title: Immunochemistry of Ii-active glycosphingolipids of erythrocytes.
abstract: Fractions of complex glycosphingolipids were prepared from adult, cord, and i phenotype erythrocytes by the method elaborated for the isolation of poly(glycosyl)ceramides. In contrast to poly(glycosyl)ceramides which comprise on the average 30 glycosyl units and about 5 branching points, i.e. 3,6-di-O-substituted galactopyranosyl residues, per mole of glucose, complex glycosphingolipids from cord and i erythrocytes comprise 6 and 15 glycosyl units respectively and only 0.7 branching points. The latter substances exhibited also a high i activity which was not detected in poly(glycosyl)ceramides. Erythrocyte membranes were labeled with radioactive N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) from UDP-GalNAc using a purified A-blood-group gene-specified transfered of GalNAc. It was found that electrophoretic mobilities in dodecylsulfate-gel electrophoresis of all glycoconjugates which accepted GalNAc were increased in i as compared to I membranes. We conclude that the absence of highly branched glycosphingolipids in cord and i erythrocytes as well as the reduction of apparent molecular weights of the glycoconjugates, which are substrates for A-gene-specified transferase of GalNAc, result from a single cause, that is an inadequacy of the biosynthetic process which is responsible for the formation of GlcNAc1 leads to 6Gal structures.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D002554:Cerebrosides / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005312:Fetal Blood / Q000032:analysis*; D005333:Fetus; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002554:Cerebrosides; D006028:Glycosphingolipids