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Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Pulse-chase Analysis of N-linked Sugar Chains from Glycoproteins in Mammalian Cells
Published on: April 28, 2010
Structural analysis of sulfated N-linked oligosaccharides in erythropoietin
N Kawasaki1, Y Haishima, M Ohta
1Division of Biological Chemistry and Biologicals, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1, Kamiyoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501 Japan.
Abstract:
We previously demonstrated that high-performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/MS) equipped with a graphitized carbon column (GCC) is useful for the structural analysis of carbohydrates in glycoproteins. Using LC/MS with GCC, sulfated N-linked oligosaccharides were found in erythropoietin (EPO) expressed in baby hamster kidney cells. Sulfation occurs in a part of the N-linked oligosaccharides in the EPO. Sulfated monosaccharide residue in the sulfated N-linked oligosaccharide was determined by exoglycosidase digestion followed by sugar mapping by LC/MS. The linkage position and branch-location of the sulfate group in the tetraantennary oligosaccharide were analyzed by (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance. It was suggested that sulfation occurs on the C-6 position of GlcNAc located in the GlcNAcbeta1-4Manalpha1-3 branch.
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