Glycosylation sites and site-specific glycosylation in human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein

The N-glycosylation sites of human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein from one healthy male donor have been characterized, based on an approach using endoproteinase Glu-C (V-8 protease, Staphylococcus aureus) digestion and a combination of chromatographic techniques, automated Edman sequencing, and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Seven out of the eight potential N-glycosylation sites, namely, Asn52, Asn56, Asn208, Asn251, Asn298, Asn372, and Asn489, turned out to be glycosylated, and the potential glycosylation site at Asn14, being close to the N-terminus, is not used. The carbohydrate microheterogeneity on three of the glycosylation sites was studied in more detail by high-pH anion-exchange chromatographic profiling and 500 MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Glycosylation site Asn489 contains mainly di- and tri-charged oligosaccharides which comprise, among others, the GalNAc4S(β1–4)GlcNAc terminal sequence. Only glycosylation site Asn251 bears oligomannose-type carbohydrate chains ranging from Man5GlcNAc2 to Man8GlcNAc2, in addition to a small amount of complex-type structures. Profiling of the carbohydrate moieties of Asn208 indicates a large heterogeneity, similar to that established for native human Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein, namely, multiply charged complex-type carbohydrate structures, terminated by sulfate groups, sialic acid residues, and/or the Sda-determinant.