Purification and Characterization of Glycoprotein from the Skin Mucus of the Rainbow Trout, Salmo gairdneri

Mucus glycoprotein (RGP) was purified and characterized from the skin mucus of rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri. RGP was found to contain 30.1% NeuAc, 26.0% GalNAc, 5.0% Gal, and 26.0% amino acids. The protein moiety of RGP is very rich in Thr (32.4 mol%). Neither NeuGc nor KDN (2-keto-3-deoxy-d-glycero-d-galacto-nononic acid) was found in RGP. Alkaline borohydride treatment of RGP yielded a major disaccharide alditol, NeuAcα2→6GalNAc-ol and more than 4 minor oligosaccharide alditols including NeuAc→(GalNAcα1→)GalNAc-ol. It was evident that an average RGP molecule has approximately 500 NeuAc-containing oligosaccharide chains, which are attached to the Thr and Ser residues of the protein moiety and spaced at an average of 3 amino acids apart.