Quantification of 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate in (lipo)polysaccharides by methanolytic release, trifluoroacetylation and capillary gas chromatography

Several conditions of acidic anhydrous methanolysis were examined to optimize the release and minimize the degradation of unphosphorylated 2-keto-3-deoxy-D-manno-octonic acid (KDO) from bacterial lipopolysaccharides and polysaccharides. The reaction was monitored by capillary gas chromatography after derivatization by trifluoroacetic anhydride. The best results were obtained by use of 2 M hydrochloric acid at 60 degrees C for 2 h. Under these conditions a single KDO component appeared, and KDO was quantitatively released from all model compounds except when glycosidically linked to hexosamines. For quantitative cleavage of this linkage a reaction time of 6 h was required at 60 degrees C, giving rise to 5-10% of secondary KDO products. The KDO detection limit was about 250 pmol (50 ng) and the molar response was the same as for glucose. The KDO derivative gave a mass spectrometric fragmentation pattern consistent with a pyranosidic methylketoside methyl ester structure. Differentiation of KDO linkage types could be obtained by determination of the rates of KDO release by mild methanolysis.     

Measurement of neutral sugars in glycoproteins as dansyl derivatives by automated high-performance liquid chromatography

Automated high-performance liquid chromatography was used to analyse dansylhydrazine derivatives of neutral sugars in unfractionated acid hydrolysates of four well-characterized glycoproteins: fetuin, ovalbumin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein and bovine submaxillary mucin. After a simple single-step derivatization at 65 degrees C the sugar derivatives in protein hydrolysates chromatographed as single peaks on reversed-phase C18 columns. The isocratic solvent consisted of 20% (v/v) aqueous acetonitrile containing 0.01 M formic acid, 0.04 M acetic acid and 0.001 M triethylamine. The triethylamine significantly increases the sugar peak height at 254 nm. Repeated automatic sample injection without deterioration of column performance or interference from dansyl hydrazine is not possible with published methods, but was achieved by cleaning the column between each analysis with a solvent of 20% (v/v) acetonitrile and 80% (v/v) methanol. Hydrolysis with 2 M trifluoroacetic acid is superior to 2 M hydrochloric acid for both sugar recovery and convenience but must continue for 6-8 h at 105 degrees C to ensure complete sugar release. We confirmed that mannose is present in most preparations of human high-molecular-weight salivary glycoproteins, and also examined purified bovine skin proteodermatan sulphate. p-Nitrophenylhydrazine derivatives of neutral sugars are readily produced, but do not chromatograph as successfully as the dansyl derivatives while phenylhydrazine derivatives are not easily produced at 65 degrees C. Further development of the method should be possible by producing other hydrazine derivatives of neutral sugars.     

Studies on the methanolysis of small amounts of purified phospholipids for gas chromatographic analysis of fatty acid methyl esters.

The methanolysis of small amounts of purified phosphoglycerides and sphingomyelin was studied and a quantitative comparison of five methods for the methanolysis of standard phosphoglycerides was made. These methods were based on methanolysis with boron trifluoride-methanol, methanolic sodium methoxide (at ambient temperature and with heating) and methanolic sulphuric acid. A further method was based on saponification with methanolic sodium hydroxide and subsequent esterification with boron trifluoride-methanol. Under the experimental conditions, only the sodium methoxide-catalysed method at ambient temperature gave complete methanolysis of phosphoglycerides. For methanolysis of sphingomyelin, boron trifluoride-methanol, methanolic sulphuric acid and methanolic hydrochloric acid were used. It was found that complete methanolysis of sphingomyelin takes 15 h at 90 degrees C. Based on these results, procedures for the methanolysis of phosphoglycerides and sphingomyelin separated by high-performance liquid chromatography are presented.     

Carbohydrate analysis of glycoproteins A review

Many of the products prepared by biotechnological approaches, including recombinant genetic engineering, cell tissue culture, and monoclonal technologies, are glycoproteins. As little as five years ago, glycosylation was believed to play no significant role in the function of glycoproteins. Recent large scale testing of glycoprotein-based pharmaceuticals has indicated that both the extent and type of glycosylation can play a central role in glycoprotein activity. Although methods for compositional and sequence analysis of proteins and nucleic acids are generally available, similar methods have yet to be developed for carbohydrate oligomers and polymers. This review focuses on new, developing methods for the analysis and sequencing of the carbohydrate portion of glycoproteins. Included are: (1) the release of oligosaccharides and hydrolysis of carbohydrate chains using enzymatic and chemical methods; (2) fractionation by LPLC, electrophoresis, HPLC, and lectin affinity chromatography; (3) detection through the preparation of derivatives or by new electrochemical methods; (4) analysis by spectroscopic methods, including MS and high-field NMR; and (5) their sequencing through the use of multiple, well-integrated techniques. The ultimate goal of the analytical approaches discussed is to firmly establish structure and, thus, permit the study of structure-function relationships and eventually to allow the intelligent application of carbohydrate remodeling techniques in the preparation of new glycoproteins.     

The development of an integrated platform to identify breast cancer glycoproteome changes in human serum

Protein glycosylation represents one of the major post-translational modifications and can have significant effects on protein function. Moreover, changes in the carbohydrate structure are increasingly being recognized as an important modification associated with cancer etiology. In this report, we describe the development of a proteomics approach to identify breast cancer related changes in either concentration and/or the carbohydrate structures of glycoprotein(s) present in blood samples. Diseased and healthy serum samples were processed by an optimized sample preparation protocol using multiple lectin affinity chromatography (M-LAC) that partitions serum proteins based on glycan characteristics. Subsequently, three separate procedures, 1D SDS-PAGE, isoelectric focusing and an antibody microarray, were applied to identify potential candidate markers for future study. The combination of these three platforms is illustrated in this report with the analysis of control and cancer glycoproteomic fractions. Firstly, a molecular weight based separation of glycoproteins by 1D SDS-PAGE was performed, followed by protein, glycoprotein staining, lectin blotting and LC–MS analysis. To refine or confirm the list of interesting glycoproteins, isoelectric focusing (targeting sialic acid changes) and an antibody microarray (used to detect neutral glycan shifts) were selected as the orthogonal methods. As a result, several glycoproteins including alpha-1B-glycoprotein, complement C3, alpha-1-antitrypsin and transferrin were identified as potential candidates for further study.     

重组含糖识别结构域的人源半乳糖凝集素-3在糖蛋白/糖肽富集中的应用

植物凝集素是广泛使用的糖蛋白富集和识别材料,动物凝集素则较少被尝试用于糖蛋白富集。基于人源半乳糖凝集素-3的糖识别结构域（CRD）,设计了两种重组凝集素：Gal3C （一个CRD）和Tetra-Gal3C （四重串联CRD）。通过将两种凝集素固定于链霉亲和素琼脂糖小球上,构造了富集糖蛋白的重组凝集素亲和柱。使用凝胶电泳、免疫印迹以及生物质谱技术对重组凝集素的生物特征及其糖蛋白富集能力进行了表征与评价,发现两种类型的重组凝集素对糖蛋白/糖肽都有良好的富集效果,并具有较高的特异性和灵敏度。相对于Gal3C而言,Tetra-Gal3C由于具有四重串联的CRD结构域,表现出更高的糖蛋白/糖肽富集能力。该凝集素亲和柱成功用于人肝癌细胞系HepG2的糖蛋白富集,表明重组凝集素具有从复杂生物样本中选择性识别和富集糖蛋白/糖肽的能力。     

A capillary zone electrophoresis method for determining N-acetylneuraminic acid in glycoproteins and blood sera

A simple capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method for the determination of the content of the major sialic acid form N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) in glycoproteins was established. The present method utilizes a simplified hydrolysis-purification procedure consisting of mild acid hydrolysis (25 mM trifluoroacetic acid for 2h at 80 degrees C) to release Neu5Ac and ultrafiltration on Centricon-3 membrane to remove the obtained asialoglycoproteins and other macromolecules present in biologic samples. Derivatization with benzoic anhydride at 80 degrees C for 20 min resulted in complete conversion of Neu5Ac to per-O-benzoylated Neu5Ac. CZE analysis was performed using the operating buffer 25mM phosphate, pH 3.5, containing 50% (v/v) acetonitrile as organic modifier at 30 kV, and detection of the per-O-benzoylated Neu5Ac at 231 nm. The method showed excellent repeatability (RDS<1.98%) and a linearity range from 5 microg/mL to 5mg/mL with a detection limit of 2 microM. Application of the method to microanalysis of human alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein and blood serum samples showed excellent agreement with previously published values, suggesting a high precision for the developed CZE method.     

Characterization of derivatization of sialic acid with 2-aminoacridone and determination of sialic acid content in glycoproteins by capillary electrophoresis and high performance liquid chromatography--ion trap mass spectrometry.

A simple and highly sensitive capillary electrophoresis (CE) method for determining the content of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) in glycoproteins was developed. Neu5Ac was derivatized with 2-aminoacridone (AMAC) by reductive amination, and the AMAC-Neu5Ac adduct could be readily separated from the other 11 AMAC-derivatized neutral and acidic monosaccharides usually present in glycoproteins by CE in a 0.3 mol/L borate buffer, pH 10.5, and detected at 260 nm. The derivatization of Neu5Ac was achieved at 55 degrees C for 4 h. AMAC-Neu5Ac was stable at 20 degrees C in the dark for at least 12 h while at room temperature it spontaneously converted into another substance with a lower electrophoretic mobility, which was identified as decarboxylated AMAC-Neu5Ac by high performance liquid chromatography - ion trap mass spectrometry (HPLC-ITMS). Concentration and mass of Neu5Ac as low as 1 micromol/L and 35 fmol could be detected. The linear correlation coefficient between the ratio of peak area to migration time of AMAC-Neu5Ac and the concentration of Neu5Ac ranging from 10 to 120 micromol/L was 0.9978 (n=8). This method was successfully applied to the analysis of sialic acid in human urinary trypsin inhibitor (hu-UTI), bovine alpha1-acid glycoprotein (alpha1-AGP) and recombinant human erythropoietin (rhu-EPO). By combination of CE and HPLC-ITMS we found that N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) was present in bovine alpha1-AGP in addition to Neu5Ac, with a quantity comparable to that of the latter.     

Analysis of glycoprotein-derived oligosaccharides in glycoproteins detected on two-dimensional gel by capillary electrophoresis using on-line concentration method

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an effective tool to analyze carbohydrate mixture derived from glycoproteins with high resolution. However, CE has a disadvantage that a few nanoliters of a sample solution are injected to a narrow capillary. Therefore, we have to prepare a sample solution of high concentration for CE analysis. In the present study, we applied head column field-amplified sample stacking method to the analysis of N-linked oligosaccharides derived from glycoprotein separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Model studies demonstrated that we achieved 60-360 times concentration effect on the analysis of carbohydrate chains labeled with 3-aminobenzoic acid (3-AA). The method was applied to the analysis of N-linked oligosaccharides from glycoproteins separated and detected on PAGE gel. Heterogeneity of alpha1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), i.e. glycoforms, was examined by 2D-PAGE and N-linked oligosaccharides were released by in-gel digestion with PNGase F. The released oligosaccharides were derivatized with 3-AA and analyzed by CE. The results showed that glycoforms having lower pI values contained a larger amount of tetra- and tri-antennary oligosaccharides. In contrast, glycoforms having higher pI values contained bi-antennary oligosaccharides abundantly. The result clearly indicated that the spot of a glycoprotein glycoform detected by Coomassie brilliant blue staining on 2D-PAGE gel is sufficient for quantitative profiling of oligosaccharides.     

水溶性硼酸亲和富集材料的制备及基于酶联免疫吸附法检测人肝微粒体糖蛋白的应用

生物样品中的糖蛋白丰度低,且在检测中易受到其它非糖蛋白的抑制和干扰,需在分析检测前对糖蛋白进行富集,但常规的基于固相材料的糖蛋白富集方法不易与生物技术中最经典的酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)兼容.本研究以树枝状聚合物PAMAM 4.0为载体, 结合硼酸亲和技术,制备了新型水溶性硼酸亲和富集材料(DBC),并将其应用于基于ELISA的人肝微粒体中糖蛋白的检测.采用标准糖蛋白对DBC富集条件进行优化,然后考察其灵敏度和抗干扰能力,将优化后的方法应用于复杂样品人肝微粒体糖蛋白富集.结果表明,DBC对糖蛋白的富集选择性可高达100000倍,可将糖蛋白的富集信号提高100倍.以DBC为富集材料,与ELISA分析技术相结合,只需一步简单的孵育,即可实现生物样品中糖蛋白的高灵敏度、高选择性检测,为疾病相关的糖蛋白组学研究提供了一种有效的检测手段.     

Analytical and semipreparative enantioseparation of 9-hydroxyrisperidone, the main metabolite of risperidone, using high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. Validation and determination of enantiomeric purity

The HPLC semipreparative enantioseparation of 9-hydroxyrisperidone (9-OHRisp) was studied by optimizing various experimental conditions: the nature of the chiral stationary phase (CSP), mobile phase composition, temperature and analyte loading. This semipreparative enantioseparation was successfully completed using the polysaccharide Chiralcel OJ chiral stationary phase and a n-hexane/ethanol/methanol (50/35/15, v/v/v) ternary mobile phase. To assess the enantiomeric purity of both isolated isomers, three analytical methods using UV detection were developed and validated: one CE method using dual cyclodextrin mode and two HPLC methods using either the Chiralcel OJ CSP in normal-phase mode or the alpha-acid glycoprotein (alpha-AGP) CSP in reversed-phase mode. The three methods make it possible to obtain excellent enantioseparations (R(s) >3) with analysis times lower than 15 min, and the calculated limits of detection allow for the determination of minor enantiomeric impurities (0.1%). Enantiomeric purity obtained for dextrorotatory and levorotatory enantiomers was superior to 99.9% and equal to 98.9%, respectively, which proved the success of the semipreparative enantioseparation. A brief comparison of the performances of the analytical methods completes this work.     

Fractionation of the human recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) glycoforms by high-performance capillary zone electrophoresis and capillary isoelectric focusing.

This paper reports the fractionation of recombinant human tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) glycoforms, a complex mixture to demonstrate the high resolving power of capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and capillary isoelectric focusing (cIEF). rtPA is a glycoprotein with a complex carbohydrate structure. The electropherograms and IEF patterns have been discussed in light of the known carbohydrate structures of rtPA. rtPA was treated with neuraminidase which removes the sialic acids from the carbohydrate chains. The desialylated rtPA was analyzed by both CZE and IEF and the results were compared to those of untreated rtPA. The usefulness of CZE and cIEF in the characterization of glycoproteins proteins is also discussed.     

Recovery of the contact site A glycoprotein of Dictyostelium discoideum from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel and characteristics of monoclonal antibodies against the recovered protein

Monoclonal antibodies were produced against a cell-cell adhesion (contact site A) glycoprotein of Dictyostelium discoideum, isolated by preparative gel electrophoresis. The glycoprotein was recovered by electroelution from a polyacrylamide gel strip and used for the production of monoclonal antibodies. Four of the five antibodies obtained bound specifically to the protein moiety of the contact site A glycoprotein. The specificities of the antibodies were in striking contrast to those of antibodies raised against the contact site A glycoprotein purified by Triton X-114 phase separation and DEAE chromatography. The majority of the latter antibodies recognized the carbohydrate moiety of the contact site A glycoprotein and cross-reacted heavily with other membrane glycoproteins.     

Mass spectrometry signal amplification for ultrasensitive glycoprotein detection using gold nanoparticle as mass tag combined with boronic acid based isolation strategy

We describe a novel method for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of intact glycoproteins without enzymatic pretreatment which was commonly used in proteomic research. This method is based on using gold nanoparticle (AuNP) as signal tag in laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) analysis combined with boronic acid assisted isolation strategy. Briefly speaking, target glycoproteins were firstly isolated from sample solution with boronic acid functionalized magnetic microparticles, and then the surface modified gold nanoparticles were added to covalently bind to the glycoproteins. After that, these AuNP tagged glycoproteins were eluted from magnetic microparticles and applied to LDI-MS analysis. The mass signal of AuNP rather than that of glycoprotein was detected and recorded in this strategy. Through data processing of different standard glycoproteins, we have demonstrated that the signal of AuNP could be used to quantitatively represent glycoprotein. This method allows femtomolar detection of intact glycoproteins. We believe that the successful validation of this method on three different kinds of glycoproteins suggests the potential use for tracking trace amount of target glycoproteins in real biological samples in the near future.     

Significant immunological cross-reactivity of plant glycoproteins

Plant glycoproteins generally cross-react because of the presence of identical or related complex glycans which are highly immunogenic. The use of mild periodate oxidation of glycans after glycoprotein transfer from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gels to nitrocellulose membranes prior to immunodetection is a way of identifying the carbohydrate antigenic determinants of a glycoprotein as the basis for antigenic cross-reaction. Periodate oxidation can distinguish between antibodies directed against carbohydrate and against peptide antigenic determinants, the latter being unaffected by oxidation. Immunoblotting performed after periodate treatment allows the detection of common protein epitopes.     

Rapid and efficient glycoprotein identification through microwave-assisted enzymatic digestion

Identification of protein glycosylation sites is analytically challenging due to the diverse glycan structures associated with a glycoprotein. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based identification and characterization of glycoproteins has been achieved predominantly with the bottom-up approach, which typically involves the enzymatic cleavage of proteins to peptides prior to LC/MS or LC/MS/MS analysis. However, the process can be challenging due to the structural variations and steric hindrance imposed by the attached glycans. Alternatives to conventional heating protocols, that increase the rate of enzymatic cleavage of glycoproteins, may aid in addressing these challenges. An enzymatic digestion of a glycoprotein can be accelerated and made more efficient through microwave-assisted digestion. In this paper, a systematic study was conducted to explore the efficiency of microwave-assisted enzymatic (trypsin) digestion (MAED) of glycoproteins as compared with the conventional method. In addition, the optimum experimental parameters for the digestion such as temperature, reaction time, and microwave radiation power were investigated. It was determined that efficient tryptic digestion of glycoproteins was attained in 15 min, allowing comparable if not better sequence coverage through LC/MS/MS analysis. Optimum tryptic cleavage was achieved at 45°C irrespective of the size and complexity of the glycoprotein. Moreover, MAED allowed the detection and identification of more peptides and subsequently higher sequence coverage for all model glycoprotein. MAED also did not appear to prompt a loss or partial cleavage of the glycan moieties attached to the peptide backbones.     

Capillary electrophoresis for the analysis of glycoprotein pharmaceuticals

Carbohydrate chains in glycoprotein pharmaceuticals play important roles for the expression of their biological activities, but the structure and compositions of carbohydrate chains are dependent on the conditions for their production. Therefore, evaluation of the carbohydrate chains is quite important for productive process development, characterization of product for approval application, and routine quality control. The oligosaccharides themselves have complex structure including blanching and various glycosidic linkages, and oligosaccharides in one glycoprotein pharmaceutical generally have high heterogeneity, and characterization of oligosaccharide moiety in glycoprotein has been a challenging target. In these situations, CE has been realized as a powerful tool for oligosaccharide analysis due to its high resolution and automatic operating system. This review focuses on the application of CE to the glycoform analysis of glycoproteins and profiling of the N-linked glycans released from glycoprotein pharmaceuticals. Current applications for structure analysis using CE-MS(n) technique and glycan profiling method for therapeutic antibody are also described.     

A strategy for chromatographic and structural analysis of monosaccharide species from glycoproteins

A general strategy for the chromatographic and structural analysis of the monosaccharide species fucose (Fuc), N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc), N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), galactose (Gal), glucose (Glc), mannose (Man), N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) present in glycoproteins is described. Qualitative and quantitative aspects for the separation of these glycoprotein monosaccharides (monosaccharide species) using ligand-exchange chromatography (LEC) and high pH anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC) in combination with pulsed-amperometric detection (PAD), refractive index (RI) and ultraviolet (UV) monitoring are discussed in detail. The conditions for the acidic hydrolysis of glycoproteins and for the liquid chromatographic analyses of glycoprotein monosaccharides using HPAEC and LEC technique were optimised. Furthermore, the characterisation of glycoproteins according to their purity and molecular mass connected with a comparison to biomolecules that are not glycosylated or whose extent of glycosylation is low was carried out by means of matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionisation mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). The identification of glycoprotein monosaccharides using an on-line coupling liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was performed by means of their characteristic quasi molecule ions such as (M + NH₄)⁺ and (2M + NH₄)⁺. The different chromatographic and structural methods used in combination with each other were applied to characterise and determine the monosaccharide species of fetuin and a membrane glycoprotein fraction.     

Crossed affino-immunoelectrophoresis or affino-blotting with lectins: advantages and limitations for glycoprotein studies

In contrast to the conventional combination of physical, chemical and enzymatic methods used for a structural analysis of glycans in glycoproteins, alternative methods involve affinity electrophoresis as a tool for the detection, characterization, and quantitation of glycoproteins and their carbohydrate moiety, owing to interactions with lectins. Two major approaches involve (i) crossed affino-immunoelectrophoresis and variations thereof, whereby lectin/glycoprotein interactions occur during the electrophoretic runs, or (ii) affino-blotting, where the glycoproteins are electrophoretically separated and then immobilized onto a solid support prior to their interaction with lectins. A critical comparison of these two series of techniques is the scope of the present paper. These techniques are of high interest by virtue of their ability at differentiating a classical glycan structure from unusual oligosaccharide side chains. The former structures will usually be qualitatively and quantitatively described with the easy and fast procedures as well as the simple equipment required for crossed affino-immunoelectrophoresis or affino-blotting, whereas the latter will be good candidates for further structural analyses.     

Detection of glycoproteins in polyacrylamide gels and on electroblots using Pro-Q Emerald 488 dye,a fluorescent periodate Schiff-base stain

Pro-Q Emerald 488 glycoprotein stain reacts with periodic acid-oxidized carbohydrate groups, generating a bright green-fluorescent signal on glycoproteins. The stain permits detection of less than 5-18 ng of glycoprotein per band, depending upon the nature and the degree of protein glycosylation, making it roughly 8-16-fold more sensitive than the standard colorimetric periodic acid-Schiff base method using acidic fuchsin dye (pararosaniline). The green-fluorescent signal from Pro-Q Emerald 488 stain may optimally be visualized using charge-coupled device/xenon arc lamp-based imaging systems or 470-488 nm laser-based gel scanners. Though glycoprotein detection may be performed on transfer membranes, direct detection in gels avoids electroblotting and the specificity of staining is better in gels. After detecting glycoproteins with Pro-Q Emerald 488 dye, total protein profiles may subsequently be detected using SYPRO Ruby protein gel stain. Using computer-assisted registration techniques, images may then be merged to generate differential display maps.