Immunogenic properties of mannose-containing ceramide disaccharide and immunochemical detection of its hapten in the two kinds of crustacean, Euphausia superba and Macrobrachium nipponense

Occurrence of gangliosides in the common squid and pacific octopus among protostomia

Acidic lipids from tissues of the common squid Todarodes pacificus and the pacific octopus Octopus vulgaris were characterized. Hepatopancreatic tissues of both animals had complex compositions of resorcinol-positive acidic lipids, many of which became reactive with cholera toxin B subunit and anti-G(M1) antibody after in situ treatment with sialidase on TLC. One of the major acidic lipids in squid tissue was isolated and examined for its structure. This acidic lipid was identified to be the ganglioside G(D1a) based upon the susceptibility to sialidases of different substrate specificity, characterization of reaction products, and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry of the lipid. Hepatopancreatic tissues of squid and octopus also contained acidic lipids that reacted with A2B5, a monoclonal antibody specific to c-series gangliosides. Cerebral ganglia of both animals expressed resorcinol-positive acidic lipids, though their compositional patterns differed from the hepatopancreatic tissues. N-Acetylneuraminic acid was identified as the main species in lipid-bound sialic acid in both tissues. The contents of lipid-bound sialic acid in cerebral ganglia were significantly lower than those of hepatopancreatic tissues in both animals. The present study presents the first evidence for the occurrence of gangliosides in protostomia.

Structural characterization of a novel glycoinositolphospholipid from the parasitic nematode, Ascaris suum

A novel glycosphingolipid containing inositol phosphate as an acidic group has been demonstrated in whole tissues of the porcine roundworm, Ascaris suum. The thin layer chromatographic pattern of the total acidic glycolipid revealed the presence of several components, of which a major component (named AGL) with positive reactions toward both orcinol-sulfuric acid (sugar) and molybdate (phosphate) spray reagents was isolated and purified by the use of successive column chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex and silicic acid (latrobeads). From structural studies including compositional sugar analysis, hydrogen fluoride degradation, methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry, the structure of AGL was deduced to be Gal alpha 1-2Ins(1-->)-P-Cer. Aliphatic constituents were lignoceric acid and its 2-hydroxy homologue as the principal fatty acids, and octadecasphinganine and branched heptadecasphinganine as the major sphingoids.

A novel fucosylated glycosphingolipid from the millipede, Parafontaria laminata armigera

A novel fucosylated glycosphingolipid (GL-3a) was isolated and purified from whole tissues of the millipede, Parafontaria laminata armigera. Its chemical structure was characterized as Man beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-3)Glc beta 1-ceramide (I3 alpha Fuc,MlOse2Cer) by gas-liquid chromatography, permethylation study, partial acid hydrolysis, exoglycosidase degradation, TLC/enzyme-immunostaining, negative fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. This compound was unique in containing a fucose branch linked to the glucose residue of the disaccharide, mannosylglucose. The ceramide moiety was mainly composed of d17:1 (64.3%) and d18:1 (20.0%) sphingoids, and 22:0 (41.8%), 23:0 (16.4%) and 24:0 (15.8%) fatty acids.