Enzymatic incorporation of fucose into blood group H substance

Abstract

The soluble blood group substances found in animal secretions are glycoproteins composed of approximately 85% carbohydrate and 15% protein. Their serological specificity is determined by oligosaccharide side chains covalently attached to a peptide backbone. This communication describes the enzymatic incorporation of fucose from guanosine diphosphate L-fucose (GDP-fucose) into microsomal-bound blood group H substance, catalyzed by a particulate preparation from hog gastric mucosa. As H specificity is determined by an α-L-fucosyl (1→2)-β-D galactosyl linkage ( Rege et al. , 1964 ; Lloyd et al. , 1966 ), this enzymatic reaction represents a terminal step in the biosynthesis of the H determinant.