Importance of glycosidases in mammalian glycoprotein biosynthesis

Processing glycosidases play an important role in N-glycan biosynthesis in mammalian cells by trimming Glc(3)Man(9)GlcNAc(2) and thus providing the substrates for the formation of complex and hybrid structures by Golgi glycosyltransferases. Processing glycosidases also play a role in the folding of newly formed glycoproteins and in endoplasmic reticulum quality control. The properties and molecular nature of mammalian processing glycosidases are described in this review. Membrane-bound alpha-glucosidase I and soluble alpha-glucosidase II of the endoplasmic reticulum remove the alpha1,2-glucose and alpha1,3-glucose residues, respectively, beginning immediately following transfer of Glc(3)Man(9)GlcNAc(2) to nascent polypeptides. The alpha-glucosidases participate in glycoprotein folding mediated by calnexin and calreticulin by forming the monoglucosylated high mannose oligosaccharides required for the interaction with the chaperones. In some mammalian cells, Golgi endo alpha-mannosidase provides an alternative pathway for removal of glucose residues. Removal of alpha1,2-linked mannose residues begins in the endoplasmic reticulum where trimming of mannose residues in the endoplasmic reticulum has been implicated in the targeting of malfolded glycoproteins for degradation. Removal of mannose residues continues in the Golgi with the action of alpha1, 2-mannosidases IA and IB that can form Man(5)GlcNAc(2) and of alpha-mannosidase II that removes the alpha1,3- and alpha1,6-linked mannose from GlcNAcMan(5)GlcNAc(2) to form GlcNAcMan(3)GlcNAc(2). These membrane-bound Golgi enzymes have been cloned and shown to have very distinct patterns of tissue-specific expression. There are also broad specificity alpha-mannosidases that can trim Man(4-9)GlcNAc(2) to Man(3)GlcNAc(2), and provide an alternative pathway toward complex oligosaccharide formation. Cloning of the remaining alpha-mannosidases will be required to evaluate their specific functions in glycoprotein maturation.     

The mannose 6-phosphate glycoprotein proteome

Most luminal lysosomal proteins are synthesized as precursors containing mannose 6-phosphate (Man6-P) and a number of recent studies have conducted affinity purification of Man6-P containing proteins as a step toward defining the composition of the lysosome. Approximately 60 known lysosomal proteins have been found in such studies as well as many other Man-6-P glycoproteins, some of which represent new lysosomal proteins. The latter are of considerable interest from cell-biological and biomedical perspectives, but differentiating between them and other proteins remains a significant challenge. The aim of this study was to conduct a global analysis of the mammalian Man6-P glycoproteome, implementing technical and biostatistical methods to aid in the discovery and validation of lysosomal candidates. We purified Man6-P glycoproteins from 17 individual rat tissues. To distinguish nonspecific contaminants (i.e., abundant or "sticky" proteins that are not fully removed during purification) from specifically purified proteins, we conducted a semiquantitative mass spectrometric comparison of protein levels in nonspecific mock eluates versus specific affinity chromatography eluates to identify those proteins that are specifically purified. We identified 60 known lysosomal proteins, representing nearly all that are currently known to contain Man-6-P. We also find 136 other proteins that are specifically purified but which are not known to have lysosomal function. This approach provides a list of candidate lysosomal proteins and also provides insights into the relative distribution of Man6-P glycoproteins.     

Identification of mannose uptake and catabolism genes in Corynebacterium glutamicum and genetic engineering for simultaneous utilization of mannose and glucose

Here, focus is on Corynebacterium glutamicum mannose metabolic genes with the aim to improve this industrially important microorganism’s ability to ferment mannose present in mixed sugar substrates. cgR_0857 encodes C. glutamicum’s protein with 36% amino acid sequence identity to mannose 6-phosphate isomerase encoded by manA of Escherichia coli. Its deletion mutant did not grow on mannose and exhibited noticeably reduced growth on glucose as sole carbon sources. In effect, C. glutamicum manA is not only essential for growth on mannose but also important in glucose metabolism. A double deletion mutant of genes encoding glucose and fructose permeases (ptsG and ptsF, respectively) of the phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) was not able to grow on mannose unlike the respective single deletion mutants with mannose utilization ability. A mutant deficient in ptsH, a general PTS gene, did not utilize mannose. These indicate that the glucose-PTS and fructose-PTS are responsible for mannose uptake in C. glutamicum. When cultured with a glucose and mannose mixture, mannose utilization of manA-overexpressing strain CRM1 was significantly higher than that of its wild-type counterpart, but with a strong preference for glucose. ptsF-overexpressing strain CRM2 co-utilized mannose and glucose, but at a total sugar consumption rate much lower than that of the wild-type strain and CRM1. Strain CRM3 overexpressing both manA and ptsF efficiently co-utilized mannose and glucose. Under oxygen-deprived conditions, high volumetric productivity of organic acids concomitant with the simultaneous consumption of the mixed sugars was achieved by the densely packed growth-arrested CRM3 cells.     

乙烯的直接生物合成

乙烯是世界上需求最大的化工原料,随着石油资源的日益枯竭和原油价格的不断攀升,生物乙烯迎来了重大发展机遇。文中主要比较两条生物乙烯合成途径——生物乙醇脱水制备乙烯途径 (即间接途径) 和生物乙烯的直接合成途径,重点论述了直接合成途径和途径中关键酶的性质、利用微生物直接合成生物乙烯的基因工程策略、工程化制造生物乙烯的前景及成功事例,并指出直接合成生物乙烯替代石化乙烯具有较大的市场潜力。     

Polyisoprenoid glycolipids involved in glycoprotein biosynthesis

Summary Until five years ago, it was believed that the oligosaccharide chains of most, if not all, glycoproteins were assembled by the stepwise transfer of single sugar residues from their nucleotide derivatives to growing oligosaccharide chains attached to a polypeptide core. It is now becoming widely accepted that polyisoprenol-linked mono- and oligosaccarides function as activated glycosyl carriers in the biosynthesis of some glycoproteins in animal tissues. The lipophilic glycosyl carrier of monosaccharides is the phosphomonoester of dolichol, the C_80-100-polyisoprenol, containing a saturated terminal isoprene unit. In this biosynthetic process, sugars are initially transferred to dolichol monophosphate from their nucleotide derivatives by membrane-associated glycosyltransferases. These dolichol-linked monosaccharides serve as glycosyl donors in the glycosylation of oligosaccharide phospholipids. It appears likely that dolichol is also the lipid moiety of the oligosaccharide intermediates. Detailed enzymatic studies with oligosaccharide phospholipids formed by rat liver, a mouse myeloma tumor and hen oviduct have revealed that these intermediates function as oligosaccharide donors in the assembly of at least one class of glycoproteins.The exact nature of the glycoproteins glycosylated by lipid intermediates and the sub-cellular site(s) of this assembly process remain to be established. The possibility, that the mannose and GlcNAc-containing core found in many glycoproteins, is assembled at the lipid-level is now being investigated.At the current rate of progress in this area of research, the identity of the glycoproteins glycosylatedvia lipid intermediates and the subcellular site of this assembly process will soon be known.An invited article.     

Regulation of Paramecium primaurelia glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol biosynthesis via dolichol phosphate mannose synthesis

A set of glycosylinositol-phosphoceramides, belonging to a family of glycosylphosphatidyl-inositols (GPIs) synthesized in a cell-free system prepared from the free-living protozoan Paramecium primaurelia has been described. The final GPI precursor was identified and structurally characterized as: ethanolamine-phosphate-6Man alpha 1-2Man alpha 1-6(mannosylphosphate) Man alpha 1-4glucosamine-inositol-phospho-ceramide. During our investigations on the biosynthesis of the acid-labile modification, the additional mannosyl phosphate substitution, we observed that the use of the nucleotide triphosphate analogue GTP gamma S (guanosine 5-O-(thiotriphosphate)) blocks the biosynthesis of the mannosylated GPI glycolipids. We show that GTP gamma S inhibits the synthesis of dolichol-phosphate-mannose, which is the donor of the mannose residues for GPI biosynthesis. Therefore, we investigated the role of GTP binding regulatory 'G' proteins using cholera and pertussis toxins and an intracellular second messenger cAMP analogue, 8-bromo-cAMP. All the data obtained suggest the involvement of classical heterotrimeric G proteins in the regulation of GPI-anchor biosynthesis through dolichol-phosphate-mannose synthesis via the activation of adenylyl cyclase and protein phosphorylation. Furthermore, our data suggest that GTP gamma S interferes with synthesis of dolichol monophosphate, indicating that the dolichol kinase is regulated by the heterotrimeric G proteins.     

The mannose 6-phosphate receptor: function,biosynthesis and translocation

This report summarizes studies concerning the role of the lysosomal protein: Man-6-P receptor and describes some recent data on its biosynthesis and cellular translocation. The receptor functions both in the Golgi apparatus (or GERL) and on the cell surface where it binds lysosomal proteins and mediates their transport to lysosomes. Consistent with its dual role, the receptor in several cell types has been localized to the plasma membrane and Golgi cisternae, to clathrin-coated structures at both locations, and to vesicles characteristic of endosomes or CURL. Biosynthetic studies have shown that the receptor undergoes several post-translational modifications including the processing of its asparagine-linked oligosaccharides, phosphorylation of serine residues, and unknown modifications required for acquisition of immunoreactivity and functional activity. Cellular pools of mature receptor readily mix as evidenced by rapid labeling of intracellular receptor by exogenously added receptor antibodies. Degradation of the receptor occurs non-lysosomally and is perhaps mediated by extracellular Man-6-P-containing hydrolases. A working hypothesis for the mechanism of Man-6-P receptor function that is consistent with these observations is presented.     

A rapid method for assay of glycosidases involved in glycoprotein biosynthesis

A rapid procedure to measure processing glycosidases with labeled oligosaccharide as substrate is described, using assay of the specific processing alpha-mannosidase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an example. After incubation of [3H]mannose-labeled Man9GlcNAc with the mannosidase, a solution of concanavalin A is added, followed by polyethylene glycol to precipitate the oligosaccharide-lectin complex. The radioactivity present in the supernatant after centrifugation is then measured to determine the amount of labeled mannose released. It is shown that the results of this procedure are similar to those obtained previously using small columns of concanavalin A-Sepharose (B. Saunier, R. D. Kilker, Jr., J. S. Tkacz, A. Quaroni, and A. Herscovics (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 14155-14161). The precipitation procedure, which can be applied to the assays of other processing enzymes, is much more convenient when a large number of samples must be analyzed.     

Phospholipid biosynthesis in mammalian cells.

Identification of the genes and gene products involved in the biosynthesis of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and phosphatidylserine has lagged behind that in many other fields because of difficulties encountered in purifying the respective proteins. Nevertheless, most of these genes have now been identified. In this review article, we have highlighted important new findings on the individual enzymes and the corresponding genes of phosphatidylcholine synthesis via its two major biosynthetic pathways: the CDP-choline pathway and the methylation pathway. We also review recent studies on phosphatidylethanolamine biosynthesis by two pathways: the CDP-ethanolamine pathway, which is active in the endoplasmic reticulum, and the phosphatidylserine decarboxylase pathway, which operates in mitochondria. Finally, the two base-exchange enzymes, phosphatidylserine synthase-1 and phosphatidylserine synthase-2, that synthesize phosphatidylserine in mammalian cells are also discussed.