title: Comparative study of the carbohydrate moieties of normal and pathological human immunoglobulins M.
abstract: The well-known heterogeneity of normal and pathological immunoglobulins M was investigated in a study involving the characterization of their carbohydrate moieties. Oligosaccharide units were released from the native molecule by hydrazinolysis, and they were fractionated by affinity chromatography on a concanavalin A-Sepharose column to yield separate N-acetyl-lactosaminic-type and oligomannosidic-type structures. Further identification of these oligosaccharides was attempted by t.l.c. on silica gel and by determination of their monosaccharide compositions. A comparative study of the oligosaccharide units belonging to each population of immunoglobulin M was possible. Similarities were found in the occurrence of both types of oligosaccharide structures, and, in addition, a common double heterogeneity could be demonstrated for N-acetyl-lactosaminic-type structures: they could be resolved by affinity chromatography into bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary structures, and they also showed differences in N-acetylneuraminic acid content. Though some variations were observed in the exact composition of the oligosaccharide units within each population, it was possible to consider a representative oligosaccharide-unit composition of normal immunoglobulin M as a standard for comparison. On this basis a predominance of multi-antennary structures was observed in the more glycosylated pathological immunoglobulins M (10% carbohydrate content), whereas oligomannosidic structures were increased in pathological immunoglobulins M with a lower content of carbohydrates (7%). These variations are thought to reflect differences in the biosynthetic processing pathway of the carbohydrate units of the pathological immunoglobulins M or the enhanced expression of a molecular clone.
mesh_terms: D000606:Amino Sugars / Q000032:analysis; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D002621:Chemistry; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D006801:Humans; D006834:Hydrazines; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000032:analysis*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000606:Amino Sugars; D006834:Hydrazines; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D009844:Oligosaccharides; D012794:Sialic Acids; C000458:N-acetyllactosamine