The trans-sialidase of Trypanosoma cruzi is anchored by two different lipids

The trans-sialidase from the trypomastigote stage of Trypanosomacruzi was metabolically labeled with [³H]-palmitic acid andpurified by immunoprecipitation with a monodonal antibody. Theaction of PI-PLC on the immunoprecipitate released a lipid thatwas analyzed by TLC. Lyso-1-O-hexadecylglycerol and N-palmitoyl-sphinganinewere obtained in a 1:3 ratio. A comparison with the GPI anchorspresent in the different stages of T.cruzi was made. GPI trans-sialidase Trypanosoma cruzi     

Inositol acylation of a potential glycosyl phosphoinositol anchor precursor from yeast requires acyl coenzyme A.

Glycosyl phosphoinositol (GPI) anchors on proteins can be modified by palmitoylation of their inositol residue, which makes such anchors resistant to cleavage by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) (Roberts, W. L., Myher, J. J., Kuksis, A., Low, M. G., and Rosenberry, T.L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18766-18775). Mannosylated GPI lipids made in trypanosomal and mammalian cells can also be inositol-acylated, indicating that inositol acylation may be a normal step in GPI anchor synthesis. We find that Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutants blocked in dolichyl phosphate mannose synthesis accumulate a lipid that can be radiolabeled in vivo with [3H]myo-inositol, [3H]GlcN, and [3H]palmitic acid. This lipid is resistant to PI-PLC, yet sensitive to mild alkaline hydrolysis, and has been characterized as GlcN-phosphatidylinositol (PI), fatty acylated on its inositol residue. When yeast membranes are incubated with UDP-[14C] GlcNAc, 14C-labeled GlcNAc-PI and GlcN-PI are made. Addition of ATP and CoA, or of palmitoyl-CoA to incubations results in the synthesis of [14C]GlcN-(acyl-inositol)PI. This lipid is also made when membranes are incubated with [1-14C]palmitoyl-CoA and UDP-GlcNAc. We propose that acyl CoA is the donor in inositol acylation of GlcN-PI, and that GlcN-(acyl-inositol)PI is an obligatory intermediate in GPI synthesis.     

Metabolic labeling of glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchor of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in rat ovarian granulosa cells.

The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchor of the plasma membrane-associated heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycan was metabolically radiolabeled with [3H]myristic acid, [3H]palmitic acid, [3H]inositol, [3H]ethanolamine, or [32P]phosphate in rat ovarian granulosa cell culture. Cell cultures labeled with [3H]myristic acid or [3H]palmitic acid were extracted with 4 M guanidine HCl buffer containing 2% Triton X-100 and the proteoglycans were purified by ion exchange chromatography after extensive delipidation. Specific incorporation of 3H into GPI-anchor was demonstrated by removing the label with a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). Incorporation of 3H activity into glycosaminoglycans and core glycoproteins was also demonstrated. However, the specific activity of 3H in these structures was approximately 2 orders of magnitude lower than that in the GPI-anchor, suggesting that 3H label was the result of the metabolic utilization of catabolic products of the 3H-labeled fatty acids. PI-PLC treatment of cell cultures metabolically labeled with [3H]inositol, [3H]ethanolamine, or [32P]phosphate specifically released radiolabeled cell surface-associated HS proteoglycans indicating the presence of GPI-anchor in these proteoglycans. GPI-anchored HS proteoglycans accounted for 20-30% of the total cell surface-associated HS proteoglycans and virtually all of them were removed by PI-PLC. These results further substantiate the presence of GPI-anchored heparan sulfate proteoglycan in ovarian granulosa cells and its cell surface localization.     

Structural comparisons between the soluble and the GPI-anchored forms of the Paramecium temperature-specific 156G surface antigen.

Biosynthetic labelling experiments performed on P primaurelia strain 156, expressing the temperature-specific G surface antigen, 156G SAg, demonstrated that the purified 156G SAg contained the components characteristic of a GPI-anchor. [3H]ethanolamine, [3H]myo-inositol, [32P]phosphoric acid and [3H]myristic acid could all be incorporated into the surface antigen. Myristic acid labelling was lost after treatment in vitro with Bacillus thuringiensis phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). After complete digestion by pronase, a fragment containing the intact GPI-anchor of 156G surface antigen was isolated. This fragment was shown to be hydrophobic and glycosylated and to possess an epitope found specifically in the GPI component of GPI-anchored proteins. The role of the GPI-tail in anchoring the 156G surface antigen into the membrane was assessed by determining that purified 156G molecules with the GPI-anchor could be incorporated into lipid vesicles and red cell ghosts whereas the 156G molecules lacking the GPI-anchor, as result of treatment with B thuringiensis PI-PLC, could not. It has also been shown that the membrane-bound form and the soluble form, obtained after cleavage of the 156G SAg lipid moiety either by an endogenous PI-PLC or by a bacterial PI-PLC, displayed identical circular dichroic spectra.     

Identification of a novel insulin-sensitive glycophospholipid from H35 hepatoma cells

This study identifies and partially characterizes an insulin-sensitive glycophospholipid in H35 hepatoma cells. The incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into cell lipids was investigated. A major labeled lipid was purified by sequential thin layer chromatography using first an acid followed by a basic solvent system. After hydrochloric acid hydrolysis and sugar analysis by thin layer chromatography, 80% of the radioactivity in the purified lipid was found to comigrate with glucosamine. H35 cells were prelabeled with [3H]glucosamine for either 4 or 24 h and treated with insulin causing a dose-dependent stimulation of turnover of the glycophospholipid which was detected within 1 min. The purified glycolipid was cleaved by nitrous acid deamination indicating that the glucosamine C-1 was linked to the lipid moiety through a glycosidic bond. [14C]Ethanolamine, [3H]inositol, and [3H]sorbitol were not incorporated into the purified glycolipid. The incorporation of various fatty acids into this glycolipid was also studied. [3H]Palmitate was found to be preferentially incorporated while myristic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid were either not incorporated or incorporated less than 10% of palmitate. The purified glycolipid labeled with [3H]palmitate was cleaved by treatment with phospholipase A2 but was resistant to mild alkali hydrolysis suggesting the presence of a 1-hexadecyl,2-palmitoyl-glyceryl moiety in the purified lipid. Treatment of labeled glycophospholipid with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C from Staphylococcus aureus generated a compound migrating as 1-alkyl,2-acyl-glycerol and a polar head group with a size in the range from 800 to 3500. These findings coupled with the nitrous acid deamination demonstrate that glucosamine was covalently linked through a phosphodiester bond to the glyceryl moiety of the purified glycolipid. These findings suggest that insulin acts on this glycophospholipid by stimulating an insulin-sensitive phospholipase C. This unique glycophospholipid may play an important role in insulin action by serving as precursor of insulin-generated mediators.     

Metabolic labelling and partial characterization of glycophospholipids in pancreatic islet cells.

Insulin action is thought to be mediated by an inositol-, glucosamine- and galactose-containing oligosaccharide liberated by phosphodiesterase hydrolysis of a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol. This oligosaccharide inhibits insulin biosynthesis and secretion in pancreatic islets. In the present study, two main glycolipids (peak I and II) were resolved by sequential TLC of lipids extracted from islet cells labelled with tritiated glucosamine, galactose or myristate. The two glycolipids displayed comparable sensitivity to beta-galactosidase but differed from one another by their sensitivity to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Moreover, structural heterogeneity within each peak was suggested by their partial resistance to nitrous acid deamination. These findings support the presence in islet cells of glycolipids similar to those currently considered as a possible postreceptor target for insulin in other cell types.     

Early lipid intermediates in glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor assembly are synthesized in the ER and located in the cytoplasmic leaflet of the ER membrane bilayer

Glycosylated phosphoinositides serve as membrane anchors for numerous eukaryotic cell surface glycoproteins. Recent biochemical and genetic studies indicate that the glycolipids are assembled by sequential addition of components (monosaccharides and phosphoethanolamine) to phosphatidylinositol. The biosynthetic steps are presumed to occur in the ER, but formal proof of this is lacking. We describe experiments designed to establish the subcellular location of the initial steps in glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor biosynthesis and to define the transmembrane distribution of early biosynthetic lipid intermediates. The experiments were performed with the thymoma cell line BW5147.3. A subcellular fractionation protocol was used to show that early biosynthetic steps in GPI assembly, i.e., synthesis and deacetylation of N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol, occur in the ER. GPI biosynthetic intermediates were synthesized by incubating the microsomes with UDP-[3H]GlcNAc, and the transmembrane distribution of the labeled lipids was probed with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). Treatment of the radiolabeled microsomes with PI-PLC showed that > 70% of the N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol and glucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol could be hydrolyzed, indicating that the two lipids were primarily distributed in the cytoplasmic (outer) leaflet of the microsomes. Similar cleavage results were obtained using Streptolysin O-permeabilized thymoma cells. When permeabilized cells were incubated with UDP-[3H]GlcNAc and treated with PI-PLC, approximately 85% of the radiolabeled N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol and glucosaminyl phosphatidylinositol could be cleaved, indicating that they were accessible to the enzyme. The cumulative data indicate that early GPI intermediates are primarily located in the cytoplasmic leaflet of the ER, and are probably synthesized from PI located in the cytoplasmic leaflet and UDP-GlcNAc synthesized in the cytosol.     

A surface antigen of Giardia lamblia with a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor.

Since Giardia lamblia trophozoites are exposed to high concentrations of fatty acids in their human small intestinal milieu, we determined the pattern of incorporation of [3H]palmitic acid and myristic acid into G. lamblia proteins. The pattern of fatty acylation was unusually simple since greater than 90% of the Giardia protein biosynthetically labeled with either [3H]palmitate or myristate migrated at approximately 49 kDa (GP49) in reducing sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis during both growth and differentiation. GP49, which partitions into the Triton X-114 detergent phase, is localized on the cell surface since it is 125I-surface-labeled. GP49 was also biosynthetically labeled with [14C]ethanolamine and [3H]myoinositol, suggesting that it has a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Moreover, phospholipase A2 (PLA2) or mild alkaline treatment released free fatty acids, indicating a diacylglycerol moiety with ester linkages. Finally, a 3H- and 14C-labeled species was released by nitrous acid deamination from [14C]palmitate- and [3H]myoinositol-labeled GP49. The GPI anchor of GP49 is unusual, however, because purified GP49 was cleaved by Bacillus cereus phosphatidylinositol (PI)-specific PLC, but not by Staphylococcus aureus PI-PLC, or plasma PLD, and did not react with antibody against the variant surface glycoprotein cross-reactive determinant. Moreover, the double-labeled deaminated GP49 anchor migrated faster than authentic PI in TLC and produced [3H]glycerophosphoinositol after deacylation. In contrast to the variable cysteine-rich G. lamblia surface antigens described previously, GP49 was identified in Western blots of every isolate tested, as well as in subclones of a single isolate which differ in expression of a major cysteine-rich 85/66-kDa surface antigen, which does not appear to be GPI-anchored. These observations suggest that GP49, the first common surface antigen to be described in G. lamblia, may play an important role in the interaction of this parasite with its environment.     

Membrane topology and transient acylation of Toxoplasma gondii glycosylphosphatidylinositols

Using hypotonically permeabilized Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites, we investigated the topology of the free glycosylphosphatidylinositols (GPIs) within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. The morphology and permeability of parasites were checked by electron microscopy and release of a cytosolic protein. The membrane integrity of organelles (ER and rhoptries) was checked by protease protection assays. In initial experiments, GPI biosynthetic intermediates were labeled with UDP-[6-(3)H]GlcNAc in permeabilized parasites, and the transmembrane distribution of the radiolabeled lipids was probed with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). A new early intermediate with an acyl modification on the inositol was identified, indicating that inositol acylation also occurs in T. gondii. A significant portion of the early GPI intermediates (GlcN-PI and GlcNAc-PI) could be hydrolyzed following PI-PLC treatment, indicating that these glycolipids are predominantly present in the cytoplasmic leaflet of the ER. Permeabilized T. gondii parasites labeled with either GDP-[2-(3)H]mannose or UDP-[6-(3)H]glucose showed that the more mannosylated and side chain (Glc-GalNAc)-modified GPI intermediates are also preferentially localized in the cytoplasmic leaflet of the ER.     

Uptake of radiolabeled GlcNAc into Saccharomyces cerevisiae via native hexose transporters and its in vivo incorporation into GPI precursors in cells expressing heterologous GlcNAc kinase

Yeast glycan biosynthetic pathways are commonly studied through metabolic incorporation of an exogenous radiolabeled compound into a target glycan. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis, [(3) H]inositol has been widely used to identify intermediates that accumulate in conditional GPI synthesis mutants. However, this approach also labels non-GPI lipid species that overwhelm detection of early GPI intermediates during chromatography. In this study, we show that despite lacking the ability to metabolize N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), S.?cerevisiae is capable of importing low levels of extracellular GlcNAc via almost all members of the hexose transporter family. Furthermore, expression of a heterologous GlcNAc kinase gene permits efficient incorporation of exogenous [(14) C]GlcNAc into nascent GPI structures in vivo, dramatically lowering the background signal from non-GPI lipids. Utilizing this new method with several conditional GPI biosynthesis mutants, we observed and characterized novel accumulating lipids that were not previously visible using [(3) H]inositol labeling. Chemical and enzymatic treatments of these lipids indicated that each is a GPI intermediate likely having one to three mannoses and lacking ethanolamine phosphate (Etn-P) side-branches. Our data support a model of yeast GPI synthesis that bifurcates after the addition of the first mannose and that includes a novel branch that produces GPI species lacking Etn-P side-branches.     

Phosphatidylinositol anchor of HeLa cell alkaline phosphatase

Alkaline phosphatase from cancer cells, HeLa TCRC-1, was biosynthetically labeled with either 3H-fatty acids or [3H]ethanolamine as analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and fluorography of immunoprecipitated material. Phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) released a substantial proportion of the 3H-fatty acid label from immunoaffinity-purified alkaline phosphatase but had no effect on the radioactivity of [3H]ethanolamine-labeled material. PI-PLC also liberated catalytically active alkaline phosphatase from viable cells, and this could be selectively blocked by monoclonal antibodies to alkaline phosphatase. However, the alkaline phosphatase released from 3H-fatty acid labeled cells by PI-PLC was not radioactive. By contrast, treatment with bromelain removed both the 3H-fatty acid and the [3H]ethanolamine label from the purified alkaline phosphatase. Subtilisin was also able to remove the [3H]ethanolamine-labeled from purified alkaline phosphatase. The 3H radioactivity in alkaline phosphatase purified from [3H]ethanolamine-labeled cells comigrated with authentic [3H]ethanolamine by anion-exchange chromatography after acid hydrolysis. The data suggest that the 3H-fatty acid and [3H]ethanolamine are covalently attached to the carboxyl-terminal segment since bromelain and subtilisin both release alkaline phosphatase from the membrane by cleavage at that end of the polypeptide chain. The data are consistent with findings for other proteins recently shown to be anchored in the membrane through a glycosylphosphatidylinositol structure and indicate that a similar structure contributes to the membrane anchoring of alkaline phosphatase.     

Relationship between insulin-mediated turnover of glucosamine-labeled lipids and activity of the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase.

We studied the effects of insulin on the turnover of glucosamine-labeled lipids in embryonic RAT fibroblasts that overexpressed either normal human insulin receptors or insulin receptors with defective tyrosine kinase domains. Fractionation of organic extracts by thin layer chromatography in chloroform/acetone/methanol/acetic acid/water (50/20/10/10/5, v/v) revealed two insulin-sensitive glucosaminyl lipid fractions, the TLC origin (the Rf 0.0 fraction) and a fraction that migrated with Rf 0.18-0.2 (the Rf 0.2 fraction). The insulin-sensitive molecules in both fractions could also be labeled with D-[6-3H]galactose, but not with myo-[2-3H]inositol. Methanolysis and exposure to methylamine, phospholipase A2, or phosphatidylinositol-specific PLC destroyed the insulin-sensitive lipids in the Rf 0.0 fraction, but had no effect on the Rf 0.2 fraction lipid. The Rf 0.2 fraction lipid was destroyed by endoglycoceraminidase. Insulin caused a rapid loss of label from the Rf 0.0 fraction and an equally rapid increased labeling of the Rf 0.2 fraction, with similar time courses and dependencies on insulin concentration. The turnover of both lipids exhibited the same the insulin dose-response characteristics in cultures which overexpressed insulin receptors with defective tyrosine kinase domains as in cultures that overexpressed normal human insulin receptors. This result supports the conclusions that a number of signaling pathways diverge from the insulin receptor and that not all of those pathways are regulated by the insulin receptor tyrosine kinase.     

Identification of glycoinositol phospholipids in rat liver by reductive radiomethylation of amines but not in H4IIE hepatoma cells or isolated hepatocytes by biosynthetic labeling with glucosamine.

The identification of free glycoinositol phospholipids (GPIs) following biosynthetic labeling with [3H]glucosamine in cultured cells has been reported by several laboratories. We applied this procedure to two of the cell types used in these studies, H4IIE hepatoma cells and isolated hepatocytes, but were unable to detect a [3H]glucosamine-containing lipid that met any of the criteria for GPIs, including sensitivity to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PIPLC) or GPI-specific phospholipase D. Part of the difficulty in radiolabeling a GPI by this procedure was the rapid metabolic conversion of [3H]glucosamine to galactosamine and neutral or anionic derivatives. A PIPLC-sensitive radiolabeled lipid was detected only after 16 h of labeling. The water-soluble fragments released from this lipid by PIPLC corresponded largely to myo-inositol 1,2-cyclic phosphate and myo-inositol 1-phosphate, products expected from PIPLC cleavage of phosphatidylinositol or lyso-phosphatidylinositol. In an alternative approach that we introduce here, free GPIs in lipid extracts from rat liver plasma membranes were labeled by reductive radiomethylation. This procedure, which radiomethylates primary and secondary amines, has been shown to label a glucosamine residue adjacent to inositol in all GPIs characterized to date. The labeled extracts were fractionated by two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography, and a cluster of polar labeled lipids were assigned as GPIs based upon the following observations. 1) They were cleaved by PIPLC, 2) after hydrolysis in 6 N HCl, both radiomethylated glucosamine and a glucosamine-inositol conjugate were identified by cation exchange chromatography, and 3) hydrolysis in 4 M trifluoroacetic acid generated a fragment consistent with glucosamine-inositol-phosphate. These results illustrate new criteria for the identification of GPIs. The labeled GPIs also contained radiomethylated ethanolamine, another component found in GPI anchors of proteins and in mature lipid precursors of GPI anchors, suggesting that the liver plasma membrane GPIs retained considerable structural homology to GPI anchors.     

Bradykinin-stimulated release of [3H]arachidonic acid from phospholipids of HSDM1C1 cells: comparison of diacyl phospholipids and plasmalogens as sources of prostaglandin precursors

Ethanolamine plasmalogens (1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamines) of many tissues contain high levels of arachidonate at their 2-position, and in certain tissues have been implicated as possible donors of arachidonate required in the synthesis of prostaglandins and thromboxanes. In the present study, [3H]arachidonate-labeled phospholipids of HSDM1C1 cells, a cell line derived from a mouse fibrosarcoma, were examined to determine the donor of the arachidonic acid released upon bradykinin stimulation of the synthesis of PGE2. HSDM1C1 cells labeled with [3H]arachidonic acid for 24 hr in serum-free medium were used in most of the experiments and had the following distribution of label among the cellular lipids; phosphatidylcholine (33%), phosphatidylinositol (20%), diacyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (15%), ethanolamine plasmalogen (15%), and less polar lipids )16%). Bradykinin treatment stimulated a rapid hydrolysis of [3H]arachidonate from the cellular lipids and conversion of the released acid to PGE2, which was secreted into the medium. The label was released predominantly from phosphatidylinositol and possibly from phosphatidylcholine with no detectable change in the labeling of diacyl- or 1-alk-1'-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine. The ethanolamine plasmalogens, therefore, do not appear to be involved in the stimulated release of arachidonate in the HSDM1C1 cells. Indomethacin blocked the bradykinin-stimulated synthesis of PGE2 and to a lesser degree inhibited the release of [3H]arachidonate from the cellular lipids into the medium.     

Developmental variation of glycosylphosphatidylinositol membrane anchors in Trypanosoma brucei. Identification of a candidate biosynthetic precursor of the glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor of the major procyclic stage surface glycoprotein.

The major surface antigen of the mammalian bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei, the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG), is attached to the cell membrane by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. The VSG anchor is susceptible to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). Candidate precursor glycolipids, P2 and P3, which are PI-PLC-sensitive and -resistant respectively, have been characterized in the bloodstream stage. In the insect midgut stage, the major surface glycoprotein, procyclic acidic repetitive glycoprotein, is also GPI-anchored but is resistant to PI-PLC. To determine how the structure of the GPI anchor is altered at different life stages, we characterized candidate GPI molecules in procyclic T. brucei. The structure of a major procyclic GPI, PP1, is ethanolamine-PO4-Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6 Man alpha 1-GlcN-acylinositol, linked to lysophosphatidic acid. The inositol can be labeled with [3H]palmitic acid, and the glyceride with [3H]stearic acid. We have also found that all detectable ethanolamine-containing GPIs from procyclic cells contain acylinositol and are resistant to cleavage by PI-PLC. This suggests that the procyclic acidic repetitive glycoprotein GPI anchor structure differs from that of the VSG by virtue of the structures of the GPIs available for transfer.     

Glycolipid precursors for the membrane anchor of Trypanosoma brucei variant surface glycoproteins. II. Lipid structures of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C sensitive and resistant glycolipids

A common diagnostic feature of glycosylinositol phospholipid (GPI)-anchored proteins is their release from the membrane by a phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). However, some GPI-anchored proteins are resistant to this enzyme. The best characterized example of this subclass is the human erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase, where the structural basis of PI-PLC resistance has been shown to be the acylation of an inositol hydroxyl group(s) (Roberts, W. L., Myher, J. J., Kuksis, A., Low, M. G., and Rosenberry, T. L. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 18766-18775). Both PI-PLC-sensitive and resistant GPI-anchor precursors (P2 and P3, respectively) have been found in Trypanosoma brucei, where the major surface glycoprotein is anchored by a PI-PLC-sensitive glycolipid anchor. The accompanying paper (Mayor, S., Menon, A. K., Cross, G. A. M., Ferguson, M. A. J., Dwek, R. A., and Rademacher, T. W. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 6164-6173) shows that P2 and P3 have identical glycans, indistinguishable from the common core glycan found on all the characterized GPI protein anchors. This paper shows that the single difference between P2 and P3, and the basis for the PI-PLC insusceptibility of P3, is a fatty acid, ester-linked to the inositol residue in P3. The inositol-linked fatty acid can be removed by treatment with mild base to restore PI-PLC sensitivity. Biosynthetic labeling experiments with [3H]palmitic acid and [3H]myristic acid show that [3H]palmitic acid specifically labels the inositol residue in P3 while [3H]myristic acid labels the diacylglycerol portion. Possible models to account for the simultaneous presence of PI-PLC-resistant and sensitive glycolipids are discussed in the context of available information on the biosynthesis of GPI-anchors.     

Identification and characterization of mannosyl retinyl phosphate occurring in rat liver and intestine invivo

A study was conducted to determine whether mannosyl retinyl phosphate occurred in rat liver and intestine in vivo, and, if so, to partially purify it and investigate its properties. After injection of [(3)H]retinol and [(14)C]mannose, a chloroform-methanol 2:1 extract of rat liver and small intestinal mucosa yielded two (3)H/(14)C-labeled peaks on DEAE-cellulose column chromatography: peak I eluted with 10 mM and peak II eluted with 29 mM ammonium acetate. Peak II, subjected to silicic acid column chromatography, gave principally two (3)H/(14)C-labeled fractions, one eluted with chloroform-methanol 2:1 and the other with chloroform-methanol 1:1. The latter showed, on thin-layer chromatography in a chloroform-methanol-water 60:25:4 system, an R(f) of 0.25 (with coincidence of the (3)H and (14)C radioactivity), which is identical to the R(f) of authentic mannosyl retinyl phosphate. The chloroform-methanol 1:1 peak, on mild acid hydrolysis, yielded [(3)H]retinol (identified by two thin-layer chromatography systems), [(14)C]mannose, and [(14)C]-mannose phosphate (identified by paper chromatography). On mild alkali hydrolysis, the peak yielded [(3)H]retinol and [(14)C]mannose phosphate. The substance eluted in the chloroform-methanol 1:1 peak from silicic acid was therefore concluded to be mannosyl retinyl phosphate. When chromatographed on silicic acid, peak I from the DEAE-cellulose column primarily showed a fraction eluted with chloroform-methanol 2:1. When chromatographed on thin-layer plates in the above solvent, this fraction showed an R(f) of 0.3, with coincidence of (3)H and (14)C radioactivity; it was resistant to mild acid hydrolysis, mild and strong alkali hydrolysis, and glucuronidase action. Mannosyl retinyl phosphate occurs, therefore, in vivo in liver and intestinal mucosa, and it is accompanied by a closely similar, though slightly less polar, compound that remains unidentified.     

Evidence for glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchoring of Toxoplasma gondii major surface antigens.

The four major surface antigens of Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites (P43, P35, P30, and P22) were made water soluble by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). These antigens were biosynthetically labeled with 3H-fatty acids, [3H]ethanolamine, and [3H]carbohydrates. Treatment of 3H-fatty-acid-labeled parasite lysates with PI-PLC removed the radioactive label from these antigens. A cross-reacting determinant was exposed on these antigens after PI-PLC treatment.     

The major surface antigen, P30, of Toxoplasma gondii is anchored by a glycolipid

P30, the major surface antigen of the parasitic protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, can be specifically labeled with [3H]palmitic acid and with myo-[2-3H]inositol. The fatty acid label can be released by treatment of P30 with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC). Such treatment exposes an immunological "cross-reacting determinant" first described on Trypanosoma brucei variant surface glycoprotein. PI-PLC cleavage of intact parasites metabolically labeled with [35S]methionine results in the release of intact P30 polypeptide in a form which migrates faster in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results argue that P30 is anchored by a glycolipid. Results from thin layer chromatography analysis of purified [3H] palmitate-labeled P30 treated with PI-PLC, together with susceptibility to mild alkali hydrolysis and to cleavage with phospholipase A2, suggest that the glycolipid anchor of T. gondii P30 includes a 1,2-diacylglycerol moiety.     

Characterization of putative glycoinositol phospholipid anchor precursors in mammalian cells. Localization of phosphoethanolamine.

A number of mammalian cell surface proteins are anchored by glycoinositol phospholipid (GPI) structures that are preassembled and transferred to them in the endoplasmic reticulum. The GPIs in these proteins contain linear ethanolamine (EthN)-phosphate (P)-6ManManManGlcN core glycan sequences bearing an additional EthN-P attached to the Man residue (Man 1) proximal to GlcN. The biochemical precursors of mammalian GPI anchor structures are incompletely characterized. In this study, putative [3H]Man-labeled GPI precursors were obtained by in vitro GDP-[3H] Man labeling of HeLa cell microsomes and by in vivo [3H]Man labeling of class B and F Thy-1 negative murine lymphoma mutants known to accumulate incomplete GPIs. The high performance liquid chromatography-purified in vitro and accumulated in vivo GPI products were structurally analyzed by nitrous acid deamination, hydrofluoric acid, trifluoroacetic acid hydrolysis, biosynthetic labeling, and exoglycosidase treatment. The data were consistent with a biosynthetic scheme in which Man and EthN-P are added stepwise to the developing glycan. Several additional points were demonstrated: 1) putative mammalian GPI precursors contain incomplete core glycans corresponding to those in previously characterized trypanosome GPI precursors. 2) The proximal EthN-P found in mature mammalian GPI anchor structures is added to Man 1 prior to incorporation of Man 2 and Man 3. 3) Glycans in the incomplete GPIs that accumulate in classes B and F lymphoma mutants consist of Man2- and Man3GlcN in which EthN-P is linked to Man 1. 4) Distal EthN-P linked to the 6-position of Man, characteristic of the complete GPI core, is found both in a subsequent GPI species with the glycan sequence EthN-P-6ManMan(EthN-P----)ManGlcN and in a more polar GPI product.