Antibodies that recognize phosphodiester-linked amino-N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate residues

An affinity chromatography procedure was developed for isolating antibodies that recognized phosphodiester-linked alpha-N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate (alpha-GlcNAc-1-P) residues. The affinity resin consisted of uridine-5'-diphospho-alpha-N-acetylglucosamine (UDPGlcNAc) conjugated to Sepharose. Antiserum prepared against Proteinase 1 from the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum was used as a source of the anti-alpha-GlcNAc-1-P antibodies. Immunoblot assays showed that the affinity-isolated antibodies recognized phosphoglycosylated subunits of Proteinase 1, and that UDPGlcNAc blocked this interaction.