Accumulation of dolichol-linked oligosaccharides in ceroid-lipofuscinosis (Batten disease)

The accumulation of phosphorylated dolichol compounds in a number of tissues from cases of ceroid-lipofuscinosis (CL) is documented, together with an analysis of their complex carbohydrate structures. Oligosaccharides were released from dolichyl pyrophosphoryl compounds, partially purified from brain, either by mild acid hydrolysis or endoglucosaminidase digestion. The molar amounts of oligosaccharides released corresponded to the levels of P-dolichol in each brain analysed. Qualitative analysis indicated that the oligosaccharides from brain consist of a number of different components, ranging in size from four to fourteen monosaccharide units and containing chitobiose at the reducing terminal, and that the species containing seven or eight monosaccharides can be fully digested to a trisaccharide by alpha-mannosidase. The compounds that accumulate in CL tissues probably represent some of the lipid-linked intermediates known to be involved in the glycosylation of proteins, together with metabolites derived from these intermediates. The results suggest that CL might result from an impairment of the ability to metabolize dolichyl pyrophosphoryl oligosaccharides.