Studies of mucin-type glycoproteins. Olefinic amino acids, products of the beta-elimination reaction

Site-specific core 1 O-glycosylation pattern of the porcine submaxillary gland mucin tandem repeat. Evidence for the modulation of glycan length by peptide sequence

The sequence-specific O-linked core 1 ([R1, R2]-beta-Gal(1-3)-alpha-GalNAc-O-Ser/Thr) glycosylation pattern has been quantitatively determined for 30 of the 31 Ser/Thr residues in the 81-residue porcine submaxillary gland mucin tandem repeat. This was achieved by Edman amino acid sequencing of the isolated tandem repeat after selective removal of non-C3-substituted, peptide-linked GalNAc residues by periodate oxidation and subsequent trimming of the remaining oligosaccharides to peptide-linked GalNAc residues by mild trifluoromethanesulfonic acid/anisole treatment. The sequencing reveals 61% (range, 12-95%) of the peptide alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) residues to be substituted by core 1 chains, a value in agreement with the carbon-13 NMR analysis of the native mucin. Residues with the lowest C3 substitution were typically clustered in regions of sequence with the highest densities of (glycosylated) serine or threonine. This suggests that the porcine beta3-Gal, core 1, transferase is sensitive to peptide sequence and/or neighboring core GalNAc glycosylation in vivo, in keeping with earlier in vitro enzymatic glycosylation studies (Granovsky, M., Blielfeldt, T., Peters, S., Paulsen, H., Meldal, M., Brockhausen, J., and Brockhausen, I. (1994) Eur. J. Biochem. 221, 1039-1046). These results demonstrate that the O-glycan structures in mucin domains are not necessarily uniformly distributed along the polypeptide core and that their lengths can be modulated by peptide sequence. The data further suggest that hydroxyamino acid spacing may contribute to the regulation of glycan length, thereby, providing a mechanism for maintaining an optimally expanded, protease resistant, mucin conformation.

Studies on the formation of lysinomethylalanine and histidinomethylalanine in milk products

From reaction mixtures consisting of N-acetyldehydroaminobutyric acid methyl ester and N alpha-acetyl-L-lysine or N alpha-acetyl-L-histidine, respectively, distinct amounts of the cross-link amino acids N epsilon-(2-amino-2-carboxy-1-methyl-ethyl)-L-lysine (lysinomethylalanine, LMeAL) and N tau-(2'-amino-2'-carboxy-1'-methyl-ethyl)-L-histidine (histidinomethylalanine, HMeAL) were isolated via preparative ion-exchange chromatography and identified by 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance. In the amino acid chromatogram, both compounds eluted clearly separated from other basic amino acids. However, neither LMeAL nor HMeAL could be detected in numerous acid hydrolysates of a range of milk products. In model studies, threonine showed a significantly lower tendency for an alkali-induced beta-elimination reaction compared to serine. The reactivity of the resulting dehydroaminobutyric acid towards nucleophiles was more than tenfold lower as compared to dehydroalanine. Thus, the formation of LMeAL as well as of HMeAL during food processing is negligible.

Secretory activity of hamster tracheal explants and isolated tracheal epithelial cells and the effects of cystic fibrosis serum

Serum from cystic fibrosis patients has been shown by scanning electron microscopy to cause release of large quantities of mucus from the cultured tracheal rings of 3-4-month-old male Golden Syrian hamsters. In order to study this phenomenon on single cells, an epithelial (HTE) cell culture has been established from the hamster tracheal rings using the cell rescue method of Goldman and Baseman (1980a, In Vitro, 16:313). The cells were demonstrated to be epithelial by histochemical staining and immunofluorescent detection of laminin. Proteins secreted by HTE cells were partially characterized and shown to consist, at least in part, of acidic glycoproteins. The proteins were precipitated by addition of buffered alcian blue (AB) to the cell-free medium under conditions in which all of a polyanionic protein [3H]-labeled mucin, was precipitated without carrier. [14C] galactosamine-labeled AB precipitate was beta-eliminated and, after neutralization and centrifugation, the material in the supernatant was sized by chromatography on a calibrated Bio-Gel P2 column. The label eluted with a molecular weight close to a disaccharide. HTE cells pulse-labeled for 1.0 hr with [3H] leucine or [14C] galactosamine secreted increasing amounts of labeled glycoprotein during the chase. Sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography of labeled AB precipitates revealed three major bands, two with molecular weights greater than 100 kd. Secretion was stimulated by retinoate (50% increase), but not by retinol. Exposure of HTE cells to whole sera from cystic fibrosis patients resulted in heightened secretion rates as compared to results obtained with normal sera. Heterozygote sera produced secretion rates intermediate between the two extremes.

O-glycosidic linkage in glycoprotein isolates from human ocular mucus

Alkaline beta-elimination and sodium borohydride reduction were used to study the O-glycosidic linkage of N-acetylgalactosamine to seryl and threonyl residues in the high molecular weight crude glycoprotein fractions isolated from human ocular mucus. Pure mucins, BSM and OSM, were used as models. Data are presented for the existence of such O-glycosidic linkages. It was estimated from sodium borohydride reaction that at least 22% of the total peptide bonded hydroxyamino acid residues are linked O-glycosidically. These findings, as a continuation of our previous work on the isolation and chemical characterization of human ocular mucus, provided additional evidence of the mucin nature of the glycoprotein isolates.

The antigenic mucin-like glycoproteins of human seminal plasma

Immunodiffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation analysis, and gel permeation chromatography in chaotropic and detergent mediums showed that the human seminal plasma obtained and stored in the usual way is mainly composed by heterodispersed glycoproteins of low molecular weight. The glycoprotein components of the human seminal plasma which do not interact specifically with concanavalin A (con A) were separated by column chromatography on Con A-Sepharose according to nonspecific ion exchange and hydrophobic interactions with the protein. The carbohydrate composition of the glycoproteins and the existence of the N-acetylgalactosaminylserine (or threonine) linkage, as well as their aggregation properties show that they are mucin-type glycoproteins. They resulted "immunologically pure" although the carbohydrate chains show the structural heterodispersion usually found in mucins. The glycoproteins have a common structural pattern for the terminal nonreducing, determinant-bearing sequences of their oligosaccharide chains which, together with the low molecular weights and the known fact that mucus secretions of normal cells contain only one or two types of glycoproteins, suggest that they are fragments produced by endogenous proteolytic degradation of a native mucin.

Mucin glycoprotein content of human pigment gallstones

Mucin glycoproteins, a secretory product of the gallbladder, are thought to contribute to the matrix or nucleus of gallstones. Human black pigment stones originate in the gallbladder and have as their major constituent calcium bilirubinate, as well as inorganic salts and small amounts of cholesterol. The object of this study was to estimate the amount of glycoprotein in black pigment stones and to isolate gallbladder mucin from dissolved stones. Black pigment stones containing 18 to 65% calcium bilirubinate were first dissolved in 12.5 mM EDTA/0.1 N NaOH and decolorized, then subjected to glycoprotein assay. The mean glycoprotein content of eight stones was 12.4%. In separate experiments, pigment stones were partially dissolved by brief exposure to EDTA/NaOH to minimize glycoprotein breakdown, and the glycoproteins isolated by gel filtration and ultracentrifugation. Pigment stones contained two glycoprotein fractions on Sepharose 4B; a high molecular weight mucin glycoprotein in the void volume and a lower molecular fraction in the included volume. Mucin was further purified by density gradient ultracentrifugation in cesium chloride. Three separate mucin fractions had an average buoyant density of 1.48 gm per ml which is typical for these glycoproteins. Bile pigment was associated with high molecular weight mucin even after extensive dialysis, gel filtration, and density gradient ultracentrifugation. The identity of mucin was further established by beta-elimination of glycoproteins in alkaline borohydride which yielded galactosaminitol from cleavage of O-glycosidic bonds. Our results indicate that mucin glycoproteins are present in significant concentrations in human black pigment stones and can be purified from stones solubilized in EDTA/NaOH. The association of bile pigment with gallbladder mucin, even after extensive purification, is consistent with the hypothesis that mucin contributes to the matrix of pigment gallstones.

A mouse submandibular sialomucin containing both N- and O-glycosylic linkages

A sialomucin from mouse submandibular glands was treated with mild base-Me2SO. This treatment cleaves O-glycosylically linked oligosaccharides, but preserves the integrity of the protein core. After treatment with mild base-Me2SO, 49.2% (by weight) of the oligosaccharides were removed from the polypeptide; they were composed of residues of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucose, 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose, sialic acid, and D-galactose. These oligosaccharides were linked O-glycosylically via 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-galactose. Chromatography of the base-Me2SO-treated mucin on Sephacryl S-300 indicated that the protein core, with its base-resistant oligosaccharides, is a single, high-molecular-weight species. The mild-base-resistant linkages remaining on the protein core (50.8% of the total carbohydrates by weight) also contained D-mannose. The presence of these mild-base-resistant linkages, and the formation of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucitol following treatment with M NaOH-M NaBH4, confirmed the presence of N-glycosylic linkages.

Sugar residues on proteins

Glycoproteins have become increasingly important in the structure and function of many different mammalian systems; for example, membrane glycoproteins and glycoprotein hormones. It is, therefore, important to understand their chemistry, which would include an understanding of both the carbohydrate and protein parts of the molecule. Since the chemical characterization of the protein moiety has been extensively examined and the techniques for its characterization are well worked out, only the carbohydrate portion of glycoproteins will be reviewed in this article. The chemical nature of the carbohydrate moiety of glycoproteins will be examined. First, the types of monosaccharides present in animal systems, especially those in the mammalian systems, will be described. Next, various types of simple and complex carbohydrate chains will be discussed to establish the diversity, size, and number of chains present in the carbohydrate units in different glycoproteins. Then, the type of linkages of the carbohydrate to the protein will be examined to determine if the primary sequence of protein is important in determining the size and type of carbohydrate chains present in glycoproteins. Finally, the current methods of structural elucidation such as monosaccharide sequence, intersugar bonds, and anomeric linkages in the carbohydrate moiety of glycoproteins will be reviewed. These methods include the techniques of periodate oxidation, methylation, partial acid hydrolysis, and specific glycosidase digestion of glycoproteins, as well as the latest techniques using micromethods of carbohydrate quantitation and characterization involving gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The function of the carbohydrate in glycoproteins will also be considered. First, hormone glycoproteins will be discussed in their relationship to the immunological and biological function of the glycoprotein when the carbohydrate is sequentially removed. Next, the function of the carbohydrate in the turnover of glycoproteins will be discussed. These topics will be considered in order to develop an understanding of a specific function(s) of the carbohydrate in glycoproteins.

The isolation and partial characterization of the major glycoprotein (LGP-I) from the articular lubricating fraction from bovine synovial fluid

The articular lubricating fraction from bovine synovial fluid was prepared by repeated fractionation in three consecutive CsCl density gradients to remove completely traces of hyaluronic acid. The major glycoprotein consituent (LGP-I) was then isolated by repeated gel-permeation chromatography. The yield of the LGP-I component was about 20 mg/litre of synovial fluid. Sedimentation-equilibrium measurements showed that this glycoprotein was homogeneous and the mol.wt. was calculated to be 227500. Amino acids represented 43% (w/w) and carbohydrate constituents 44% (w/w) of the molecule. Threonine, glutamic acid, proline and lysine (224, 127, 242 and 128 residues/1000 residues respectively) were the major amino acids. Galactosamine, galactose and N-acetylneuraminic acid (202, 162 and 114 residues/molecule of LGP-I component respectively) accounted for 98% of the total carbohydrate residues present. Small amounts of mannose and glucosamine (1 and 9mol respectively/mol of LGP-I component) were also present. After treatment of LGP-I component with alkali and NaB3H4 radioactivity was incorporated into alpha-aminobutyric acid and alanine in a molar ratio of 4:1, and radioactive galactosaminitol was isolated by ion-exchange chromatography from a cleaved oligosaccharide fraction. These data demonstrate the presence of threonine and serine -O-GalNAc linkages, but only 25% of the theoretical likages involving threonine were cleaved by a beta-elimination reaction. Digestion of LGP-I component with Pronase followed by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose yielded glycopeptide fractions with a similar amino acid and carbohydrate composition to the intact molecule. Treatment of desialylated and intact LGP-I component with galactose oxidase followed by reduction with NaB3H4 revealed the presence of 52mol of terminal galactose in the intact molecule and 153mol of galactose/mol of LGP-I component after treatment with neuraminidase. The data indicate the LGP-I component is composed of a single polypeptide chain containg more than 150 oligaosaccharide side chains composed of O-GaINAc-Gal distributed over the length of the peptide chain and that terminal sialic acid residues are linked to galactose in two-thirds of these side chains.