Absolute quantitation of high abundant Fc-glycopeptides from human serum IgG-1

Abstract Absolute quantitation of IgG-1 Fc-glycosylation, which is crucial for the clinical practice of glyco-biomarkers and quality control of biopharmaceuticals, has been hindered by the lack of glycopeptide standards. In this study, eleven high abundant IgG-1 Fc-glycopeptides with definite peptide sequences and glycoforms were purified from commercial IgG protein by using two-dimensional hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatographic system. Based on the acquired glycopeptide standards, an absolute quantitation strategy was developed to determine the concentrations of 11 target IgG-1 glycopeptides from pooled human sera. A wide range of Fc-glycopeptide concentrations from 0.60 to 17.61 nmol mL−1 was achieved with excellent accuracy and reproducibility from pooled human sera IgG-1. Compared to conventional relative quantitation, this strategy provides more accurate distribution profiles of 11 high abundant Fc-glycopeptides and degree of glycosylation from pooled human sera IgG-1.