Changes in glycosylation of rat liver arylsulfatase B in relation to age.

The aim of this study was to determine how glycosylation of the rat liver arylsulfatase B was influenced by the age of the animal. The enzyme was purified from a liver lysosomal fraction obtained from male Wistar rats aged 18 days of gestation, 1 week, and 1, 1.5, 3 and 18 months by an affinity chromatography. Examination of the carbohydrate structures was performed after electrophoresis and blotting, followed by a very sensitive detection system with a set of six highly specific digoxygenin-labelled lectins. After densitometric measurement of the intensity of a digoxigenin-labelled lectin binding to arylsulfatase B, it could be stated that, at least, changes in sialylation are related to the growth and development of rats. Sialylation increases while fucosylation slightly decreases with age of the animal.