Sulfation of Sugar Nucleotides: III. DIVERSITY OF SULFATED SUGAR NUCLEOTIDES OCCURRING IN HEN OVIDUCT

Abstract

Investigation of the occurrence in hen oviduct of highly acidic nucleotides other than the known sulfated sugar nucleotide, UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfate, revealed the presence of four other sugar nucleotides, each bearing 1 or 2 sulfate residues. They are: (a) UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine-4,6-disulfate, the same compound that was previously synthesized from UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfate and 3'-phosphoadenosine-5'-phosphosulfate in the presence of a sulfotransferase preparation from hen oviduct; (b) UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfate-6-phosphate, i.e. a UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine derivative bearing a sulfate and a phosphate residue at position 4 and position 6, respectively, on the N-acetylgalactosamine moiety; (c) UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphogalactose-sulfate, i.e a derivative of the known disaccharide-carrying nucleotide, UDP-N-acetylglucosamine-6-phosphogalactose, bearing a sulfate residue on the galactose moiety; and (d) UDP-galactose-sulfate, i.e. a UDP-galactose derivative bearing also a sulfate residue on the galactose moiety. The diversity of sulfated sugar nucleotides suggests the existence of a common plan of sugar-nucleotide sulfation, with which the tissue makes striking changes in the biological activities or metabolic fates conferred on the sugar nucleotides.