Separation procedure and sugar composition of oligosaccharides in the surface glycoprotein of friend murine leukemia virus

The sugar composition of the surface glycoprotein from Friend murine leukemia virus was determined by gas-liquid chromatography of the alditol acetates and by the thiobarbituric acid method, respectively. N-Acetylglucosamine, mannose, galactose, sialic acid and fucose were found in a molar ratio around 15.2:11.6:7.4:3.3:1.0. Ten ogligosaccharide fractions were obtained from glycoprotein preparations by a suitable sequence of degradation (with pronase, endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase H, neuraminidase, and by hydrazinolysis) and separation procedures (concanavalin A-affinity chromatography and gel filtration). The qualitative sugar composition of these fractions was analyzed by in vivo labelling with D-[6-³H]glucosamine, D-[2-³H]mannose, D-[6-³H]galactose, or L-[6-³H]fucose, and their molecular weights were estimated from the gel elution volumina. Four fractions of N-glycosidically linked oligosaccharides of the oligomannosidic (‘high mannose’) type oligomannosidic₇-oligomannosidic₁₀, about seven to ten sugar residues), two of the mixed (M₁₁ and M₁₂), and four of the N-acethyllactosaminic (‘complex’) type (N-acetyllactosaminic₉, probably nine sugar residues; (N-acetyllactosaminic_a-N-acetyllactosaminic_c, size unknown) were thus identified.