Characterization by Western Blotting of Mouse Intestinal Glycoproteins Bound by Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Enterotoxin Type I

Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin type I (LT-I)-binding galactoproteins, which were not recognized by cholera toxin, were detected in intestinal epithelial cells of BALB/c mouse by Western blotting. Inhibitory studies using lectins and modifications of sugar chain suggest that LT-I recognizes certain mucin-type sugar chains containing the terminal Galβ1-3GalNAc sugar sequence in the galactoproteins. The terminal sugar sequence is identical to that of GM1 ganglioside, the well-documented functional receptor for LT-I.