The involvement of endogenous dolichol in the formation of lipid-linked precursors of glycoprotein in rat liver

Endogenous dolichol was shown to function as a natural acceptor of mannose residues by using regenerating rat liver containing [(3)H]dolichol. When subcellular fractions from this liver were incubated with GDP-[(14)C]mannose a double-labelled lipid, which represented 30% of the total [(14)C]mannolipid, could be isolated. This lipid was shown to be identical with the dolichol phosphate mannose formed from exogenous dolichol phosphate, by chromatography, stability to alkali and by chemical cleavage to mannose and dolichol derivatives. It was formed by the rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. If it is concerned in glycoprotein synthesis this would suggest that it functions in the formation of both secreted and mitochondrial glycoproteins. When both the dolichol and retinol of rat tissue were radioactive they made similar contributions to the synthesis of the lipid by liver microsomal fractions and intestinal epithelial cells.     

A lipid linked oligosaccharide which contains hexosamine,mannose and glucose

Summary Previous work showed that liver microsomes catalyze the transfer of glucose from dolichol monophosphate glucose to an endogenous acceptor believed to be a dolichol pyrophosphate derivative of an oligosaccharide. This oligosaccharide has now been prepared on a larger scale so as to permit the determination of its sugars. The purification procedure includes, as a last step, a thin layer chromatography on kieselguhr-silica gel to obviate glucose-containing contaminants. After complete hydrolysis mannose, glucose and a small amount of hexosamine were detected.Abbreviations DolMp dolichyl monophosphate - DolDP dolichyl diphosphate - GEA glucosylated endogenous acceptor solvent 1103, chloroform-methanol-water (1:1:0.3) This paper is dedicated to Dr.Luis Federico Leloir on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Effects of mevinolin treatment on tissue dolichol and ubiquinone levels in the rat.

Rats were treated with mevinolin by intraperitoneal injection (15 days) or dietary administration (30 days). The cholesterol, dolichol, dolichyl phosphate and ubiquinone contents of the liver, brain, heart, muscle and blood were then investigated. The cholesterol contents of these organs did not change significantly, with the exception of muscle. Intraperitoneal administration of the drug increases the amount of dolichol in liver, muscle and blood and decreases the dolichyl-P amount in muscle. The same treatment increases the level of ubiquinone in muscle and blood and decreases this value in liver and heart. Oral administration decreases dolichol, dolichyl-P and ubiquinone levels in heart and muscle, while in liver the dolichol level is elevated and ubiquinone level lowered. In brain the amount of dolichyl-P is increased. Intraperitoneal injection of mevinolin also modifies the liver dolichol and dolichyl-P isoprenoid pattern, with an increase in shorter chain polyisoprenes. The levels of dolichol and ubiquinone in the blood do not follow the changes observed in other tissues. Incorporation of [3H]acetate into cholesterol by liver slices prepared from mevinolin-treated rats exhibited an increase, whereas in brain no change was seen. Labeling of dolichol and ubiquinone was increased in both liver and brain, but incorporation into dolichyl phosphate remained relatively stable. The results indicate that mevinolin affects not only HMG-CoA reductase but, to some extent, also affects certain of the peripheral enzymes, resulting in considerable effects on the various mevalonate pathway lipids.     

Localization of dolichol in the lysosomal fraction of rat liver

The distribution of dolichol and/or dolichol esters in subcellular fractions prepared from a rat liver homogenate has been investigated. After saponification of the various fractions dolichol was isolated and quantitated by high performance liquid chromatography in three systems. The degree of purity of the subcellular preparations was examined by marker enzymes and by electron microscopy. Using differential centrifugation it was found that the level of dolichol was highest in the mitochondria-lysosome fraction. Upon further resolution of this fraction by sucrose density centrifugation it was found that the majority of the dolichol was associated with the lysosome-rich fraction. In contrast, the mitochondrial fraction had only a low level of dolichol. This novel observation was confirmed by the finding that dolichol was greatly enriched in a highly purified lysosome fraction preparations isolated by Metrizamide density centrifugation. The enrichment of dolichol in this purified preparation paralleled the observed enrichment of the lysosomal enzyme activity in this fraction. All of these data suggest that the majority of cellular dolichol and/or dolichol esters is localized in the lysosome fraction. The significance of this finding in relation to the metabolism of dolichol is discussed.     

Effects of turpentine-induced inflammation on the synthesis of dolichol-linked intermediates of N-glycosylation and the phosphorylation of dolichol by CTP-dependent dolichol kinase

Inflammation was induced in rats by the subcutaneous injection of turpentine. Microsomes were prepared from the livers between 2 and 72 h after injection. Mannose and glucose incorporation into mannosyl and glucosyl dolichyl monophosphate was increased 2-fold over saline-injected controls 24 h after induction of inflammation. Synthesis of glycosylated dolichyl pyrophosphoryl oligosaccharides was also increased compared to controls. Extraction and assay of dolichol monophosphate from inflamed and control rat liver microsomes indicated that the endogenous levels of the lipid were elevated in the inflamed state. CTP-dependent phosphorylation of endogenous dolichol was also found to increase in microsomes from inflamed rats 24 h after injection of turpentine. When exogenous dolichol was added to the microsomal system an increase in phosphorylation was observed as early as 6 h after turpentine injection. Furthermore, the increase appeared to be biphasic, there being two peaks of elevated activity at 12 and 36-48 h after induction of inflammation. The earlier peak was the greater of the two. The results suggest that the increase in glycosylation of dolichol derivatives was due to greater amounts of endogenous dolichol monophosphate. The increase in dolichol monophosphate was itself due to greater availability of dolichol and an increase in the levels of CTP-dependent dolichol kinase.     

Effects of dolichol on membrane permeability

Small vesicles containing the tetra-anionic fluorescent probe calcein were prepared by sonication of mixtures of plant phosphatidylethanolamine, plant phosphatidylcholine, and dolichol. Following chromatography, the isolated vesicles were found to retain entrapped calcein over the temperature range of 15 to 40 degrees C. Utilizing an assay measuring the fluorescence quenching of entrapped calcein by cobalt ions, the presence of dolichol in the membranes was found to promote the permeability of the phospholipid bilayers to the divalent cation. The permeability was shown to be dependent on temperature with an increase in rate of 17-fold between 15 and 35 degrees C although the plant phospholipids used in these experiments have no known phase transition within this temperature range. The incorporated dolichol was distributed uniformly throughout the vesicle population. Similar vesicles prepared from phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylcholine without added dolichol, from phosphatidylcholine alone, or with phosphatidylcholine and dolichol were far less permeable to the divalent cation under the same assay conditions. These results demonstrate that dolichols have significant effects on the permeability properties of phospholipid bilayers that contain phosphatidylethanolamine.     

Dolichol kinase activity: a key factor in the control of N-glycosylation in inner mitochondrial membranes

Inner mitochondrial membranes from liver contain a dolichol kinase which required CTP as a phosphoryl donor. Kinase activity was linear with protein concentration and unlike other reported kinases, activated almost equally well by Mg2+, Mn2+ or Ca2+. Thin-layer chromatography showed that the reaction product co-migrated with authentic dolichyl monophosphate. The phosphorylation of dolichol did not occur in presence of ATP, GTP or UTP but required exogenous dolichol for maximal activity. Newly synthesized [3H]dolichyl monophosphate has been shown to be glycosylated in the presence of GDP[14C]mannose or UDP[14C]glucose. The double labeled lipids formed by the sugar nucleotide-dependent reactions were identified respectively as [14C]mannosylphosphoryl[3H]dolichol and [14C]glucosylphosphoryl [3H]dolichol. These results are discussed in terms of regulation of N-glycosylation processes in inner mitochondrial membranes from liver.     

Determination of arrangement of isoprene units in pig liver dolichol by 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopy.

The arrangement of isoprene units in pig liver dolichol-18, -19 and -20 was determined by 1H- and 13C-n.m.r. spectroscopies. The alignment of trans and cis isoprene units was found to be in the order: dimethylallyl unit, two trans units, a sequence of 14-16 cis units, and a saturated isoprene unit terminated with a hydroxyl group, which verified the presumed chemical structure of dolichol. The absence of geometric isomers was confirmed. A slight amount of impurity was detected in each reversed-phase h.p.l.c. fraction of dolichol obtained by a conventional method. Detailed assignments of the 13C-n.m.r. spectrum were given for these dolichols by using model compounds and INEPT (insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer) measurement. The chemical structure of synthetic dolichol-19, which was prepared by the addition of a saturated isoprene unit to the polyprenol-18 isolated from Ginkgo biloba, was confirmed to be identical with that of pig liver dolichol-19.     

Substrate specificity of N-acetylglucosaminyl(diphosphodolichol) N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase, a key enzyme in the dolichol pathway

N-Acetylglucosaminyl(diphosphodolichol) N-acetylglucosaminyl transferase, also known as Enzyme II, is the second enzyme in the dolichol pathway. This pathway is responsible for the assembly of the tetradecasaccharide pyrophosphate dolichol, which is the substrate for oligosaccharyl transferase. In order to study the specificity of Enzyme II, four unnatural dolichol diphosphate monosaccharides were synthesized, with the C-2 acetamido group in the natural substrate Dol-PP-GlcNAc 1a replaced by fluoro, ethoxy, trifluoroacetamido, and amino functionalities. These analogues 1b-e were evaluated as glycosyl acceptors for Enzyme II, which catalyzes the formation of dolichol diphosphate chitobiose (Dol-PP-GlcNAc(2)) from UDP-GlcNAc and Dol-PP-GlcNAc. Enzyme II from pig liver was found to be highly specific for its glycosyl acceptor and the acetamido group shown to be a key functional determinant for this glycosylation reaction.     

Dolichol and retinol content of rat liver sinusoidal cells after chronic monensin treatment.

Aim of this study was to ascertain whether an impairment of communication between parenchymal and non-parenchymal liver cells involves vitamin A intercellular transport. The following approach was adopted: liver cells were isolated from rats treated chronically with the hydrophobic ionophore monensin i.p. for 3, 5, and 7 weeks and their retinol and dolichol content was assessed. Monensin, which alters membrane flow, was used because it had previously been reported to induce liver steatosis, cholestasis and glycogenolysis after acute treatment and, by preliminary morphological examination, to impair vitamin A transport between stellate cells and hepatocytes. Dolichol was chosen as a biochemical marker because it is a membrane lipid that modulates the fluidity and permeability of the membranes that retinol must cross. After monensin treatment, a load of vitamin A was given to rats three days before sacrifice, to ascertain whether its uptake by sinusoidal liver cells was altered. The main result was a dolichol decrease in hepatocytes and in the Ito-1 subfraction. In this latter, monensin induced a decrease in dolichol content only after vitamin A load. Moreover, while the hepatocytes were able to take up a load of vitamin A normally, the Ito-1 subfraction was no longer able to store retinol. Therefore the polarised transport of retinol between hepatocytes and stellate cells seemed impaired. The behaviour of sinusoidal endothelial cells and Kupffer cells might be ascribed to the functions of these cells and is not significantly modified by monensin. In conclusion, the altered cross-talk between sinusoidal cells in liver pathology might involve retinol as well as cytokines. Different pools of dolichol might have a role in this membrane process in a hydrophobic environment.     

In vitro and in vivo synthesis of dolichol and other main mevalonate products in various organs of the rat

The relative rate of biosynthesis of dolichol from [3H]mevalonate in nine rat organs was studied in slices and in the whole animal. This biosynthesis was also compared to that of cholesterol and ubiquinone. All tissues examined are able to synthesize dolichol, as well as ubiquinone and cholesterol. Comparison of the data from slices in vitro with the in vivo studies demonstrated relatively good agreement for dolichol and ubiquinone synthesis. Although dolichol of high specific radioactivity was recovered in the blood, redistribution between organs, such as occurs with cholesterol, appears to be insignificant. The highest rates of dolichol biosynthesis were found in kidney, spleen and liver. On the other hand, muscle makes the largest contribution to total body dolichol synthesis. Newly synthesized dolichol also appears in the bile, but excretion by this route is far from sufficient to account for dolichol turnover. Incorporation of mevalonate into the final products is mainly dependent on biosynthetic activity. For comparison of the biosynthetic rates in different organs, possible sources of errors (such as variations in the size of the precursor pool, limitation by the rate of precursor uptake or non-linear incorporation) were investigated the size of the mevalonate pool in various organs. Equilibration of this pool with exogenous mevalonate is a rapid and passive process. The size of the mevalonate pool does not determine the rates of cholesterol and dolichol biosynthesis, indicating the presence of regulatory steps in the terminal portion of these biosynthetic pathways.     

Further studies on a glycolipid formed from dolichyl-D-glucosyl monophosphate

Incubation of liver microsomes with dolichyl-d-glucosyl-¹⁴C monophosphate led to the labelling of an endogenous acceptor. This compound seems to be also a dolichol derivative. It contains a high-molecular weight oligosaccharide bound to dolichol through a phosphate or pyrophosphate bond. Various treatments of the labelled oligosaccharide afforded further information on its structure: Reduction with sodium borohydride, followed by acid hydrolysis gave only radioactive d-glucose indicating that the labelled d-glucose is not incorporated at the reducing end of the oligosaccharide. The percentage of radioactivity, liberated as formic acid after periodate oxidation, indicates that more than one molecule of d-glucose is incorporated and that at least one of them is inside the oligosaccharide chain. Alkaline treatment of the otherwise neutral oligosaccharide gave two positively charged derivatives which could be neutralized by N-acetylation, indicating the presence of two hexosamine residues. The oligosaccharides isolated from different tissues by the same method as that used for rat liver, were similar as judged by their migration in paper chromatography and by the pattern of products liberated by acetolysis.     

Separation, quantitation and distribution of dolichol and dolichyl phosphate in rat and human tissues

Two procedures for quantitative determination of dolichol were studied and these were applied to analyze tissue and subcellular distribution. In the first procedure the dolichols were oxidized with Cr2O3 and reduced with NaB3H4. The radioactivity in the individual dolichols was measured using reversed-phase thin-layer chromatography. In the second procedure, dolichols were analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography. For determination of dolichyl phosphates the lipid extract was subjected to acid and alkaline hydrolysis, and after hydrolysis with acid phosphatase the distribution was determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Recovery was monitored by the addition of dolichol D15 and D23 phosphate to the homogenate. Rat spleen had the highest dolichol content (114 micrograms/g) followed by lower content in rat liver and brain. The distribution pattern was similar in all organs, with 18 and 19 isoprene residues as dominating components. Human organs contain considerably higher concentrations of dolichol, with the 19 and 20 isoprene residues as the main components. In rat liver, outer mitochondrial and Golgi membranes, lysosomes and plasma membranes contain considerable amounts of dolichol. A drastic increase in dolichol content was observed in rat liver hyperplastic nodules while human liver cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma showed a marked decrease in dolichol. In the latter case, the distribution pattern was also changed. Of the total amount of dolichol present in the tissues, 2% was phosphorylated in human liver, 10% in human testis and 18% in rat liver. In rat liver mitochondria and in microsomes 4 and 31%, respectively, of the polyprenols were in activated form. The results demonstrated that dolichyl phosphate and dolichol concentrations were regulated by different mechanisms and that the two forms possessed an independent distribution.     

Phosphatidylethanolamine:dolichol acyltransferase. Characterization and partial purification of a novel rat liver enzyme.

Incubation of rat or human post-heparin plasma with [3H]dolichol incorporated in liposomes consisting of dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine:dioleoyl phosphatidylethanolamine (3:1) resulted in the formation of radioactive dolichyl oleate. Non-heparinized plasma did not esterify dolichol, and, hence, the enzyme involved is probably associated with the cell surface and released into the blood by heparin. The major location of this activity was the liver, and, therefore, a partial purification of the enzyme from heparinized rat liver perfusates was performed using DEAE-Sephacel and heparin-Sepharose chromatography. The dolichol acyltransferase activity copurified with hepatic lipase activity in a lipid-protein complex of 350 kDa. Optimal acylation is achieved at pH 7.5 in the presence of 5% plasma and 20 mM Ca2+. Esterification can only be obtained when dolichol is present in a phospholipid bilayer, and the reaction is strongly stimulated by unsaturated phosphatidylethanolamine or phosphatidylserine. Radiolabeling experiments demonstrated that the primary acyl donor is phosphatidylethanolamine from which the fatty acid is transferred exclusively from position 1. Neither cholesterol nor retinol are esterified by the enzyme, and the reaction is not stimulated by acyl-CoA. Both the extracellular localization and the mechanism of transacylation clearly distinguish this new enzyme from the acyl-CoA:dolichol acyltransferase described earlier in microsomes.     

Long-term distribution and metabolism of [1-14C]dolichol injected intravenously into rats

We have previously shown that [1-14C]dolichol mixed in vitro with rat serum and injected intravenously is rapidly cleared from the circulation and appears primarily in the liver. One day after injection the liver accounted for 80% of the isotope in whole animals, whereas after 130 days it represented only 50%. During the 130 days the specific radioactivity (dpm/g liver) decreased by more than 20-fold. In contrast, the spleen retained at 130 days 85% of the radioactivity initially present and its specific radioactivity decreased by only a factor of two. At this time small amounts of isotope were also found in carcass (internal organs removed), gastrointestinal tract and contents, and lungs. Trace amounts of radioactivity were extractable from testes and kidneys, while the heart and brain were essentially free of radioactivity. At all times after injection nearly all the radioactivity present in all tissues was still associated with dolichol. Only trace amounts of [1-14C]dolichyl fatty acyl ester and no [1-14C]phosphorylated derivatives of dolichol were present in the liver and spleen removed 156 days postinjection. Fractionation of liver between 1h and 93 days after injection suggested that [1-14C]dolichol becomes associated primarily with a lysosome-enriched fraction. The accumulation of [1-14C]dolichol in this and other subcellular compartments involved both an inward and outward flow of radioactivity, suggesting that deposition of dolichol in lysosomes is not a one-way terminal process.     

A study of various changes in transfer ribonucleic acid methylase activity during adenovirus-12 transformation in vitro

The dolichol of rat liver was labelled by injecting [4S-(3)H]mevalonate, the precursor of cis-isoprene residues, into partially hepatectomized animals. The optimum conditions for labelling the dolichol were to inject the animals with radioactive mevalonate 48h after hepatectomy and to kill them 12h later. The concentration of radioactive dolichol was five times as great in regenerating rat liver as in normal liver. The highest concentration of radioactive dolichol was found in the crude mitochondrial and nuclear-debris fractions of the cell. The crude microsomal fractions also contained radioactive dolichol, but at a lower concentration.     

The role of calmodulin in the regulation of dolichol kinase

A calcium ion-requiring CTP-dependent kinase that phosphorylates dolichol was found in particulate enzyme preparations from the protozoa Tetrahymena pyriformis. This enzyme and an analogous enzyme present in rat brain microsomes were both shown to be inactivated following washing with EGTA-containing buffers. The activity could be restored by the addition of calcium and the calcium-binding protein calmodulin. In addition, both enzymes were strongly inhibited by trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine, and antiserum against brain calmodulin. These results are evidence that the dolichol kinase from these two sources is regulated by a system involving calmodulin. Dolichol kinase is the enzyme that is believed to be important in the maintenance of the cellular levels of dolichyl phosphate, the factor which is likely to exert the most control over the rate of glycoprotein biosynthesis. On the other hand, microsomal preparations from rat liver which were shown to contain a dolichol kinase that does not require Ca2+ for activity showed no inactivation by EGTA treatment, trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine, or preincubation with antiserum against calmodulin. These findings indicate that the liver enzyme and thus the level of dolichol phosphate is controlled by a different mechanism than that of brain and T. pyriformis.     

Separation and quantitative determination of dolichol and dolichyl phosphate in rat and trout liver

The dolichol concentrations in rat and trout liver were found respectively to be 50-59 and 16-21 micrograms/g using three experimental methods: densitometric scanning of thin-layer plates, colorimetric assay and HPLC analysis. By HPLC of benzoylated dolichols, the distribution of the dolichols according to the number of their isoprene residues, was determined in rat and trout liver. The major component was dolichol -18 in rat and dolichol -19 in trout liver. Dolichyl phosphate concentrations were found to be 6-7 micrograms/g of rat liver and 8-9 micrograms/g of trout liver by densitometric scanning of thin-layer plates.     

Depression of hepatic dolichol levels by cholesterol feeding

A study was conducted to determine whether repression of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase by a chronic high-cholesterol diet would deplete hepatic dolichol levels. Four-week-old male C57BL/6J mice were maintained on a control diet or a diet supplemented with 5% cholesterol. Animals from both groups were killed at various times and reductase activity and levels of free dolichol, dolichyl acyl ester, dolichyl phosphate, and ubiquinone were measured. The reductase activity was reduced by 90% within 1 week and remained depressed through 56 days. Initially, the levels of the free dolichol, acyl ester, phosphoryl ester, and ubiquinone were 7, 16, 5, and 80 micrograms/g liver, respectively. Early increases in the concentration of dolichyl phosphate and free dolichol were similar in both the cholesterol-fed and control groups. However, in the cholesterol-fed group the concentration of dolichyl acyl esters was only 50% of that in the control group by 7 days and it remained lower throughout the experiment. Total dolichol levels were lower by about 30%. Ubiquinone levels were transiently depressed at 7 days by 33% but returned to control levels by 4 weeks. After 56 days, the control values of dolichol and dolichyl phosphate remained constant whereas the dolichyl acyl ester levels continuously increased to a value of 133 micrograms/g of liver by 156 days. Subcellular fractionation of livers from 4-week-old mice indicated a lysosomal distribution of dolichol and dolichyl acyl ester and a lysosomal and microsomal distribution of dolichyl phosphate.     

Defect in fatty acid esterification of dolichol in Niemann-Pick type C1 mouse livers in vivo

Fatty acid esterification of dolichol and cholesterol in Niemann-Pick type C1 mouse (Balb/c NIH npc1(-/-)) livers was investigated in response to treatment with peroxisomal proliferators. These inducers have hypolipidemic properties and influence the mevalonate pathway and the intracellular transport of the final products of this biosynthetic route. Such inducers are consequently interesting to use in a disease model with defective intracellular transport of lipids. In wild-type mice, the levels of dolichol and cholesterol found as free alcohols were not changed to any great extent upon treatment with the peroxisomal inducers dehydroepiandrosterone, clofibrate and diethylhexylphtalate. In contrast, the amounts of dolichyl esters increased whereas cholesteryl esters decreased by the same treatments. The rate of enzymatic esterification of dolichol in isolated microsomes was accordingly elevated after 5- to 7-day treatments with the efficient peroxisomal proliferators DEHP and PFOA, while the corresponding esterification of cholesterol was decreased. Upon peroxisomal induction in npc1(-/-) mice, the enzymatic dolichol esterification in vitro increased whereas the low concentration of dolichyl esters remained unchanged. The results thus demonstrate that the induction of fatty acid esterification of dolichol in vivo is impaired in npc1(-/-) mouse liver. It is therefore proposed that the intracellular lipid transport defect in npc1(-/-) mouse liver disables either dolichol and/or the fatty acid from reaching the site of esterification in vivo. This proposal was strengthened by the finding that the amount of dolichol was decreased in an isolated Golgi fraction from npc1(-/-) mice.