Enzymatic Decoration of Prebiotic Galacto-oligosaccharides (Vivinal GOS) with Sialic Acid Using Trypanosoma cruzi trans-Sialidase and Two Bovine Sialoglycoconjugates as Donor Substrates.

Decoration of prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) with sialic acid yields mixtures of GOS and sialylated GOS (Sia-GOS), novel products that are expected to have both prebiotic and antiadhesive functionalities. The recombinantly produced trans-sialidase enzyme from Trypanosoma cruzi (TcTS), an enzyme with the ability to transfer (α2-3)-linked sialic acid from sialogalactoglycans to asialogalactoglycans, was employed to catalyze this sialylation. As sialic acid acceptor substrates, Vivinal GOS and derived fractions of specific degree of polymerization were taken. As sialic acid donor substrates, bovine κ-casein-derived glycomacropeptide [>99% N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac); <1% N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc)] and bovine blood plasma glycoprotein mixture (45% Neu5Ac; 55% Neu5Gc) were selected, yielding potential food and feed products, respectively. High-pH anion-exchange chromatography, matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used for product analysis.

Galactosyl-lactose sialylation using Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase as the biocatalyst and bovine κ-casein-derived glycomacropeptide as the donor substrate.

trans-Sialidase (TS) enzymes catalyze the transfer of sialyl (Sia) residues from Sia(α2-3)Gal(ß1-x)-glycans (sialo-glycans) to Gal(ß1-x)-glycans (asialo-glycans). Aiming to apply this concept for the sialylation of linear and branched (Gal)nGlc oligosaccharide mixtures (GOS) using bovine κ-casein-derived glycomacropeptide (GMP) as the sialic acid donor, a kinetic study has been carried out with three components of GOS, i.e., 3'-galactosyl-lactose (ß3'-GL), 4'-galactosyl-lactose (ß4'-GL), and 6'-galactosyl-lactose (ß6'-GL). This prebiotic GOS is prepared from lactose by incubation with suitable ß-galactosidases, whereas GMP is a side-stream product of the dairy industry. The trans-sialidase from Trypanosoma cruzi (TcTS) was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. Its temperature and pH optima were determined to be 25°C and pH 5.0, respectively. GMP [sialic acid content, 3.6% (wt/wt); N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac), >99%; (α2-3)-linked Neu5Ac, 59%] was found to be an efficient sialyl donor, and up to 95% of the (α2-3)-linked Neu5Ac could be transferred to lactose when a 10-fold excess of this acceptor substrate was used. The products of the TcTS-catalyzed sialylation of ß3'-GL, ß4'-GL, and ß6'-GL, using GMP as the sialic acid donor, were purified, and their structures were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Monosialylated ß3'-GL and ß4'-GL contained Neu5Ac connected to the terminal Gal residue; however, in the case of ß6'-GL, TcTS was shown to sialylate the 3 position of both the internal and terminal Gal moieties, yielding two different monosialylated products and a disialylated structure. Kinetic analyses showed that TcTS had higher affinity for the GL substrates than lactose, while the Vmax and kcat values were higher in the case of lactose.