On the automated analysis of neutral monosaccharides in glycoproteins and polysaccharides

Explaining the Serological Characteristics of Streptococcus suis Serotypes 1 and 1/2 from Their Capsular Polysaccharide Structure and Biosynthesis

The capsular polysaccharide (CPS) is a major virulence factor in many encapsulated pathogens, as it is the case for Streptococcus suis, an important swine pathogen and emerging zoonotic agent. Moreover, the CPS is the antigen at the origin of S. suis classification into serotypes. Hence, analyses of the CPS structure are an essential step to dissect its role in virulence and the serological relations between important serotypes. Here, the CPSs of serotypes 1 and 1/2 were purified and characterized for the first time. Chemical and spectroscopic data gave the following repeating unit sequences: [6)[Neu5Ac(α2-6)GalNAc(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-3)]Gal(β1-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc(β1-]n (serotype 1) and [4)[Neu5Ac(α2-6)GalNAc(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-3)]Gal(β1-4)[Gal(α1-3)]Rha(β1-4)Glc(β1-]n (serotype 1/2). The Sambucus nigra lectin, which recognizes the Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal/GalNAc sequence, showed binding to both CPSs. Compared with previously characterized serotype 14 and 2 CPSs, N-acetylgalactosamine replaces galactose as the sugar bearing the sialic acid residue in the side chain. Serological analyses of the cross-reaction of serotype 1/2 with serotypes 1 and 2 and that between serotypes 1 and 14 suggested that the side chain, and more particularly the terminal sialic acid, constitutes one important epitope for serotypes 1/2 and 2. The side chain is also an important serological determinant for serotype 1, yet sialic acid seems to play a limited role. In contrast, the side chain does not seem to be part of a major epitope for serotype 14. These results contribute to the understanding of the relationship between S. suis serotypes and provide the basis for improving diagnostic tools.

Structure determination of Streptococcus suis serotype 14 capsular polysaccharide

The capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of Streptococcus suis serotype 14 was purified, chemically modified, and characterized. Sugar and absolute configuration analyses gave the following CPS composition: D-Gal, 3; D-Glc, 1; D-GlcNAc, 1; D-Neu5Ac, 1. The Sambucus nigra lectin, which recognizes the Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal/GalNAc sequence, showed binding to the native CPS. Sialic acid was found to be terminal, and the CPS was quantitatively desialylated by mild acid hydrolysis. It was also submitted to periodate oxidation followed by borohydride reduction and Smith degradation. Sugar and methylation analyses, (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometry of the native CPS or of its specifically modified products allowed to determine the repeating unit sequence: [6)[Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)GlcNAc(β1-3)]Gal(β1-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc(β1-](n). S. suis serotype 14 CPS has an identical sialic acid-containing side chain as serotype 2 CPS, but differs by the absence of rhamnose in its composition. The same side chain is also present in group B Streptococcus type Ia CPS, except that in the latter sialic acid is 2,3- rather than 2,6-linked to the following galactose. A correlation between the S. suis CPS sequence and genes of the serotype 14 cps locus encoding putative glycosyltransferases and polymerase responsible for the biosynthesis of the repeating unit is proposed.

Disrupting two Arabidopsis thaliana xylosyltransferase genes results in plants deficient in xyloglucan, a major primary cell wall component

Xyloglucans are the main hemicellulosic polysaccharides found in the primary cell walls of dicots and nongraminaceous monocots, where they are thought to interact with cellulose to form a three-dimensional network that functions as the principal load-bearing structure of the primary cell wall. To determine whether two Arabidopsis thaliana genes that encode xylosyltransferases, XXT1 and XXT2, are involved in xyloglucan biosynthesis in vivo and to determine how the plant cell wall is affected by the lack of expression of XXT1, XXT2, or both, we isolated and characterized xxt1 and xxt2 single and xxt1 xxt2 double T-DNA insertion mutants. Although the xxt1 and xxt2 mutants did not have a gross morphological phenotype, they did have a slight decrease in xyloglucan content and showed slightly altered distribution patterns for xyloglucan epitopes. More interestingly, the xxt1 xxt2 double mutant had aberrant root hairs and lacked detectable xyloglucan. The reduction of xyloglucan in the xxt2 mutant and the lack of detectable xyloglucan in the xxt1 xxt2 double mutant resulted in significant changes in the mechanical properties of these plants. We conclude that XXT1 and XXT2 encode xylosyltransferases that are required for xyloglucan biosynthesis. Moreover, the lack of detectable xyloglucan in the xxt1 xxt2 double mutant challenges conventional models of the plant primary cell wall.

The polysaccharides of agricultural lupin seeds

The polysaccharides of the seeds of four species of agricultural lupin have been shown to comprise galactans, arabinogalactans, arabinans, rhamnogalacturonans, and galactoxyloglucans. Low molecular weight compounds were present in the mixtures after methylation of the acidic polysaccharides. Three tri-O-acetyl-O-methylhexuronic acids, with one hydroxyl group unsubstituted, formed during methylation, hydrolysis, and acetylation of the acidic polysaccharides, were present in high and variable proportions.

Simultaneous determination of neutral and amino sugars in biological materials

A method is described for the simultaneous analysis of nine neutral and three amino sugars. Mixtures of standard sugars and biological samples were acid hydrolyzed with a two step Saeman procedure, neutralized with BaCO3, reduced with sodium borohydride, acidified, evaporated and alditol acetates prepared. Baseline resolution was achieved on a glass-capillary SP-2340 column in ca. 52 min. Reproducibility, response factors and hydrolysis losses were determined. Quantitation was linear over the range of 10-20 micrograms/ml to 2000 micrograms/ml. Conditions were defined for the reproducible quantitation of muramic acid.

Purification and characterization of the glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit-like material secreted by HeLa cells

The protein secreted by HeLa cells that cross-reacts with antiserum developed against the alpha-subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has been purified approximately 30,000-fold from concentrated culture medium by organic solvent fractionation followed by ion exchange, gel filtration, and lectin affinity chromatography. The final preparation had a specific activity (by RIA) of 6.8 x 10(5) ng of alpha/mg of protein and appeared homogeneous by electrophoresis on reducing/denaturing polyacrylamide gels (SDS-PAGE). Amino acid analysis indicated that HeLa-alpha had a composition very similar to that of the urinary hCG alpha-subunit. Peptide fingerprints of the HeLa protein and hCG-alpha revealed that several of the Tyr-, Met-, and Cys-containing tryptic peptides were held in common, thus identifying the tumor protein as a glycoprotein hormone alpha-subunit with a primary structure similar to that of hCG-alpha. However, comparison of hCG-alpha and HeLa-alpha demonstrated that the tumor-associated subunit was not identical with its normal counterpart. Only two of the three Tyr-containing tryptic peptides present in hCG-alpha could be detected in HeLa-alpha after iodination with 125I. HeLa-alpha eluted prior to hCG-alpha during Sephadex G-75 chromatography, but the subunits coeluted when the tumor protein was first subjected to mild acid hydrolysis. The purified tumor protein had an apparent molecular weight greater than that of the urinary alpha-subunit when analyzed by SDS-PAGE (Coomassie blue staining), and this difference was even greater when a partially purified preparation was examined by an immunoblot technique (Western). Isoelectric focusing of the HeLa and hCG subunits demonstrated that the tumor protein had a lower pI (4.7-5.5 compared to 6.5-7.8), and removal of sialic acid by mild acid hydrolysis did not entirely eliminate this difference. Immunoprecipitation and electrophoresis of alpha-subunit from HeLa cultures labeled with [3H]fucose indicated that the tumor subunit was fucosylated, whereas analysis of hCG-alpha hydrolysates by HPLC confirmed previous reports that the placental subunit does not contain fucose. HeLa alpha-subunit was unable to combine with hCG beta-subunit to form holo-hCG under conditions where the hCG alpha-subunit was able to do so. The results indicate that, regardless of whether or not a single alpha-subunit gene is being expressed in both normal and neoplastic tissues, posttranslational modifications lead to a highly altered subunit in the tumor. The differences observed may be useful in diagnosing neoplastic vs hyperplastic conditions and may lend insight into the mechanism of ectopic hormone production by tumors

Modifications in the alditol acetate method for analysis of muramic acid and other neutral and amino sugars by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring

Two alditol acetate methods for the gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of neutral and amino sugars were compared. Following sodium borohydride reduction, one method uses methylimidazole as an acetylation catalyst without prior removal of water or borate salts and the other method uses sodium acetate after removal of borate and water. Depending on the acetylation conditions, muramic acid produced different derivatives. With methylimidazole, reliable derivatization of muramic acid was not possible, although other sugars derivatized reliably. With sodium acetate, all sugars tested were reproducibly derivatized. The utility of the sodium acetate method is shown by the trace GC-mass spectrometric analysis of muramic acid and rhamnose derived from bacterial peptidoglycan-polysaccharide complexes in mammalian tissue.

Capillary gas chromatographic analysis of alditol acetates of neutral and amino sugars in bacterial cell walls

Several improvements in the preparation of alditol acetates of neutral and amino sugars and in the preparation of glass capillary columns for their separation are described. Modifications in sample preparation permitted the simultaneous processing of multiple samples and eliminated extraneous background peaks. Efficient and inert columns were tailor-made for the separation of alditol acetates of neutral and amino sugars by leaching glass capillaries with aqueous hydrochloric acid and dynamically coating with SP-2330.

Biochemical differences in human glomerular basement membrane related to diabetes and age

Preparations of glomerular basement membrane from diabetic and young and aged normal subjects have been isolated and purified and the component carbohydrates and amino acids quantitatively determined. Diabetic membrane preparations, compared with membranes from young normal subjects, show significant increases in total hexoses, mannose, and galactose and decreases in sialic acid and glucose; the component amino acids show increases in hydroxylysine, proline, and glycine and decreases in lysine, histidine, and leucine. Basement membrane preparations from aged normals show changes in component carbohydrates and amino acids similar to, but not as great as, those seen in the diabetics.

Liquid chromatography of sugars on silica-based stationary phases

A review is given of sugar analysis by liquid chromatography using silica columns. Aspects covered are column materials and preparation, chemically and physically modified amine columns, octadecyl-and unmodified silica columns; eluent composition and elution mechanisms for the different types of columns used; detection methods, RI and UV detectors, visible light, fluorescence, moving-wire, polarimetric and mass detection; and sample preparation and origin of samples.

Lipopolysaccharides from Pseudomonas maltophilia: structural studies of the side-chain polysaccharide from strain N.C.T.C. 10257

A lipopolysaccharide has been isolated from Pseudomonas maltophilia N.C.T.C. 10257. Monosaccharide components identified were L-rhamnose, 3-O-methyl-L-xylose, L-xylose, D-glucose, D-mannose, D-galacturonic acid, 2-amino-2-deoxy-galactose, 2-amino-2-deoxyglucose, and a 3-deoxy-2-octulosonic acid. Heptose was absent. In this and other respects, the lipopolysaccharide resembles the corresponding products from Xanthomonas species. Mild hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide with acid, followed by chromatography of the water-soluble products on Sephadex G-50, gave a polymeric, "side-chain" fraction containing rhamnose, 3-O-methylxylose, and xylose residues in the molar rations approximately 15:4:1. Methylation analysis, periodate oxidation, Smith degradation, and oxidation with chromium trioxide were the principal methods used in the study of this fraction. The following structure is proposed for the characteristic repeating-unit of the polymer.

Enzymatic and chemical analyses of pig platelet membrane subfractions isolated by zonal centrifugation

1. A mixed membrane fraction prepared from pig platelets was subfractionated, using the "B 14" zonal rotor, into two distinct subpopulations of membrane vesicles, each associated with a different phosphodiesterase activity. 2. The lighter subfraction (MI) was enriched 7-8 fold with bis-(p-nitrophenyl) phosphate phosphodiesterase activity and the denser subfraction (MII) showed a similar degree of enrichment of 5'dTMP-p-nitrophenyl ester phosphodiesterase activity. 3. Assays for other enzyme activities revealed slight enrichement (approx. 2 fold) of acid phosphatase, 3'-dTMP-p-nitrophenyl ester phosphodiesterase and beta-glucuronidase activities in MI, and beta-galactosidase in MII. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, lactate dehydrogenase and N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase showed negligible activity in both MI and MII, and succinate dehydrogenase activity could not be detected in either subfraction. 4. Chemical analyses of the membrane subfractions demonstrated that MI contained approx. twice as much cholesterol, phospholipid, sialic acid and hexosamine per unit weight of protein than MII. These results are consistent with our previously reported observations from surface-labelling experiments, which indicated that MI was derived principally from the platelet surface-exposed membranes and that MII was probably intracellular in origin. 5. Analysis of the membrane polypeptides by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of 12-15 components, in each subfraction, in the mol. wt. range 12000-200000, including a prominent band of approx. mol. wt. 46000, which has beeen identified to be actin. Qualitative as well as possible quantitative differences were apparent in that MII contained three components in addition to those present in MI. 6. Analysis of the periodate-Schiff staining components by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis demonstrated the presence of 4 major glycoproteins in both subfractions with apparent mol. wt. ranging from approx. 95000 to 150000; in addition two minor components were also present. Further, a very fast-migrating band, which did not stain with Coomassie blue, was observed in both MI and MII and probably represents lipid material.

Studies of polysaccharide fractions from the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas aeruginosa N.C.T.C. 1999

Two polymeric water-soluble fractions were isolated by gel filtration after mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide from Pseudomonas aeruginosa N.C.T.C. 1999. The fraction of higher molecular weight retained the O-antigenic specificity of the lipopolysaccharide and may be 'side-chain' material. This fraction was rich in N (about 10%) and gave several basic amino compounds on acid hydrolysis; fucosamine (at least 2.8% w/w) was the only specifc component identified. The fraction of lower molecular weight was a phosphorylated polysaccharide apparently corresponding to 'core' material. The major components of this fraction and their approximate molar proportions were: glucose (3-4); rhamnose (1); heptose (2); 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid (1); galactosamine (1); alanine (1-1.5); phosphorus (6-7). In the intact lipopolysaccharide this fraction was probably linked to lipid A via a second residue of 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid, and probably also contained additional phosphate residues and ethanolamine. The residues of 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid were apparently substituted in the C-4 or C-5 position, and the phosphorylated heptose residues in the C-3 position. The rhamnose was mainly 2-substituted, though a little 3-substitution was detected. The glucose residues were either unsubstituted or 6-substituted. Four neutral oligosaccharides were produced by partial acid hydrolysis and were characterized by chemical, enzymic, chromatographic and mass-spectrometric methods of analysis. The structures assigned were: Glcpalpha1-6Glc; Glcpbeta1-2Rha; Rhapalpha1-6Glc; Glcpbeta1-2Rhapalpha1-6Glc. The galactosamine was substituted in the C-3 or C-4 position, the attachment of alanine was indicated, and evidence that the amino sugar linked the glucose-rhamnose region to the 'inner core' was obtained.

Simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars by an automatic sugar analyzer: applications to glycoproteins

The simultaneous assay of neutral sugars and amino sugars commonly found in glycoproteins is described. The automatic sugar analyzer used for the determination is based on the ion-exchange chromatography of sugar-borate complexes on a strong anion-exchange resin. The sugars are identified with the orcinol/sulfuric acid reagent. While less than 40 nmol of mannose, fucose, galactose, glucose, xylose, or arabinose is sufficient for analysis at least 200 nmol mannosamine, glucosamine, or galactosamine is required; acidic monosaccharides cannot be determined. The technique of sugar analysis is applied to structural studies on natural compounds, e.g. the monosaccharide composition of lichenan and the carbohydrate moiety of the glycoproteins ovomucoid and Collocalia mucoid.

Studies of lipopolysaccharides from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Lipopolysaccharides from 13 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa representing seven serotypes of the Habs scheme have been analysed. The lipid A fractions, obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharides, contained phosphorylated glucosamine residues substituted with dodecanoic, hexadecanoic, 2 hydroxydodecanoic, 3-hydroxydecanoic, and 3-hydroxydodecanoic acids (hexadecanoic acid and 2-hydroxdodecanoic acid were absent from one lipid A). Low-molecular-weight solutes released during the mild hydrolyses included 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonic acid, inorganic orthophosphates and pyrophosphates, ethanolamine mono, pyro and triphosphates. For most strains two polysaccharide fractions, one of which appeared to be the common core polysaccharide, were obtained. The major identifiable components and their approximate proportions in the core polysaccharides were glucose (3-4), rhamnose (1), galactosamine (1), alanine (1-1.5), phosphorus (4-6) and heptose (1-2). Rhamnose was absent from one polysaccharide another lacked both rhamnose and alanine but contained glucosamine. Small amounts of various amino sugars found in other core polysaccharides could be associated with the presence of higher-molecular-weight material. Such material was isolated from strain NCIB 8626. The high-molecular-weight polysaccharides obtained from ten strains were probably heterogeneous and consisted mainly of amino compounds, though rhamnose was a major component of four polysaccharades and arabinose was present in another. Fucosamine was the most common amino sugar, but quinovosamine, glucosamine, galactosamine, a possible aminohexuronic acid and unidentified amino compounds were also detected. The results of the survey are discussed in terms of the serological classification of the bacteria and of their sensitivity to EDTA.

Studies of the polysaccharide fraction from the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas alcaligenes

Studies of the lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas alcaligenes strain BR 1/2 were extended to the polysaccharide moiety. The crude polysaccharide, obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of the lipopolysaccharide, was fractionated by gel filtration. The major fraction was the phosphorylated polysaccharide, for which the approximate proportions of residues were; glucose (2), rhamnose (0.7), heptose (2-3), galactosamine (1), alanine (1), 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid (1), phosphorus (5-6). The heptose was l-glycero-d-manno-heptose. The minor fractions from gel filtration contained free 3-deoxy-2-octulonic acid, P(i) and PP(i). The purified polysaccharide was studied by periodate oxidation, methylation analysis, partial hydrolysis, and dephosphorylation. All the rhamnose and part of the glucose and heptose occur as non-reducing terminal residues. Other glucose residues are 3-substituted, and most heptose residues are esterified with condensed phosphate residues, possibly in the C-4 position. Free heptose and a heptosylglucose were isolated from a partial hydrolysate of the polysaccharide. The location of galactosamine in the polysaccharide was not established, but either the C-3 or C-4 position appears to be substituted and a linkage to alanine was indicated. In its composition, the polysaccharide from Ps. alcaligenes resembles core polysaccharides from other pseudomonads: no possible side-chain polysaccharide was detected.