The carbohydrate moiety of human platelet glycocalicin

Glycocalicin, a predominant glycoprotein on the human platelet surface, has been purified from a platelet suspension by sonication, ammonium sulfate precipitation and acid treatment followed by chromatography on columns of wheat germ agglutinin-Sepharose and Sephacryl S-300. Ser/Thr-linked (O-linked) oligosaccharides were released by alkaline borohydride treatment, and fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography with an anion-exchange resin. The structure of a major oligosaccharide alditol separated by high performance liquid chromatography was investigated by a combination of compositional analyses, methylation and glycosidase treatments, and proposed to be a hexasaccharide alditol, NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-4GlcNAc beta 1-6(NeuAc alpha 2-3Gal beta 1-3) N-acetylgalactosaminitol. We also found some sugar units which appeared to be intermediates in the biosynthetic pathway of the major hexasaccharide.