Structural analysis of trisialylated biantennary glycans isolated from mouse serum transferrin: Characterization of the sequence Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-3)[Neu5Gc(α2-6)]GlcNAc(β1-2)Man

Five variants of mouse serum transferrin (mTf, designated mTf-I to mTf-V) with respect to carbohydrate composition have been isolated by DEAE-cellulose chromatography in the following relative percentages: mTf-I: 0.55; mTf-II: 0.79; mTf-III: 71.80; mTf-VI: 21.90 and mTf-V: 4.96. The primary structures of the major glycans from mTf-III and mTf-IV were determined by methylation analysis and ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. All glycans possessed a common trimannosyl-N,N′-diacetylchitobiose core. From the glycovariant mTf-III two isomers of a conventional biantennary N-acetyllactosamine type were isolated, in which two N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) residues are linked to galactose either by a (α2-6) or (α2-3) linkage. A subpopulation of this glycovariant contains a fucose residue (α1-6)-linked to GlcNAc-1. The structure of the major glycan found in variant mTf-IV contained an additional Neu5Gc and possessed the following new type of linkage: Neu5Gc(α2-3)Gal(β1-3)Neu5Gc(α2-6)]GlcNAc(β1-2)Man(α1-3). In addition to this glycan, a minor compound contained the same antennae linked to Man(α1-6). In fraction mTf-V, which was found to be very heterogeneous by ¹H NMR analysis, carbohydrate composition and methylation analysis suggested the presence of tri′-antennary glycans sialylated by Neu5Gc α-2,6- and α-2,3-linked to the terminal galactose residues. In summary, mTf glycans differed from those of other analyzed mammalian transferrins by the presence of Neu5Gc and by a Neu5Gc(α2-6)GlcNAc linkage in trisialylated biantennary structures, reflecting in mouse liver, a high activity of CMP-Neu5Ac hydroxylase and (α2-6)GlcNAc sialyltransferase.