The effect of glycoprotein-processing inhibitors on the secretion of glycoproteins by Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

The effects of various glycoprotein-processing inhibitors on the biosynthesis and secretion of N-linked glycoproteins was examined in cultured Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. Since incorporation of [2-3H]mannose into lipid-linked saccharides and into glycoproteins was much greater in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) than in serum-supplemented basal medium (BME), most experiments were done in PBS. Castanospermine, an inhibitor of glucosidase I, caused the formation of glycoproteins having mostly Glc3Man7-9(GlcNAc)2 structures; deoxymannojirimycin, an inhibitor of mannosidase I, gave mostly glycoproteins with Man9(GlcNAc)2 structures; swainsonine, an inhibitor of mannosidase II, caused the accumulation of hybrid types of oligosaccharides. Castanospermine and swainsonine, either in PBS or in BME medium, had no effect on the incorporation of [2-3H]mannose or [5,6-3H]leucine into the secreted glycoproteins and, in fact, there was some increase in mannose incorporation in their presence. These inhibitors also did not affect mannose incorporation into cellular glycoproteins nor did they affect the biosynthesis as measured by mannose incorporation into lipid-linked saccharides. On the other hand in PBS medium, deoxymannojirimycin, at 25 micrograms/mL, caused a 75% inhibition in mannose incorporation into secreted glycoproteins, but had no effect on the incorporation of [3H]leucine into the secreted glycoproteins. Since deoxymannojirimycin also strongly inhibited mannose incorporation into lipid-linked oligosaccharides in PBS, the decreased amount of radioactivity in the secreted and cellular glycoproteins may reflect the formation of glycoproteins with fewer than normal numbers of oligosaccharide chains, owing to the low levels of oligosaccharide donor. However, in BME medium, there was only slight inhibition of mannose incorporation into lipid-linked saccharides and into cellular and secreted glycoproteins.     

The effect of deoxymannojirimycin on the processing of the influenza viral glycoproteins

Deoxymannojirimycin (dMM) was tested as an inhibitor of the processing of the oligosaccharide portion of viral and cellular N-linked glycoproteins. The NWS strain of influenza virus was grown in MDCK cells in the presence of various amounts of dMM, and the glycoproteins were labeled by the addition of 2-[3H]mannose to the medium. At levels of 10 micrograms/ml dMM or higher, most of the viral glycopeptides became susceptible to digestion by endoglucosaminidase H, and the liberated oligosaccharide migrated mostly like a Hexose9GlcNAc on a calibrated column of Bio-Gel P-4. This oligosaccharide was characterized as a typical Man9GlcNAc by a variety of chemical and enzymatic procedures. Deoxymannojirimycin gave rise to similar oligosaccharide structures in the cellular glycoproteins. In both the viral and the cellular glycoproteins, this inhibitor caused a significant increase in the amount of [3H]mannose present in the glycoproteins. Deoxymannojirimycin did not inhibit the incorporation of [3H]leucine into protein in MDCK cells, nor did it affect the yield or infectivity of NWS virus particles. However, its effect on mannose incorporation into lipid-linked saccharides depended on the incubation time, the virus strain, and the cell line. Thus, high concentrations of dMM showed some inhibition of mannose incorporation into lipid-linked oligosaccharides with the NWS strain in a 3-h incubation, but no inhibition was observed after 48 h of incubation. On the other hand, the PR8 strain was much more sensitive to dMM inhibition, and mannose incorporation into lipid-linked oligosaccharides was strongly inhibited when the virus was raised in chick embryo cells, but less inhibition was observed when this virus was grown in MDCK cells. Nevertheless, in these cases also, the major oligosaccharide structure in the glycoproteins was the Man9GlcNAc2 species.     

Involvement of Lipid-linked Oligosaccharides in Synthesis of Storage Glycoproteins in Soybean Seeds

Membrane preparations from developing soybean (var. Prize) cotyledon tissue, at the time of synthesis of storage glycoproteins, catalyze the sequential assembly of lipid-linked oligosaccharides from uridine-5'-diphospho-N-acetyl-d-[6-(3)H] glucosamine and guanosine-5'diphospho-d-[U-(14)C]mannose. The maximum size of lipid-linked oligosaccharide that accumulates contains the equivalent of 10 saccharide units on the basis of Bio-Gel P-2 gel filtration studies. These lipid-linked oligosaccharides show similar characteristics to polyisoprenyl diphosphate derivatives on diethylaminoethyl-cellulose chromatography and are potential intermediates in glycoprotein biosynthesis in this tissue. These glycolipids do not appear to turn over in pulse-chase experiments and no completed storage glycoproteins were detected among the products of these incubations.Tissue slices from cotyledons at the same stage of development synthesize lipid-linked oligosaccharides from [(3)H]mannose and [(3)H]glucosamine with sizes equivalent to 1, 7, 10, and approximately 15 saccharide units. In pulse-chase experiments, the lipid-linked saccharides with the equivalent of 1 and 10 units rapidly turnover, whereas those with 7 and 15 units do not. Examination of the higher oligosaccharide peaks (10 and 15) by Bio-Gel P-4 gel filtration shows them to comprise 2 distinct subsets of oligosaccharides containing different proportions of glucosamine and mannose units. Tissue slices synthesize products which resemble the completed 7S storage glycoproteins as judged by similarity of molecular weight and precipitation with specific antisera. Analysis of the oligosaccharides obtained by hydrazinolysis of glycoproteins shows the presence of a similar size "high-mannose" type N-linked oligosaccharides as in other glycoproteins from animal and plant cells.     

Glycoprotein biosynthesis in animal cells grown in suspension culture. Assembly of lipid-linked saccharides and formation of protein-bound ''high-mannose'' oligosaccharides.

Glycoprotein biosynthesis was studied with mouse L-cells grown in suspension culture. Glucose-deprived cells incorporated [3H]mannose into 'high-mannose' protein-bound oligosaccharides and a few relatively high-molecular-weight lipid-linked oligosaccharides. The latter were retained by DEAE-cellulose and turned over quite slowly during pulse--chase experiments. Increased heterogeneity in size of lipid-linked oligosaccharides developed during prolonged glucose deprivation. Sequential elongation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides was also observed, and conditions that prevented the assembly of the higher lipid-linked oligosaccharides also prevented the formation of the larger protein-bound 'high-mannose' oligosaccharides. In parallel experiments, [3H]mannose was incorporated into a total polyribosome fraction, suggesting that mannose residues were transferred co-translationally to nascent protein. Membrane preparations from these cells catalysed the assembly from UDP-N-acetyl-D-[6-3H]glucosamine and GDP-D-[U-14C]mannose of polyisoprenyl diphosphate derivatives whose oligosaccharide moieties were heterogeneous in size. Elongation of the N-acetyl-D-[6-3H]glucosamine-initiated glycolipids with mannose residues produced several higher lipid-linked oligosaccharides similar to those seen during glucose deprivation in vivo. Glucosylation of these mannose-containing oligosaccharides from UDP-D-[6-3H]glucose was restricted to those of a relatively high molecular weight. Protein-bound saccharides formed in vitro were mainly smaller in size than those assembled on the lipid acceptors. These results support the involvement of lipid-linked saccharides in the synthesis of asparagine-linked glycoproteins, but show both in vivo and in vitro that protein-bound 'high-mannose' oligosaccharide formation can occur independently of higher lipid-linked oligosaccharide synthesis.     

Glycoprotein synthesis in explants of developing rabbit mammary gland in culture.

1. Explants of mammary glands of pregnant rabbits cultured in the absence of insulin, prolactin and cortisol incorporated [2-3H]mannose into lipid-linked mono- and oligo-saccharide and protein. 2. Inclusion of the hormones in the culture medium stimulated the incorporation of [2-3H]mannose into lipid-linked monosaccharide 4-fold, into lipid-linked oligosaccharide 4-fold and into protein 13-fold after 24 h in culture. 3. Addition of tunicamycin to the incubation medium completely inhibited the incorporation of [2-3H]mannose into lipid-linked oligosaccharide and protein after an initial lag period of about 2h. Incorporation of this radiolabel into lipid-linked monosaccharide was increased 4-fold under these conditions. 4. Incorporation of [4,5-3H]leucine into protein was unaffected by the presence of tunicamycin. 5. Analysis of mannose-labelled protein by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis indicated that a major radiolabelled protein of apparent mol.wt. 65,000-70,000 was synthesized and approx. 70% of this protein appeared in the soluble fraction. 6. Glycosylation of the protein but not synthesis of its peptide backbone was sensitive to tunicamycin. 7. Possible origins of this glycoprotein synthetized when the tissue is stimulated to differentiate in culture are discussed.     

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.     

Amphomycin inhibits the incorporation of mannose and GlcNAc into lipid-linked saccharides by aorta extracts

Amphomycin inhibits the incorporation of mannose from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose and GlcNac from UDP-[³H]GlcNAc into lipid-linked saccharides by either a particulate or a solubilized enzyme fraction from pig aorta. The solubilized enzyme was much more sensitive to the antibiotic than was the particulate fraction with 50% inhibition being observed at 8–15 μg of amphomycin. Although the antibiotic inhibited mannose transfer from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose into mannosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol, lipid-linked oligosaccharides and glycoprotein, the synthesis of mannosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol was much more sensitive to amphomycin. Amphomycin also inhibited the incorporation of mannose from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose into mannosyl-phosphoryldecaprenol in particulate extracts of $\text{Mycobacterium smegmatis}$.     

The effect of cycloheximide on the glycosylation of lactating-rabbit mammary glycoproteins.

1. Cycloheximide inhibited immediately the incorporation of L-[4,5-3H]leucine and D-]2-3H]mannose into mammary proteins, suggesting that the mannosylation of mammary glycoproteins requires the continued supply of newly synthesized polypeptides. 2. The incorporation of radioactivity from N-acetyl-D-[1-14C] glucosamine into protein was not inhibited until approx. 30 min after cycloheximide addition. Much (greater than 90%) of this radioactivity was present as N-acetylgalactosamine. 3. N-Glycosylation appears to be inhibited immediately by cycloheximide due to a lack of newly synthesized acceptor polypeptides, whereas O-glycosylation continues for 30 min, the time taken for acceptor peptides to move from their site of synthesis to the Golgi region and for completion of glycosylation. 4. There was a transient increase in the incorporation of mannose into lipid-linked oligosaccharide in the presence of cycloheximide, followed by a decrease in the radioactivity in this fraction. 5. The major lipid-linked oligosaccharide extracted from explants incubated for 2h in the presence of cycloheximide (6-7 monosaccharide units) was smaller than that extracted from control explants (10-12 monosaccharide units).     

Studies on the effect of mevinolin (lovastatin) and mevastatin (compactin) on the fusion of L6 myoblasts

The effect of mevastatin and mevinolin on the fusion of L6 myoblasts was studied. Both compounds were potent inhibitors of myoblast fusion at concentrations as low as 0.25 M, but fusion was restored when the inhibitors were removed. Both compounds resulted in decreased binding of conA and WGA to cell surface oligosaccharides showing they were causing a reduction in N-linked cell surface glycoproteins. There was a reduction in creatine phosphokinase activities in the presence of both compounds showing that they were affecting biochemical differentiation. The presence of both compounds inhibited the incorporation of labeled mannose from GDP-mannose into lipid-sugar and N-linked glycoprotein, but the inhibition was reversed by addition of exogenous dolichol phosphate to the incorporation mixture. The main conclusion from these studies is that mevinolin and mevastatin are inhibiting myoblast fusion by affecting the synthesis of fusogenic cell surface N-linked glycoproteins probably by affecting the synthesis of dolichol phosphate containing oligosaccharides that are required as intermediates in N-linked glycoprotein biosynthesis.Abbreviations HMG-CoA 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A - Dol dolichol - Dol-P dolichol phosphate - Man mannose - GlcNAc N-acetylglucosamine - Glc glucose - conA concanavalin A - WGA wheat germ agglutinin - CPK creatine phosphokinase     

Isolation of a temperature-sensitive FM3A mutant deficient in asparagine-linked glycosylation by selecting for resistance to tritiated mannose suicide

Protein glycosylation mutants in the mouse mammary carcinoma cell line FM3A were selected for ability to withstand exposure to [2-3H]mannose at 39 degrees C. G258 , one of the mutant cells isolated, has been characterized. G258 cells were temperature-sensitive for cell growth. Moreover, G258 cells showed temperature sensitivity for [3H]mannose incorporation into the TCA-insoluble fraction. To study the biochemical basis of the defect in glycoprotein biosynthesis, the formation of lipid-linked saccharides was examined. The results showed that the formation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides was severely inhibited in G258 cells at 39 degrees C. At 33 degrees C, G258 cells synthesized Glc3Man9GlcNAc2-PP-Dol, the fully assembled lipid-linked oligosaccharides, but at 39 degrees C, G258 cells were able to synthesize merely the smaller lipid-linked oligosaccharides (approximately up to Man3GlcNAc2 -PP-Dol), but were unable to synthesize the larger lipid-linked oligosaccharides.     

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae DPM1 gene encoding dolichol-phosphate-mannose synthase is able to complement a glycosylation-defective mammalian cell line.

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae DPM1 gene product, dolichol-phosphate-mannose (Dol-P-Man) synthase, is involved in the coupled processes of synthesis and membrane translocation of Dol-P-Man. Dol-P-Man is the lipid-linked sugar donor of the last four mannose residues that are added to the core oligosaccharide transferred to protein during N-linked glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum. We present evidence that the S. cerevisiae gene DPM1, when stably transfected into a mutant Chinese hamster ovary cell line, B4-2-1, is able to correct the glycosylation defect of the cells. Evidence for complementation includes (i) fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis of differential lectin binding to cell surface glycoproteins, (ii) restoration of Dol-P-Man synthase enzymatic activity in crude cell lysates, (iii) isolation and high-performance liquid chromatography fractionation of the lipid-linked oligosaccharides synthesized in the transfected and control cell lines, and (iv) the restoration of endoglycosidase H sensitivity to the oligosaccharides transferred to a specific glycoprotein synthesized in the DPM1 CHO transfectants. Indirect immunofluorescence with a primary antibody directed against the DPM1 protein shows a reticular staining pattern of protein localization in transfected hamster and monkey cell lines.     

Inhibition of protein synthesis also inhibits synthesis of lipid-linked oligosaccharides.

Studies were initiated to determine whether the formation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides was coupled to the synthesis of protein. Canine kidney cells were grown with [2-3H]mannose or [3H]leucine in the presence of cycloheximide or puromycin and the effect of these inhibitors on the synthesis of proteins and lipid-linked oligosaccharides was measured. In all cases, the inhibition of protein synthesis resulted in a substantial inhibition in the incorporation of mannose into the lipid-linked oligosaccharides, although the synthesis of mannosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol was only slightly inhibited. Cycloheximide had no effect on the in vitro incorporation of mannose into lipid-linked oligosaccharides when GDP-[14C]mannose was incubated with aorta microsomal preparations. The inhibition of lipid-linked oligosaccharides was apparently not due to a decrease in the amount of glycosyltransferases as a result of protein degradation in the absence of protein synthesis, nor was it the result of a more rapid degradation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides. The inhibition also did not appear to be due to limitations in the available dolichyl-phosphate. The results suggest that the formation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides may be regulated by end product inhibition.     

Bacitracin Inhibits the Synthesis of Lipid-linked Saccharides and Glycoproteins in Plants

The particulate enzyme fraction from mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) seedlings catalyzes the incorporation of mannose from GDP-[¹⁴C]mannose into mannosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol and of N-acetylglucosamine from UDP-[³H]N-acetylglucosamine into N-acetylglucosamine-pyrophosphoryl-polyisoprenol. Bacitracin inhibits the transfer of both of these sugars into the lipid-linked saccharides with 50% inhibition being observed at 5 mm bacitracin. This antibiotic did not inhibit the transfer of glucose from UDP-[¹⁴C]glucose into steryl glucosides or the incorporation of glucose into a cell wall glucan. Bacitracin also inhibited the in vivo incorporation of [¹⁴C]mannose into mannosyl-phosphoryl-dolichol and into glycoprotein by carrot (Daucus carota) slices. While bacitracin also inhibited the incorporation of lysine into proteins by these slices, protein synthesis was less sensitive than glycosylation. Thus at 2 mm bacitracin glycosylation was inhibited 92%, while protein synthesis was inhibited only 50%.     

Impairment of dolichyl saccharide synthesis and dolichol-mediated glycoprotein assembly in the aortic smooth muscle cell in culture by inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis

25-Hydroxycholesterol treatment of the aortic smooth muscle cell inhibited the incorporation of acetate but not mevalonate into dolichol and cholesterol by 91 and 82%, respectively, and diminished the synthesis from glucose of cholesterol, dolichylpyrophosphoryl oligosaccharide, and dolichol-dependent glycoproteins. The dolichol-bound oligosaccharide unit contained approximately 10 Man/2 Glc/2 GlcNAc residues and appeared to be a precursor to protein-bound saccharide units which contained on the average 8 Man/1 Glc/2 GlcNAc residues. Mevalonate was found to protect the cells against the effect 25-hydroxycholesterol and to restore normal cellular synthesis of dolichyl saccharides and glycoproteins. It is suggested that hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase may function as a rate-controlling enzyme in the biosynthesis of not only sterols but also dolichols, and may as a result regulate the assembly of certain cellular glycoproteins.     

Glycosidase inhibitors: inhibitors of N-linked oligosaccharide processing.

The biosynthesis of the various types of N-linked oligosaccharide structures involves two series of reactions: 1) the formation of the lipid-linked saccharide precursor, Glc3Man9(GlcNAc)2-pyrophosphoryl-dolichol, by the stepwise addition of GlcNAc, mannose and glucose to dolichyl-P, and 2) the removal of glucose and mannose by membrane-bound glycosidases and the addition of GlcNAc, galactose, sialic acid, and fucose by Golgi-localized glycosyltransferases to produce different complex oligosaccharide structures. For most glycoproteins, the precise role of the carbohydrate is still not known, but specific N-linked oligosaccharide structures are key players in targeting of lysosomal hydrolases to the lysosomes, in the clearance of asialoglycoproteins from the serum, and in some cases of cell:cell adhesion. Furthermore, many glycoproteins have more than one N-linked oligosaccharide, and these oligosaccharides on the same protein frequently have different structures. Thus, one oligosaccharide may be of the high-mannose type whereas another may be a complex chain. One approach to determining the role of specific structures in glycoprotein function is to use inhibitors that block the modification reactions at different steps, causing the cell to produce glycoproteins with altered carbohydrate structures. The function of these glycoproteins can then be assessed. A number of alkaloid-like compounds have been identified that are specific inhibitors of the glucosidases and mannosidases involved in glycoprotein processing. These compounds cause the formation of glycoproteins with glucose-containing high mannose structures, or various high-mannose or hybrid chains, depending on the site of inhibition. These inhibitors have also been useful for studying the processing pathway and for comparing processing enzymes from different organisms.     

beta-Adrenergic stimulation alters oligosaccharide pyrophosphoryl dolichol metabolism in rat parotid acinar cells.

beta-Adrenergic stimulation of rat parotid acinar cells markedly increases [3H]mannose incorporation into N-linked glycoproteins [Kousvelari, Grant, Banerjee, Newby & Baum (1984) Biochem. J. 222, 17-24]. More than 90% of this protein-bound [3H]mannose was preferentially incorporated into four secretory glycoproteins. The ratio of [3H]mannose/[14C]leucine present in these individual proteins was 1.7-4-fold greater with isoproterenol-treated cells than with untreated controls. In isoproterenol-stimulated cells, [3H]mannose incorporation into mannosylphosphoryl dolichol and oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol was increased 2-3-fold over that observed in unstimulated cells. Similarly, formation of mannosylated oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol was increased approx. 4-fold in microsomes prepared from isoproterenol-treated cells. Also, turnover of oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol was significantly increased (5-fold) by beta-adrenergic stimulation; the half-life for oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol decreased from 6 min in control cells to 1.2 min in isoproterenol-stimulated cells. By 15 min after isoproterenol addition to acinar cells, the specific radioactivity of parotid oligosaccharide moieties increased about 3-fold over the value observed in the absence of the agonist. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that elevation of N-linked protein glycosylation in rat parotid acinar cells after beta-adrenoreceptor stimulation resulted from significant enhancement in the synthesis of mannosylphosphoryl dolichol and oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol and the turnover of oligosaccharide-PP-dolichol.     

Requirement for mevalonate in cycling cells: quantitative and temporal aspects

In order to investigate a requirement for isoprenoid compounds in the cell cycle, DNA synthesis was examined in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells in which mevalonate biosynthesis was blocked with mevinolin, a competitive inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase. Treatment of exponentially-growing cultures with mevinolin led to a decline in DNA synthesis and cell cycle arrest in G1. Synchronous DNA synthesis and cell division could be restored in the arrested cultures, in the absence of exogenous mevalonate, by removing the inhibitor from the culture thereby allowing expression of an induced level of HMG-CoA reductase. In order to quantitate the mevalonate requirement for entry into S phase, recovery of DNA synthesis was made dependent upon added mevalonate by preventing the induction of the enzyme using 25-hydroxycholesterol, a specific repressor of HMG-CoA reductase synthesis. When cultures were treated with both inhibitors, optimal recovery of DNA synthesis was obtained with 200 micrograms/ml mevalonate following an 8 h lag, whereas a progressively longer lag-time was found with lower concentrations of mevalonate. Exogenous dolichol, ubiquinone, or isopentenyladenine had no effect on the arrest or recovery of DNA synthesis. Cholesterol was required during the arrest incubation for cell viability, but was not sufficient for recovery in the absence of mevalonate. The recovery of DNA synthesis by 200 micrograms/ml mevalonate, which was maximal 14-16 h after the addition of mevalonate, only required that the mevalonate be present for the first 4 h, whereas more than an 8-h incubation was required for maximal recovery with 25 micrograms/ml mevalonate. Maximal recovery at either concentration of mevalonate was achieved after approximately 400 fmol mevalonate/micrograms protein was incorporated into non-saponifiable lipids. This quantity represents approximately 0.1% of the mevalonate required for the synthesis of total cellular isoprenoid compounds. The results indicate that production of a quantitatively minor product(s) of mevalonate metabolism is required during the first 4 h following release of the block before other cellular events necessary for entry into S phase can occur.     

Glycoprotein biosynthesis by human normal platelets

Incorporation of radioactive Man, Gal, Fuc, Glc-N, and NANA into washed human normal platelets and endogenous glycoproteins has been found. Both parameters were time dependent. Analysis of hydrolyzed labeled glycoproteins by paper chromatography revealed that the radioactive monosaccharide incubated with the platelets had not been converted into other sugars. Acid hydrolysis demonstrates the presence of a glycosidic linkage. All the effort directed to the demonstration of the existence of a lipid-sugar intermediate in intact human platelets yielded negative results for Man and Glc-N used as precursors. The incorporation of these sugars into glycoproteins is insensitive to bacitracin, suggesting no involvement of lipid-linked saccharides in the synthesis of glycoproteins in human blood platelets. The absence of inhibition of the glycosylation process in the presence of cycloheximide suggests that the sugars are added to proteins present in the intact platelets. These results support the contention that glycoprotein biosynthesis in human blood platelets observed under our experimental conditions is effected through direct sugar nucleotide glycosylation.     

The effect of flavomycin on the synthesis and transfer of lipid-linked saccharides in pig brain

Particulate membrane fractions from pig brain catalyse the synthesis of lipid-linked sugar derivatives of the dolichyl phosphate pathway. Flavomycin, a phosphoglycolipid antibiotic produced by various species of streptomycetes, interferes with the formation of these glycolipids to a different extent. The formation of dolichyl phosphate glucose was shown to be most susceptible to the antibiotic, being blocked by about 50% in the presence of 0.2mm-flavomycin, whereas the synthesis of dolichyl diphosphate N-acetylglucosamine, dolichyl diphosphate chitobiose and dolichyl diphosphate chitobiosyl mannose required higher concentrations to achieve a comparable inhibition. Although the formation of dolichyl phosphate mannose was hardly affected, the accumulation of oligosaccharides with five to seven sugar units was observed, when dolichyl diphosphate oligosaccharides were synthesized with GDP-[(14)C]mannose in the presence of 1mm-flavomycin. This indicates that the inhibition of the synthesis of larger-sized oligosaccharides, known to be mediated by lipid-bound mannose, was not caused by an actual deficiency in dolichyl phosphate mannose. At flavomycin concentrations that inhibited the formation of dolichyl phosphate glucose by 50%, the transfer of lipid-linked saccharides to either the hexapeptide Tyr-Asn-Gly-Thr-Ser-Val or endogenous protein acceptors was hardly influenced. The mode of action of flavomycin is still obscure, but seems not to be of a competitive nature, since the inhibition was unaffected by increasing concentrations of dolichyl phosphate. Some evidence indicates that, besides a direct interaction of the antibiotic with some transferases, a non-specific incorporation into the membrane and alteration of its properties might be responsible for those inhibitory effects on all enzymes which were observed at high concentrations of flavomycin.     

Tunicamycin inhibits protein glycosylation in suspension cultured soybean cells

Soybean cells in suspension culture incorporate [³H]mannose into dolichyl-phosphoryl-mannose and into lipid-linked oligosaccharides as well as into extracellular and cell wall macromolecules. Tunicamycin completely inhibited the formation of lipid-linked oligosaccharides at a concentration of 5 to 10 micrograms per milliliter, but it had no effect on the formation of dolichyl-phosphoryl-mannose. Tunicamycin did inhibit the incorporation of [³H]mannose into cell wall components and extracellular macromolecules, but even at 20 micrograms per milliliter of antibiotic there was still about 30% incorporation of mannose. The radioactivity in these macromolecules was localized in mannose (70%), rhamnose (20%), galactose (8%), and fucose (2%) in the absence of antibiotic. But when tunicamycin was added, very little radioactive mannose was found in cell wall or extracellular components. The incorporation of [³H]leucine into membrane components and [¹⁴C]proline into cell wall components by these suspension cultures was unaffected by tunicamycin. However, tunicamycin did inhibit the appearance of leucine-labeled extracellular macromolecules, probably because it prevented their secretion.