N-Glycosylation of the MUC1 mucin in epithelial cells and secretions

Glycobiology. 2006 Jul;16(7):623-34. doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwj110. Epub 2006 Apr 3.

Abstract

The MUC1 mucin is an important tumor-associated antigen that shows extensive glycosylation in vivo. The O-glycosylation of this molecule, which has been well characterized in many cell types and tissues, is important in conferring the unusual biochemical and biophysical properties on a mucin. N-Glycosylation is crucial to the folding, sorting, membrane trafficking, and secretion of many proteins. Here, we evaluated the N-glycosylation of MUC1 derived from two sources: endogenous MUC1 isolated from human milk and a recombinant epitope-tagged MUC1F overexpressed in Caco2 colon carcinoma cells. N-Glycans on purified MUC1F/MUC1 were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and CAD-ESI-MS/MS. The spectra indicate that MUC1F N-glycans have compositions consistent with high-mannose structures (Hex(5-9)HexNAc(2)) and complex/hybrid-type glycans (NeuAc(0-3)Fuc(0-3)Hex(3-8)HexNAc(3-7)). Many of the N-glycan structures are identical on MUC1F and native MUC1; however, a marked difference is seen between the N-glycans on membrane-bound and secreted forms of the native molecule.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Caco-2 Cells
  • Carbohydrate Sequence
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism*
  • Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Mannose / chemistry
  • Milk, Human / chemistry
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mucin-1 / chemistry*
  • Mucin-1 / genetics
  • Mucin-1 / metabolism*
  • N-Acetyllactosamine Synthase / chemistry
  • Polysaccharides / analysis*
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Proteins / metabolism
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
  • Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
  • beta-Galactosidase / chemistry

Substances

  • Mucin-1
  • Polysaccharides
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • N-Acetyllactosamine Synthase
  • beta-Galactosidase
  • Mannose