The isolation and partial characterization of the major bronchial glycoproteins

Partial characterization of glycoprotein obtained from mucous secretion of the bronchi and stomach has been attempted. The isolated glycoproteins and the glycoproteins from gastric aspirates showed similar carbohydrate and amino-acid composition. They consist of a protein core to which are attached carbohydrate side chains of galactose, N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine in the ratio of 4 : 3 : 1. Superimposed on this structure were additional sugar residues, the blood group determinants. The carbohydrate side chains are linked by an alkali-labile O-glycosidic linkage to the threonine and serine residues of the protein core, with N-acetylgalactosamine forming the link.

Physicians' perceptions about managed care restrictions on antibiotic prescribing

The purpose of this study was to compare physicians' perceptions about managed care restrictions on drug prescribing with objective measures of the restrictions' effects. When asked a general question, 17 emergency medicine physicians in one urban, university hospital answered that they had to prescribe an antibiotic that was not their first choice because of managed care restrictions 32% of the time. The actual frequency of prescribing other than first-choice antibiotics, which was determined by asking the same physicians about the prescription of specific antibiotics for specific patients seen recently in the emergency department, was 6% ( p <.0001). We conclude that emergency medicine physicians treating patients in one managed care system significantly overestimated the restrictions imposed by managed care formularies on their antibiotic prescribing practices. Additional studies are warranted to measure the extent of this bias.

Changes to mucins in uninvolved mucosa and at the tumour site in gastric adenocarcinoma of intestinal type

1. Mucin histochemistry is markedly altered in the stomach in intestinal-type adenocarcinoma. To increase understanding of these changes we have examined the content and distribution of carbohydrate in mucus glycopolypeptides isolated from non-malignant antrum, and from the uninvolved gastric mucosa and tumour site of patients with this disease. 2. The content of carbohydrate declined by 12.6% (P = 0.02) in mucus glycopolypeptides from uninvolved gastric mucosa when compared with those from non-malignant antrum, and by a further 25.4% (P < 0.001) in mucus glycopolypeptides from the tumour site. The first of these changes was accompanied by a significant decrease in the number of carbohydrate chains/1000 amino acid residues, and a significant increase in the number of monosaccharide units in each carbohydrate chain. The second of these changes was accompanied by significant decreases in both the number of carbohydrate chains/1000 amino acid residues, and in the number of monosaccharide units in each carbohydrate chain. 3. The number of sulphated monosaccharide units/100 carbohydrate chains increased from a mean of 7.2 in mucus glycopolypeptides from non-malignant antrum to a mean of 27.2 (P < 0.001) in preparations from uninvolved gastric mucosa and 22.7 (P < 0.001) in preparations from the tumour site. 4. Evidence is presented that these structural changes to mucus glycopolypeptides from the malignant stomach are due to an abnormal mucin biosynthesis by metaplastic goblet cells and/or immature gastric-type mucous cells within the uninvolved mucosa, and immature mucous cells at the tumour site.

Influence of blood group and secretor status on carbohydrate structures in human gastric mucins: implications for peptic ulcer

1. The content and distribution of carbohydrate was examined in mucus glycopolypeptides from human antral mucosae. 2. The mean amount of carbohydrate per 1000 amino acid residues was found to be similar in glycopolypeptides with A, B or H activity. It was slightly, though significantly, less in glycopolypeptides lacking these determinants, because carbohydrate chains were of a shorter average length than in the A-, B- or H-active preparations. This difference was reflected in the sizes of oligosaccharide-alcohols released from representative glycopolypeptides with alkaline borohydride. 3. Differences between A-, B- or H-active and non-secretor glycopolypeptides in terms of the mean number of carbohydrate chains per 1000 amino acid residues were found to be small, and without significance. 4. The average number of peripheral monosaccharide units per 1000 amino acid residues was greater in A-active than in H-active, and least in non-secretor, glycopolypeptides. This order was reversed for monosaccharide units incorporated into skeletal (core plus backbone) structures. The difference in each case was statistically significant. 5. These findings suggest that the increased risk of peptic ulcer associated with blood group O and non-secretor status is unlikely to be attributable to an inherent deficiency in the protective mucus layer, linked to differences between mucins that are associated with A, B or H activity. Other hypotheses linked to infection with Helicobacter pylori are examined.

A comparative study of the major glycoprotein isolated from normal and neoplastic gastric mucosa

The isolation and composition of glycoproteins from mucosae of normal stomachs, of stomachs with gastric ulcer, and of stomachs with carcinoma is described. The glycoproteins from the mucosae of normal stomachs and with gastric ulcer showed virtually the same carbohydrate and amino acid content as the principal gastric glycoprotein isolated from gastric aspirates. They all revealed a common basic carbohydrate composition: galactose, fucose, glucosamine, and galactosamine were present in approximate molar ratios of 4:3:3:1. THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE GLYCOPROTEINS ISOLATED FROM GASTRIC ASPIRATES FROM NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC GASTRIC MUCOSAE SHARE A NUMBER OF STRUCTURAL FEATURES: (1) a protein core with a characteristic amino acid composition; (2) the range of sugars forming the carbohydrate side chains; (3) galactosamine approximately equimolar with the sum of threonine and serine; (4) galactose approximately equimolar with the sum of glucosamine and galactosamine; (5) absence of mannose; (6) a high carbohydrate content (80-85%); and (7) blood group activity. The neoplastic glycoproteins differed from the normal glycoproteins in that the quantitative relationships of the carbohydrate components of the neoplastic glycoproteins showed variations dividing the extracts investigated into groups, each group with a distinctive and constant carbohydrate composition. The blood group specificity of 15 out of 24 cases investigated differed from that of the hosts' red cells.

The isolation and composition of the major glycoprotein from human gastric aspirates

The isolation of the principal glycoprotein from human gastric aspirates and the determination of its carbohydrate and amino acid composition is described.Ninety-nine individual gastric aspirates were investigated. Eighty-two were eluted on Bio-gel P150 and the carbohydrate and amino acid composition of each non-retarded fraction was determined. Fifteen of these non-retarded fractions were chromatographed again on Ecteola cellulose. Seventeen aspirates were precipitated with cetylpyridinium chloride. The carbohydrate, amino acid, and sulphate contents of the subfractions eluted on Ecteola cellulose and cetylpyridinium chloride precipitates were determined. The results suggest that the non-retarded fractions are composed of glycoproteins with a constant basic composition but polydisperse with respect to the sulphate contents and the terminal sugar residues which are associated with blood group specificity. It was found possible to correlate and identify in chemical terms the blood group specificity of all the glycoproteins investigated. No significant differences were detected between the carbohydrate and amino acid composition of each of the non-retarded fractions, the subfractions eluted on Ecteola cellulose, and the cetylpyridinium chloride precipitates. The sulphate content of the isolated glycoproteins was found to vary between zero and a sulphate: glucosamine ratio of 2:3. The subfractions of Ecteola cellulose showed that 20-50% of the glycoproteins were sulphated. The data also suggest that the isolated glycoprotein is the principal carbohydrate-containing fraction of the gastric secretion as it contained 68-96% of the total carbohydrate content of the gastric aspirates investigated.

The carbohydrate components of hydrolysates of gastric secretion and extracts from mucous glands of the gastric body mucosa and antrum

1. The sugars and amino sugars of hydrolysates of gastric secretion were determined by gas-liquid chromatography. 2. All the gastric aspirations examined showed on hydrolysis the presence of fucose, galactose, mannose, glucose, galactosamine, glucosamine, N-acetylneuraminic acid and sulphate. 3. Galactose and glucosamine were always found in equimolar amounts, but the galactose/galactosamine ratio in different aspirations was 2:1, 3:1, 4:1 or 5:1. Repeated gastric aspirations of each subject examined showed constant ratios of these carbohydrate components. 4. Fucose and sialic acid appear to be related to glucosamine and galactosamine respectively. 5. The carbohydrate components of extracts from the mucous glands of the body mucosa and antrum did not differ from those of gastric secretion.

The antrum in patients with duodenal and gastric ulcers

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The use of gas-liquid chromatography in the analysis of neutral monosaccharides in hydrolysates of gastric mucopolysaccharides

1. Conditions are described for the separation and estimation of the neutral monosaccharides obtained on acidic hydrolysis of human gastric mucopolysaccharides. 2. The technique involves the formation of the trimethylsilyl derivatives of the sugars and the analysis of these by gas-liquid chromatography. 3. The monosaccharides estimated in gastric mucopolysaccharides by this technique were l-fucose, d-mannose, d-galactose and d-glucose. 4. The analytical values for glucose and fucose obtained by this method agreed well with values obtained by the glucose oxidase and thioglycollic acid methods respectively. 5. Evidence is presented which clearly indicates that gas-liquid chromatography is a faster, more sensitive and more convenient technique for the measurement of these compounds than any other in use at present.