Alteration of asparagine-linked glycosylation in serum transferrin of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The asparagine-linked sugar chains in serum transferrin purified from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 13), healthy individuals (n = 5) and patients with liver cirrhosis (n = 6) were compared. Sugar chains released with N-glycanase from desialylated and pepsin-digested transferrin were derivatized by reductive pyridylamination. Analysis of the sugar chains by high performance liquid chromatography in combination with exoglycosidase digestion revealed an increase of a biantennary complex-type sugar chain with a fucosylated trimannosyl core; Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-2Man alpha 1-6(Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-2Man alpha 1-3) Man beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-6)GlcNAc in 7 of 13 cancer patients and an increase of a sugar chain with a fucosylated trimannosyl core and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine; Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-2Man alpha 1-6(GlcNAc beta 1-4) (Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-2Man alpha 1-3)Man beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-4(Fuc alpha 1-6)GlcNAc in one of the 13 cancer patients. Further, the fucosylated alteration of the sugar chain was detected also in alpha 1-antitrypsin, hemopexin, alpha 1-acid glycoprotein and alpha 2-HS glycoprotein from one of the patients with increased fucosylated transferrin.