Site-specific conformational alteration induced by sialylation of MUC1 tandem repeating glycopeptides at an epitope region for the anti-KL-6 monoclonal antibody

Biochemistry. 2013 Jan 15;52(2):402-14. doi: 10.1021/bi3013142. Epub 2013 Jan 2.

Abstract

Protein O-glycosylation is an essential step for controlling structure and biological functions of glycoproteins involving differentiation, cell adhesion, immune response, inflammation, and tumorigenesis and metastasis. This study provides evidence of site-specific structural alteration induced during multiple sialylation at Ser/Thr residues of the tandem repeats in human MUC1 glycoprotein. Systematic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study revealed that sialylation of the MUC1 tandem repeating glycopeptide, Pro-Pro-Ala-His-Gly-Val-Thr-Ser-Ala-Pro-Asp-Thr-Arg-Pro-Ala-Pro-Gly-Ser-Thr-Ala with core 2-type O-glycans at five potential glycosylation sites, afforded a specific conformational change at one of the most important cancer-relevant epitopes (Pro-Asp-Thr-Arg). This result indicates that disease-relevant epitope structures of human epithelial cell surface mucins can be altered both by the introduction of an inner GalNAc residue and by the distal sialylation in a peptide sequence-dependent manner. These data demonstrate the feasibility of NMR-based structural characterization of glycopeptides synthesized in a chemical and enzymatic manner in examining the conformational impact of the distal glycosylation at multiple O-glycosylation sites of mucin-like domains.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / immunology*
  • Antibody Affinity
  • Epitopes / chemistry*
  • Epitopes / immunology*
  • Glycosylation
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Mucin-1 / chemistry*
  • Mucin-1 / immunology*
  • N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / chemistry
  • N-Acetylneuraminic Acid / immunology
  • Neoplasms / chemistry
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / immunology
  • Protein Conformation

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Epitopes
  • MUC1 protein, human
  • Mucin-1
  • Peptides
  • N-Acetylneuraminic Acid