Zonal expression of ocam in mouse main and accessory olfactory systems

Abstract

We had previously shown that the human colon produces at least two immunochemically distinct mucins, one neutral and the other a sialomucin [Gold et al. J. biol. Chem. 256, 6354–6358 (1981)]. In addition, the sialomucin was shown to contain an immunodeterminant restricted to colonic epithelium and may thus prove useful as a tissue-specific marker. In the current study we have shown that a specific linkage of sialic acid to the oligosaccharide backbone has a major role in the organ-specific immunodeterminant structure. Treatment of intact colonic mucin with sialidase (Cl. perfringens) cleaved 20–80% of the sialic acid as measured colorimetrically. Immunoreactivity was decreased by 0–42% with respect to the untreated material. Saponification (0.1 N KOH, 20 min at room temp) caused an approximate 90% decrease in immunoreactivity for each mucin. Subsequent to saponification, neuraminidase cleaved most of the sialic acid from the mucins. The majority of sialic acid was observed to be O-acetylated, thus making it sialidase-insensitive. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analyses of the trimethylsilyl sialic acid derivatives indicated the presence of NeuNAc; NeuNAc, 9-OAc; and NeuNAc, 7,9 diOAc as the major sialyl derivatives. The radioimmunoassay data appeared to indicate that O-acetylated sialic acid was necessary for immunoreactivity. It should be noted that jejunal mucin and bovine submaxillary mucin also contain O-acetylated sialic acids, but did not inhibit in our radioimmunoassay. This may have been due to differences in the O-acetylation pattern or the linkage of sialic acid to the core carbohydrate. Analyses of the partially methylated alditol acetate derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the untreated, as well as the saponified and neuraminidase treated, mucins revealed that sialic acid was attached to the carbohydrate core either to galactose, N-acetylglucosamine, and/or N-acetylgalactosamine. Linear regression analyses comparing immunoreactivity with specific epitope concns, in conjunction with RIA analyses of known structures, suggested that the organ-specific immunodeterminant was (or was dependent upon the presence of) the structure GlcNAc (1,3)[O-acetylated Neu5Ac(2,6)] GalNAc.