The effect of tsushimycin on the synthesis of lipid-linked saccharides in aorta.

The antibiotic, tsushimycin, inhibits the formation of dolichyl phosphate mannose, dolichyl phosphate glucose and dolichyl pyrophosphate N-acetylglucosamine in the particulate enzyme preparation from pig aorta. Although this antibiotic also inhibits the incorporation of mannose and glucose into lipid-linked oligosaccharides, these reactions are less sensitive to antibiotic than those involved in the synthesis of lipid-linked monosaccharides. In the presence of tsushimycin, most of the mannose incorporated into lipid-linked oligosaccharides is into one oligosaccharide that has the properties of the heptasaccharide Man5GlcNAc2, whereas in the absence of antibiotic most of the mannose is in larger-sized oligosaccharides. On the other hand, the glucose-labelled lipid-linked oligosaccharides appear to be similar in size in the presence or absence of antibiotic. Tsushimycin also inhibits the formation of lipid-linked monosaccharides by the solubilized enzyme preparation of aorta. Various concentrations of dolichyl phosphate or the detergent, Nonidet P40, had no effect on antibiotic inhibition. Some evidence indicates that tsushimycin binds to the particulate enzyme.     

The in vivo incorporation of mannose, retinol and mevalonic acid into phospholipids of hamster liver

Hamsters were injected intraperitoneally with [¹⁴C]mannose, [¹⁴C]retinol and [³H]mevalonic acid. The livers were removed, extracted with chloroform-methanol and the lipids chromatographed on DEAE-cellulose and silicic acid. The hamster liver lipid contained a component which could be labelled with mannose and mevalonic acid. The properties of this compound were in accord with it being dolichyl-mannosyl-phosphate, a possible lipid intermediate required for the biosynthesis of some glycoproteins. [¹⁴C]Retinol and [¹⁴C] mannose were incorporated into another phospholipid which was labile to mild alkali conditions commonly used for the preparation of dolichyl-mannosyl-phosphate. The retinol labelled compound had similar properties to $\text{in vitro}$ prepared mannosyl-retinyl-phosphate.     

Formation of polyprenol-linked mono- and oligosaccharides in Phaseolus aureus

A crude membrane preparation from Phaseolus aureus hypocotyls catalyzes the incorporation of mannose from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose into a acid labile glycolipid and a methanol insoluble fraction. Addition of dolichyl monophosphate to the incubation mixture stimulated the formation of both the mannolipid and the methanol insoluble endproduct. Thin-layer chromatography of endogenous lipid and of the stimulated lipid fraction revealed that both compounds run identical. Ficaprenyl monophosphate also stimulates the incorporation of mannose; however, the ficaprenyl monophosphate mannose formed is not identical to the endogenous mannolipid. This suggests that the endogenous acceptor has the properties of an α-saturated polyprenyl monophosphate rather than those of the ficaprenyl phosphate type. The same membrane preparation also incorporates N-acetylglucosamine into an acid labile glyolipid as well as into a polymer fraction. Evidence is presented that the N-acetylglucosamine containing lipid consists of a mixture of dolichyl pyrophosphate N-acetylglucosamine and dolichyl pyrophosphate di-N-acetylchitobiose. It seems likely that the two compounds have a precursor-product relationship. Incubation of dolichyl pyrophosphate di-N-acetylchitobiose together with GDP-mannose gives rise to lipid-bound mannosyl-di-N-acetylchitobiose. Radioactivity from either the [¹⁴C]mannolipid or the N-acetyl[¹⁴C]glucosamine containing lipid is incorporated into a methanol insoluble product to 3.4 and 6.3%, respectively; it seems, at least in part, to be a glycoprotein.     

Reduced mannose incorporation into GDP-mannose and dolichol-linked intermediates of N-glycosylation in hamster liver during vitamin A deficiency

Summary The molecular mechanism of reduced incorporation of radioactively labeled mannose into hamster liver glycoconjugates during the progression of vitamin A deficiency was investigated. In particular the in vivo incorporation of [2-³H]mannose into GDP-mannose, dolichyl phosphate mannose (Dol-P-Man), lipid-linked oligosaccharides, and glycopeptides of hamster liver was examined. Hamsters maintained on a vitamin A-free diet showed a reduction in the incorporation of mannose into GDP-mannose about 10 days before clinical signs of vitamin A deficiency could be observed. The decrease in [2-³H]mannose incorporated into GDP-mannose was accompanied by a reduction in label incorporated into Dol-P-Man, lipid linked oligosaccharides and glycopeptides, which became more severe with the progression of vitamin A deficiency. By the time they reached a plateau stage of growth, hamsters fed the vitamin A-free diet showed a 50% reduction in the amount of [2-³H]mannose converted to GDP-mannose, and the radioactivity associated with Dol-P-Man and glycopeptides was reduced by approximately 60% as compared to retinoic acid-supplemented controls. These results strongly indicate that the reduced incorporation of mannose into lipidic intermediates and glycoproteins observed during vitamin A deficiency is due to impaired GDP-mannose synthesis.Abbreviations Dol-P-Man Dolichyl Phosphate Mannose - Dol-P Dolichyl Phosphate     

Enzymatic transfer of mannose from guanosine diphosphate mannose to yeast mannan-protein complexes

The radioactive products derived from transfer of [¹⁴C]mannose residues from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose to endogenous acceptors of a Hansenula holstii particulate enzyme preparation have been solubilized by Pronase digestion. From this soluble mixture, glycopeptides containing [¹⁴C]mannose have been purified and have been shown by β-elimination-reduction experiments to contain radioactive mannose and oligosaccharides of mannose linked to serine and threonine residues. Radioactive macromolecular complexes of mannan-protein were extracted from the particulate enzyme fraction with hot, neutral citrate buffer. These components contained variable quantities of protein, mannose, and phosphate. The more neutral components were reduced in size by Pronase digestion and yielded glycopeptides similar to those obtained by direct Pronase digestion of the particulate fraction.     

Glycoprotein Biosynthesis in Cotyledons of Pisum sativum L: Involvement of Lipid-linked Intermediates

Particulate preparations from developing cotyledons of Pisum sativum L. cv. Burpeeana catalyze glycosyl transfer from UDP-[¹⁴C]N-acetylglucosamine and GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose. Radioactivity is transferred to lipid components soluble in chloroform-methanol (2:1) and chloroform-methanol-water (1:1:0.3) and into a water-insoluble and lipid-free residue.     

Mannosyltransferase activity in calf pancreas microsomes. Formation of 14C-labeled lipid-linked oligosaccharides from GDP-D-[14C]mannose and pancreatic dolichyl beta-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate.

Calf pancreas microsomes incorporated radioactive D-mannose from GDP-D-[14C]mannose into lipid-bound oligosaccharides extracted with chloroform/methanol/water (10/10/2.5, v/v). Several products, which probably differed in the size of the oligosaccharide moiety, were labeled. These could be partially resolved by thin layer chromatography and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. The labeled lipid-bound oligosaccharides were retained on DEAE-cellulose more strongly than synthetic dolichyl alpha-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate. They were stable to mild alkali, but labile to acid and hot alkali. Acid treatment yielded a neutral 14C-labeled oligosaccharide fraction which was estimated by gel filtration to have a minimum of 8 monosaccharide residues. Hot alkali treatment yielded a mixture of neutral and acidic 14C-labeled oligosaccharides which could be transformed into neutral products by alkaline phosphatase. The D-[14C]mannose residues were alpha-linked at the nonreducing terminus of the oligosaccharides since they could be removed completely with alpha-mannosidase. Most of the D-[14C]mannose-labeled oligosaccharides were retained on concanavalin A Sepharose and eluted with methyl alpha-D-mannopyranoside. Pancreatic dolichyl beta-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate incubated with calf pancreas microsomes in the presence of sodium taurocholate was efficiently utilized as donor of alpha-D-mannosyl residues in lipid-bound oligosaccharides. The products formed from dolichyl beta-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate were identical with those formed from GDP-D-[14C]mannose, and evidence was obtained to show that the dolichyl beta-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate was serving as donor without prior conversion to GDP-D-[14C]mannose. Transfer of mannose from dolichyl beta-D-[14C]mannopyranosyl phosphate to lipid-bound oligosaccharides took place at a pH optimum of 7.3, whereas transfer to the precipitate containing glycoproteins was greatest at pH 6.0 in Tris/maleate buffer. The addition of divalent cation was not required, but low concentrations of EDTA were extremely inhibitory. The carbohydrate composition of the lipid-bound oligosaccharides of microsomal membranes was investigated by gas-liquid chromatography and by reduction with sodium borotritide. A heterogeneous mixture of oligosaccharides containing N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, D-mannose, and D-glucose varying in proportions from approximately 1/2.5/0.5 to 1/5/1.5 was obtained with glucosamine at the reducing end. Acid treatment of the lipid-bound oligosaccharide fraction yielded dolichyl pyrophosphate, suggesting that at least some of the oligosaccharides were linked to dolichol through a pyrophosphate group.     

Synthesis of the mannosyl-O-serine (threonine) linkage of glycoproteins from polyisoprenylphosphate mannose in yeast (Hansenula holstii)

The mannolipid synthesized from GDP-mannose and lipid acceptors in a particulate enzyme preparation from the yeast Hansenula holstii (R. K. Bretthauer, S. Wu, and W. E. Irwin, (1973) Biochim. Biophys. Acta, 304, 736–747) has the properties of dolicholmonophosphate mannose. Transfer of [¹⁴C]mannose from exogenously supplied, purified mannolipid to endogenous protein acceptors of the particulate enzyme fraction has now been demonstrated. The synthesis of radioactive products which are insoluble in chloroform-methanol and water is dependent upon time and concentrations of substrate, particulate fraction protein, and detergent. Addition of MgCl₂ or MnCl₂ to incubation mixtures prepared in the absence of these ions had only small stimulatory effects (20–25%), suggesting that the reaction is not dependent upon metal ions. Relatively high concentrations (0.005 m-0.05 m) of EDTA did partially inhibit the reaction, but this is considered to be due to secondary effects.Seventy percent of the radioactivity in the chloroform-methanol insoluble residue was solubilized with hot, neutral citrate buffer. The Chromatographic properties of this material on Sephadex gels and on DEAE-Sephadex were very similar to the properties of glycoprotein products derived from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose. The chloroform-methanol insoluble products were also solubilized with Pronase which subsequently resulted in the isolation of a radioactive glycopeptide that contained 25% of the radioactivity transferred from mannolipid. The radioactive component of this glycopeptide was shown by β-elmination experiments and by amino acid analyses to be [¹⁴C]mannose residues linked O-glycosidically to serine and threonine residues. It was concluded, therefore, that one function of the mannolipid is to serve as mannosyl donor in the synthesis of the mannosyl-O-serine (threonine) linkage region of glycoproteins which may be part of the cell wall mannan-protein complex. Other mannose-containing products may also be synthesized from the mannolipid, as β-elimination of the chloroform-methanol insoluble fraction or of the Pronase soluble fraction did not result in recovery of all of the radioactivity as [¹⁴C]mannose.     

FUCOSE INCORPORATION INTO GLYCOPROTEINS OF MOUSE BRAIN

—Radioactive fucose was incorporated into glycoproteins of brain in vivo. After intracerebral administration of this precursor, radioactive glycoproteins were the sole detectable product. The glycoproteins formed appeared to have a slow turnover but this was due, at least in part, to re-utilization of fucose released from degraded glycoproteins. Incorporation of fucose into glycoproteins differed from that of glucosamine, since a much smaller proportion of the radioactive fucose was incorporated into soluble glycoproteins. Fucose was rapidly incorporated into glycoproteins of nerve endings, although there was relatively little incorporation into glycoproteins associated with the soluble component of the nerve-ending fraction. As found in previous studies with glucosamine, soluble glycoproteins of nerve endings turned over relatively rapidly. Pretreatment with acetoxycycloheximide markedly inhibited incorporation of fucose into glycoproteins of brain. In contrast to the results with glucosamine, comparable inhibition was observed for fucose in all subcellular fractions of brain including the particulate and soluble components derived from the nerve-ending fraction.     

Solubilization and properties of mannose and N-acetylglucosamine transferases involved in formation of polyprenyl-sugar intermediates.

A particulate fraction from porcine aorta catalyzed the incorporation of N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) from UDP-[3H]GlcNAc into both GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylpolyprenol and GlcNAc-GlcNAc-pyrophosphorylpolyprenol. This transfer utilized endogenous lipid and required a divalent cation. Mn2+ was the best metal ion and was optimum at 2.3 mM. This same particulate fraction was previously shown to transfer mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose to endogenous lipid to form mannosylphosphorylpolyprenol (Chambers, J., and Elbein, A.D. (1975) J. Biol. Chem. 250, 6904-6915). Both the GlcNAc activities and the mannose activity were solubilized by treatment of the particulate fraction with the detergent Nonidet P-40. The enzymes were partially purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and on Sephadex G-200. These soluble enzymes required the addition of acceptor lipid for activity. An acidic lipid fraction, isolated from pig liver and having the properties of dolichyl phosphate, was active with either the GlcNAc or the mannose transferase. Chemically synthesized dolichyl phosphate was also active with either of these enzymes. The products formed from either GlcNAc or mannose by the soluble transferases were similar to those formed by the particulate enzyme. Thus the major product formed from UDP-[3H]GlcNAc was GlcNAc-pyrophosphoryldolichol with small amounts of the disaccharide-lipid while the product formed from GDP-[14C]mannose was mannosylphosphoryldolichol.     

Synthesis and characterization of lipid-linked mannosyl oligosaccharides in Volvox carteri f. nagariensis

Particulate membrane fractions from Volvox carteri catalyze the transfer of mannose from GDP-mannose to dolichyl diphosphate-[¹⁴C]chitobiose to form lipid-linked oligosaccharides up to a dolichyl diphospnate-chitobiose-(mannose)₅ structure. Mannosylation of the chitobiosyl lipid requires divalent cations and detergents as solubilizing agents. Depending on the nature of the detergent, the oligosaccharide pattern differs markedly: With deoxycholate or the zwitterionic detergent 314 a lipid-linked trisaccharide accumulates. The nonionic Triton X-100, however, gives rise to a spectrum of compounds up to a heptasaccharide. Enzyme digestion of the tri- and pentasaccharide structure, obtained after mild acid hydrolysis of the corresponding [¹⁴C]glycolipids, revealed that the first mannose is bound via a β-glycosidic linkage to the chitobiosyl core, whereas the outer mannose residues are linked as α-mannosides. Our studies indicate that, in agreement with recent findings in other organisms, the innermost α-mannosidic residues are donated directly from GDP-mannose. The structure of oligosaccharides synthesized by Volvox membranes is thus consistent with results from other eucaryotic species, suggesting a common pathway of N-glycosylation of glycoproteins.     

Biosynthesis and characterization of lipid-linked sugars and glycoproteins in aorta.

A particulate enzyme from bovine aorta catalyzes the incorporation of mannose from GDP-D-[14C]mannose into three products as follows: 1. Most of the radioactivity which is incorporated in short term incubations is into a product that is soluble in CHCl3/CH3OH (2/1, v/v). This product was purified by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and Sephadex LH-20. The purified glycolipid was stable to alkaline saponification but released [14C]mannose when subjected to mild acid hydrolysis (1/2 = 7 min at 100 degrees in 0.01 N HCl). The purified glycolipid had the same mobility on silica gel plates in an acidic, basic, or neutral solvent system as did glycolipid had the same mobility on silica gel plates in an acidic, basic, or neutral solvent system as did authentic dolichyl mannopyranosyl phosphate. The synthesis of the 14C-mannolipid was reversed by the addition of GDP and Mg2+. 2. [14C]mannose is also incorporated, although at a slower rate into products which are soluble in CHCl3/CH3OH/H2O (1/1/0.3, v/v). When the 1/10.3 soluble material was chromatographed on Avicel plates, it gave rise to three distinct radioactive bands which appear to be lipid-linked oligosaccharides. Mild acid hydrolysis of the 1/10.3 soluble material released water-soluble, neutral 14C-oligosaccharides which eluted from Sephadex G-50 in two or three peaks between the standards cytochrome c and GDP-mannose...     

Fluoroglucose-inhibition of protein glycosylation in vivo. Inhibition of mannose and glucose incorporation into lipid-linked oligosaccharides

The effects of the glycosylation inhibitor 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose on the formation of the lipid-linked oligosaccharides and monosaccharides that are involved in protein glycosylation were investigated. In chick embryo cells treated with fluoroglucose the formation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides cannot go to completion and oligosaccharides with decreased amounts of glucose and mannose can be detected. These oligosaccharides are probably biosynthetic intermediates and serve as acceptors of sugar residues while reversing fluoroglucose-inhibition by the addition of mannose and glucose to the culture medium. In contrast to deoxyglucose, fluoroglucose was not incorporated into lipid-linked oligosaccharides. Fluoroglucose inhibits the formation in vivo of dolichyl phosphate glucose and dolichyl phosphate mannose, but not the transfer of those sugar residues from the lipid monophosphate derivative to the lipid-linked oligosaccharides. The pool size of UDP-glucose, but not of GDP-mannose and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine, was decreased. Also, the formation of lipid-linked N-acetylglucosamine was not affected by fluoroglucose. Fluoroglucose was applied to deplete cellular membranes of endogenous lipid-linked mannose and glucose, and can possibly be used to discern different pathways of glycosylation.     

Dolichyl phosphate linked sugars as intermediates in the synthesis of yeast mannoproteins: an in vivo study

Freshly prepared protoplasts of Saccharomyces cerevisiae X 2180 incorporate [³H]mannose and [¹⁴C]glucose for about 30 min into glycolipids and mannoproteins. Among the radioactive glycolipids formed dolichyl phosphate mannose, dolichyl phosphate glucose and dolichyl pyrophosphate oligosaccharides have been identified. The oligosaccharides released by weak acid from the dolichyl pyrophosphate were treated with endo-N-acetylglucosaminidase H and separated by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-4. The largest oligosaccharide obtained corresponded exactly in size to Glc₃Man₉GlcNAc₁ the compound formed also in animal tissues. Other oligosaccharides released from dolichyl pyrophosphate in addition to the glucose containing ones were mainly Man₉GlcNAc₁ and Man₈GlcNAc₁. No mannosyl oligosaccharide corresponding in size to the total inner core region found in native mannoproteins could be detected in a lipid-bound form.The radioactive dolichyl pyrophosphate oligosaccharides were formed transiently; after 40 min only about 40% of the maximal radioactivity was observed in this fraction. In the presence of cycloheximide this decrease did not take place.It is concluded that the dolichol pathway of N-glycosylation of glycoproteins in yeast cells is very similar, if not identical, to the reaction sequence worked out for animal cells.Dedicated to Professor Dr. Otto Kandler on his 60th birthday     

Enzymatic synthesis of mannosyl retinyl phosphate from retinyl phosphate and guanosine diphosphate mannose.

A study was conducted to determine whether retinyl phosphate would act as substrate for the enzymatic synthesis of mannosyl retinyl phosphate. Retinyl phosphate, prepared chemically, supported the growth of vitamin A-deficient rats at the same rate as retinol. It also stimulated the uptake of [14C]mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose into total chloroform-methanol extractable lipid. This reaction occurred in the presence of ATP, Mn2+, detergent (Zonyl A), and a membrane-rich enzyme preparation from the livers of vitamin A-deficient rats, provided that a lipid extract of the membrane preparation of alpha-L-lecithin was also added. Total chloroform-methanol-extractable, labeled mannolipid was separated into two principal labeled mannolipids by thin-layer or column chromatography or by differential solvent extraction. The properties of these mannolipids identified them as glycophospholipids: one was identical with authentic synthetic dolichyl mannosyl phosphate, and the other was concluded to be mannosyl retinyl phosphate because of its incorporation of radioactivity from [3H]retinyl phosphate, its rapid hydrolysis by dilute acid, and the formation of substance that cochromatographed with retinol upon its acid hydrolysis. The presence of ATP or GTP was essential for the stimulation of mannolipid synthesis, probably because of their protective action on the substrates against phosphatases present in the crude enzyme fraction. A pH of 6.0-6.2 favored the formation of dolichyl mannosyl phosphate; a higher pH (6.7-7.0) that of mannosyl retinyl phosphate.     

Incorporation of glucose into lipid-linked saccharides in aorta and its inhibition by amphomycin

The particulate enzyme from pig aorta catalyzed the transfer of glucose from UDP-glucose into glucosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol, into lipid-linked oligosaccharides, and into glycoprotein. Radioactive lipid-linked oligosaccharides were prepared by incubating the extracts with GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose and UDP-[³H]glucose. When the labeled oligosaccharides were run on Bio-Gel P-4, the two different labels did not exactly coincide; the ³H peak eluted slightly earlier indicating that it was of higher molecular weight than the ¹⁴C material, but there was considerable overlap. The purified oligosaccharide(s) contained glucose, mannose, and N-acetylglucosamine but the ratios of these sugars varied from one enzyme preparation to another, probably depending on the endogenous oligosaccaride-lipids present in the microsomal preparation. Treatment of the [³H]glucose-labeled oligosaccharide with α-mannosidase gave rise to a ³H-labeled oligosaccharide which moved somewhat faster on Bio-Gel P-4 than the original oligosaccharide, suggesting it had lost one or two sugar residues. These data indicate that mannose and glucose are in the same oligosaccharide. The antibiotic, amphomycin, inhibited the transfer of glucose from UDP-glucose into the lipid-linked saccharides. However the synthesis of glucosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol was much more sensitive then was the synthesis of lipid-linked oligosaccharides. The glucose-labeled oligosaccharide produced in the absence of amphomycin was of high molecular weight based on paper chromatography. But in the presence of partially inhibitory concentrations of antibiotic, the oligosaccharide migrated more rapidly on paper chromatograms. However, amphomycin had no effect on the synthesis of glucosyl-ceramide by the aorta extracts. In fact, the antibiotic may stimulate glucosyl-ceramide by making more of the substrate, UDP-glucose, available for synthesis of this lipid.     

Dolichyl monophosphate and its sugar derivatives in plants.

A glucose acceptor was isolated from soya beans by extraction with chloroform/methanol (2:1, v/v), followed by DEAE-cellulose column chromatography of the extract. This acceptor could not be distinguished from liver dolichyl monophosphate by t.l.c. It could replace dolichyl monophosphate as a mannose acceptor with a liver enzyme and its glucosylated derivative could replace dolichyl monophosphate glucose as a glucose donor in the same system. These results, together with those already reported [Pont Lezica, Brett, Romero Martinez & Dankert (1975) Biochem, Biophys. Res. Commun. 66, 980-987], indicate that the acceptor from soya bean is a dolichyl monophosphate. Gel filtration of its glucosylated derivative on Sephadex G-75 in the presence of sodium deoxycholate indicated that the acceptor contained 17 or 18 isoprene units. An enzyme preparation from pea seedlings was shown to use endogenous acceptors to form lipid phosphate sugars containing mannose and N-acetylglucosamine from GDP-mannose and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine. Chromatographic and degradative techniques indicated that the compounds formed were lipid monophosphate mannose, lipid pyrophosphate N-acetylglucosamine, lipid pyrophosphate chitobiose and a series of lipid pyrophosphate oligosaccharides containing both mannose and N-acetylglucosamine. None of these compounds was degraded by catalytic hydrogenation, and so the lipid moiety in each case was probably an alpha-saturated polyprenol. The endogenous acceptors for mannose and N-acetylglucosamine in peas may therefore be dolichyl monophosphate, as has been found in mammalian systems.     

Glycoprotein biosynthesis in intestinal epithelial cells during differentiation. Incorporation of [14C]mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose into dolichol derivatives

Epithelial cells of the rat small intestine were collected as a gradient of villus to crypt cells. Homogenates of these cells incubated with GDP-D-[14C]mannose in the presence of MnCl2 incorporated radioactivity into dolichyl mannosyl phosphate and a mixutre of dolichyl pyrophosphate oligosaccharides varying in the size of their oligosaccharide moiety. The labeled oligosaccharides formed in villus cell homogenates appeared shorter than those formed in crypt cell homogenates. The addition of dolichyl phosphate greatly stimulated the synthesis of dolichyl mannosyl phosphate. The initial rate of synthesis of dolichyl mannosyl phosphate from GDP-D-[14C]mannose and exogenous dolichyl phosphate was highest in an intermediate cell fraction having a low specific activity of sucrase and alkaline phosphatase and an intermediate specific activity of thymidine kinase. To compare the rates of dolichyl mannosyl phosphate synthesis in the different cell fractions, it was essential to control degradation of GDP-D-[14]mannose by the addition of AMP to the incubation, since villus cells degraded GDP-D-[14C]mannose much faster than crypt cells.     

Inhibition of lipid-linked saccharide synthesis by bacitracin.

The antibiotic bacitracin was found to inhibit the incorporation of mannose and GlcNAc from their respective sugar nucleotides into lipid-linked saccharides. The inhibition of both systems was apparent in the aorta particulate enzyme system but it was much more pronounced with the solubilized enzyme system. In both cases, GlcNAc incorporation into Dol-P-P-GlcNAc was more sensitive than mannose incorporation into Dol-P-Man, with 50% inhibition being seen at about 0.1–0.2 mm antibiotic. Bacitracin inhibition of mannose incorporation appeared to be overcome at high concentrations of dolichyl phosphate but, in these cases, an unexplained stimulation was observed. However, GlcNAc inhibition could not be overcome by high concentrations of dolichol phosphate, metal ion, or both together. Thus, the mechanism of inhibition by bacitracin is not clear. Bacitracin also inhibited the transfer of mannose from GDP-mannose to lipid-linked oligosaccharides and to glycoprotein in the particulate enzyme, as well as the transfer of radioactivity from Dol-P-Man or from lipid-linked oligosaccharides to glycoprotein. Thus, bacitracin apparently blocks each of the steps in the lipid-linked pathway. In yeast spheroplasts, bacitracin inhibited the incorporation of [¹⁴C]mannose into Dol-P-Man, into lipid-linked oligosaccharides, and into glycoprotein. However, in this case, the antibiotic also blocked the incorporation of leucine into protein. Bacitracin also inhibited the cell-free synthesis of mannosyl-phosphoryl-decaprenol in Mycobacterium smegmatis with 50% inhibition being observed at a concentration of about 0.5 mm.     

Ontogeny of d-Mannose Transport and Metabolism in Rat Small Intestine

Oral mannose therapy is used to treat congenital disorders of glycosylation caused by a deficiency in phosphomannose isomerase. The segmental distribution and ontogenic regulation of d-mannose transport, phosphomannose isomerase, and phosphomannose mutase is investigated in the small intestine of fetuses, newborn, suckling, 1-month-old, and adult rats. The small intestine transports d-mannose by both Na⁺-dependent and Na⁺-independent transport mechanisms. The activities of both systems normalized to intestinal weight peak at birth and thereafter they decreased. In all the ages tested, the activity of the Na⁺-independent mechanism was higher than that of the Na⁺/mannose transport system. At birth, the Na⁺-independent d-mannose transport in the ileum was significantly higher than that in jejunum. Phosphomannose isomerase activity and mRNA levels increased at 1 month, and the values in the ileum were lower than in jejunum. Phosphomannose mutase activity in jejunum increased during the early stages of life, and it decreased at 1 month old, as does the amount of mannose incorporated into glycoproteins, whereas in the ileum, they were not affected by age. The phosphomannose isomerase/phosphomannose mutase activity ratio decreased at birth and during the suckling period, and increased at 1 month old. In conclusion, intestinal d-mannose transport activity and metabolism were affected by ontogeny and intestinal segment.