Occurrence of unique polysialosyl carbohydrate units in glycoproteins of developing brain.

A novel type of glycopeptides comprising approximately 10% of the total protein-bound neuraminic acid in developing rat brain have been isolated and characterized. The glycopeptides displayed unique properties including precipitation with cetylpyridinium chloride, strong binding to anion exchange column, and large apparent size in gel filtration. Structural studies including methylation analysis, as well as gel filtration experiments with native and desialylated glycopeptides, suggested that they were composed of a core similar to that of normal tri- and tetraantennary N-glycosidic glycopeptides, with outer branches of the general structure (NeuAc alpha 2-8)nNeuAc alpha 2-3Gal--. The total number of sialic acid residues varied from 8 to at least 12. Similar glycopeptides were not observed in liver or kidney of the young rat or in the brain of the adult animal. These observations suggest that the polysialosylated glycopeptides represent a class of developmentally regulated carbohydrate structures characteristic of developing brain tissue.