Role of carbohydrates in the viscosity and permeability of gastric mucin to hydrogen ion.

The effect of carbohydrate removal on the viscosity of gastric mucin and its ability to impede the diffusion of hydrogen ion was investigated. The mucin, purified from dog gastric mucus, was subjected to partial or extensive deglycosylation with specific exoglycosidases and then used in the measurements. The obtained results revealed that removal of peripheral fucose or N-acetylglucosamine caused in each case only about 5% reduction of the glyco-protein viscosity. An 18% drop in the viscosity, however, occurred following removal of sialic acid, while extensive deglycosylation (removal of 86% carbohydrate) reduced the glycoprotein viscosity by 40%. The ability of mucin to retard the diffusion of hydrogen ion increased by 7% following removal of fucose or N-acetylgalactosamine, a 28% increase was obtained following removal of sialic acid, while the permeability to hydrogen ion of the extensively deglycosylated glycoprotein decreased by 42%. The results suggest that carbohydrates contribute significantly to the viscoelastic and permselective properties of gastric mucin.