TY - JOUR
T1 - Molecular species analysis and quantification of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol intermediate glycolipid C from Trypanosoma brucei
AU - Guther, Maria Lucia S.
AU - Treumann, Achmin
AU - Ferguson, Michael A. J.
PY - 1996/5
Y1 - 1996/5
N2 - The precursor of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor of the variant surface glycoprotein of Trypanosoma brucei is known as glycolipid A and it has the structure: EtN-PO4-6Mana1-2Mana1-6Mana1-4GlcNa1-6myo-inositoll-PO4-(sn-1,2-dimyristoylglycerol). This precursor exists in equilibrium with its inositol-acylated form known as glycolipid C that contains a fatty acid attached to the inositol ring. In this study, we describe the purification to homogeneity of glycolipid C, its precise quantification and the analysis of the molecular species of glycolipid C by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The results show that glycolipid C is present at 160 000 copies per cell, that glycolipid C is acylated on the 2-position of the myo-inositol ring and that glycolipid C is heterogeneous with respect to the acyl chain attached to the inositol ring. The implications of these results with respect to the nature of the trypanosome inositol acyltransferase are discussed.
AB - The precursor of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchor of the variant surface glycoprotein of Trypanosoma brucei is known as glycolipid A and it has the structure: EtN-PO4-6Mana1-2Mana1-6Mana1-4GlcNa1-6myo-inositoll-PO4-(sn-1,2-dimyristoylglycerol). This precursor exists in equilibrium with its inositol-acylated form known as glycolipid C that contains a fatty acid attached to the inositol ring. In this study, we describe the purification to homogeneity of glycolipid C, its precise quantification and the analysis of the molecular species of glycolipid C by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The results show that glycolipid C is present at 160 000 copies per cell, that glycolipid C is acylated on the 2-position of the myo-inositol ring and that glycolipid C is heterogeneous with respect to the acyl chain attached to the inositol ring. The implications of these results with respect to the nature of the trypanosome inositol acyltransferase are discussed.
U2 - 10.1016/0166-6851(96)02585-6
DO - 10.1016/0166-6851(96)02585-6
M3 - Article
SN - 0166-6851
VL - 77
SP - 137
EP - 145
JO - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
JF - Molecular and Biochemical Parasitology
IS - 2
ER -