Production of an endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase activity mediates growth of Enterococcus faecalis on a high-mannose-type glycoprotein

Enterococcus faecalis is associated with a high proportion of nosocomial infections; however, little is known of the ability of this organism to proliferate in vivo. The ability of RNase B, a model glycoprotein with a single N-glycosylation site occupied by a family of high-mannose-type glycans (Man(5)- to Man(9)-GlcNAc(2)), to support growth of E. faecalis was investigated. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of RNase B demonstrated a reduction in the molecular mass of this glycoprotein during bacterial growth. Further analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry revealed that this mass shift was due to the degradation of all high-mannose-type glycoforms to a single N-linked N-acetylglucosamine residue. High-pH anion-exchange chromatography analysis during exponential growth demonstrated the presence of RNase B-derived glycans in the culture supernatant, indicating the presence of an endoglycosidase activity. The free glycans were eluted with the same retention times as those generated by the action of Streptomyces plicatus endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase H on RNase B. The cleavage specificity was confirmed by MALDI-TOF analysis of the free glycans, which showed glycan species containing only one N-acetylglucosamine residue. No free glycans were detectable after 5 h of bacterial growth, and we have subsequently demonstrated the presence of mannosidase activity in E. faecalis, which releases free mannose from RNase B-derived glycans. We propose that this deglycosylation of glycoproteins containing high-mannose-type glycans and the subsequent degradation of the released glycans by E. faecalis may play a role in the survival and persistence of this nosocomial pathogen in vivo.