Developmental changes in Asn-linked neutral oligosaccharides in murine cerebrum

The changes in Asn-linked oligosaccharide composition in the murine cerebru m during development have been examined by high-performance liquid chromato graphy (HPLC) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The o ligosaccharides, obtained from murine cerebrum in several developmental sta ges, were separated by HPLC on anion-exchange and reverse-phase columns. We found that two Asn-linked oligosaccharides, designated oligosaccharide I a nd oligosaccharide II, had their expression changed during postnatal develo pment. Whereas oligosaccharide I was reduced during brain development, olig osaccharide II was increased. The structures of oligosaccharides I and II w ere analyzed by ESI-MS and sequential exoglycosidase digestions. Judging fr om the molecular and fragment ions in each oligosaccharide, the oligosaccha ride I was composed of 5Hex+2HexNAc+ABOE (MW 1467.2) and the oligosaccharid e II was 3Hex+4HexNAc+DoHex+ABOE (MW 1695.2). The results of sequential exo glycosidase digestion indicated that the oligosaccharide I was an oligomann ose type saccharide and the oligosaccharide II was a biantennary complex ty pe saccharide including fucose. The proposed structures are shown below. Th ese results offer an important clue to the role of Asn-linked oligosacchari des associated with development of the central nervous system. [GRAPHICS] (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.