N-glycosylation at one rabies virus glycoprotein sequon influences N-glycan processing at a distant sequon on the same molecule.

Rabies glycoprotein (RGP(WT)) contains N-glycosylation sequons at Asn(37), Asn(247), and Asn(319), although Asn(37) is not efficiently glycosylated. To examine N-glycan processing at Asn(247) and Asn(319), full-length glycosylation mutants, RGP(-2-) and RGP(--3), were expressed, and Endo H sensitivity was compared. When the Asn(247) sequon is present alone in RGP(-2-), 90% of its N-glycans are high-mannose type, whereas only 35% of the N-glycans at Asn(319) in RGP(--3) are high-mannose. When both sequons are present in RGP(-23), 87% of the N-glycans are of complex type. The differing patterns of Endo H sensitivity at sequons present individually or together suggests that glycosylation of one sequon affects glycosylation at another, distant sequon. To explore this further, we constructed soluble forms of RGP: RGP(WT)T441His and RGP(--3)T441His. Tryptic glycopeptides from these purified secreted proteins were isolated by HPLC and characterized by a 3D oligosaccharide mapping technique. RGP(WT)T441His had fucosylated, bi- and triantennary complex type glycans at Asn(247) and Asn(319). However, Asn(247) had half as many neutral glycans, more monosialylated glycans, and fewer disialylated glycans when compared with Asn(319). Moreover, when comparing the N-glycans at Asn(319) on RGP(--3)T441His and RGP(WT)T441His, the former had 30% more neutral, 28% more monosialylated, and 33% fewer disialylated glycans. This suggests that the N-glycan at Asn(247) allows additional N-glycan processing to occur at Asn(319), yielding more heavily sialylated bi- and triantennary forms. The mechanism(s) by which glycosylation at one sequon influences N-glycan processing at a distant sequon on the same glycoprotein remains to be determined.