Involvement of Both the N-Glycan-relevant and N-Glycan-irrelevant Structural Elements in the Recognition of Human Milk Lactoferrin by the 1CF11 Monoclonal Antibody

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody 1CF11 has been suggested to specifically recognize a certain carbohydrate epitope shared by glycoproteins in human external secretions. We examined the effect of cleaving the polypeptide backbone and removing N-linked oligosaccharides on the reactivity with 1CF11 of human milk lactoferrin (hLf) to elucidate the structural features of the 1CF11 epitope. We reveal by treating hLF with trypsin and/or N-glycosidase that both the N-glycan-relevant and N-glycan-irrelevant structural elements were involved in the recognition of hLf by 1CF11.