Characterisation of the phosphorylcholine-containing N-linked oligosaccharides in the excretory-secretory 62 kDa glycoprotein of Acanthocheilonema viteae

The major excretory-secretory product of the rodent filarial nematode Acanthocheilonema viteae is a 62 kDa glycoprotein (ES-62), which has phosphorylcholine, attached to the N-linked carbohydrates. In this paper, we describe structural studies of N-glycans released from ES-62 by peptide N-glycosidase F. Three major classes of N-glycan structures were observed: high mannose type structures; those which had been fully trimmed to the trimannosyl core and were sub-stoichiometrically fucosylated; and those with a trimannosyl core, with and without core fucosylation, carrying between one and four additional N-acetylglucosamine residues. Of the three classes of glycans, only the last was found to be substituted with detectable levels of phosphorylcholine. The implications of these results with respect to the probable glycosylation pathways operating in A. viteae are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.