The Compartmentalisation of Phosphorylated Free Oligosaccharides in Cells from a CDG Ig Patient Reveals a Novel ER-to-Cytosol Translocation Process

Background

Biosynthesis of the dolichol linked oligosaccharide (DLO) required for protein N-glycosylation starts on the cytoplasmic face of the ER to give Man₅GlcNAc₂-PP-dolichol, which then flips into the ER for further glycosylation yielding mature DLO (Glc₃Man₉GlcNAc₂-PP-dolichol). After transfer of Glc₃Man₉GlcNAc₂ onto protein, dolichol-PP is recycled to dolichol-P and reused for DLO biosynthesis. Because de novo dolichol synthesis is slow, dolichol recycling is rate limiting for protein glycosylation. Immature DLO intermediates may also be recycled by pyrophosphatase-mediated cleavage to yield dolichol-P and phosphorylated oligosaccharides (fOSGN2-P). Here, we examine fOSGN2-P generation in cells from patients with type I Congenital Disorders of Glycosylation (CDG I) in which defects in the dolichol cycle cause accumulation of immature DLO intermediates and protein hypoglycosylation.

Methods and Principal Findings

In EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cells from CDG I patients and normal subjects a correlation exists between the quantities of metabolically radiolabeled fOSGN2-P and truncated DLO intermediates only when these two classes of compounds possess 7 or less hexose residues. Larger fOSGN2-P were difficult to detect despite an abundance of more fully mannosylated and glucosylated DLO. When CDG Ig cells, which accumulate Man₇GlcNAc₂-PP-dolichol, are permeabilised so that vesicular transport and protein synthesis are abolished, the DLO pool required for Man₇GlcNAc₂-P generation could be depleted by adding exogenous glycosylation acceptor peptide. Under conditions where a glycotripeptide and neutral free oligosaccharides remain predominantly in the lumen of the ER, Man₇GlcNAc₂-P appears in the cytosol without detectable generation of ER luminal Man₇GlcNAc₂-P.

Conclusions and Significance

The DLO pools required for N-glycosylation and fOSGN2-P generation are functionally linked and this substantiates the hypothesis that pyrophosphatase-mediated cleavage of DLO intermediates yields recyclable dolichol-P. The kinetics of cytosolic fOSGN2-P generation from a luminally-generated DLO intermediate demonstrate the presence of a previously undetected ER-to-cytosol translocation process for either fOSGN2-P or DLO.