Sugar components of glycoprotein fractions in middle ear effusions.

We analyzed the sugar components of the glycoprotein fractions in human middle ear fluid samples by using gas chromatography. All ear effusions included serous, seromucinous and mucoid samples, and contained appreciable amounts of fucose, mannose, galactose, glucose, N-acetyl glucosamine and sialic acid. Total sugar content to protein was significantly higher in mucoid effusions than in serous effusions. Among the sugar components, the contents of sialic acid, N-acetyl glucosamine, fucose and galactose were much higher in the mucoid effusions. The data show new evidence that some glycoproteins having high proportions of sialic acid, N-acetyl glucosamine, fucose and galactose appear in the middle ear fluid of the glue ear.