title: Structural aspects of blood group glycosphingolipids in the gastrointestinal tract.
abstract: The epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract from different species show a very variable expression of blood group active glycosphingolipids. The core saccharide sequences are typical for the species as, for example, type 1 chains (Gal beta 1----3GlcNAc) are found in the small intestine of man, rat, and pig and type 2 chains (Gal beta 1----4GlcNAc) are found in the small intestine of dog, rabbit, and cat. The mouse is atypical with the ganglioseries as the major core saccharide of the small intestine. Blood group A determinants can be found in the small intestine of man, rat, dog, rabbit, and cat, and the blood group B determinant in man and rabbit. Studies on the blood group active glycosphingolipids along the gastrointestinal tract of rat have revealed a complex distribution. The glandular cells of the stomach and epithelial cells of the large intestine express blood group B active glycosphingolipids. The cores of these are the ganglioseries, and the isogloboseries in the stomach and the lacto- (type 1) and neolactoseries (type 2) in the large intestine. The type 2 component is only expressed as a difucosyl and the type 1 as a monofucosyl compound. The epithelial cells of the small intestine are devoid of blood group B glycolipids, but express blood group H structures of which some has a branched core saccharide. One rat strain is lacking blood group A structures in the small intestine, but another is converting the H precursors to blood group A compounds. Both these strains always express blood group A structures in the large intestine. The expression of blood group A glycosphingolipids in the small intestine is inherited as a dominant trait.
authors: Department of Medical Biochemistry, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
authors: G C
authors: GC
authors: Hansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001789:Blood Group Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D004064:Digestive System / Q000276:immunology*; D000939:Epitopes / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006028:Glycosphingolipids / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D001789:Blood Group Antigens; D000939:Epitopes; D006028:Glycosphingolipids