monosaccharide to oligosaccharide containing about 15 sugar residues within 30 min were useful in determining the effect of endo- and exo-glycosidases on porcine thyroglobulin oligosaccharides. Changes in elution time of the oligosaccharides following specific glycosidase digestions combined with methylation analysis provided a rapid and sensitive tool for confirmation of the carbohydrate primary structures present in thyroglobulin.     

Structures of the carbohydrate chains of membrane glycoproteins IIb and IIIa of human platelets

Human platelet membrane glycoproteins IIb (GPIIb) and IIIa (GPIIIa), which have been proposed to be subunits of a receptor for fibrinogen, were purified from Triton X-100-solubilized platelet membranes by affinity chromatography on a concanavalin A (Con A)-Sepharose column followed by preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Compositional analyses of the purified glycoproteins showed that GPIIb and GPIIIa contain 15% and 18% carbohydrate by weight, respectively, which consists of galactose, mannose, glucosamine, fucose, and sialic acid. This suggested that these glycoproteins contained N-linked carbohydrate chains. The carbohydrate chains were released from each glycoprotein by hydrazinolysis and then fractionated by ion-exchange chromatography on a Mono Q column. From each glycoprotein, mono-, di-, and trisialylated and neutral oligosaccharide fractions were obtained. The structures of these oligosaccharides were investigated by means of compositional and methylation analyses and digestion by exoglycosidase, and their reactivities to immobilized lectins were also examined. The neutral oligosaccharides, which comprised about 14% of the total oligosaccharides released from GPIIb and about 52% of that from GPIIIa, were found to be of the high mannose-type, in that they contained 5 or 6 mannose residues. On the other hand, a major part of the acidic oligosaccharides was found to consist of typical bi- and triantennary complex-type sugar chains, and much smaller amounts of tetraantennary complex-type sugar chains, and complex-type sugar chains with a fucosyl residue at a N-acetylglucosamine residue in the peripheral portion or a bisecting N-acetylglucosamine at a beta-mannosyl residue in the core portion were also detected. In conclusion, we found that GPIIb contained mainly complex-type sugar chains, whereas high mannose-type sugar chains were the predominant carbohydrate units in GPIIIa, and that the detected differences in the carbohydrate moieties of GPIIb and GPIIIa were quantitative but not qualitative.