Title :
Carbohydrate structures of human
alpha-fetoprotein of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: presence of
fucosylated and non-fucosylated triantennary glycans
Abstract :
- Chemical structures of the sugar chains of various human alpha-fetoprotein ( AFP ) species with different affinity for Concanavalin A (Con A) and Lens culinaris agglutinin ( LCA ) were examined by pyridylamination of their oligosaccharides and stepwise exoglycosidase digestion
- Using reversed-phase and size-fractionation high performance liquid chromatography systems we identified six pyridylamino-sugar chains
- The Con A-reactive and LCA-nonreactive species of AFP from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma contained a biantennary sugar chain , and the Con A-reactive and LCA-reactive species had a biantennary one with a fucose residue at the innermost N-acetylglucosamine residue. residue at the innermost N-acetylglucosamine residue
- The Con A-nonreactive and LCA-reactive species contained a biantennary sugar chain both with a bisecting-N-acetylglucosamine residue residue at the trimannosyl core and with a focus residue at the innermost N-acetylglucosamine residue.
- The Con A-nonreactive and LCA-nonreactive species contained a fucosylated triantennary sugar chain as a major component, and two minor components: a triantennary sugar chain and a biantennary sugar chain with a bisecting-N-acetylglucosamine residue residue at the trimannosyl core
- Thus, the fucosylated and non-fucosylated triantennary sugar chains were newly identified in human AFP
- Essentially identical results were obtained for AFP from the patient with gallbladder carcinoma which metastasizes to the liver
- These results indicate that the increment in fucosylation and branching to form new antennae is a characteristic feature of the carbohydrate chains of AFP from patients with neoplastic diseases of the liver