Glycosylation of the envelope glycoprotein from a polytropic murine retrovirus in two different host cells

A polytropic recombinant retrovirus containing the envelope gene of Friend mink cell focus-inducing virus plus the remainder of the genome of an amphoropic murine leukemia virus was propagated on mouse embryo fibroblasts and mink lung cells. Virus particles, metabolically labeled with 2-3H]mannose, were harvested from the culture supernatants and lysed with detergents. The viral envelope glycoprotein was isolated from the lysates by immunoaffinity chromatography and purified by preparative SDS/PAGE. Oligosaccharides were liberated by sequential treatment of tryptic glycopeptides with endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H and peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminyl) asparagine amidase F and fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Individual glycans were characterized chromatographically, by methylation analyses and in part, by enzymic microsequencing. The results demonstrated that viral glycoproteins, synthesized in mouse embryo fibroblasts, carried as major constituents partially fucosylated diantennary, 2,4- and 2,6-branched triantennary and tetraantennary complex type N-glycans with 0-4 sialic acid residues and only small amounts of high-mannose type species with 5-9 mannose residues. As a characteristic feature, part of the complex type glycans contained additional Gal(alpha 1-3) substituents. Glycoprotein obtained from virions propagated on mink lung cells, contained partially fucosylated diantennary and 2,4-branched triantennary oligosaccharides with 1-3 sialic acid residues, in addition to trace amounts of high-mannose type species with 8 or 9 mannose residues. Thus, the results reveal that predominantly, the complex type N-glycans of the retroviral envelope glycoprotein display cell-specific variations including differences in oligosaccharide branching, sialylation and substitution by additional Gal(alpha 1-3) residues.