The enzymes catalyzing the sulfation by 3’-phosphoadenosine 5’-phosphosulfate of chondroitin, chondroitin sulfates A, B, and C, and heparitin sulfate have been reported by Suzuki and Strominger (1) and Suzuki, Threnn, and Strominger (2) to occur in the isthmus region of hen oviduct’. The enzyme preparations used in these studies showed an absolute dependence on addition of the mucopolysaccharid...

Plant and animal lectins with various carbohydrate specificities were used to type 35 Irish clinical isolates of Helicobacter pylori and the type strain NCTC 11637 in a microtiter plate assay. Initially, a panel of eight lectins with the indicated primary specificities were used: Anguilla anguilla (AAA), Lotus tetragonolobus (Lotus A), and Ulex europaeus I (UEA I), specific for alpha-L-fucose; ...

Calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion among embryonic chick neural retina cells is mediated by N-cadherin, a 130,000-Da integral membrane protein. We have reported that the ability of chick neural retina cells to form calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion is also correlated with the presence of an N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase at the cell surface (Balsamo, J., and Lilien, J. (1982) J. Biol. C...

Midkine (MK), a heparin-binding growth factor, binds strongly to oversulfated structures in chondroitin sulfates (CSs) and heparan sulfate. To elucidate the carbohydrate structure actually involved in the strong binding, dissected brains from 13-day mouse embryos were incubated with [14C]-glucosamine. The labeled glycosaminoglycans were fractionated by MK-agarose affinity chromatography to a we...

Surface glycoconjugates of hair cells and supporting cells in the vestibular endorgans of the bullfrog were identified using biotinylated lectins with different carbohydrate specificities. Lectin binding in hair cells was consistent with the presence of glucose and mannose (CON A), galactose (RCA-I), N-acetylglucosamine (WGA), N-acetylgalactosamine (VVA), but not fucose (UEA-I) residues. Hair c...

Tissue recruitment of dendritic cells (DCs) is essential for antigen presentation. When latex particulates were injected intravenously into rats, DC precursors were recruited to the liver. Propionibacterium acnes also induced the recruitment of definite mouse DC precursors. These DCs initially showed a selective binding to Kupffer cells. In the Kupffer cell-depleted rats, DCs could neither be r...

A galactosyltransferase has been found in a particulate preparation prepared from normal canine respiratory tissue which catalyzes the transfer of galactose from its uridine diphosphate derivative to N-acetylgalactosamine residues. The transfer to sialidase-treated ovine submaxillary mucin was dependent upon Mn*+ and was stimulated several-fold by Triton X-100. The optimal pH was between 6 and ...

Adhesion is an important virulence function for Entamoeba histolytica, the causative agent of amoebic dysentery. Lipid rafts, cholesterol-rich domains, function in compartmentalization of cellular processes. In E. histolytica, rafts participate in parasite-host cell interactions; however, their role in parasite-host extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions has not been explored. Disruption of ra...

EXTL2, an alpha1,4-N-acetylhexosaminyltransferase, catalyzes the transfer reaction of N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine from the respective UDP-sugars to the non-reducing end of [glucuronic acid]beta1-3[galactose]beta1-O-naphthalenemethanol, an acceptor substrate analog of the natural common linker of various glycosylaminoglycans. We have solved the x-ray crystal structure of the ca...

a-N-Acetylgalaetosaminidase, devoid of P-N-acetylhexosaminidase, has been purified 860-fold from the limpet, Patella uulgata. The final preparation gives one protein band on disc gel electrophoresis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-disc gel electrophoresis, and disc gel isoelectrofocusing. By Sephadex G-ZOO filtration, the molecular weight of this enzyme is 200,000 at pH 4.2 and is 45,000 at pH 7.0. The...