Isolation and structural studies of the neutral oligosaccharide units from bovine glycophorin.

The O-glycosidically linked carbohydrate units of glycophorin from bovine erythrocyte membranes were released as reduced oligosaccharides by alkaline borohydride treatment. These oligosaccharides were separated by ion-exchange chromatography followed by gel filtration. Three oligosaccharides, a penta- a hepta- and a decasaccharide were obtained as the major components from the neutral fraction, and seven fractions were separated from the acidic fractions. All of the fractions were found to contain galactose and N-acetylglucosamine in variable amounts, as well as N-acetylgalactosaminitol. Studies of the neutral oligosaccharides by methylation analyses, nitrous acid deamination and Smith degradation, indicated the structure of the pentasaccharide to be Gal(1 leads to 3)Gal(1 leads to 4)GlcNAc(1 leads to 3)GalNAcol and that of the heptasaccharide to be Gal(1 leads to 3)Gal(1 leads to 4)GlcNAc(1 leads to 3)Gal(1 leads to 4)GlcNAc(1 leads to 3)Gal(1 leads to 3)GalNAcol. The highest molecular weight fraction, decasaccharide in the neutral fraction had a branching point at C-6 of a galactose residue.