The macromolecular properties of blood-group-specific glycoproteins. Characterization of a series of fractions obtained by solvent fractionation

Monoclonal antibody 4D3 detects small intestinal mucin antigen (SIMA)--glycoprotein in the serum of patients with colorectal cancer

We have developed a sensitive ELISA using MAb 4D3 for the detection of a novel epitope on Small Intestinal Mucin Antigen (SIMA) and report here that SIMA is present in the serum of patients with colorectal cancer. SIMA has been shown to occur in tissue from a high proportion of patients with colorectal cancer. SIMA derived from serum was similar to tissue-derived SIMA: both eluted in the void volume of a Superose 6 column indicating a molecular weight above 5,000 kDa and they exhibited similar buoyant densities on CsCl gradients. The ELISA was most reliable after pre-treatment of serum with 0.4 M perchloric acid to remove interfering substances. The upper limit for SIMA in normal serum was set as the mean plus 2 standard deviations determined from a group of 97 healthy control subjects. In a sample of 113 patients with colorectal cancer, SIMA serum levels were elevated in 15% of patients with Dukes' Stage A, 38% with Stage B, 32% with Stage C and 75% with Stage D colorectal cancer. SIMA serum levels were compared with those of the widely used tumor marker, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The SIMA assay detected a significant number of sera that were not detected by the test for CEA. We propose that SIMA will prove to be a valuable serological tumor marker, in combination with CEA and other tumor markers, for the detection of colorectal cancer.

An improved method for the purification of myrosinase and its physicochemical characterization

An improved high yielding procedure for the purification of myrosinase from Sinapis alba L. consisting of concanavalin A affinity chromatography followed by a chromatofocusing step is presented. The purified enzyme was homogeneous as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoresis and by analytical ultracentrifugation although the presence of at least three isoenzymes, with pI values from 5.05 to 5.15, was detected by isoelectric focusing. It was found that the enzyme has a molecular weight of 135.1 kg mol-1 and consists of two, possibly identical, subunits of molecular weight 71.7 kg mol-1. The structure of myrosinase was studied by circular dichroism. Contin analysis of the CD data indicates a mixed alpha-helix and beta-sheet conformation for the native protein a with approximately 19% alpha-helix and approximately 35% beta-sheet content. Denaturation with guanidinium chloride was found to be irreversible although the enzyme has excellent storage characteristics in aqueous solution.

Studies of the limited degradation of mucus glycoproteins. The mechanism of the peroxide reaction

The reaction between ovarian-cyst glycoproteins and H2O2 was investigated in the presence of a number of inhibitors and catalysts. Azide and 2H2O were separately found to have little effect, implying that singlet oxygen was not involved. Superoxide dismutase was destroyed by H2O2, but mannitol had no effect: thus generalized attack by OH., whether originating from HO2.- or more directly, is not indicated. The glycoproteins contained trace quantities of Cu and Fe, amounting to about 2 atoms of metal per glycoprotein molecule. Treatment of the glycoproteins with the strong chelator DETAPAC (diethylenetriaminepenta-acetic acid) or Chelex resin eliminated the reaction with H2O2; activity could be restored by addition of Cu2+ or Fe2+ in millimolar quantities. It was concluded that metal-ion catalysis is an essential step in the attack of H2O2 on glycoproteins. Spectroscopic and other evidence showed that Cu2+ (and probably Fe2+) complexes strongly with poly-L-histidine, and implies that the Cu2+ or Fe2+ in the glycoproteins is complexed with some of the histidine residues in the glycosylated backbone. Neither polyhistidine nor polyproline reacted with H2O2 in the absence of metal ions, but small quantities of Cu2+ or Fe3+ caused degradation. This was rapid with polyhistidine, which was converted largely into aspartic acid, but slower with polyproline, where limited conversion into glutamic acid occurs. These findings confirm the original hypothesis that peroxide attack on glycoproteins occurs largely at the histidine residues, with simultaneous peptidolysis. The mechanism most probably involves the liberation of OH. by an oxidation-reduction cycle involving, e.g. Cu+/Cu2+: specificity of attack at histidine is due to the location of the metal at these residues only.

An analysis of the heterogeneity of mucins. No evidence for a self-association

There are two possible contributions to the heterogeneity of mucus glycoproteins as observed in the analytical ultracentrifuge: firstly, from associative phenomena, and, secondly, from a polydisperse distribution of non-interacting species of different molecular masses. It is shown from the non-superposability of plots of point-weight-average relative molecular masses against concentration for differing initial cell-loading concentrations that polydispersity must be significant. It is further shown, by attempting to block any associative phenomena by competitive inhibition of potential sites for hydrophobic inter-particle interaction, that the observed heterogeneity is primarily a result of polydispersity and not a self-association.

The presence of polysaccharide in normal human gastric mucus

Polysaccharide material was found in the proteolysis glycopolypeptide fraction from normal human gastric mucus. The polysaccharide was identified by carbohydrate and amino acid analyses, by elemental analysis and from its behaviour on density-gradient ultracentrifugation. The polysaccharide is polydisperse with a weight-average molecular mass of 300 000 Da. Over 85% of the polysaccharide consists of galactose, and this represents 26% of all the galactose present in the fractions after beta-elimination with reduction of the glycopolypeptide material.

Polyelectrolyte behaviour in mucus glycoproteins

Mucus glycoproteins isolated from a human ovarian cyst and the sputum of a cystic fibrotic exhibit a significant decrease in reduced viscosity with increase in ionic strength, I. The molecular weights of the glycoproteins showed little variation with I, implying that the change is conformational rather than a dissociation. This change is ascribed to a polyelectrolyte-type contraction rather than to a reduction in particle asymmetry. Guanidine hydrochloride acts as a classical electrolyte in the reversible suppression of charge effects, and not as a denaturing or dissociation agent. These observations help to resolve some discrepancies in earlier studies. The occurrence of polyelectrolyte effects in these glycoproteins is ascribed to flexibility of structure and to their content of N-acetylneuraminic acid. The ionic strength values necessary for different types of physical measurement are discussed.

Studies of the limited degradation of mucus glycoproteins. The effect of dilute hydrogen peroxide

1. The action of dilute H2O2 on a series of ovarian-cyst glycoproteins and glycopolypeptides was investigated. 2. Both native glycoproteins and the glycopolypeptides were carbohydrate-rich, of relatively low molecular weight and of simple structure. 3. At pH 5.6 and 37 degrees C, exposure to H2O2 for a limited time brought about a partial degradation, the molecular weight being decreased by 2-4-fold. 4. Carbohydrate analysis showed very little change in the oligosaccharide moiety, apart from a small decrease in sialic acid in some samples. 5. Amino acid analysis showed minor changes in serine, threonine and proline contents, but almost total loss of histidine. Concomitantly, there was a small gain in aspartic acid. 6. Myosin, examined at both pH 5.7 and 6.7, exhibited generally similar behaviour, there being losses of other amino acid residues as well as histidine: the viscosity was decreased to a low value, and a range of peptides of widely varying size was produced. 7. It is suggested that attack on the histidine residue, with partial conversion into aspartic acid, is accompanied by scission of the histidyl peptide bond.

Further evidence for a flexible and highly expanded spheroidal model for mucus glycoproteins in solution

The flexible and greatly expanded roughly spherical model for mucus glycoproteins proposed earlier, on the basis of hydrodynamic and n.m.r. data, is supported by new hydrodynamic results on a bronchial glycoprotein from a cystic-fibrosis patient. Furthermore, images from electron microscopy of this molecule and a lower-molecular-weight mucus glycoprotein (which closely resembles a glycopolypeptide) appear to be at least consistent with this model.

Some observations on a new type of point average molecular weight

A new type of (reduced) point average molecular weight, A*, is described. Several interesting properties are developed: (i) A* (cell base) = reduced weight average molecular weight over the whole cell, Aow; (ii) A* (meniscus) = Aw (meniscus); (iii) A* (zero concentration) = reduced number average molecular weight, An (meniscus). In addition, its usefulness in extracting the meniscus concentration, J(a), and in examining heterogeneous systems such as mucus glycoproteins, are discussed. The evaluation and application of A* requires only simple computational facilities, without the use for large-scale multiple data acquisition and recycling techniques.

An interaction between lysozyme and mucus glycoproteins. Implications for density-gradient separations

1. Some mucus glycoproteins form soluble complexes with lysozyme at neutral pH values. 2. The extent of complex-formation was determined, by an ultracentrifugal difference method, for a range of glycoproteins covering the common blood-group specificities. 3. Interaction was strongest with those glycoproteins of blood-group Lea specificity; these were also richest in sialic acid. 4. Interaction diminished with increase of ionic strength, and was not detectable at I 0.50; however, an asialoglycoprotein was found to retain some activity. The interaction is accordingly primarily, but probably not exclusively, coulombic in origin. 5. The buoyant density of lysozyme in CsCl, CsBr, CsI and Cs2SO4 was determined; the values in the last three salts are anomalously high. This finding accounts for the previously noted difficulty of separating free protein from glycoproteins by single-stage centrifugation in CsBr. 6. Conditions for effective separation of glycoproteins from secretions containing lysozyme by density-gradient centrifugation are reported.

The use of equilibrium density-gradient ultracentrifugation in the isolation and characterisation of glycoproteins with blood group P1 activity from sheep hydatid-cyst fluid

Equilibrium density-gradient ultracentrifugation in caesium choride and caesium sulphate has been used in the isolation and fractionation of the glycoproteins specific for blood-group P1 from hydatid cyst fluids. The fractions obtained have distinct and systematic differences specifically related to their buoyant densities, chemical compositions and specific-activities for group P1. High levels of specific-activity were maintained over a large range of chemical compositions. The peptide content varied systematically from 2.5% for the densest fraction to 37% for the least dense fraction. The amino acid composition was essentially constant over all fractions. The proportion of glucosamine decreased and the proportions of galactosamine, mannose and glucose increased with increasing peptide content of the fractions. The data presented suggest the present of oligosaccharide side-chains of various lengths and compositions and/or the presence of oligosaccharide side-chains with very different chemical compositions, of which only some are associated with the specificity for group P1. The properties of the glycoproteins from hydatid cyst fluids have been compared with those of the glycoproteins from human ovarian cysts. Although some similarities have been demonstrated there are significant differences.

Properties of potato lectin and the nature of its glycoprotein linkages

1. Potato lectin is a glycoprotein that contains about 47% (by weight) l-arabinose, 3% d-galactose and 11% hydroxyproline. It has a monomeric molecular weight of about 50000 and probably exists as a monomer-dimer system in aqueous solution, with the monomer predominating. It has a very high viscosity, which would indicate either that the molecule is very expanded or that it is an elongated ellipsoid. 2. After prolonged proteolytic digestion of a reduced and carboxymethylated derivative of the lectin, a glycopeptide was isolated (of mol.wt. 32000-34000) that included all the carbohydrate and hydroxyproline of the original glycoprotein but less than 30% of the total original amino acid residues. 3. The arabinose of the glycoprotein is present exclusively as the beta-arabinofuranoside and this includes those residues that are directly linked to the hydroxyproline residues of the polypeptide chain. All the arabinose of the glycoprotein is linked to the polypeptide chain through the hydroxyproline residues; the ratio of arabinose to hydroxyproline is 3.4:1. Although alpha-arabinofuranosides are known to be present in arabinans and arabinogalactans, the natural occurrence of beta-arabinofuranosides has not previously been reported. 4. Nine or ten serine residues of the polypeptide chain are substituted with single alpha-galactopyranoside residues that can be removed by the action of alpha-galactosidase from coffee beans but not by a beta-galactosidase. This is the first report of an alpha-galactoside linkage to serine. The effect of alpha-galactosidase is much greater on a glycopeptide from which the arabinose has been already removed, which indicates a steric hindrance of the galactosidase action by adjacent chains of arabinosides. 5. In 0.5m-NaOH (pH13.7), galactose residues were removed from the serine residues of the glycopeptide by a process of beta-elimination. This reaction took place very slowly in the intact glycopeptide but much more rapidly when the arabinofuranoside residues had been removed. This inhibitory effect of the arabinofuranoside residues on the beta-elimination reaction is likely to be due to a negative charge on the hydroxy groups of the adjacent arabinofuranoside residues, which would be ionized at this high pH value. 6. It is suggested that potato lectin may be representative of a class of soluble plant glycoproteins that would include precursors of the cell-wall glycoprotein extensin. If this is the case, extensin should also contain beta-l-arabinofuranosides linked to hydroxyproline and alpha-d-galactopyranosides linked to serine residues of the polypeptide chain.

The separation and characterization of bronchial glycoproteins by density-gradient methods

1. Sputum samples from a total of 18 asthmatic and chronic bronchitic patients were examined by analytical density-gradient ultracentrifugation. CsBr was used as the dispersal agent and dense electrolyte. 2. The patterns show two main groups of components, banding at about 1.3g/ml and 1.5g/ml; in addition, a few samples showed a further zone at approx. 1.65g/ml. These components were identified as protein, secretory glycoprotein and DNA respectively. The glycoprotein zone was frequently hypersharp, and usually contained two or more partially resolved bands; it was always well resolved from the protein. 3. The glycoprotein components were isolated from nine representative sputum samples by density-gradient ultracentrifugation on a preparative scale. Analytical density-gradient ultracentrifugation was used to monitor the efficiency of the separations. 4. Some sputum samples separated cleanly under these conditions, the glycoprotein being essentially devoid of free protein; in others, separation was apparently incomplete, although computer simulation indicated that the conditions were adequate to ensure separation. Further density-gradient separations in CsCl were necessary with several samples before satisfactory products were obtained; mixtures of CsCl with guanidinium chloride were no more effective than CsCl alone. The reluctance to separate indicates a very strong, but non-covalent, interaction between protein and glycoprotein, probably associated with the gelatinous character of the secretion. 5. The purified glycoprotein components were characterized analytically and physicochemically. They contained N-acetylgalactosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, galactose, fucose and N-acetylneuraminic acid, and had an amino acid composition in which serine, threonine and proline predominated; however, aspartic acid, glutamic acid and cystine were also appreciable. The glycoproteins were of very high molecular weight, and usually showed more than one component in sedimentation velocity; their distribution in a density gradient indicated a substantial, but largely monotonic, density heterogeneity. 6. Thiol reduction decreased the molecular weight very substantially, but the products were relatively more homogeneous than the native materials. The amino acid composition was changed significantly and a small and variable proportion of protein or peptide was liberated. It is concluded that the native materials are disulphide-linked aggregates, probably through a cross-linking peptide, in confirmation of earlier studies.

Macromolecular distribution near the limits of density-gradient columns. Some applications to the separation and fractionation of glycoproteins

1. Expressions are derived for the distribution at density-gradient equilibrium of macromolecules whose densities are (a) close to the values characterizing the solution limits or (b) outside the span of the gradient. 2. Density-distribution predicted by the expressions agree with those obtained by rigorous methods. 3. The distribution equations are applied to hypothetical mixtures of proteins and glycoproteins in commonly used density-gradient media to simulate separation and fractionation conditions. 4. It is shown that CsBr, although less efficient than CsCl for fractionation, is nevertheless adequate for most purposes; in analytical experiments it may often have advantages over CsCl. Limitations on the use of LiBr are explored. 5. An expression is derived which allows the variance of the partial specific volume of the macromolecular component to be determined from the variance of the buoyant density. It is shown that the relative resolving powers of different salts is expressed by their values of the quantity (formula: see text). 6. The equations are applied to a well-characterized glycoprotein preparation at equilibrium in CsCl and in Cs2SO4:it is shown that the much wider distribution in CsCl than in Cs2SO4 is explicable in terms of the variance in buoyant density and the solvation properties of the salts. 7. Limitations of the expressions arise when dispersity in density is represented by a low apparent molecular weight; realistic simulations can then only be obtained when the component is fully banded.

Isolation, composition and reactivity of the neutral glycoproteins from human meconiums with specificities of the ABO and Lewis systems

Blood-group-specific A1, B, AB, H and Lea neutral glycoproteins were isolated from suitable pools of human normal meconiums by a preliminary fractionation with a cationic detergent at pH5 and 9 (borate), followed by ion-exchange and gel chromatography. The ABH materials have sedimentation coefficients of about 10S-11S, whereas the Lea preparation, not strictly homogeneous, shows a coefficient of 7S. From the detailed analytical data collected, the following relations are deduced between these various substances; they all possess a common peptide core; there are stable ratios of N-acetylglucosamine/N-acetylgalactosamine in the B, H and Lea materials and of N-acetylglucosamine/galactose in A, H and Lea materials, from which the numbers of A and B determinants are estimated. In the ABH substances, the ratio of glucosamine to the sum of threonine and serine is stable. Presumably because of genetic factors, the amount of fucose varies among the different glycoproteins, but it is always definitely lower than in the average cyst substances. Various serological tests and precipitin methods were used to measure the potency, purity and integrity of the preparations, including comparisons between A1 and A2 substances from this source. The Leb activity did not appear as high as it is in glycoproteins from adults and a possible interpretation would be the immature Lewis system as observed on erythrocytes; this could explain their very strong inhibiting power towards iso-agglutinins. This family of substances with various specificities has common features with that prepared from ovarian cysts, but differs clearly on some points.

The macromolecular properties of blood-group-specific glycoproteins. Characterization of a series of fractions obtained by density-gradient ultracentrifugation

1. Equilibrium density-gradient ultracentrifugation in caesium salts was used in two stages in the isolation and subfractionation of the glycoprotein component from a human ovarian-cyst fluid. The eight main subfractions thus obtained were the subject of detailed physicochemical characterization. 2. The fractions were unimodal in buoyant-density distribution, but had discrete rho(0) values ranging from 1.31 to 1.35. 3. Weight-average molecular weights and sedimentation coefficients decreased regularly with decreasing density of the fraction, whereas the partial specific volumes and selective solvation parameters increased. The latter behaviour correlates well with the increasing peptide content of the lighter fractions. 4. The fractions exhibited a range of analytical composition, although all were within the limits previously observed for blood-group substances of Le(a) specificity. All fractions had approximately equal Le(a) activity. The peptide content varied systematically from 7% for the densest fraction to 15% for the lightest, but the relative distributions of the amino acids remained essentially constant throughout the series. In particular, serine plus threonine plus proline made up about 50% of the peptide content of all the fractions. Fucose, galactose and N-acetylglucosamine contents decreased with increasing peptide content of the fractions, but N-acetylgalactosamine and sialic acid exhibited the opposite trend. Molar ratios of N-acetylgalactosamine to the sum of serine and threonine remained essentially constant at 0.8-0.9, implying a high degree of glycosylation of all the molecules, but the ratio of N-acetylglucosamine to N-acetylgalactosamine decreased steadily with increasing peptide content, suggesting the presence of oligosaccharide side chains of various lengths. The results are discussed in terms of the accepted structure of glycoprotein molecules. 5. Experiments on the glycoproteins extracted with phenol from the same cyst fluid have confirmed that equilibrium centrifugation in caesium salts does not remove any non-covalently bound protein nor cause any changes in the tertiary structures of these glycoprotein molecules.