In this study we have investigated the structures of five sialylated trisaccharides released from bovine submaxillary mucin by alkaline borohydride treatment and isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Three of the trisaccharides contained NeuAc while two contained NeuGc. One oligosaccharide contained core-type 1, two contained core-type 3 and two contained core-type 5. The structures, determined by a combination of one-and two-dimensional 'H-NMR spectroscopy at 270 MHz and methylation analysis involving gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry, were as follows : A4b, GalNAca(l4 3)[NeuAca(2 4 6)]CalNAcol; A4c,The oligosaccharides occurred in the approximate molar ratios 1 .O: 12.0: 0.3: 0.2: 2.0. This is the first report of oligosaccharides containing coretype 5 and of the occurrence of oligosaccharides A4b, A4e, and A4f in bovine submaxillary mucin. 'H-NMR data for structure A4e, which is a novel structure, are presented for the first time.Previous investigations of the smaller oligosaccharides released by alkaline borohydride treatment of bovine submaxillary mucin (BSM) [1, 21 have shown the presence of three acidic oligosaccharides : NeuAc(orNeuGc)a(2 + 6)GalNAcol, GalP(l+ 3)[NeuAca(2 + 6)]GalNAcol, and GlcNAcp(l+ 3)-[NeuAca(2 + 6)lGalNAcol. Differences in core types [3] have been reported in various submaxillary mucins. For instance, core-types 1 (GalP1 + 3GalNAc) and 3 (GlcNAcPl + 3Gal-NAc) have been found in bovine submaxillary mucin (BSM) [I, 2,4]; types 1 and 2 [GalPI --+ 3(GlcNAcPl --+ 6)GalNAcI in ovine submaxillary much [5 -71 while only core-type 1 has been found in porcine submaxillary mucin [S, 91. In this study we have extended the study of core types in BSM by determining the structures of oligosaccharides present in minor amounts. The structures were determined by analysis of the one-dimensional (1D) 'H-NMR spectra at 270 MHz in conjunction with the two-dimensional (2D) double quantum filtered (DQF) correlation spectroscopy (COSY) experiment. Methylation analysis results were in agreement with these structures. A preliminary account of this work has appeared [lo].
MATERIALS AND METHODSMucin was isolated from bovine submaxillary glands according to Tettamanti and Pigman [l 11, with modifications by Correspondence to A.