Structure of carbohydrate chains of a high-molecular-weight pulmonary glycoprotein

A human, alveolar glycoprotein having an apparent mol. wt. of 250 000 gave two major glycopeptide fractions (I and II) by Pronase digestion, followed by gel filtration, DEAE-cellulose column chromatography, paper chromatography, and paper electrophoresis. Glycopeptide I contained d-galactose, d-mannose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose, and N-acetylneuraminic acid in the molar ratio of 2:3:4:1, whereas these sugars were present in Glycopeptide II in the molar ratio of 2:3:4:2.l-Fucose was present only in Glycopeptide II at a concentration of one l-fucose per three d-mannose residues. In both glycopeptides, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose was linked to an asparagine residue of the peptide chain. Based on the results of alkaline borohydride treatment, periodate oxidation, methlylation analysis, and sequential glycosidase degradation of the glycopeptides, tentative structures are proposed for both glycopeptides.     

Structural analyses of O-glycan sugar chains on IgA1 hinge region using SELDI-TOFMS with various lectins

The aim of the study was to develop a simple and precise method for identifying glycosylation of the IgA hinge region using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI)-TOFMS with a lectin-coupled ProteinChip array. Serum IgA was isolated using an anti-IgA antibody column. Following reduction, alkylation, and trypsin digestion, the IgA fragments were applied on the ProteinChip coupled with jacalin, peanut agglutinin (PNA), or Vilsa villosa lectin (VVL). The SELDI-TOFMS peaks corresponding to the fragments containing IgA1 hinge glycopeptides trapped by each lectin were compared. The jacalin-, PNA-, and VVL-immobilized ProteinChips detected 13, 4, and 2 peaks, respectively. One major peak was confirmed as a glycopeptide by MS/MS analysis. These results suggest that a lectin-immobilized ProteinChip assay can be used to simplify the procedures for the analyses of the O-glycans in IgA1 hinge. This method potentially makes it possible to identify a disease-specific glycoform by selecting the appropriate ligand-coupled ProteinChip array.     

Detection, using fluorescent lectins, of specific carbohydrate chains in primordial germ cells of anuran amphibians

A study of primordial germ cells (PGC) of Amphibia Anura was carried out after treatment of sections by different fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugated lectins (FITC-lectins). Specific labelling on the PGC is obtained with lectins, the activity of which is inhibited by D-galactose or N-acetyl-galactosamine. These osidic groups appear to be located more specifically on the PGC. The same labelling pattern is not obtained with lectins possessing major affinity for mannose, glucose, fucose and N-acetyl-glucosamine. Furthermore, changes in labelling pattern are observed during migration of PGC. It is suggested that D-galactose and N-acetyl-galactosamine might be related to membrane activity of PGC during migration. Ultrastructural study of the visualization of cell surface carbohydrates supplies some information on the localisation of these lectins receptors.     

Structural analysis of carbohydrate chains of normal and myeloma immunoglobulins G using HPLC

A comparative analysis of carbohydrate chains from human normal IgG and myeloma IgG (subclass 4) was carried out using HPLC. It is shown that both IgGs contain the same carbohydrate chains (biantennary and bisected) but the relative amount of bisected and incomplete chains (with fewer terminal galactose residues) is higher in myeloma IgG4. Two earlier unknown minor oligosaccharides were isolated from normal IgG and structurally studied by means of the partial hydrolysis and the Smith degradation.     

Biochemical characterization of glycoprotein components in human ovarian cyst fluids by lectins

1. Perchloric acid-soluble glycoprotein fractions (PASFs) were separated, in yields of 180-610 mg per 100 ml of cyst fluid, from the cyst fluids of human ovarian cystadenomas (OCAs) in benign and borderline and ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCC) in malignant, and then identified as glycoproteins with 19.1-69.5% carbohydrate by their chemical composition analyses. 2. These PASFs reacted with anti-A, -B, -Lea and/or -Leb sera, but did not react with anti-H, -M and -N sera. All of the PASFs reacted with Ricinus communis lectin (RCA-I). Among these PASFs, PASFs from the cyst fluids of OCA in benign did not react with Arachis hypogaea anti-T lectin (PNA) and both of the anti-N lectins of Vicia graminea (VGA) and Vicia unijuga (VUA), and PASFs from OCA in borderline reacted with only PNA and PASFs from OCC in malignant reacted with the three lectins, PNA, VGA and VUA. However, none of PASFs from human normal sera and various normal organ tissues reacted with any of RCA, PNA, VGA and VUA. 3. The above-mentioned results seem to show that the examination of glycoproteins of ovarian cyst fluids by the combined use of RCA-I, PNA and VGA (or VUA) permits biochemical diagnosis of the canceration degree of ovarian cystomas.     

Structural studies of the carbohydrate chains of human gamma-interferon

Human gamma-interferon (IFN-gamma) was prepared biotechnologically using Chinese hamster ovary cells. These cells were shown to be able to produce glycosylated IFN-gamma. Sugar analysis revealed the presence of Man, Gal, GlcNAc, NeuAc and Fuc residues in a molar ratio of 3.8:2.0:3.5:0.6:0.4 suggesting the occurrence of N-glycosidically linked N-acetyllactosamine type of carbohydrate chains. For structure determination of these chains, the glycoprotein was subjected to the hydrazinolysis procedure, yielding oligosaccharide-alditols. The latter compounds were analysed by 500-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The carbohydrate material was found to consist of biantennary structures, exhibiting microheterogeneity as to the terminal sialic acids and the core Fuc residue: (Formula: see text). As similar carbohydrates are present on several human secreted proteins, this glycosyl group is not expected to be immunogenic in man. It remains to be established to what extent the carbohydrate chains of this biotechnologically produced IFN-gamma are identical to those of naturally occurring human IFN-gamma.     

Structural features of carbohydrate chains in human salivary mucins

• 1.1. The structure of carbohydrate chains in the low and high molecular weight mucus glycoprotein forms from submandibular-sublingual saliva of individuals with blood group B was investigated.
• 2.2. Alkaline borohydride reductive cleavage of the glycoproteins yielded in each case a population of neutral (55%) and acidic (45%) oligosaccharide alditols ranging in size from 3 to 16 sugar units.
• 3.3. The predominant neutral oligosaccharides in both glycoprotein forms consisted of 16 and 15 sugar units arranged in triantennary fashion, and carried blood group B and I antigenic determinants.
• 4.4. Three of the oligosaccharides in each glycoprotein contained sialic acid and ranged in size from 3 to 12 sugar units. In two oligosaccharides sialic acid was linked to C3 of galactose and in one to C6 of N-acetylgalactosamine. The sulfated oligosaccharide in both glycoproteins was identified as a pentasaccharide with the sulfate ester group at C6 of N-acetylglucosamine.
• 5.5. The results demonstrate that contrary to the earlier view the low and high molecular weight mucus glycoprotein forms of human saliva contain identical carbohydrate chains.

     

Structural studies on the carbohydrate units of armadillo submandibular glycoprotein.

The structure of carbohydrate units of the major glycoprotein fraction of armadillo submandibular gland was investigated. Alkaline borohydride reductive cleavage of the glycoprotein resulted in the release of O-glycosidically linked mono- and disaccharide units. The monosaccharide was identified as N-acetylgalactosaminitol, whereas disaccharide contained of N-acetylneuraminic acid and N-acetylgalactosaminitol. Treatment of the native and desialyzed glycoprotein with alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase resulted in the removal of 60% and 96% of N-acetylgalactosamine, respectively. No cleavage of this sugar was affected by the action of beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase. Both N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylneuraminic acid were susceptible to oxidation with periodate. Analyses of the partially methylated N-acetylgalactosamine derivatives, obtained from the permethylated native glycoprotein, showed the presence of 3,4,6-tri-O-methyl-N-methylacetamidogalactose and 3,4-di-O-methyl-N-methylacetamidogalactose in a ratio of 1 : 0.4. Only 3,4,6-tri-O-methyl-N-methylacetamidogalactose was found in the hydrolysates of permethylated desialyzed glycoprotein. These results together with our previous data on chemical composition of the glycoprotein suggest that about 30% of the oligosaccharide chains consist of NeuAc alpha 2 leads to 6GalNAc alpha 1 leads to O-Thr(Ser) and 70% of GalNAc alpha leads to O-Thr(Ser).     

The Asn-linked carbohydrate chains of human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein of one male. Novel sulfated and novel N-acetylgalactosamine-containing N-linked carbohydrate chains.

Human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein has been purified from the urine of one male. The Asn-linked carbohydrate chains were enzymically released by peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl)asparagine amidase F, and separated from the remaining protein by gel-permeation chromatography on Bio-Gel P-100. Fractionation of the intact (sulfated) sialylated carbohydrate chains was achieved by a combination of three liquid-chromatographic techniques, namely, anion-exchange FPLC on Q-Sepharose, amine-adsorption HPLC on Lichrospher-NH2, and high-pH anion-exchange chromatography on CarboPac PA1. In total, more than 150 carbohydrate-containing fractions were obtained, some of which still contained mixtures of oligosaccharides. The primary structure of 30 N-glycans, including 10 novel oligosaccharides, were determined by one- and two-dimensional 1H-NMR spectroscopy at 500 MHz or 600 MHz. The types of compounds identified range from non-fucosylated, monosialylated, diantennary to fucosylated, tetrasialylated, tetraantennary carbohydrate chains, possessing the following terminal structural elements: [formula: see text]     

Production and characterization of the B chains of mistletoe toxic lectins

Mistletoe toxic lectins consist of two polypeptide chains: an enzymatically active A chain, which is a toxic component, and a disulfide-bonded B chain, which confers the lectin properties on the total molecule. Mistletoe leaves contain three toxic lectins encoded by three genes. The B chains of these lectins were overproduced in Escherichia coli in a soluble form. The recombinant proteins bound with asialofetuin, but had substantially lower affinity for simple sugars D-galactose and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine as compared with the natural proteins. The functional properties of the B chains strongly depended on the storage conditions (salt concentration and the presence of galactose); the dependence was explained by structural instability of nonglycosylated recombinant proteins. The lectin activity of one of the recombinant B chains was close to that of the native protein, which was attributed to the lack of N-glycosylation sites in the latter.     

Structural studies on O- and N-glycosidically linked carbohydrate chains on Collocalia mucin

Oligosaccharides, which are O- and N-glycosidically linked on salivary glycoproteins from the edible bird's nest of chinese swallows, were released by alkaline borohydride treatment of the asialoglycoproteins and fractionated by gel chromatography. Fract. VN1 (oligosaccharides greater than 2 000 dalton) apparently represented a mixture of saccharides derived from complex, N-glycosidically linked glycans (molar ratio Man/GlcNAc/Gal 3:4:8), while fractions VN2 (tetra- to hexasaccharides), VN3 (trisaccharide) and VN4 (disaccharide) were free of mannose, but did contain all the N-acetylgalactosamine released from the protein as its alditol. Oligosaccharides in Fract. VN2 and VN4 were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography, paper chromatography and thin-layer chromatography, methylated and analysed after total or partial acid hydrolysis by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The structures of a hexasaccharide in Fract. VN2/6 and of a tetrasaccharide in fraction VN2/4 were finally established after methylation through direct-probe mass spectrometry: Gal(1----4)GlcNAc(1----3)Gal(1----4)GlcNAc(1----3)Gal(1----3)GalNAc- ol and Gal(1----4)GlcNAc(1----6)[Gal(1----3)]GalNAc-ol. Mass spectrometrical and gas-chromatographical data obtained for a disaccharide in Fract. VN4 were identical with those for Gal(beta 1----3)GalNAc-ol.     

Evidence for uniformity of the carbohydrate chains in individual glycoprotein molecular variants

Pooled and alkylated α₁-acid glycoprotein was fractionated on a Con A-Sepharose column into two fractions : Con A-non reactive and Con A-reactive. The carbohydrate moiety from the α₁-acid glycoprotein Con A-reactive variant, obtained by hydrazinolysis and quantitative re-N-acetylation, contains only identical two-branched oligosaccharide chains. From the present work on α₁-acid glycoprotein and from previous studies on α₁-fetoprotein, one can assume that glycoprotein glycosylation occurs uniformly along each polypeptide chain giving it identical oligosaccharide units at each glycosylation site.     

Differential binding of mannose-specific lectins to the carbohydrate chains of fibrinogen domains D and E

The interaction of fibrinogen with the mannose-specific lectins concanavalin A (ConA), its acetyl derivative (Ac-ConA) and Lens culinaris agglutinin (LcH) was studied. Both ConA and LcH interact specifically with individual fibrinogen B beta and gamma chains and with denatured fragments D and E. However, analysis of the binding data shows that four moles of Ac-ConA are bound per mole of fibrinogen with two sets of binding sites (Kd1 = 2.4 microM and Kd2 = 16.6 microM; n1 = n2 = 2) while only two moles of LcH are bound per mole of fibrinogen (Kd = 2.6 microM). Ultracentrifugation studies are also in agreement with the presence in the fibrinogen molecule of two and four binding sites for LcH and Ac-ConA, respectively. No aggregates of fibrinogen formed through LcH or Ac-ConA linkages are observed. The use of a crosslinking reagent and ultracentrifugal analysis of the lectin-fibrinogen fragments D1 and E complexes indicated that ConA, as well as Ac-ConA, interact with both fragments D and E while LcH interacts only with fragment D. Furthermore, the binding of ConA to both D and E domains in the intact fibrinogen molecule is clearly demonstrated by using a bifunctional reagent. The bivalent character of ConA tetramers may be misinterpreted as a lack of accessibility of the lectin to two of the four carbohydrate chains of fibrinogen. The differential binding of LcH and ConA to the carbohydrate chains of fibrinogen can be related to a different exposure of the oligosaccharide in D and E fragments and domains and to the different requirements of both lectins for their binding to glycoproteins.     

The carbohydrate of human thrombin: Structural analysis of glycoprotein oligosaccharides by mass spectrometry

The carbohydrate structure of human thrombin has been determined by direct probe mass spectrometry of the oligosaccharides released by trifluoroacetolysis from the asialo glycoprotein. The free oligosaccharides were studied as permethylated and N-trifluoroacetylated oligosaccharide alditols. The structure was confirmed by sequential exoglycosidase digestion of intact thrombin and sugar and methylation analysis of the oligosaccharides by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results indicate the following structure:

with Fuc present on only about 50% of the oligosaccharides.     

Isolation and characteristics of carbohydrate chains of riboflavin-binding glycoprotein from the chicken egg

Isolation and characterization of oligosaccharides of riboflavin binding glycoprotein from hen white is described. Reductive cleavage of the N-glycosylamide carbohydrate-peptide bond with LiBH4/tert-BuOH followed by NaBH4-NaOH treatment gave rise to alditols, which were fractionated by means of HPLC. Twelve alditols were isolated in quantities sufficient for the monosaccharide analysis. Possibility of an ovomucoid-type oligosaccharide structure for all the alditols is discussed.     

Localization of neutral N-linked carbohydrate chains in pig zona pellucida glycoprotein ZPC.

Zona pellucida, a transparent envelope surrounding the mammalian oocyte, plays important roles in fertilization and consists of three glycoproteins; ZPA, ZPB and ZPC. In pig, neutral complex-type N-linked chains obtained from a ZPB/ZPC mixture possess sperm-binding activity. We have recently reported that among neutral N-linked chains triantennary and tetraantennary chains have a sperm-binding activity stronger than that of diantennary chains. Triantennary and tetraantennary chains are localized at the second of the three N-glycosylation sites of ZPB. In this study, we focused on the localization of neutral N-linked chains in ZPC. ZPB and ZPC can not be separated from each other unless the acidic N-acetyllactosamine regions of their carbohydrate chains are removed by endo-beta-galactosidase digestion. A large part of the acidic N-linked chains becomes neutral by the digestion, but the main neutral N-linked chains are not susceptible to the enzyme. N-glycanase digestion indicated that ZPC has three N-glycosylation sites. Three glycopeptides each containing one of the N-glycosylation sites were obtained by tryptic digestion of ZPC and the N-glycosylation sites were revealed as Asn124, Asn146 and Asn271. The carbohydrate structures of the neutral N-linked chains from each glycopeptide were characterized by two-dimensional sugar mapping analysis taking into consideration the structures of the main, intact neutral N-linked chains of ZPB/ZPC mixture reported previously. Triantennary and tetraantennary chains were found mainly at Asn271 of ZPC, whereas diantennary chains were present at all three N-glycosylation sites. Thus, ZPC has tri-antennary and tetra-antennary chains as well as ZPB, but the localization of the chains is different from that in ZPB.     

Membrane carbohydrate characterization of Acanthamoeba astronyxis, A. castellanii and Naegleria fowleri by fluorescein-conjugated lectins

A comparative study of membrane carbohydrate characteristics of pathogenic and non-pathogenic trophozoites and cysts of free-living Acanthamoeba castellanii, Naegleria fowleri and A. astronyxis, respectively from sewage sludge in India was carried out by means of fluorescein-conjugated lectin binding using eight lectins. Two lectins, viz. Concanavalin A and Phytohaemagglutinin P, could bind all free-living amoebae at different concentrations. The most notable feature of the study is that peanut agglutinin (PNA) and wheatgerm agglutinin (WGA) can differentiate between the pathogenic A. castellanii and non-pathogenic A. astronyxis strain, respectively. However, Ulex agglutinin I (UEA I) was the only lectin positive to both pathogenic A. castellanii and N. fowleri. During in vitro conversion from trophozoites to cysts, A. castellanii and N. fowleri cysts gained WGA-specific saccharide whereas A. castellanii; A. astronyxis and N. fowleri lost or reduced Dolichos biflorus agglutinin, PNA; WGA and ConA, and UEA I-specific saccharides, respectively. Neuraminidase could not alter the fluorescein-lectin binding to WGA and PNA. These demonstrated that only two lectins can recognize the factors giving Acanthamoeba their pathogenic (PNA-specific) and non-pathogenic (WGA-specific) status. More interestingly, UEA I can only differentiate between pathogenic and non-pathogenic amoebae. It is also suggested that during stage conversion the surface of the organism exhibited replacement of saccharides.     

Structural analysis of the N-linked carbohydrate chains of the 55-kDa glycoprotein family (PZP3) from porcine zona pellucida.

The N-linked oligosaccharides, released by hydrazinolysis from the major 55-kDa family, PZP3, of porcine zona pellucida glycoproteins, were separated into neutral (28%) and acidic (72%) carbohydrate chains by anion-exchange HPLC. By competition assay, it was shown that the mixture of neutral chains has the sperm-receptor activity, while that of the acidic chains has no activity. Their carbohydrate structures were analyzed after the reducing ends were modified with 2-aminopyridine. The neutral chains were fractionated into several components by reverse-phase and normal-phase HPLC. By sequential glycosidase digestion and 500-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy, the structures of three major components were determined. The structures of some of the minor components were analyzed only by sequential glycosidase digestion. By these analyses, it was found that a diantennary complex-type structure with a fucose residue was predominant in the neutral chains. Furthermore, the analyses of the endo-beta-galactosidase digests of the acidic chains revealed that the partially sulfated and sialylated N-acetyllactosamines are linked to the non-reducing ends of diantennary, triantennary, and tetra-antennary complex-type neutral chains, forming heterogeneous acidic chains.