title: Biosynthesis of blood-group I and i substances. Specificity of bovine colostrum beta-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminide beta 1 leads to 4 galactosyltransferase.
abstract: Highly purified bovine colostrum beta-N-acetylglucosaminide beta 1 leads to 4 galactosyltransferase was used to investigate the galactosylation of the synthetic, branched trisaccharide GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 3(GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 6)Gal, which is the branching point in blood-group I antigenic structures. Two galactose residues could readily be incorporated from UDP-galactose into the trisaccharide, yielding a pentasaccharide with the following structure: Galbeta 1 leads to 4GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 3(Galbeta 1 leads to 4GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 6)Gal. From a partially completed incubation an intermediate tetrasaccharide was isolated, the structure of which was investigated by use of an acetolysis method, involving high-pressure liquid chromatography and double labelling techniques. It appeared that this intermediate consisted for more than 95% of one of two possible structures: GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 3(Galbeta 1 leads to 4GlcNAcbeta 1 leads to 6)Gal. This reveals that the enzymatic galactosylation of the trisaccharide proceeds in a highly preferred order, in which the 1 leads to 6-linked N-acetylglucosamine residue is galactosylated first and thus that the galactosyltransferase displays a high degree of 'branch specificity'. Kinetic data suggest that galactosylation of the 1 leads to 6-linked N-acetylglucosamine in the trisaccharide enhances the acceptor properties of the 1 leads to 3-linked N-acetylglucosamine residue.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001789:Blood Group Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002417:Cattle; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003126:Colostrum / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D005700:Galactosyltransferases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007048:I Blood-Group System; D007700:Kinetics; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D006022:beta-N-Acetylglucosaminylglycopeptide beta-1,4-Galactosyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001789:Blood Group Antigens; D007048:I Blood-Group System; D005700:Galactosyltransferases; D006022:beta-N-Acetylglucosaminylglycopeptide beta-1,4-Galactosyltransferase