The effect of linoleic acid and benzyl alcohol on the activity of glycosyltransferases of rat liver golgi membranes and some soluble glycosyltransferases

The effects of the membrane perturbing reagents linoleic acid and benzyl alcohol on the activities of four rat liver Golgi membrane enzymes, N-acetylglucosaminyl-, N-acetylgalactosaminyl-, galactosyl-, and sialytransferases and several soluble glycosyltransferases, bovine milk galactosyl- and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases and porcine submaxillary N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases have been studied. In rat liver Golgi membranes, linoleic acid inhibited the activities of N-acetylgalactosaminyl- and galactosyltransferases by 50% or greater, sialyltransferase by 10–15%, and N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase not at all. The isolated bovine milk N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase and porcine submaxillary N-acetylgalactosylaminyltranferase were not inhibited but bovine milk galactosyltransferase was inhibited by 95% or greater. The inhibition by linoleic acid on Golgi membrane galactosyltransferase appears to be a direct effect of the reagent on the enzyme. Incorporation of bovine milk galactosyltransferase into liposomes formed from saturated phospholipids, DMPC, DPPC, and DSPC (dimyristoyl-, dipalmitoyl-, and distearoylphosphatidylcholine) prevented inhibition of the enzyme activity suggesting that the lipid formed a barrier which did not allow linoleic acid access to the enzyme. The water soluble benzyl alcohol was more effective in inhibiting enzymes of the isolated rat liver Golgi complex. All four glycosyltransferases were inhibited, the N-acetylglucosaminyl- and N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases by more than 95%. A higher concentration of benzyl alcohol was necessary to inhibit the galactosyltransferases than was required for the other Golgi enzymes. Benzyl alcohol also inhibited the isolated bovine milk N-acetylglucosaminyl- and galactosyltransferases 90% to 95%, respectively, but did not affect the isolated porcine submaxillary gland N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase. Benzyl alcohol did not inhibit the milk galactosyltransferase incorporated into DMPC or DPPC liposomes but showed a complex effect on the activity of the enzyme incorporated into DSPC vesicles, a stimulation of activity at low concentrations followed by an inhibition. A lipid environment consisting of saturated lipids appears to present a barrier to inhibiting substances such as linoleic acid and benzyl alcohol, or lipid may stabilize the active conformation of the enzyme. The different effects of these reagents on four transferases of the Golgi complex suggest that the lipid environment around these enzymes may be different for each transferase.     

Topography of glycosyltransferases involved in the initial glycosylations of gangliosides.

We attempted to establish within which organelle UDP-Glc:ceramide beta 1----1'glucosyltransferase (GlcT) is located and moreover to obtain information about its orientation on intracellular membranes as well as that of UDP-Gal:glucosylceramide beta 1----4galactosyltransferase (GalT-2) and CMP-NeuAc:lactosylceramide alpha 2----3sialyltransferase (SAT-1). An extremely purified Golgi apparatus fraction was the only liver fraction where a ceramide-dependent formation of glucosylceramide could be demonstrated. This Golgi fraction, mainly constituted by stacks of intact cisternae which retained the same topographical orientation as in vivo, was then incubated with liposomal dispersions of glycosphingolipid-glycosyltransferase acceptors in reaction mixtures containing all the requirements for enzyme activity but no detergent. Under such conditions, SAT-1 and other late acting glycosyltransferases were over 90% latent, while both GlcT and GalT-2 were just as active as in the detergent-containing assay; they were still inhibited by EDTA. Sepharose-immobilized ceramide and Sepharose-immobilized glucosylceramide were found to be suitable acceptors for GlcT and GalT-2, respectively, still using intact Golgi cisternae as the enzyme source. Moreover, a part of GlcT and GalT-2 activity was released from intact Golgi cisternae upon cathepsin D treatment. These results provide strong evidence that GlcT and GalT-2 face the cytoplasmic side of the Golgi apparatus, whereas SAT-1 and the other late acting enzymes face the luminal side.     

Different reactivity to lysophosphatidylcholine, DIDS and trypsin of two brain sialyltransferases specific for O-glycans: a consequence of their topography in the endoplasmic membranes

Some properties of two distinct rat brain sialyltransferases, acting on fetuin and asialofetuin, respectively, were investigated. These two membrane-bound enzymes were both strongly inhibited by charged phospholipids. Neutral phospholipids were without effect except lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) which modulated these two enzymes in a different way. At 5 mM lysoPC, the fetuin sialyltransferase was solubilized and highly activated while the asialofetuin sialyltransferase was inhibited. Preincubation of brain microsomes with 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS), known as a specific anion inhibitor and a non-penetrating probe, led to a moderate inhibition of the asialofetuin sialyltransferase just as in the case of the ovomucoid galactosyltransferase (used here as a marker for the luminal side of the Golgi membrane); under similar conditions, the fetuin sialyltransferase was strongly inhibited. In the presence of Triton X-100, which induced a disruption of membranes, all three enzymes were strongly inhibited by DIDS. Trypsin action on intact membranes showed that asialofetuin sialyltransferase, galactosyltransferase and fetuin sialyltransferase were all slightly inhibited. After membrane disruption by Triton X-100, the first two enzymes were completely inactivated by trypsin while the fetuin sialyltransferase was quite insensitive to trypsin treatment. From these data, we suggest that the fetuin sialyltransferase, accessible to DIDS, is an external enzyme, oriented closely towards the cytoplasmic side of the brain microsomal vesicles (endoplasmic and Golgi membranes), whereas the asialofetuin sialyltransferase is an internal enzyme, oriented in a similar manner to the galactosyltransferase. Moreover, the anion site (nucleotide sugar binding site) of the fetuin sialyltransferase must be different from its active site, as this enzyme, when solubilized, is strongly inhibited by DIDS while no degradation is observed in the presence of trypsin.     

Glucosylceramide is synthesized at the cytosolic surface of various Golgi subfractions

In our attempt to assess the topology of glucosylceramide biosynthesis, we have employed a truncated ceramide analogue that permeates cell membranes and is converted into water soluble sphingolipid analogues both in living and in fractionated cells. Truncated sphingomyelin is synthesized in the lumen of the Golgi, whereas glucosylceramide is synthesized at the cytosolic surface of the Golgi as shown by (a) the insensitivity of truncated sphingomyelin synthesis and the sensitivity of truncated glucosylceramide synthesis in intact Golgi membranes from rabbit liver to treatment with protease or the chemical reagent DIDS; and (b) sensitivity of truncated sphingomyelin export and insensitivity of truncated glucosylceramide export to decreased temperature and the presence of GTP-gamma-S in semiintact CHO cells. Moreover, subfractionation of rat liver Golgi demonstrated that the sphingomyelin synthase activity was restricted to fractions containing marker enzymes for the proximal Golgi, whereas the capacity to synthesize truncated glucosylceramide was also found in fractions containing distal Golgi markers. A similar distribution of glucosylceramide synthesizing activity was observed in the Golgi of the human liver derived HepG2 cells. The cytosolic orientation of the reaction in HepG2 cells was confirmed by complete extractability of newly formed NBD-glucosylceramide from isolated Golgi membranes or semiintact cells by serum albumin, whereas NBD-sphingomyelin remained protected against such extraction.     

An endogenous activator protein in human placenta for enzymatic degradation of glucosylceramide

An endogenous, heat-stable and pronase-sensitive activator for enzymatic hydrolysis of glucosylceramide was detected in the crude lysosome-mitochondria fraction of human placenta. Its properties differ distinctly in several important respects from those of the previously described glucosylceramidase activator. The activator reported here had no effect on crude glucosylceramidase with either glucosylceramide or 4-methylumbelliferyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside as the substrate in the presence of either sodium taurocholate or phosphatidylserine. On the contrary, glucosylceramide hydrolysis by the enzyme partially purified through Octyl-Sepharose 4B chromatography was stimulated by this activator 6-9-fold in the presence of either sodium taurocholate or phosphatidylserine. The Km for glucosylceramide in the presence of the activator was 1/3 of that without the activator. In the crude enzyme fraction, the activator was present in a 16-fold excess over the minimum amount necessary for full activation of the enzyme. Hydrolysis of the fluorogenic substrate by the post-Octyl-Sepharose enzyme, however, was not stimulated by the activator. Similarly, hydrolysis of galactosylceramide by galactosylceramidase obtained from the same Octyl-Sepharose chromatography was not stimulated. Our observations are consistent with the idea that glucosylceramidase is saturated by, or perhaps tightly associated with, this activator in the placenta and that they are dissociated by the Octyl-Sepharose chromatography. In fact, the properties of the combined post-Octyl-Sepharose enzyme and activator closely mimic those of the crude enzyme without added activator.     

A lipid analogue that inhibits sphingomyelin hydrolysis and synthesis, increases ceramide, and leads to cell death

We report the synthesis and characterization of a novel thiourea derivative of sphingomyelin (AD2765). In vitro assays using pure enzyme and/or cell extracts revealed that this compound inhibited the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated or 14C-labeled sphingomyelin by acid sphingomyelinase and Mg2+-dependent neutral sphingomyelinase. Studies in normal human skin fibroblasts further revealed that AD2765 was taken up by cells and inhibited the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated sphingomyelin in situ. In situ and in vitro studies also showed that this compound inhibited the synthesis of sphingomyelin from BODIPY-conjugated ceramide. The specificity of AD2765 for enzymes involved in sphingomyelin metabolism was demonstrated by the fact that it had no effect on the hydrolysis of BODIPY-conjugated ceramide by acid ceramidase or on the synthesis of BODIPY-conjugated glucosylceramide from BODIPY-conjugated ceramide. The overall effect of AD2765 on sphingomyelin metabolism was concentration-dependent, and treatment of normal human skin fibroblasts or cancer cells with this compound at concentrations > 10 microM led to an increase in cellular ceramide and cell death. Thus, AD2765 might be used to manipulate sphingomyelin metabolism in various ways, potentially to reduce substrate accumulation in cells from types A and B Niemann-Pick disease patients, and/or to affect the growth of human cancer cells.     

Transbilayer movement of monohexosylsphingolipids in endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi membranes

The transbilayer movement of glycosphingolipids has been characterized in Golgi, ER, plasma, and model membranes using spin-labeled and fluorescent analogues of the monohexosylsphingolipids glucosylceramide and galactosylceramide and of the dihexosylsphingolipid lactosylceramide. In large unilamellar lipid vesicles, monohexosylsphingolipids underwent a slow transbilayer diffusion (half-time between 2 and 5 h at 20 degrees C). Similarly, the inward redistribution of these sphingolipids in the plasma membrane of the hepatocyte-like cell line HepG2 and of erythrocytes was slow. However, in rat liver ER and Golgi membranes, we found a rapid transbilayer movement of spin-labeled monohexosylsphingolipids (half-time of approximately 3 min at 20 degrees C), which suggests the existence of a monohexosylsphingolipid flippase. The transbilayer movement of glucosylceramide in the Golgi and the ER displayed a saturable behavior, was inhibited by proteolysis, did not require Mg-ATP, and occurs in both directions. Treatment with DIDS inhibited the flip-flop of glucosylceramide but not that of phosphatidylcholine. These data suggest that the transbilayer movement of monoglucosylceramide in the ER and in the Golgi involves a protein that could be distinct from that previously evidenced for glycerophospholipids in the ER. In vivo, transbilayer diffusion should promote a symmetric distribution of monohexosylsphingolipids which are synthesized in the cytosolic leaflet. This should allow glucosylceramide rapid access to the lumenal leaflet where it is converted to lactosylceramide. No significant transbilayer movement of lactosylceramide occurred in both artificial and natural membranes over 1 h. Thus, lactosylceramide, in turn, is unable to diffuse to the cytosolic leaflet and remains at the lumenal leaflet where it undergoes the subsequent glycosylations.     

Factors affecting the binding of glucosylceramidase to its natural substrate dispersion

This paper reports the results of ultracentrifugation experiments devised for investigating the interactions occurring in the conditions of the enzymatic assay between glucosylceramidase and the components of the substrate dispersion. This dispersion contains, besides glucosylceramide, taurocholate and oleic acid. It has been found that glucosylceramide aggregates with oleic acid, while taurocholate is unable to associate with the sphingolipid, but improves the stability of the dispersion. When a crude glucosylceramidase placental preparation is incubated with the assay mixture the enzyme is almost totally bound to the glucosylceramide-oleic acid particles. The binding between glucosylceramidase and the substrate-containing particles is dramatically depressed by changes of experimental conditions which negatively influence also the enzyme activity such as: (1) a decrease in the molarity of the citrate/phosphate buffer; (2) an increase of the buffer pH, and (3) an increase of the taurocholate concentration. An excess of oleic acid neither inhibits the binding nor the activity. These results strongly suggest that glucosylceramidase activity is directly correlated with the binding of the enzyme to the lipid interface of the substrate-containing particles. We conclude that the enzymatic mechanism of glucosylceramide hydrolysis involves at least two steps: first the physical localization of the enzyme at the lipid-water interface, second the hydrolysis of the substrate glucosidic bond.     

Transport of (Glyco)Sphingolipids in and Between Cellular Membranes; Multidrug Transporters and Lateral Domains

Sphingolipids are highly enriched in the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane lipid bilayer. However, the first glycolipid, glucosylceramide, is synthesized in the opposite, cytosolic leaflet of the Golgi membrane. This has led us to experiments which suggest that the level of glucosylceramide in the cytosolic surface is carefully regulated both by the balance between synthesis and hydrolysis and by transport away from this surface through translocators, multidrug transporters, the same molecules that make cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy. Our data suggest a role for newly synthesized glucosylceramide not only in the formation of domains in the luminal leaflet of the Golgi but also on the cytosolic surface of this organelle.     

An effect of colchicine on galactosyl- and sialyltransferases of rat liver Golgi membranes

Colchicine inhibited the activity of the galactosyl- and sialyltransferases of rat liver Golgi membranes. The sialyltransferase was more sensitive to the drug than galactosyltransferase since it was inhibited to a greater extent and at lower concentrations of colchicine than the galactosyltransferase. Two soluble enzymes, i.e. that from rat serum and that isolated from bovine milk, were not inhibited by colchicine. Even with very high concentrations of colchicine a marked stimulation of activity was observed. The data suggest that the inhibition observed in the Golgi membranes is in some way related to the arrangement of the enzymes in the lipid bilayer. In support of this hypothesis, the milk galactosyltransferase became very sensitive to colchicine after incorporation of the enzyme into lipid vesicles. The incorporation of colchicine into Golgi membranes was shown to decrease the order parameter as determined by electron spin resonance which reflects an increased fluidity of the Golgi membranes. A change in fluidity may be responsible for the inhibition of enzyme activity at least in part.     

The use of liposomes as acceptors for the assay of lipid glycosyltransferases from rat brain.

Preparation and characterization of sonicated vesicles of various lipid composition containing hydroxy and normal fatty acid ceramides are reported. Such vesicles have been successfully used for the first time as acceptors for the assays of lipid glycosyltransferases, UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferase and UDPglucose: ceramide glucosyltransferase. Stability of the vesicles and the optimal enzyme activities were the criteria used to select the final composition of the vesicles. The activities of the glycosyltransferases were dependent not only on the appropriate assay conditions but also on the type and source of the phospholipids used to form the liposomes. Ceramides containing normal fatty acids were incorporated into phosphatidylcholine vesicles in a molar ratio of 1 : 3.4 and used as the acceptor for the assay of UDPglucose:ceramide glucostyltransferase. For the assay UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferase, vesicles were prepared by sonication of bovine brain ethanolamine phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine and ceramide containing alpha-hydroxy fatty acids, in a molar ratio of 6 : 0.57 : 1. The size of the vesicles as determined by electron microscopic measurement ranged mostly between 200--500 A. The results obtained by selective labelling of the outer surface amino groups with the membrane-impermeable reagent, 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid, indicated that the ethanolamine phospholipid-containing liposomes consisted of closed vesicles. After incubation with the appropriate cofactors and labelled sugar nucleotides, the radioactive reaction products were shown to cochromatograph with the authentic standards by thin-layer chromatography and autoradiography.     

Effect of phospholipids on UDP-glucose: ceramide glucosyltransferase from Golgi membranes

1. The removal of phospholipids completely abolished the activity of the enzyme UDP-glucose:ceramide glucosyltransferase from Golgi membranes. 2. Modulation of enzyme activity by phospholipids was undertaken on the solubilized form of the enzyme. 3. Well-defined fatty acyl chains and polar head groups were necessary for maximal stimulation by phospholipids. 4. A specific requirement for phosphatidylcholine is suggested by preliminary experiments of reconstitution of enzyme activity with phosphatidylcholine vesicles.     

Sphingomyelin organization is required for vesicle biogenesis at the Golgi complex

Sphingomyelin and cholesterol can assemble into domains and segregate from other lipids in the membranes. These domains are reported to function as platforms for protein transport and signalling. Do similar domains exist in the Golgi membranes and are they required for protein secretion? We tested this hypothesis by using D ‐ceramide‐C6 to manipulate lipid homeostasis of the Golgi membranes. Lipidomics of the Golgi membranes isolated from D ‐ceramide‐C6‐treated HeLa cells revealed an increase in the levels of C6‐sphingomyelin, C6‐glucosylceramide, and diacylglycerol. D ‐ceramide‐C6 treatment in HeLa cells inhibited transport carrier formation at the Golgi membranes without affecting the fusion of incoming carriers. The defect in protein secretion as a result of D ‐ceramide‐C6 treatment was alleviated by knockdown of the sphingomyelin synthases 1 and 2. C6‐sphingomyelin prevented liquid‐ordered domain formation in giant unilamellar vesicles and reduced the lipid order in the Golgi membranes of HeLa cells. These findings highlight the importance of a regulated production and organization of sphingomyelin in the biogenesis of transport carriers at the Golgi membranes.     

Sphingomyelin synthesis in rat liver occurs predominantly at the cis and medial cisternae of the Golgi apparatus

The intracellular site of sphingomyelin (SM) synthesis was examined in subcellular fractions from rat liver using a radioactive ceramide analog N-([1-14C]hexanoyl)-D-erythro-sphingosine. This lipid readily transferred from a complex with bovine serum albumin to liver fractions without disrupting the membranes, and was metabolized to radioactive SM. To prevent degradation of the newly synthesized SM to ceramide, all experiments were performed in the presence of EDTA to minimize neutral sphingomyelinase activity and at neutral pH to minimize acid sphingomyelinase activity. An intact Golgi apparatus fraction gave an 85-98-fold enrichment of SM synthesis and a 58-83-fold enrichment of galactosyltransferase activity. Controlled trypsin digestion demonstrated that SM synthesis was localized to the lumen of intact Golgi apparatus vesicles. Although small amounts of SM synthesis were detected in plasma membrane and rough microsome fractions, after accounting for contamination by Golgi apparatus membranes, their combined activity contributed less than 13% of the total SM synthesis in rat liver. Subfractions of the Golgi apparatus were obtained and characterized by immunoblotting and biochemical assays using cis/medial (mannosidase II) and trans (sialyltransferase and galactosyltransferase) Golgi apparatus markers. The specific activity of SM synthesis was highest in enriched cis and medial fractions but far lower in a trans fraction. We conclude that SM synthesis in rat liver occurs predominantly in the cis and medial cisternae of the Golgi apparatus and not at the plasma membrane or endoplasmic reticulum as has been previously suggested.     

Rat liver Golgi galactosyltransferases. Distinct enzymes for glycolipid and glycoprotein acceptor substrates.

Two enzymes that catalyse the transfer of galactose from UDP-galactose to GM2 ganglioside were partially purified from rat liver Golgi membranes. These preparations, designated enzyme I (basic) and enzyme II (acidic), utilized as acceptors GM2 ganglioside and asialo GM2 ganglioside as well as ovalbumin, desialodegalactofetuin, desialodegalacto-orosomucoid, desialo bovine submaxillary mucin and GM2 oligosaccharide. Enzyme II catalysed disaccharide synthesis in the presence of the monosaccharide acceptors N-acetylglucosamine and N-acetylgalactosamine. The affinity adsorbent alpha-lactalbumin-agarose, which did not retard GM2 ganglioside galactosyltransferase, was used to remove most or all of galactosyltransferase activity towards glycoprotein and monosaccharide acceptors from the extracted Golgi preparation. After treatment of the extracted Golgi preparation with alpha-lactalbumin-agarose, enzyme I and enzyme II GM2 ganglioside galactosyltransferase activities, prepared by using DEAE-Sepharose chromatography, were distinguishable from transferase activity towards GM2 oligosaccharide and glycoproteins by the criterion of thermolability. This residual galactosyltransferase activity towards glycoprotein substrates was also shown to be distinct from GM2 ganglioside galactosyltransferase in both enzyme preparations I and II by the absence of competition between the two acceptor substrates. The two types of transferase activities could be further distinguished by their response to the presence of the protein effector alpha-lactalbumin. GM2 ganglioside galactosyltransferase was stimulated in the presence of alpha-lactalbumin, whereas the transferase activity towards desialodegalactofetuin was inhibited in the presence of this protein. The results of purification studies, comparison of thermolability properties and competition analysis suggested the presence of a minimum of five galactosyltransferase species in the Golgi extract. Five peaks of galactosyltransferase activity were resolved by isoelectric focusing. Two of these peaks (pI 8.6 and 6.3) catalysed transfer of galactose to GM2 ganglioside, and three peaks (pI 8.1, 6.8 and 6.3) catalysed transfer to glycoprotein acceptors.     

Mucin biosynthesis. Characterization of UDP-galactose: alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminide beta 3 galactosyltransferase from human tracheal epithelium

We have characterized the UDP-galactose: alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminide beta 3 galactosyltransferase in human tracheal epithelium using asialo ovine submaxillary mucin as the acceptor. Maximal enzyme activity was obtained at pH 6.0-7.5 and at 20-25 mM MnCl2 and at 2% Triton X-100. Cd2+ could substitute for Mn2+ as the divalent ion cofactor. Spermine, spermidine, putrecine, cadaverine, and poly-L-lysine stimulated the enzyme activity at low (2.5 mM) MnCl2 concentration. The apparent Michaelis constants for N-acetylgalactosamine, asialo ovine submaxillary mucin, and UDP-galactose were 15.5, 1.14, and 1.36 mM, respectively. The enzyme activity was not affected by alpha-lactalbumin. The alpha-N-acetygalactosaminide beta 3 galactosyltransferase was shown to be different from the N-acetylglucosamine galactosyltransferase by acceptor competition studies. The product of galactosyltransferase was identified as Gal beta 1 leads to 3GalNAc alpha Ser (Thr) by (a) isolation of [14C]Gal-GalNAc-H2 after alkaline borohydride treatment of the 14C-labeled product, (b) establishment of the beta-configuration of the newly synthesized glycosidic bond by its complete cleavage by bovine testicular beta-galactosidase, and (c) assignment of the 1 leads to 3 linkage by identification of threosaminitol obtained from the oxidation of the disaccharide with periodic acid followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, hydrolysis in 4 N HCl, and analysis on an amino acid analyzer. The 1 leads to 3 linkage was confirmed by its resistance to jack bean beta-galactosidase and by the presence of a m/e 307 ion fragment and the absence of a m/e 276 ion by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. When acid and beta-galactosidase-treated human tracheobronchial mucin was used as the acceptor, 3.3% of the product was found as [14C]Gal-GalNAc-H2. The remainder of the [14C]Gal was found in longer oligosaccharides formed by a different beta-galactosyltransferase. This galactosyltransferase is slightly inhibited by alpha-lactalbumin and stimulated by spermine.     

Specificity of human glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase towards synthetic glucosylsphingolipids inserted into liposomes. Kinetic studies in a detergent-free assay system

The behaviour of highly purified glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase (glucosylceramidase, EC 3.2.1.45) from human placenta [Furbish, F. S., Blair, H. E., Shiloach, J., Pentchev, P. G. & Brady, R. B. (1977) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 74, 3560-3563] was investigated in the absence of detergents with structurally modified glucosylceramides inserted into unilamellar liposomes. The reaction between the water-soluble enzyme and the liposomal substrates was significantly dependent on the structure of the lipophilic aglycon moiety of glycolipids: glucosyl-N-acetyl-sphingosines (D-erythro and L-threo) were better substrates than the corresponding glucosylceramides. The L-threo derivatives were poorer substrates with higher apparent Km values than the corresponding D-erythro derivatives. For glucosyl-3-keto-ceramide and glucosyl-dihydro-ceramide (D-erythro), higher Km values were found than for glucosylceramide. Sphingosine, glucosylsphingosine and glucosyl-N-acetyl-sphingosine were the most effective inhibitors of the hydrolysis of glucosylceramide. D-erythro-Ceramide and D-galactosyl-N-acetyl-D-erythro-sphingosine inhibited the hydrolysis of amphiphilic glucosylceramide but not that of water-soluble 4-methyl-umbelliferyl-beta-glucoside, suggesting a hydrophobic binding site of the enzyme for the aglycon moiety of its membrane-bound substrate. Dilution experiments suggested that at least a fraction of the enzyme associates with the liposomes and degrades the lipid substrate even in the absence of activator proteins. Acidic phospholipids incorporated into liposomes caused a powerful stimulation (30-40-fold) of the glucosylceramide beta-glucosidase, whereas acidic sphingolipids (sulphatide, gangliosides GM1 and GD1a) incorporated into liposomes stimulated this enzyme only moderately (3-10-fold).     

Glycosylceramide Synthesis in the Developing Spinal Cord and Kidney of the Twitcher Mouse, an Enzymatically Authentic Model of Human Krabbe Disease

Abstract: UDP-galactose:ceramide galactosyltransferase activity was assayed in the spinal cord and kidney of the recently discovered neurological mutant, the twitcher mouse, which is an enzymatically authentic model of human globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease). The activity in the spinal cord was essentially normal during the early myelination period up to 15 days. There was a slight reduction at 20 days. At 25 and 33 days, the galactosyltransferase activity was drastically reduced compared to controls. In contrast, the galactosyltransferase activity in the kidney of twitcher mice remained normal throughout the developmental stages examined. Activity of the control enzyme UDP-glucose:ceramide glucosyltransferase was always normal in both the spinal cord and kidney. Thus, reduction of galactosylceramide synthesis occurs in the CNS secondarily to the pathological alteration of the oligodendroglia. No such reduction occurs in the kidney, at least for the last step of galactosylceramide synthesis. Reduced synthesis as the result of metabolic regulation in the presence of the catabolic block is therefore unlikely to be the cause of the lack of abnormal accumulation of galactosylceramide in the kidney of patients with globoid cell leukodystrophy.     

Regulation of UDP-Galactose:Ceramide Galactosyltransferase and UDP-Glucose:Ceramide Glucosyltransferase After Crush and Transection Nerve Injury

The enzyme activities of ceramide galactosyltransferase and ceramide glucosyltransferase were assayed as a function of time (0, 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 days) after crush injury or permanent transection of the adult rat sciatic nerve. These experimental models of neuropathy are characterized by the presence and absence of axonal regeneration and subsequent myelin assembly. Within the first 4 days after both injuries, a 50% reduction of ceramide galactosyltransferase-specific activity was observed compared to values found in the normal adult nerve. This activity remained unchanged at 7 days after injury; however, by 14 days the ceramide galactosyltransferase activity diverged in the two models. The activity increased in the crushed nerve and reached control values by 21 days, whereas a further decrease was observed in the transected nerve such that the activity was nearly immeasurable by 35 days. In contrast, the ceramide glucosyltransferase activity showed a rapid increase between 1 and 4 days, followed by a plateau that was 3.4-fold greater than that in the normal adult nerve, which persisted throughout the observation period in both the crush and transection models. [3H]Galactose precursor incorporation studies at 7, 14, 21, and 35 days after injury confirmed the previously observed shift in biosynthesis from the galactocerebrosides during myelin assembly in the crush model to the glucocerebrosides and oligohexosylceramide homologues in the absence of myelin assembly in the transection model. The transected nerves were characterized by a peak of biosynthesis of the glucocerebrosides at 14 days. Of particular interest is the biosynthesis of the glucocerebrosides and the oligohexosylceramides at 7 and 14 days after crush injury.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Compartmentation and topology of glucosylceramide synthesis

Evidence is presented supporting a model for glucosylceramide formation on the apoplastic side of the plasma membrane in plants. Glucosylceramide synthase and sterol glucosyltransferase were both localized to the plasma membrane. Whereas sterol glucosylation was sensitive to proteolytic enzymes, ceramide glucosylation was not. These results are consistent with our model in which steryl glucoside is synthesized on the cytosolic side of the membrane and then translocated across the membrane where it donates glucose to ceramide.