The structural heterogeneity of the carbohydrate moiety of desiaiylated human transferrin

Human transferrin consists of a single chain polypeptide which supports two N-glycosidically linked glycans at sequons a and b. Glycopeptides were released from human transferrin by proteolytic digestion, desialylated by mild acid hydrolysis, and then isolated by chromatographic methods. The structures of the glycans located on each sequon were determined by a combination of analytical techniques including Smith degradation, permethylation, and …