Glycoanalysis Protocols
(E. F. Hounsell (ed.) 2nd ed., Methods in
Molecular Biology, Vol. 76, Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 1998, 262
p., $69.50)
Glycoanalytic Protocols is published as part of the well-known
series
Methods in Molecular Biology (series editor, D. M.
Walker) and contains 15 chapters written by an international team of
experts. Chapter 1 (E. F. Hounsell) discusses protein glycosylation and
is a brilliant theoretical and methodological introduction to the study
of glycosylated proteins. This chapter describes methods for
determination of the types of carbohydrate-peptide bonds and contents
of carbohydrates as well as methods for assay of sialic acids, nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR), mass-spectrometry, and conformational
analysis. Chapter 2 (K. D. Gries and G. W. Hart) presents analytical
methods for studies of O-GlcNAc-glycoproteins and glycopeptides. Among
these methods, the authors emphasize enzymatic cleavage of
glycoproteins and glycopeptides by proteolytic enzymes and separation
of generated fragments by various types of column chromatography,
capillary electrophoresis, and other physicochemical methods. Chapter 3
(K. Yamamoto, T. Tsuji, and T. Osawa) describes the analysis of
asparagine-bound oligosaccharides by affinity chromatography on columns
with immobilized lectins. Chapter 4 (S. Prime and T. Merry) considers
the application of endoglycosidase mixtures for investigation of
saccharide sequences in N-bound glycans. Chapter 5 (M. Weittzhandler,
J. Rohrer, J. R. Thayer, and N. Avdalovic) significantly extends the
preceding chapter describing the use of anion-exchange chromatography
at high pH (AXB3pH) and amperometric detection for identification of
monosaccharide products of hydrolysis by endoglycosidases. Chapter 6
(M. J. Davies and E. Hounsell) considers the methods for
oligosaccharide and glycopeptide analysis by high-performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) and AXB3pH. Chapter 7 includes the data of N- and
O-glycan analysis by pyridylamination. Chapter 8 (J. C. Klock and C. M.
Starr) characterizes the analysis of the carbohydrate moieties of
glycoproteins by polyacrylamide gel separation of oligosaccharides
labeled with fluorescent probes. Chapter 9 (C. C. Rider) is devoted to
the analysis of glycoaminoglycans and proteoglycans. It describes
methods for metabolic labeling of these biopolymers with
[
35S]sulfate and purification by anion-exchange
chromatography as well as colorimetry and other methods. Chapter 10 (A.
P. Corfield et al.) presents data on the use of cell and organ culture
for studies of secreted mucins. Chapter 11 (B. J. Campbell and J. M.
Rhodes) considers the methods for purification of mucins from the
gastrointestinal tract. Characterization of thin-layer chromatographic
methods for investigation of glycosphingolipid structure is presented
in chapter 12 (J. Müthing). Chapter 13 (R. D. Dennis et al.)
describes the strategy for preliminary characterization of new
amphoteric glycosphingolipids. Chapter 14 (A. Treumann et al.) contains
data on carbohydrate and lipid analysis of
glycosylphosphatidylinositols. Finally, chapter 15 (K. B. Lee et al.)
considers conformational analysis of biantennic glycopeptides by
resonance energy transfer.
Each chapter contains a short list of references to sources of more
detailed information about the subjects discussed. The subject index at
the end of the book allows rapid location of find particular data of
interest to the reader. In general, all chapters are written at a high
methodological and theoretical level. The book can be surely
recommended as an excellent method guide for professors and students of
bioorganic and biochemical schools of universities and for numerous
research and biotechnology institutions.
G. Ya. Wiederschain
