Hydrophobic Man-1-P derivatives correct abnormal glycosylation in Type I congenital disorder of glycosylation fibroblasts

Patients with Type I congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG-I) make incomplete lipid-linked oligosaccharides (LLO). These glycans are poorly transferred to proteins resulting in unoccupied glycosylation sequons. Mutations in phosphomannomutase (PMM2) cause CDG-Ia by reducing the activity of PMM, which converts mannose (Man)-6-P to Man-1-P before formation of GDP-Man. These patients have reduced Man-1-P and GDP-Man. To replenish intracellular Man-1-P pools in CDG-Ia cells, we synthesized two hydrophobic, membrane permeable acylated versions of Man-1-P and determined their ability to normalize LLO size and N-glycosylation in CDG-Ia fibroblasts. Both compounds, compound I (diacetoxymethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl phosphate) (C-I) and compound II (diacetoxymethyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-ethyloxycarbonyl-alpha-D-mannopyranosyl phosphate) (C-II), contain two acetoxymethyl (CH2OAc) groups O-linked to phosphorous. C-I contains acetyl esters and C-II contains ethylcarbonate (CO2Et) esters on the Man residue. Both C-I and C-II normalized truncated LLO, but C-II was about 2-fold more efficient than C-I. C-II replenished the GDP-Man pool in CDG-Ia cells and was more efficiently incorporated into glycoproteins than exogenous Man at low concentrations (25-75 mM). In a glycosylation assay of DNaseI in CDG-Ia cells, C-II restored glycosylation to control cell levels. C-II also corrected impaired LLO biosynthesis in cells from a Dolichol (Dol)-P-Man deficient patient (CDG-Ie) and partially corrected LLO in cells from an ALG12 mannosyltransferase-deficient patient (CDG-Ig), whereas cells from an ALG3-deficient patient (CDG-Id) and from an MPDU1-deficient patient (CDG-If) were not corrected. These results validate the general concept of using pro-Man-1-P substrates as potential therapeutics for CDG-I patients.     

Identification of glycoconjugates in the urine of a patient with congenital disorder of glycosylation by high-resolution mass spectrometry

More than 150 molecular species were detected in a single glycoconjugate fraction obtained from urine of a congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) patient by use of high-resolution FT-ICR MS. With respect to its high-mass accuracy and resolving power, FT-ICR MS represents an ideal tool for analysis of single components in complex glycoconjugate mixtures obtained from body fluids. The presence of overlapping nearly isobaric ionic species in glycoconjugate mixtures obtained from CDG patient's urine was postulated from fragmentation data of several precursor ions obtained by nanoESI Q-TOF CID. Their existence was confirmed by high-resolution/high-mass accuracy FT-ICR MS detection. High-resolution FT-ICR mass spectra can, therefore, be generally considered for glycoscreening of complex mixture samples in a single stage. From the accurate molecular ion mass determinations the composition of glycoconjugate species can be identified. Particular enhancement of identification is offered by computer-assisted calculations in combination with monosaccharide building block analysis, which can be extended by considerations of non-carbohydrate modifications, such as amino acids, phosphates and sulfates. Taking advantage of this strategy, the number of compositions assigned to mass peaks was significantly increased in a fraction obtained from urine by size exclusion and anion exchange chromatography.     

Phosphomannomutase activity in congenital disorders of glycosylation type Ia determined by direct analysis of the interconversion of mannose-1-phosphate to mannose-6-phosphate by high-pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) are a group of multisystemic disorders resulting from defects in the synthesis and processing of N-linked oligosaccharides. The most common form, CDG type Ia (CDG-Ia), results from a deficiency of the enzyme phosphomannomutase (PMM). PMM converts mannose 6-phosphate (man-6-P) to mannose-1-phosphate (man-1-P), which is required for the synthesis of GDP-mannose, a substrate for dolichol-linked oligosaccharide synthesis. The traditional assay for PMM, a coupled enzyme system based on the reduction of NADP(+) to NADPH using man-1-P as a substrate, has limitations in accuracy and reproducibility. Therefore, a more sensitive, direct test for PMM activity, based on the detection of the conversion of man-1-P to man-6-P by high-pH anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD), was developed. Using this assay, the activity of PMM was markedly deficient in fibroblasts and lymphoblasts from 23 patients with CDG-Ia (range 0-15.3% of control, average 4.9+/-4.7%) and also decreased in seven obligate heterozygotes (range 33.0-72.0% of control, average 52.2+/-14.7%). Unlike the spectrophotometric method, there was no overlap in PMM activity among patients, obligate heterozygotes, or controls. Thus, the PMM assay based on HPAEC-PAD has increased utility in the clinical setting, and can be used, together with transferrin isoelectric focusing, to diagnose patients with CDG-Ia and to identify heterozygotes when clinically indicated.     

Serum N-glycan and O-glycan analysis by mass spectrometry for diagnosis of congenital disorders of glycosylation

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs) are caused by defects in genes that participate in biosynthetic glycosylation pathways. To date, 19 different genetic defects in N-glycosylation, 17 in O-glycosylation, and 21 in multiple glycosylation are known. Current diagnostic testing of CDGs largely relies on indirect analysis of glycosylation of serum transferrin. Such analysis alone is insufficient to diagnose many of the known glycosylation disorders. To improve the diagnosis of these groups of CDGs, we have developed serum or plasma N- and O-glycan profiling using a combination of MALDI–TOF/MS and LC–MS/MS technologies. Using this approach, we analyzed samples from nine patients with different known multiple glycosylation disorders, including three with COG deficiencies, one with TMEM165-CDG, two with PGM1-CDG, and three with SLC35A2-CDG, and one patient with combined type I and type II of unknown molecular etiology. Measurement of the relative quantities of various N- and O-glycan species clearly differentiates patients and controls. Our study demonstrates that structural analysis and quantitation of combined N- and O-glycan profiles are reliable diagnostic tools for CDGs.     

Identification of intercellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) as a hypoglycosylation marker in congenital disorders of glycosylation cells

Many human inherited disorders cause protein N-glycosylation defects, but there are few cellular markers to test gene complementation for such defects. Plasma membrane glycoproteins are potential biomarkers because they may be reduced or even absent in plasma membranes of glycosylation-deficient cells. We combined stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) with linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LTQ Orbitrap(TM)) to identify and quantify membrane proteins from wild-type CHO and glycosylation-deficient CHO (Lec9) cells. We identified 165 underrepresented proteins from 1447 unique quantified proteins, including 18 N-glycosylated plasma membrane proteins. Using various methods, we found that intercellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) was reduced in Lec9 cells and in fibroblasts from 31 congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG) patients compared with normal controls. Mannose supplementation of phosphomannose isomerase-deficient CDG-Ib (MPI-CDG) cells and complementation with PMM2 in PMM2-deficient CDG-Ia (PMM2-CDG) cells partially corrected hypoglycosylation based on increased ICAM-1 presence on the plasma membrane. These data indicate that ICAM-1 could be a useful hypoglycosylation biomarker to assess gene complementation of CDG-I patient cells and to monitor improved glycosylation in response to therapeutic drugs.     

Increased fucosylation and reduced branching of serum glycoprotein N-glycans in all known subtypes of congenital disorder of glycosylation I

The N-glycans present on the total mixture of serum glycoproteins (serum N-glycome) were analyzed in 24 subjects with congenital disorder of glycosylation type I (CDG-I) and 7 healthy, age-matched individuals. No new N-glycan structures were observed in the sera of CDG-I patients as compared with normal sera. However, we observed in all subtypes a significantly increased degree of core alpha-1,6-fucosylation of the biantennary glycans as compared to normal, as well as a significant decrease in the amount of triantennary glycans. These serum N-glycome changes appear to be a milder manifestation of some of the changes observed in adult liver cirrhosis patients, which is compatible with the reported steatosis and fibrosis in CDG-I patients. In the CDG-Ia subgroup, the extent of the serum N-glycome changes correlates with the aberration of the serum transferrin isoelectric focusing pattern, which measures the severity of the lack of entire N-glycan chains (primary consequence of CDG-I) in the liver and is the standard diagnostic test for this category of inherited diseases.     

Identification and localization of two mouse phosphomannomutase genes, Pmm1 and Pmm2

Phosphomannomutases catalyze the reversible conversion of mannose 6-phosphate to mannose 1-phosphate. In humans, two different isozymes have recently been identified, PMM1 and PMM2. We have previously shown that mutations in the PMM2 gene cause the most frequent type of the congenital disorders of glycosylation, CDG-Ia. Here, we present data on the two mouse orthologous genes, Pmm1 and Pmm2. The chromosomal localization of the two mouse genes has been determined. We also present the gene structure and the exon-intron organization of Pmm1 and Pmm2. Pmm1 maps to mouse chromosome 15, Pmm2 to chromosome 16. These chromosomal regions are syntenic with regions on human chromosomes 22 and 16, respectively. The Pmm1 gene is composed of eight exons and spans approximately 9.5 kb. The genomic structure is extremely well conserved between the human and mouse gene. The Pmm2 gene consists of eight exons and spans a larger genomic region (≈20 kb). An alignment of the human and mouse protein sequences confirms the conservation among this family of phosphomannomutases. The two mouse genes are expressed in many tissues, but the expression pattern is slightly different between Pmm1 and Pmm2. The most striking difference is the high expression of Pmm1 in brain tissue, whereas Pmm2 is only weakly expressed in this tissue.     

Gene within gene configuration and expression of the Drosophila melanogaster genes lethal(2)neighbour of tid [l(2)not] and lethal(2)relative of tid [l(2)rot]

In this paper, we describe the structure and temporal expression pattern of the Drosophila melanogaster genes l(2)not and l(2)rot located at locus 59F5 vis à vis the tumor suppressor gene l(2)tid described previously and exhibiting a gene within gene configuration. The l(2)not protein coding region, 1530 nt, is divided into two exons by an intron, 2645 nt, harboring the genes l(2)rot, co-transcribed from the same DNA strand, and l(2)tid, co-transcribed from the opposite DNA strand, located vis à vis. To determine proteins encoded by the genes described in this study polyclonal rabbit antibodies (Ab), anti-Not and anti-Rot, were generated. Immunostaining of developmental Western blots with the anti-Not Ab resulted in the identification of a 45-kDa protein, Not45, which is smaller than the Not56 protein predicted from the sequence. Its localization in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was established by immunoelectron microscopy of Drosophila melanogaster Schneider 2 cells. Not45 shows significant homology to yeast ALG3 protein acting as a dolichol mannosyltransferase in the asparagine-linked glycosylation. It is synthesized ubiquitously throughout embryonic life. The protein predicted from the l(2)rot sequence, Rot57, shows a homology to the NS2B protein of the yellow fever virus1 (yefv1). The results of l(2)rot RNA analysis by developmental Northern blot and by in situ RNA localization, as well as the results of the protein analysis via Western blot and immunohistochemistry suggest that l(2)rot is transcribed but not translated. Since RNAs encoded by the genes l(2)tid and l(2)rot are complementary and l(2)rot is presumably not translated we performed preliminary experiments on the function of the l(2)rot RNA as a natural antisense RNA (asRNA) regulator of l(2)tid expression, expressed in the same temporal and spatial manner as the l(2)tid− and l(2)not RNA. l(2)tid knock-out by antisense RNA yielded late embryonic lethality resulting from multiple morphogenetic defects.     

Identification and localization of calreticulin in plant cells

Summary In the present study we have investigated the presence and distribution of calreticulin in plant protoplasts. Calreticulin was purified from plant homogenates using a selective ammonium sulfate precipitation procedure developed for the purification of mammalian calreticulins and shown to bind calcium in⁴⁵Ca²⁺ overlay assays. The protein was localized to plant cell endoplasmic reticulum by the indirect immunofluorescence staining of protoplasts with anti-calreticulin antibodies. No calreticulin was observed within large vacuoles. We conclude that calreticulin is present in the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells, where, by analogy to the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum, it may play a major role in Ca²⁺ binding and storage.Abbreviations ER endoplasmic reticulum - SR sarcoplasmic reticulum - SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis - PBS phosphate-buffered saline     

Screening for OST deficiencies in unsolved CDG-I patients

Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG) are a group of inherited disorders caused by deficiencies in glycosylation. Since 1980, 14 CDG type I (CDG-I) defects have been identified in the endoplasmic reticulum, all affecting the assembly of the oligosaccharide precursor. However, the number of unsolved CDG-I (CDG-Ix) patients displaying protein hypoglycosylation in combination with an apparently normal assembly of the oligosaccharide precursor is currently expanding.We hypothesized that the hypoglycosylation observed in some of these patients could be caused by a deficiency in the transfer of the oligosaccharide precursor onto protein, a reaction catalyzed by the oligosaccharyltransferase (OST) complex. For this purpose, the different subunits of the OST complex were screened in 27 CDG-Ix patients for whom structural analysis of the lipid-linked oligosaccharides revealed a normal level and intact structure of the oligosaccharide precursor. Among these 27 patients, one was identified with a homozygous missense mutation (c.1121G > A; p.G374D) in the ribophorin 2 (RPN2) subunit of the OST complex. The pathogenic nature of this mutation remains unproven due to the complexity of tackling a possible OST defect.     

Activation of galanin receptor 2 stimulates large conductance Ca-dependent K (BK) channels through the IP3 pathway in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells

The large conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ (BK) channels are widely distributed in the brain, and act as intracellular calcium sensors in neurons. They play an important feedback role in controlling Ca²⁺ flux and Ca²⁺-dependent processes, including neurotransmitter release and cellular excitability. In this study, the effects of the neuropeptide galanin on BK channels were examined by determining the whole-cell currents and single-channel activities in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells co-expressing GalR2 and the BK alpha subunit. Galanin enhanced the currents of BK channels, in a concentration-dependent and PTX-independent manner, with an ED50 value of 71.8 ± 16.9 nM. This activation was mediated by GalR2, since its agonist AR-M1896 mimicked the effect of galanin, and since galanin did not facilitate BK currents in cells co-expressing cDNAs of BK and GalR1 or GalR3. The galanin-induced BK current persisted after replacement with Ca²⁺-free solution, suggesting that extracellular Ca²⁺ is not essential. Chelating intracellular Ca²⁺ by either the slow Ca²⁺ buffer EGTA or the fast Ca²⁺ buffer BAPTA abolished galanin-mediated activation of BK channels, indicating the important role of intracellular Ca²⁺. The role of Ca²⁺ efflux from the sarcoplasmic reticulum/endoplasmic reticulum (SR/ER) was confirmed by application of thapsigargin, an irreversible inhibitor that depletes Ca²⁺ from SR/ER. Moreover, the inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IP3R) was identified as the mediator responsible for increased intracellular Ca²⁺ activating BK channels. Taken together, activation of GalR2 leads to elevation of intracellular Ca²⁺ is due to Ca²⁺ efflux from ER through IP3R sequentially opening BK channels.     

Detailed glycan analysis of serum glycoproteins of patients with congenital disorders of glycosylation indicates the specific defective glycan processing step and provides an insight into pathogenesis

The fundamental importance of correct protein glycosylation is abundantly clear in a group of diseases known as congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDGs). In these diseases, many biological functions are compromised, giving rise to a wide range of severe clinical conditions. By performing detailed analyses of the total serum glycoproteins as well as isolated transferrin and IgG, we have directly correlated aberrant glycosylation with a faulty glycosylation processing step. In one patient the complete absence of complex type sugars was consistent with ablation of GlcNAcTase II activity. In another CDG type II patient, the identification of specific hybrid sugars suggested that the defective processing step was cell type-specific and involved the mannosidase III pathway. In each case, complementary serum proteome analyses revealed significant changes in some 31 glycoproteins, including components of the complement system. This biochemical approach to charting diseases that involve alterations in glycan processing provides a rapid indicator of the nature, severity, and cell type specificity of the suboptimal glycan processing steps; allows links to genetic mutations; indicates the expression levels of proteins; and gives insight into the pathways affected in the disease process.     

The glycosylation pattern of a humanized IgGl antibody (D1.3) expressed in CHO cells

A humanized IgG antibody (D1.3) which retains murine complementarity determining regions specific for the antigen lysozyme has been expressed in CHO-DUKX cells. Heavy and light chain containing plasmids were co-transfected into CHO-DUKX cells and stable clones were grown in DMEM/F12 medium supplemented with 5% foetal calf serum. D1.3 antibody was purified from culture supernatants by Protein G chromatography. With the recombinant D1.3 antibody as a model, this cell culture system was shown to glycosylate the IgG Fc region in a similar manner to IgG isolated from serum. The neutral, core fucosylated biantennary oligosaccharides found are present in serum IgG and no novel carbohydrate sequences were detected. The degree of terminal agalactosylation was also similar to normal serum, in contrast to the increased levels found in rheumatoid serum. Furthermore, those oligosaccharides which lack only one terminal Gal are exclusively galactosylated on the GlcNAc(β1,2) Man(α1,6) Man(β1,4) antenna. Unambiguous identification of the exact glycosylation pattern of the antibody was carried out by a combination of specific exoglycosidase digestions, gel permeation chromatography of 2-aminobenzamide derivatives, high pH anion exchange chromatography and methylation analysis followed by gas–liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Abbreviations: CDR, complementarity determining region; CHO, chinese hamster ovary; GPC, gel permeation chromatography; 2-AB, 2-aminobenzamide; HPAEC-PAD, high pH anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection; GC-MS, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis; PNGase F, peptide-N-glycosidase F; PGC, porous graphitized carbon column; RAAM, reagent array analysis method; NeuAc: N-acetylneuraminic acid; NeuGc: N-glycolylneuraminic acid This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The STT3 protein is a component of the yeast oligosaccharyltransferase complex

N-linked protein glycosylation is an essential process in eukaryotic cells. In the central reaction, the oligosaccharyltransferase (OTase) catalyzes the transfer of the oligosaccharide Glc₃Man₉GlcNAc₂ from dolicholpyrophosphate onto asparagine residues of nascent polypeptide chains in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. The product of the essential gene STT3 is required for OTase activity in vivo, but is not present in highly purified OTase preparations. Using affinity purification of a tagged Stt3 protein, we now demonstrate that other components of the OTase complex, namely Ost1p, Wbp1p and Swp1p, specifically co-purify with the Stt3 protein. In addition, different conditional stt3 alleles can be suppressed by overexpression of either OST3 and OST4, which encode small components of the OTase complex. These genetic and biochemical data show that the highly conserved Stt3p is a component of the oligosaccharyltransferase complex. Received: 3 June 1997 / Accepted: 29 July 1997     

Aberrant glycosylation of IgA from patients with IgA nephropathy

Despite the prominent role of IgA, particularly IgA₁, in the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN), the precise role of this molecule in the process remains unclear. Four biotin-conjugated lectins in sandwich-type enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were devised to determine the glycosylation profiles of total IgA and its subclasses. We took advantage of differential binding properties of these lectins to sugar residues to dissect the oligosaccharide chainsO-linked to the hinge and thoseN-linked to the Fc region of total IgA and IgA subclasses in 47 patients with IgAN and an equal number of controls. The proportion of sialylated IgA₁ was higher in patients compared with controls (p<0.02), whereas IgA₂ in patients appeared less well sialylated. A reduction of galactose in pathological IgA as detected by RCA-I became significant after treatment of the molecule with neuraminidase (p<0.01). Defective galactosylation was also observed for patient IgA₁ when it was probed with ECL, a lectin that has a specificity for Gal 1,4N-acetylglucosamine groupings onN-linked oligosaccharides. The RCA and ECL results, therefore, suggest that increased sialylation on the IgA₁ is onO-linked oligosaccharides in the hinge region. This was partly confirmed by a small increase in the binding of PNA to IgA₁ from the patient group. This lectin binds preferentially to Gal 1,3N-acetylgalactosamine groups that are found onO-linked oligosaccharides.     

Characterization of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-glycosylation phenotype of erythrocyte membrane proteins in congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type II (CDA II/HEMPAS)

Congenital dyserythropoetic anemia type II (CDA II) is characterized by bi- and multinucleated erythroblasts and an impaired N-glycosylation of erythrocyte membrane proteins. Several enzyme defects have been proposed to cause CDA II based on the investigation of erythrocyte membrane glycans pinpointing to defects of early Golgi processing steps. Hitherto no molecular defect could be elucidated. In the present study, N-glycosylation of erythrocyte membrane proteins of CDA II patients and controls was investigated by SDS-Page, lectin binding studies, and MALDI-TOF/MS mapping in order to allow an embracing view on the glycosylation defect in CDA II. Decreased binding of tomato lectin was a consistent finding in all typical CDA II patients. New insights into tomato lectin binding properties were found indicating that branched polylactosamines are the main target. The binding of Aleuria aurantia, a lectin preferentially binding to α1-6 core-fucose, was reduced in western blots of CDA II erythrocyte membranes. MALDI-TOF analysis of band 3 derived N-glycans revealed a broad spectrum of truncated structures showing the presence of high mannose and hybrid glycans and mainly a strong decrease of large N-glycans suggesting impairment of cis, medial and trans Golgi processing. Conclusion: Truncation of N-glycans is a consistent finding in CDA II erythrocytes indicating the diagnostic value of tomato-lectin studies. However, structural data of erythrocyte N-glycans implicate that CDA II is not a distinct glycosylation disorder but caused by a defect disturbing Golgi processing in erythroblasts.