Kinetics of Neuraminidase Action on Glycoproteins by 1D and 2D NMR

The surfaces of mammalian cells are coated with complex carbohydrates, many terminated with a negatively charged N-acetylneuraminic acid residue. This motif is specifically targeted by pathogens, including influenza viruses and many pathogenic bacteria, to gain entry into the cell. A necessary step in the influenza virus life cycle is the release of viral particles from the cell surface; this is achieved by cleaving N-acetylneuraminic acid from cell surface glycans with a virally-produced neuraminidase. Here we present a laboratory exercise to model this process using a glycoprotein as a glycan carrier and using real time nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to monitor N-acetylneuraminic acid release as catalyzed by neuraminidase. A time-resolved two dimensional data processing technique, statistical total correlation spectroscopy (STOCSY), enhances the resolution of the complicated 1D glycoprotein spectrum and isolates characteristic peaks corresponding to substrates and products. This exercise is relatively straightforward and leads students through a wide range of biologically and chemically relevant procedures, including use of NMR spectroscopy, enzymology and data processing techniques.