Recognition of N-glycoforms in human chorionic gonadotropin by monoclonal antibodies and their interaction motifs.

The glycosylation of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) plays an important role in reproductive tumors. Detecting hCG N-glycosylation alteration may significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of related cancers. However, developing an immunoassay directly against the N-linked oligosaccharides is unlikely because of the heterogeneity and low immunogenicity of carbohydrates. Here, we report a hydrogen/deuterium exchange and MS approach to investigate the effect of N-glycosylation on the binding of antibodies against different hCG glycoforms. Hyperglycosylated hCG was purified from the urine of invasive mole patients, and the structure of its N-linked oligosaccharides was confirmed to be more branched by MS. The binding kinetics of the anti-hCG antibodies MCA329 and MCA1024 against hCG and hyperglycosylated hCG were compared using biolayer interferometry. The binding affinity of MCA1024 changed significantly in response to the alteration of hCG N-linked oligosaccharides. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange-MS reveals that the peptide ß65-83 of the hCG ß subunit is the epitope for MCA1024. Site-specific N-glycosylation analysis suggests that N-linked oligosaccharides at Asn-13 and Asn-30 on the ß subunit affect the binding affinity of MCA1024. These results prove that some antibodies are sensitive to the structural change of N-linked oligosaccharides, whereas others are not affected by N-glycosylation. It is promising to improve glycoprotein biomarker-based cancer diagnostics by developing combined immunoassays that can determine the level of protein and measure the degree of N-glycosylation simultaneously.

Fragment profiling of low molecular weight heparins using reversed phase ion pair liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry.

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are linear and highly charged carbohydrate polymers prepared by chemical or enzymatic depolymerization of heparin. Compared to unfractionated heparin (UFH), LMWHs are prevalently used as clinical anticoagulant drugs due to their lower side effects and better bioavailability. The work presented herein provides a rapid and powerful fragment mapping method for structural characterization of LMWHs. The chain fragments of two types of LMWHs, enoxaparin and nadroparin, were generated by controlled enzymatic digestion with each of heparinase I (Hep I, Enzyme Commission (EC) # 4.2.2.7), heparinase II (Hep II, no EC # assigned) and heparinase III (Hep III, EC # 4.2.2.8). Reversed phase ion pair high performance liquid chromatography (RPIP-HPLC) coupled with electrospray ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-IT-TOF-MS) was used to profile the oligosaccharide chains ranging from disaccharides to decasaccharides. A database containing all theoretical structural compositions was established to assist the mass spectra interpretation. The six digests derived by three enzymes from two types of LMWHs exhibited distinguishable fingerprinting patterns. And a total of 94 enoxaparin fragments and 109 nadroparin fragments were detected and identified. Besides the common LMWH oligosaccharides, many components containing characteristic LMWH structures such as saturated L-idopyranosuronic acid, 2,5-anhydro-D-mannitol, 1,6-anhydro-D-aminopyranose, as well as odd number oligosaccharides were also revealed. Quantitative comparison of major components derived from innovator and generic nadroparin products was presented. This approach to profile LMWHs' fragments offers a highly reproducible, high resolution and information-rich tool for evaluating the quality of this category of anticoagulant drugs or comparing structural similarities among samples from various sources.

Mapping of low molecular weight heparins using reversed phase ion pair liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are structurally complex, highly sulfated and negatively charged, linear carbohydrate polymers prepared by chemical or enzymatic depolymerization of heparin. They are widely used as anticoagulant drugs possessing better bioavailability, longer half-life, and lower side effects than heparin. Comprehensive structure characterization of LMWHs is important for drug quality assurance, generic drug application, and new drug research and development. However, fully characterization of all oligosaccharide chains in LMWHs is not feasible for current available analytical technologies due to their structure complexity and heterogeneity. Fingerprinting profiling is an efficient way for LMWHs' characterization and comparison. In this work, we present a simple, sensitive, and powerful analytical approach for structural characterization of LMWHs. Two different LMWHs, enoxaparin and nadroparin, were analyzed using reversed phase ion pair electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (RPIP-ESI-MS). More than 200 components were identified, including major structures, minor structures, and process related impurities. This approach is robust for high resolution and complementary fingerprinting analysis of LMWHs.