Apparent inhibition of glycoprotein synthesis by S.cerevisiae mating pheromones

Saccharomyces cerevisiae mating pheromones a and alpha factor strongly inhibit the incorporation of radiolabelled glucosamine into N-glycosylated proteins of corresponding haploid cells. This observation was erroneously interpreted as an inhibition of glycoprotein synthesis. It has turned out that alpha factor causes a 4-5-fold dilution of incorporated [14C]glucosamine with non-radioactive endogenous precursor. In the case of the [14C]chitin synthesized, which does not show inhibition by alpha factor, the lowering of the specific activity of the precursor is exactly compensated for by an increased rate of chitin synthesis caused by alpha factor.     

Isoprenoids and astroglial cell cycling: diminished mevalonate availability and inhibition of dolichol-linked glycoprotein synthesis arrest cycling through distinct mechanisms.

Primary astroglial cultures were used to compare the relationships to cell cycling of dolichol-linked glycoprotein synthesis, and of availability of mevalonate, the precursor of dolichol and other isoprenoid lipids. With shift-up to 10% serum (time 0) after 48 h of serum depletion, the proportion of cells in S phase (bromodeoxyuridine immunofluorescence) remained under 15% for 12 h, then increased by 20 h to 72 +/- 10%; DNA synthetic rates (thymidine incorporation) increased 5-fold. S phase transition was prevented by addition at 10-12 h of tunicamycin, an inhibitor of transfer of saccharide moieties to dolichol. Mevinolin, an inhibitor of mevalonate biosynthesis, also blocked cycle progression when added at this time. However, mevinolin markedly inhibited the isoprenoid pathway, as reflected by over 90% reduction of sterol synthesis, without inhibiting net glycoprotein synthesis. Removal of mevinolin after a 24 h exposure delayed S phase until 48 h, following recovery of sterol synthesis, even though kinetics of glycoprotein synthesis were unaffected. Tunicamycin removal after 24 h spared sterol synthesis, but caused delay of S phase until 72 h, following recovery of glycoprotein synthesis. In mevinolin-treated cultures, S phase transition was restored by 1 h of exposure to mevalonate at 10 h, although cycling was thereby rendered sensitive to inhibition by cycloheximide and by tunicamycin. Cell cycle progression following hydroxyurea exposure and release was unaffected by mevinolin, tunicamycin, or cycloheximide. Thus, in these developing astroglia, mevalonate and its isoprenoid derivatives have at least two cell cycle-specific roles: dolichol-linked glycoprotein synthesis is required at or before the G1/S transition, while a distinct mevalonate requirement is apparent also in late G1.     

The epidermal growth factor-induced cell migration and expression of the 47,000 Mr secreted glycoprotein EIP-1 of rat liver epithelial cells are down-modulated by cyclic AMP

The migration of rat liver epithelial cells induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF) was inhibited by cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cholera toxin, but not by cGMP, cAMP and cholera toxin also inhibited the expression of the EGF/transforming growth factor (TGF) alpha-inducible protein EIP-1 (Mr 47,000), but not that of other proteins induced by the growth factor. cAMP therefore specifically and selectively represses the EGF-induced expression of this protein, which by synthesis in the presence of tunicamycin and by enzymatic treatments was shown to be N-glycosylated and sialylated. The close correlation of the expression of EIP-1 with the growth factor-induced migration suggests that this glycoprotein is involved in the cellular translocation process. Modulation of cell migration and of EIP-1 expression through increased intracellular concentrations of cAMP indicate that factors operating through this signal system can modulate the phenotypic and gene expression changes mediated by the EGF-receptor. Identification of the ligand(s) that can cause the cAMP-mediated effects might be an important step towards understanding the regulation of liver cell migration in vivo.     

Plant tyrosine decarboxylase can be strongly inhibited by l-α-aminooxy-β-phenylpropionate

The effect of tunicamycin, an inhibitor of N-glycosylation of proteins, on growth and on synthesis of DNA and protein was studied in suspension cultures from Nicotiana tabacum and Catharanthus rosea. In the presence of 0.1–1 g · ml^-1 tunicamycin, cell division and DNA synthesis stopped in cells which had been proliferating logarithmically, but protein formation continued. Cytophotometric determination of the nuclear DNA content in Catharanthus cells showed that a cell-cycle arrest had occurred in G1 phase. Metabolic labelling of cells with the glycoprotein precursors glucosamine or mannose was inhibited, too. The results indicate that one or more glycoproteins are needed for the cell to pass through the G1 phase, as was recently postulated for animal and yeast cells.Abbreviations TCA trichloroacetic acid - TM tunicamycin     

A temperature-sensitive N-glycosylation mutant of S. cerevisiae that behaves like a cell-cycle mutant

The temperature-sensitive S. cerevisiae mutant alg1-1, defective in the N-glycosylation of proteins, shows a first cycle arrest at the non-permissive temperature of 36 °C. The cell number increases by 50% and the absorbance approximately doubles. The budding index of 0.4 at 26 °C drops to 0.15 and DNA synthesis quickly comes to a halt at 36 °C. When the temperature is lowered again, budding and DNA synthesis start after a lag of 2–3 h; α-factor prevents both these processes in cells of mating type a. In addition, cells arrested at 26 °C in G1 with α-factor also do not start budding at the non-permissive temperature after removal of α-factor. The results support recent findings obtained with tunicamycin and suggest that at least one glycoprotein is required for G1-S phase transition in yeast.     

Dolichol-Linked Glycoprotein Synthesis in G1 Is Necessary for DNA Synthesis in Synchronized Primary Cultures of Cerebral Glia

Primary cultures of newborn rat cerebrum, which are composed of glial cells (principally astroglia), were used for examining the relationship between dolichol-linked glycoprotein synthesis and DNA synthesis in developing cerebral glia. The cells were synchronized by reducing the content of fetal calf serum in the culture medium from 10 to 0.1% (vol/vol) for 48 h between days 4 and 6 in culture. Reversal of the quiescent state by return of the cultures to 10% serum causes a marked increase in DNA synthesis 12-24 h later. A sharp increase in glycoprotein synthesis (incorporation of [3H]mannose) occurred in the first 12 h after serum repletion, preceding the increase in DNA synthesis. Tunicamycin, an inhibitor of the dolichol-linked pathway to glycoprotein synthesis at the first committed step in oligosaccharide formation, promptly and completely prevented the increase in glycoprotein synthesis and, in addition, the subsequent increase in DNA synthesis. The effects of tunicamycin on glycoprotein and DNA syntheses were reversible, and no comparable effect on total protein synthesis was observed. When tunicamycin was added only during a temporally circumscribed period in G1, i.e., from 3 to 9 h after serum repletion, the increase in DNA synthesis between 12 and 24 h after repletion was still markedly inhibited, i.e., to approximately 45% of the value in untreated cultures. The data thus show that there is a requirement for dolichol-linked glycoprotein synthesis for the subsequent occurrence of DNA synthesis and that this requirement is expressed late in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.     

Involvement of Cell Surface Carbohydrates in the Sexual Cell Fusion of Dictyostelium discoideum

In order to analyze the molecular mechanism of sexual cell fusion between cells of HM1 and NC4 (opposite mating type strains in Dictyostelium discoideum ), monoclonal antibodies were raised against partially-purified gp 70, a fusion-related protein of HM1 cells. The antibodies were screened for activity to inhibit cell fusion and 9 hybridoma clones were obtained. One of the fusion-blocking monoclonal antibodies, mAb1G7, was used for further analysis. It recognized nearly ten bands in an immunoblot of fusion competent HM1 cells, but no bands when HM1 membrane proteins had been deglycosylated. These results suggest the importance of carbohydrates in the cell fusion process. To confirm this possibility, effects of sugars or lectins on cell fusion were examined. Although inhibition by the sugars was incomplete, Con A, WGA, LCA, strongly inhibited cell fusion. Furthermore, tunicamycin inhibited the acquisition of fusion competence in HM1 cells, indicating the importance of N-linked glycosylation of proteins in cell fusion. All above results suggest that N-linked carbohydrates on HM1 cell surface are involved in the sexual cell fusion of D. discoideum .     

Increased phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha at the G2/M boundary in human osteosarcoma cells correlates with deglycosylation of p67 and a decreased rate of protein synthesis.

The rate of protein synthesis in higher eukaryotes is largely regulated at the level of eIF2alpha phosphorylation by its kinases. A cellular glycoprotein, p67, protects eIF2alpha from phosphorylation. An enzyme, p67-deglycosylase, when active, removes the carbohydrate moieties from p67 and inactivates it. Subsequently, protein synthesis is inhibited. During mitosis the overall rate of protein synthesis sharply declines. To understand the molecular mechanism underlying this inhibition of protein synthesis, we have examined the phosphorylation of eIF2alpha and the activity of p67. We find that the phosphorylation of eIF2alpha increases at the G2/M border of cycling U2-OS cells, and p67 is deglycosylated at the same period of the cell cycle. In addition, the level and the activity of p67-deglycosylase also increase at the G2/M boundary of cycling U2-OS cells. These results thus provide an important in vivo correlation between the increased phosphorylation of eIF2alpha and deglycosylation of p67 by p67-deglycosylase at the G2/M boundary of cycling U2-OS cells. This may explain in part the inhibition of protein synthesis in U2-OS cells approaching mitosis.     

Macrophage-mediated cytostatic activity blocks lymphoblast cell cycle progression independently in both G1 phase and S phase

Recent work has shown that macrophage-mediated cytostatic activity inhibits cell cycle traverse in G1 and/or S phase of the cell cycle without affecting late S, G2, or M phases. The present report is directed at distinguishing between such cytostatic effects on G1 phase or S phase using the accumulation of DNA polymerase alpha as a marker of G1 to S phase transition. Quiescent lymphocytes stimulated with concanavalin A undergo a semisynchronous progression from G0 to G1 to S phase with a dramatic increase in DNA polymerase alpha activity between 20 and 30 hr after stimulation. This increase in enzyme activity was inhibited, as was the accumulation of DNA, when such cells were cocultured with activated murine peritoneal macrophages during this time interval. However, if mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes were enriched for S-phase cells by centrifugal elutriation and cocultured with activated macrophages for 4-6 hr, DNA synthesis was inhibited but the already elevated DNA-polymerase activity was unaffected. Similar results were obtained when a virally transformed lymphoma cell line was substituted as the target cell in this assay. These results show that both G1 and S phase of the cycle are inhibited and suggest that inhibition of progression through the different phases may be accomplished by at least two distinct mechanisms.     

Endoplasmic reticulum stress inhibits cell cycle progression via induction of p27 in melanoma cells

The accumulation of unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) triggers the unfolded protein response (UPR), a stress signaling pathway. The UPR coordinates the induction of ER chaperones with decreased protein synthesis and growth arrest in G1 phase of the cell cycle. However, the molecular mechanism underlying UPR-induced G1 cell cycle arrest remains largely unknown. Here we report that activation of the UPR response by tunicamycin (TM), an ER stress inducer, leads to accumulation of p27 and G1 cell cycle arrest in melanoma cells. This accumulation of p27 is due to the inhibition on its polyubiquitination and subsequent degradation upon TM treatment. Correlated with p27 stabilization, the levels of Skp2, an E3 ligase for p27, are decreased in response to TM treatment. More importantly, knockdown of p27 greatly reduces TM-induced G1 cell cycle arrest. Taken together, these data implicate p27 as a critical mediator of ER stress-induced growth arrest.     

Effect of N-glycosylation inhibition on the synthesis and processing of classical swine fever virus glycoproteins

Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is often used as a surrogate model in molecular studies of the closely related hepatitis C virus. In this report we have examined the effect of the inhibition of glycosylation on the survival and maturation of CSFV. Viral glycoproteins (E(rns), E1, E2) form biologically active complexes - homo- and heterodimers, which are indispensable for viral life cycle. Those complexes are highly N-glycosylated. We studied the influence of N-glycosylation on dimer formation using E(rns) and E2 glycoproteins produced in insect cells after infection with recombinant baculoviruses. The glycoproteins were efficiently synthesized in insect cells, had similar molecular masses and formed dimers like their natural counterparts. Surprisingly, the addition of tunicamycin (an antibiotic which blocks early steps of glycosylation) to insect cell culture blocked not only dimer formation but it also led to an almost complete disappearance of E2 even in monomeric form. Tunicamycin did not exert a similar effect on the synthesis and formation of E(rns) dimers; the dimers were still formed, which suggests that E(rns) glycan chains are not necessary for dimer formation. We have also found that very low doses of tunicamycin (much lower than those used for blocking N-glycosylation) drastically reduced CSFV spread in SK6 (swine kidney) cell culture and the virus yield. These facts indicate that N-glycosylation inhibitors structurally similar to tunicamycin may be potential therapeutics for the inhibition of the spread of CSFV and related viruses.     

衣霉素对人肝癌细胞表面胰岛素受体的影响

衣霉素(Tunicamycin)是一种糖蛋白N-连接型糖链合成的抑制剂。它可抑制人肝癌细胞抹SMMC-7721的生长,其抑制率和剂量及处理时间有相关性。衣霉素处理细胞18h尚可显著抑制~3H-甘露糖和~3H-氨基葡萄糖参入细胞,但仅轻度抑制~3H-亮氨酸的参入。这些标记化合物的参入抑制都有量效关系。0.1gg/mL衣霉素处理18h后,细胞表面胰岛素受体和胰岛素的结合容量下降,而对照细胞和处理细胞的胰岛素竞争结合曲线基本平行。这主要由于衣霉素抑制新合成的胰岛素受体的糖基化所致。我们对糖基化障碍引起细胞膜胰岛素受体结合容量降低的机理作了讨论。     

Release of H2O2 and phosphorylation of 30 kilodalton proteins as early responses of cell cycle-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis by transforming growth factor beta 1.

Transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) and H2O2 both inhibited DNA synthesis of mouse osteoblastic (MC3T3) cells in the late G1 phase of the cell cycle. TGF-beta 1 stimulated cells to release H2O2 in the late G1 phase, but not in the G0 phase, even though TGF-beta 1 receptors were present in both phases. The inhibition of DNA synthesis caused by TGF-beta 1 was partly decreased by the addition of catalase. TGF-beta 1 and H2O2 increased the phosphorylation of the same proteins with a molecular weight of 30,000 in cells in the late G1 phase, and the increase by TGF-beta 1 was abolished at least partly by catalase. The results suggest that H2O2 is one of the mediators of inhibition of DNA synthesis by TGF-beta 1.     

Cell surface specific immunoglobulin inhibits alpha factor mediated morphogenesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Immunoglobulins raised from Saccharomyces cerevisiae a and alpha mating type cell envelope preparations inhibited alpha factor mediated morphogenesis of the a cell without inhibiting normal cell division. The Ig responsible for this inhibition was absorbed to both a and alpha whole cells and heat-killed cells, indicating that the immunoglobulin binding sites were exposed on the cell surface and not mating type specific. Additionally, alpha factor mediated cell cycle arrest was not affected by the immunoglobulin preparations, implying that the immunoglobulin was not preventing alpha factor from binding to its receptor.     

Induction of sexual co-flocculation of heterothallic fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) cells by mating pheromones

Heterothallic fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe) cells preincubated with sex pheromone, P- or M-factor of the obverse mating-type cells, in mannose synthetic medium (MSM) results in remarkably increased sexual co-flocculation with obverse mating-type cells almost without time lag, i.e., within 10 min. By contrast, comparable flocculation requires over 1 h if untreated control cells are mixed with obverse mating-type cells. The agglutinin of P cells is more inducible than that of M cells. These pheromonal inductions of sexual co-flocculation are inhibited by the addition of cycloheximide or tunicamycin during preincubation but not by chloramphenicol or hydroxyurea. These results demonstrate that, in addition to (a) the repression of cell division (G1 arrest) and (b) the activation of cell wall autolytic processes (mating-specific elongation of cells: formation of their conjugation tubes), mating pheromones of fission yeast have another important role; (c) to induce sexual co-flocculation (agglutinability). Using our experimental system of preincubation with sexual pheromones, we show that M-agglutinin is heat-stable and its induction is inhibited by tunicamycin, but that P-agglutinin is heat-labile and its induction is only partially inhibited by tunicamycin.     

Characterization of the energy-dependent, mating factor-activated Ca influx in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast mating pheromones, a and alpha factors, bind to specific G protein-coupled receptors in haploid cells and bring about both growth arrest in the early G1 phase of the cell cycle and differentiation into mating capable cells. This induces an increase in Ca2+ influx leading to elevated intracellular calcium concentrations, which has been shown to be essential for subsequent downstream events and the mating process itself [1]. We have characterized the alpha factor induced increase in cellular Ca2+ in wild type S. cerevisiae and in the temperature-sensitive cell division cycle mutants cdc7 and cdc28 which are growth-arrested at the G0-G1 border at the nonpermissive temperature. We observed a 2-4 fold increase in the initial velocity of Ca2+ influx in alpha factor-treated wild-type cells and in cdc7 and cdc28 cells grown at the nonpermissive temperature. Calcium influx was energy dependent, inhibited by membrane depolarization and slightly increased by hyperpolarization. Furthermore, Ca2+ influx was sensitive to both divalent and trivalent cations, but was unaffected by nifedipine and verapamil. These data demonstrate that budding yeast possesses a regulated Ca2+ transport mechanism, the activation of which is dependent upon exit out of the cell cycle and growth cessation. This transport mechanism has many similarities to that observed in mitogen-stimulated mammalian cells.     

Thermotolerance is independent of induction of the full spectrum of heat shock proteins and of cell cycle blockage in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae are known to acquire thermotolerance in response to the stresses of starvation or heat shock. We show here through the use of cell cycle inhibitors that blockage of yeast cells in the G1, S, or G2 phases of the mitotic cell cycle is not a stress that induces thermotolerance; arrested cells remained as sensitive to thermal killing as proliferating cells. These G1- or S-phase-arrested cells were unimpaired in the acquisition of thermotolerance when subjected to a mild heat shock by incubation at 37 degrees C. One cell cycle inhibitor, o-phenanthroline, did in fact cause cells to become thermotolerant but without induction of the characteristic pattern of heat shock proteins. Thermal induction of heat shock protein synthesis was unaffected; the o-phenanthroline-treated cells could still synthesize heat shock proteins upon transfer to 37 degrees C. Use of a novel mutant conditionally defective only for the resumption of proliferation from stationary phase (M. A. Drebot, G. C. Johnston, and R. A. Singer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:7948-7952, 1987) indicated that o-phenanthroline inhibition produces a stationary-phase arrest, a finding which is consistent with the increased thermotolerance and regulated cessation of proliferation exhibited by the inhibited cells. These findings show that the acquired thermotolerance of cells is unrelated to blockage of the mitotic cell cycle or to the rapid synthesis of the characteristic spectrum of heat shock proteins.     

Reaction Order of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Alpha-Factor-Mediated Cell Cycle Arrest and Mating Inhibition

Alpha-factor-mediated cell cycle arrest and mating inhibition of a mating-type cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae have been examined in liquid cultures. Cell cycle arrest may be monitored unambiguously by the appearance of morphologically abnormal cells after administration of alpha factor, whereas mating inhibition is determined by comparing the mating efficiency in the absence or presence of added alpha factor. For both cell cycle arrest and mating inhibition, a dose-dependent response may be observed at limiting concentrations of the pheromone. If cell cycle arrest and mating inhibition require a small number of alpha-factor molecules, one might expect that responsive/nonresponsive cells = K(alpha factor)(N) where N is the order of dependence of cell cycle arrest (or mating inhibition) on alpha-factor concentration. The value of N has been determined to be 0.98 +/- 0.18 (standard error of the mean) for cell cycle arrest and 1.08 +/- 0.32 for mating inhibition. These results support the notion that saturation of a single site by alpha factor is sufficient to cause cell cycle arrest or mating inhibition of a mating-type cells.     

Effects of tunicamycin on preimplantation mouse embryos: prevention of molecular differentiation during blastocyst formation

To examine the role of carbohydrate-containing molecules of preimplantation mouse embryos in early development, effects of tunicamycin were analyzed at the molecular level. Embryos cultured in the presence of tunicamycin (0.1 micrograms/ml) from earlier than the 16-cell stage did not develop into blastocysts, though cell divisions continued normally. Tunicamycin inhibited not only the synthesis of carbohydrate chains of usual N-glycosidic glycoproteins but also that of characteristic large polysaccharides (Mr greater than 9K) of early embryos. Expression of several polypeptides which are characteristic of the blastocyst stage (blastocyst-characteristic proteins: BCPs) was strongly inhibited in the embryos treated by tunicamycin from earlier than the 16-cell stage, while the expression was not inhibited in the embryos treated by the drug after that stage as analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The expression of BCPs appeared to be dependent on de novo mRNA synthesis, since it was also inhibited by alpha-amanitin treatment. Since tunicamycin was shown not to inhibit expression of most other proteins and the bulk of mRNA, the inhibitory effects of tunicamycin appeared to be specific for the induction of BCPs. These observations suggest that the glycoprotein(s) and/or the characteristic large polysaccharides on the morula stage embryos play an essential role not only for morphological development but also for triggering differentiation at the molecular level.