Isolation and structural characterization of twenty-one sialyloligosaccharides from galactosialidosis urine. An intact N,N'-diacetylchitobiose unit at the reducing end of a diantennary structure.

Galactosialidosis urine was fractionated by gel-permeation chromatography on Bio-Gel P-6. The obtained sialic acid-containing carbohydrate fractions were purified by reversed-phase chromatography and separated according to charge by medium-pressure anion-exchange chromatography on Mono Q. The Mono Q fractions, being mixtures of sialyloligosaccharides differing mainly in sialic acid-linkage type (alpha 2-3/alpha 2-6), were subfractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography on Lichrosorb-NH2. The purified compounds were analysed by 500-MHz 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Twenty-one fully and partially sialylated N-acetyllactosamine-type compounds include mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-antennary structures. All structures have the sequence Man beta 1-4Glc-NAc at the reducing terminus in common, except one diantennary structure bearing an intact N,N'-diacetylchitobiose unit at the reducing end, which is a new feature in human glycoproteinosis urine.