Molecular basis of Tn-polyagglutinability.

Spectrophotometric and gas-liquid chromatographic analyses on the carbohydrate moiety of tryptic erythrocyte glycopeptides from persons with Tn-syndrome reveal a selective lowering of the galactose and sialic acid content, the degree being dependent on the percentage of polyagglutinable cells. Alkaline borohydride specifically releases N-acetylgalactosaminitol, and the amount is correlated to the percentage of pathological acetylgalactosaminitol, and the amount is correlated to the percentage of pathological erythrocytes. It is concluded that the alkali-labile carbohydrate chains of Tn-polyagglutinable red cells solely consist of N-acetylgalactosamine linked to serine or threonine. Experiments with heterophile agglutinins whose specificity is known are in line with the above-mentioned results. As judged from SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the three major membrane glycoproteins are affected to a different extent by the defect.