Characterization of goat milk lactoferrin N-glycans and comparison with the N-glycomes of human and bovine milk
Résumé
Numerous milk components, such as lactoferrin, are recognized as health-promoting
compounds. A growing body of evidence suggests that glycans could mediate lactoferrin’s
bioactivity.Goatmilk lactoferrin is a candidate for infant formula supplementation because
of its high homology with its human counterpart. The aim of this study was to characterize
the glycosylation pattern of goat milk lactoferrin. After the protein was isolated from
milk by affinity chromatography, N-glycans were enzymatically released and a complete
characterization of glycan composition was carried out by advancedMS. The glycosylation
of goat milk lactoferrin was compared with that of human and bovine milk glycoproteins.
Nano-LC-Chip-Q-TOF MS data identified 65 structures, including high mannose, hybrid,
and complex N-glycans. Among the N-glycan compositions, 37% were sialylated and 34%
were fucosylated. The results demonstrated the existence of similar glycans in human and
goat milk but also identified novel glycans in goat milk that were not present in human
milk. These data suggest that goat milk could be a source of bioactive compounds, including
lactoferrin that could be used as functional ingredients for food products beneficial to
human nutrition.