Page 184 - The Manga Guide to Biochemistry

For the sugar chain of people with Type A blood,
the tip is GalNAc.

GalNAc Gal GlcNAc Protein
or lipid
Fuc
Protein
For the sugar chain of people with Type B blood, or lipid
the tip is Gal.
Protein
Gal Gal GlcNAc or lipid

Fuc

For the sugar chain of people with Type 0 blood,
there is no tip.

Gal GlcNAc

Fuc

monoSaccharide Names

GalNAc : N-acetylgalactosamine
Gal : Galactose
Fuc : Fucose
GlcNAc : N-acetylglucosamine

Let’s review it again. The only difference in these three types is the monosaccharide
at the very tip.

For people with Type A blood, it’s N-acetylgalactosamine.
For people with Type B blood, it’s galactose.
For people with Type O blood, it’s nothing!

Yeah, yeah, I’ve got it.

So, the sugar chain that Type O people have is the “prototype,” or the minimal sugar
chain. People with A and B types have the O type chain plus something extra.

If someone has the transferase gene that attaches N-acetylgalactosamine,
his or her blood type will be Type A! But if someone has the transferase gene that
attaches galactose, his or her blood type will be Type B!

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