Unusual N-type glycosylation of salivary prolactin-inducible protein (PIP): multiple LewisY epitopes generate highly-fucosylated glycan structures.

Prolactin-inducible protein (PIP) is a glycoprotein found in body secretions from exocrine glands like saliva and seminal plasma. Important biological functions of PIP concentrations have been demonstrated, e.g. in tumor diagnosis and progression. PIP quantity has been also found useful to determine the success of chemotherapy of mammary carcinoma. Here, we present the analysis of the N-glycosylation of PIP isolated from different sources by LC-MS(/MS) and 1H-NMR. We found a very uncommon N-type glycosylation of PIP in healthy individuals from both, seminal fluid and saliva. PIP carries unusual highly fucosylated N-linked glycans with multiple Lewisy (Ley) epitopes on bi-, tri- and tetraantennary structures resulting in up to nine fucosyl residues on a tetraantennary glycan. In most organs, Ley epitopes are not present on N-glycans except in case of a tumor when it is highly up-regulated and important for prognosis. Here, for the first time on a specific glycoprotein Ley antigens are unambiguously characterized on an N-type glycan by NMR spectroscopy. So far, for specific glycoproteins Ley epitopes had only been reported on O-glycans. Furthermore, a correlation between a nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and glycosylation pattern was detected: individuals heterozygous for the SNP causing the amino acid exchange 51Gln to 51His have glycan structures with a higher degree of sialylation compared to individuals lacking the SNP.