Enthalten die Glykoproteine von Nahrungsmitteln die menschliche LewisA Determinante? Strukturanalyse der N-Glykanen von Nahrungsmittel-Glykoproteinen.

The possible role of glycoprotein N-glycans in plant pollens and food in allergy has led us to investigate the N-glycans of a variety of pollens and foodstuffs. In the course of these studies, complex N-glycans of currently unknown structure have been detected. Preliminary results indicate a possible similarity with recently discovered N-glycans from two non-food glycoproteins, which were shown to contain the human Lewisa carbohydrate epitope. Sialyl Lewisa and Lewisa epitopes are found on the cell surface of colon carcinoma cells. Uptake of related glycoproteins in the diet may influence Lewisa-related recognition and binding processes in the colon. Therefore, the structures of the N-glycans of selected foodstuffs shall be elucidated using well-established HPLC-methods and mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) for the structural assignment.