Molecular cloning and expression of Galbeta1,3GalNAc alpha2, 3-sialyltransferase from human fetal liver

Based on the sequences of the highly conserved segments in the previously cloned sialyltransferases, a cDNA encoding Galbeta1, 3GalNAc alpha2,3-sialyltransferase (SIATFL) has been isolated from human fetal liver. Expression analysis of the gene has been performed with various carcinoma cell lines, fetal tissues, fetal and adult liver and both hepatoma and the surrounding tissue from the same liver. The SIATFL gene was expressed poorly in fetal liver and in adult liver, slightly in hepatoma and highly in the surrounding tissue of hepatoma. The cDNA encoding the putative active domain was expressed in COS-1, Escherichia coli, and Pichia pastoris. The recombinant protein expressed in COS-1 could catalyse the transfer of NeuAc from CMP-NeuAc to asialo-fetuin. No enzyme activity was detected with a 32-kDa protein in E. coli and both 32-kDa and 41-kDa proteins in P. pastoris. These results suggested that correct glycosylation of the enzyme might play a key role in its folding that may be directly related to the enzymatic activity.

Regulation of the lipopolysaccharide-specific sialyltransferase activity of gonococci by the growth state of the bacteria, but not by carbon source, catabolite repression or oxygen supply

The enzyme sialyltransferase (STase) of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a major pathogenicitiy determinant. Using a refined method for assaying the STase activity, the Km for CMP-NANA was shown to be 14 +/- 2 microM, higher than that reported previously. Rates of sialylation by Nonidet extracts, prepared under conditions that optimise solubilisation of the membrane-bound enzyme, were 6 to 20 nmol of NANA transferred from CMP-14C-NANA onto isolated lipopolysaccharide/min./mg of extracted protein, far higher than the previously reported rates of less than 1 nmol of NANA transferred/min./mg of extracted protein. Gonococci grew more slowly with lactate or pyruvate than with glucose as the carbon source. Although growth with a mixture of limiting concentrations of both glucose and lactate was biphasic, diauxic growth was also found in the control culture supplied with glucose alone. The growth rate in the presence of lactate alone was slower than with glucose. The growth rate increased slightly relative to the glucose culture when both substrates were available; lactate was consumed more rapidly than glucose. Higher STase activities were found in bacteria harvested in the exponential than in the stationary phase of aerobic growth: the activity in aerated cultures was higher than those of oxygen-limited or anaerobic cultures. Similar STase activities were found in bacteria that had been grown with glucose, lactate or pyruvate as the carbon and energy source. Sialyltransferase synthesis is essentially constitutive: it is not regulated by glucose repression or by induction by lactate or anaerobiosis.

Biochemical conditions for the production of polysialic acid by Pasteurella haemolytica A2

The capsular polysaccharide of Pasteurella haemolytica A2 consists of a linear polymer of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) with alpha(2-8) linkages. When the bacterium was grown at 37 degrees C for 90 h in 250 ml shake flasks at 200 rpm in Brain heart infusion broth (BHIB), it accumulated, attaining a level of 60 microg/ml. Release of this polymer was strictly regulated by the growth temperature, and above 40 degrees no production was detected. The pathway for the biosynthesis of this sialic acid capsular polymer was also examined in P. haemolytica A2 and was seen to involve the sequential presence of three enzymatic activities: Neu5Ac lyase activity, which synthesizes Neu5Ac by condensation of Nacetyl-D-mannosamine and pyruvate with apparent Km values of 91 mM and 73 mM, respectively; a CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase, which catalyzes the production of CMP-Neu5Ac from Neu5Ac and CTP with apparent Km values of 2 mM and 0.5 mM, respectively, and finally a membrane-associated polysialyltransferase, which catalyzes the incorporation of sialic acid from CMP-Neu5Ac into polymeric products with an apparent CMP-Neu5Ac Km of 250 microM.

Mutants of the CMP-sialic acid transporter causing the Lec2 phenotype

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) mutants belonging to the Lec2 complementation group are unable to translocate CMP-sialic acid to the lumen of the Golgi apparatus. Complementation cloning in these cells has recently been used to isolate cDNAs encoding the CMP-sialic acid transporter from mouse and hamster. The present study was carried out to determine the molecular defects leading to the inactivation of CMP-sialic acid transport. To this end, CMP-sialic acid transporter cDNAs derived from five independent clones of the Lec2 complementation group, were analyzed. Deletions in the coding region were observed for three clones, and single mutants were found to contain an insertion and a point mutation. Epitope-tagged variants of the wild-type transporter protein and of the mutants were used to investigate the effect of the structural changes on the expression and subcellular targeting of the transporter proteins. Mutants derived from deletions showed reduced protein expression and in immunofluorescence showed a diffuse staining throughout the cytoplasm in transiently transfected cells, while the translation product derived from the point-mutated cDNA (G189E) was expressed at the level of the wild-type transporter and co-localized with the Golgi marker alpha-mannosidase II. This mutation therefore seems to directly affect the transport activity. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to change glycine 189 into alanine, glutamine, and isoleucine, respectively. While the G189A mutant was able to complement CMP-sialic acid transport-deficient Chinese hamster ovary mutants, the exchange of glycine 189 into glutamine or isoleucine dramatically affected the transport activity of the CMP-sialic acid transporter.

Improvement of interferon-gamma sialylation in Chinese hamster ovary cell culture by feeding of N-acetylmannosamine

Because the presence of sialic acid can extend circulatory lifetime, a high degree of sialylation is often a desirable feature of therapeutic glycoproteins. In this study, the incomplete intracellular sialylation of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), produced by Chinese hamster ovary cell culture, was minimized by supplementing the culture medium with N-acetylmannosamine (ManNAc), a direct intracellular precursor for sialic acid synthesis. By introducing 20 mM ManNAc into the culture medium, incompletely sialylated biantennary glycan structures were reduced from 35% to 20% at the Asn97 glycosylation site. This effect was achieved without affecting cell growth or product yield. The intracellular pool of CMP-sialic acid, the nucleotide sugar substrate for sialyltransferase, was also extracted and quantified by HPLC. Feeding of 20 mM ManNAc increased this intracellular pool of CMP-sialic acid by nearly thirtyfold compared with unsupplemented medium. When radiolabeled ManNAc was used to trace the incorporation of the precursor, it was found that supplemental ManNAc was exclusively incorporated into IFN-gamma as sialic acid and that, at 20 mM ManNAc feeding, nearly 100% of product sialylation originated from the supplemental precursor.

Mutation of the sialyltransferase S-sialylmotif alters the kinetics of the donor and acceptor substrates

Protein sequence analysis of the cloned sialyltransferase gene family has revealed the presence of two conserved protein motifs in the middle of the lumenal catalytic domain, termed L-sialylmotif and S-sialylmotif. In our previous study (Datta, A. K., and Paulson, J. C. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 1497-1500) the larger L-sialylmotif of ST6Gal I was analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis, which provided evidence that it participates in the binding of the CMP-NeuAc, a common donor substrate for all the sialyltransferases. However, none of the mutants tested in this motif had any significant effect on their binding affinities toward the acceptor substrate asialo alpha1-acid glycoprotein. In this study, we have investigated the role of the S-sialylmotif of the same enzyme ST6Gal I. In total, nine mutants have been constructed by changing the conserved amino acids of this motif to mostly alanine by site-directed mutagenesis. Kinetic analysis for the mutants which retained sialyltransferase activity showed that the mutations in the S-sialylmotif caused a change of Km values for both the donor and the acceptor substrates. Our results indicated that this motif participates in the binding of both the substrates. A sequence homology search also supported this finding, which showed that the downstream amino acid sequence of the S-sialylmotif is conserved for each subgroup of this enzyme family, indicating its association with the acceptor substrate.

Synthesis of neoglycoconjugates containing deaminated neuraminic acid (KDN) using rat liver alpha2,6-sialyltransferase

2-Keto-3-deoxy-D- glycero -D- galacto -nononic acid (KDN) was introduced into asialotransferrin and N -acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) from CMP-KDN by using rat liver Galbeta1-->4GlcNAc alpha2, 6-sialyltransferase to form KDN-transferrin and KDN-LacNAc. These structures contain terminal KDNalpha2-->6Gal-residues, a glycotope that has not yet been described in natural glycoconjugates. KDN was transferred to all four Gal residues in asialotransferrin by this enzyme. The incorporation efficiency of KDN from CMP-KDN into asialotransferrin was about half that of Neu5Ac from CMP-Neu5Ac, based on the V max/ K m values for these donor substrates, 0.0527 min-1and 0.119 min-1, respectively. The KDNalpha2-->6Gal linkage was resistant to exosialidase treatment, in contrast to the sensitivity of the Neu5Acalpha2-->6Gal linkage. Interestingly, Sambucus sieboldiana agglutinin (SSA) was shown to prefer KDN-transferrin to the corresponding Neu5Ac-transferrin, as estimated by slot-blot analysis. The use of an alpha2,6-sialyltransferase to synthesize neoglycoproteins containing KDN has not been previously reported. Their facile synthesis using CMP-KDN and sialyltransferases with different specificities offers new possibilities to study the function of neo-KDN-glycoconjugates, and to explore their use in glycotechnology.

The biochemical consequences of alpha2,6(N) sialyltransferase induction by dexamethasone on sialoglycoprotein expression in the rat H411e hepatoma cell line

Previous studies have demonstrated sialyltransferase (ST) enzyme activity to be induced in hepatic cells by corticosteroids. In this study, we used the H411e rat hepatoma cell line to further characterise this induction with particular reference to the subsequent changes in the pattern of sialoglycoprotein (SGP) expression. The induction of total ST activity by dexamethasone was concentration dependent with maximum induction occurring 12 h subsequent to drug addition. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the induction was associated with an increase in the expression of the alpha2,6(N) ST enzyme with no change in the expression levels of the alpha2,3(N) enzyme. While the induction resulted in an increase in the reaction velocity (Vmax) of the enzyme for both the sugar donor (CMP-Neu5Ac) and the asialofetuin acceptor protein, there was no significant change in the enzyme affinity (Km) for the substrates, suggestive of either an increase in the expression or efficiency of the existing enzyme(s) rather than an induction of novel ST enzymes. Lectin blot analysis of cellular glycoprotein expression demonstrated no change in the expression patterns of either alpha2,3 or alpha2,6-linked SGP following enzyme induction. These results suggest that the available acceptor sites for the terminal sialic acid group(s) may be fully occupied in the control cells and therefore there are no further sites onto which the sialic acid can be transferred following induction of ST enzyme activity. This may be due to the high basal enzyme levels in the control cells already exhausting endogenous acceptor sites.

Functional expression of the murine Golgi CMP-sialic acid transporter in saccharomyces cerevisiae

We have functionally expressed the murine Golgi putative CMP-sialic acid transporter in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using a galactose-inducible expression system, S. cerevisiae vesicles were able to transport CMP-sialic acid. Transport was dependent on galactose induction and was temperature-dependent and saturable with an apparent Km of 2.9 microM. Transport was inhibited by CMP, and upon vesicle disruption with Triton X-100 parameters were very similar to the previously described CMP-sialic acid transport characteristics observed with mammalian Golgi vesicles. CMP-sialic acid transport induction was specific as no transport of UDP-galactose was observed even though the latter putative transporter has a high degree of amino acid sequence identity with the CMP-sialic acid transporter. Together, the above results demonstrate that the previously described cDNA encoding the putative CMP-sialic acid transporter encodes the transporter protein per se and suggests that this heterologous expression system may be used for further structural and functional studies of other Golgi membrane transporter proteins.

Uptake and incorporation of an epitope-tagged sialic acid donor into intact rat liver Golgi compartments. Functional localization of sialyltransferase overlaps with beta-galactosyltransferase but not with sialic acid O-acetyltransferase

The transfer of sialic acids (Sia) from CMP-sialic acid (CMP-Sia) to N-linked sugar chains is thought to occur as a final step in their biosynthesis in the trans portion of the Golgi apparatus. In some cell types such Sia residues can have O-acetyl groups added to them. We demonstrate here that rat hepatocytes express 9-O-acetylated Sias mainly at the plasma membranes of both apical (bile canalicular) and basolateral (sinusoidal) domains. Golgi fractions also contain 9-O-acetylated Sias on similar N-linked glycoproteins, indicating that O-acetylation may take place in the Golgi. We show here that CMP-Sia-FITC (with a fluorescein group attached to the Sia) is taken up by isolated intact Golgi compartments. In these preparations, Sia-FITC is transferred to endogenous glycoprotein acceptors and can be immunochemically detected in situ. Addition of unlabeled UDP-Gal enhances Sia-FITC incorporation, indicating a substantial overlap of beta-galactosyltransferase and sialyltransferase machineries. Moreover, the same glycoproteins that incorporate Sia-FITC also accept [3H]galactose from the donor UDP-[3H]Gal. In contrast, we demonstrate with three different approaches (double-labeling, immunoelectron microscopy, and addition of a diffusible exogenous acceptor) that sialyltransferase and O-acetyltransferase machineries are much more separated from one another. Thus, 9-O-acetylation occurs after the last point of Sia addition in the trans-Golgi network. Indeed, we show that 9-O-acetylated sialoglycoproteins are preferentially segregated into a subset of vesicular carriers that concentrate membrane-bound, but not secretory, proteins.

Regulation of gonococcal sialyltransferase, lipooligosaccharide, and serum resistance by glucose, pyruvate, and lactate

Strain F62 of Neisseria gonorrhoeae gonococci (GC) is sensitive to normal human serum unless CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NANA) is present. NANA is transferred primarily to a 4.5-kDa lipooligosaccharide (LOS) structure by a GC sialyltransferase (Stase). We investigated LOS and Stase expression and serum resistance in strain F62 grown in different carbon sources and growth conditions. Pyruvate-grown GC expressed 1.9- to 5.6-fold more Stase activity than did glucose-grown GC, whereas lactate-grown GC generally expressed intermediate Stase activities. Broth-grown GC expressed two- to fourfold more Stase activity than did plate-grown GC in all carbon sources. Pyruvate- or lactate-grown GC expressed significantly more of the sialylateable 4.5-kDa LOS species than did glucose-grown GC. Anaerobically, the 4.5-kDa LOS species was expressed in greater quantity than the 4.9-kDa N-acetyl galactosamine-terminating species in all carbon sources. Pyruvate-grown GC also incorporated up to threefold more radiolabelled CMP-NANA onto the 4.5-kDa LOS species than did glucose-grown GC. In serum resistance studies, pyruvate-grown GC were 6.5- to 16.1-fold more serum resistant than glucose-grown GC at limiting CMP-NANA concentrations (1.56 to 12.50 microg/ml). Taken together, these results indicate that gonococcal expression of Stase activity is up-regulated by growth in pyruvate or lactate, which correlates with enhanced expression of the sialylateable 4.5-kDa LOS and, for growth in pyruvate, correlates with enhanced sialylation of gonococcal LOS and greater serum resistance. In different in vivo niches, gonococcal LOS sialylation, serum resistance, and interaction with host cells can be highly regulated.

Expression cloning of the Golgi CMP-sialic acid transporter

Translocation of nucleotide sugars across the membrane of the Golgi apparatus is a prerequisite for the synthesis of complex carbohydrate structures. While specific transport systems for different nucleotide sugars have been identified biochemically in isolated microsomes and Golgi vesicles, none of these transport proteins has been characterized at the molecular level. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) mutants of the complementation group Lec2 exhibit a strong reduction in sialylation of glycoproteins and glycolipids due to a defect in the CMP-sialic acid transport system. By complementation cloning in the mutant 6B2, belonging to the Lec2 complementation group, we were able to isolate a cDNA encoding the putative murine Golgi CMP-sialic acid transporter. The cloned cDNA encodes a highly hydrophobic, multiple membrane spanning protein of 36.4 kDa, with structural similarity to the recently cloned ammonium transporters. Transfection of a hemagglutinin-tagged fusion protein into the mutant 6B2 led to Golgi localization of the hemagglutinin epitope. Our results, together with the observation that the cloned gene shares structural similarities to other recently cloned transporter proteins, strongly suggest that the isolated cDNA encodes the CMP-sialic acid transporter.

Purification and characterization of a marine bacterial beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase from Photobacterium damsela JT0160

A bacterial sialyltransferase, named sialyltransferase 0160, was purified from a marine bacterium that had been isolated from seawater from Sagami Bay, Kanagawa. This strain has been identified as Photobacterium damsela, and named P. damsela JT0160. Sialyltransferase 0160 was purified 688-fold to homogeneity from the crude extract of the cells with a yield of 19% using a combination of anion exchange chromatography, hydroxyapatite chromatography, gel filtration chromatography, and affinity chromatography. The purified enzyme migrated as a single band (61 kDa) on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel. This sialyltransferase was found to be a beta-galactoside alpha 2,6-sialyltransferase [EC 2.4.99.1] which catalyzes the incorporation of NeuAc from CMP-NeuAc into the galactose residue of the carbohydrate chain at position 6 on the basis of an analysis of the enzymatic reaction products with HPLC, 1H-, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, and fast atom bombardment mass spectroscopy.

Ecto-sialyltransferase of human B lymphocytes reconstitutes differentiation markers in the presence of exogenous CMP-N-acetyl neuraminic acid

The existence of an ecto-sialyltransferase (ecto-ST) on B lymphocytes with increasing activity at late maturation stages is shown using a novel flow cytometric enzyme assay. This ecto-ST is effective in reconstituting different surface glycoconjugates on desialylated B cells in the presence of exogenous CMP-NeuAc. We found that this ecto-ST is distinct in its activity from soluble ST released into the culture supernatant. Surface sialylation was independent of the amount of ST secreted into the culture supernatant and followed different kinetics than sialylation of exogenous substrate by soluble ST. Four human B-cell lines representing different maturation stages were analyzed for secreted and ecto-ST activity. The myeloma cell line U266 and the lymphoblastoid cell line JOK-1 showed higher activity of both ST forms than the acute lymphoblastic leukemia B-cell line Nalm-6. ST activity in culture supernatants of U266, JOK-1, and Nalm-6 cells consisted predominantly of the alpha 2,6 ST type with specificity for N-linked oligosaccharides. As an exception, the myeloma cell line IM-9, deficient of alpha 2,6 ST activity, secreted only small amounts of ST and showed low activity of ecto-ST. Sialylation of surface-expressed glycoconjugates by ecto-ST was measured by incubating B-cell lines in the presence of fluorescent CMP-sialic acid. Surface structures labeled with fluorescent sialic acid under this condition were visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy and fluorescent label was quantitatively assessed by flow cytometric analysis on live cells. Incubation of cells in acidified culture medium, to release possibly receptor-bound ST, did not alter the intensity of cell surface sialylation. Inhibition of internalization and membrane traffic by various approaches (reduced incubation temperature and chloroquine or brefeldin A treatment) did not block surface sialylation. Together, these observations point to cell surface sialylation in B lymphocytes mediated by a cell surface-expressed ecto-ST distinct from the secreted ST form. On desialylated JOK-1 cells, ecto-ST in the presence of exogenous CMP-NeuAc was able to resialylate the B-cell surface sialoglycans CDw75 and HB-6 and major surface glycoproteins of B cells, such as HLA class I and II antigens, transferrin receptor, and surface IgM. In contrast, cell surface glycans of coincubated desialylated erythrocytes were not sialylated by the B-cell ecto-ST. Ecto-alpha 2,6 ST of B cells may be involved in the sialylation of distinct differentiation glycan antigens.

Binding and surface exposure characteristics of the gonococcal transferrin receptor are dependent on both transferrin-binding proteins

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is capable of iron utilization from human transferrin in a receptor-mediated event. Transferrin-binding protein 1 (Tbp1) and Tbp2 have been implicated in transferrin receptor function, but their specific roles in transferrin binding and transferrin iron utilization have not yet been defined. We utilized specific gonococcal mutants lacking Tbp1 or Tbp2 to assess the relative transferrin-binding properties of each protein independently of the other. The apparent affinities of the wild-type transferrin receptor and of Tbp1 and Tbp2 individually were much higher than previously estimated for the gonococcal receptor and similar to the estimates for the mammalian transferrin receptor. The binding parameters of both of the mutants were distinct from those of the parent, which expressed two transferrin-binding sites. Tbp2 discriminated between ferrated transferrin and apotransferrin, while Tbp1 did not. Results of transferrin-binding affinity purification, and protease accessibility experiments were consistent with the hypothesis that Tbp1 and Tbp2 interact in the wild-type strain, although both proteins were capable of binding to transferrin independently when separated in the mutants. The presence of Tbp1 partially protected Tbp2 from trypsin proteolysis, and Tbp2 also protected Tbp1 from trypsin exposure. Addition of transferrin to wild-type but not mutant cells protected Tbp1 from trypsin but increased the trypsin susceptibility of Tbp2. These observations indicate that Tbp1 and Tbp2 function together in the wild-type strain to evoke binding conformations that are distinct from those expressed by the mutants lacking either protein.

Lactic acid is the factor in blood cell extracts which enhances the ability of CMP-NANA to sialylate gonococcal lipopolysaccharide and induce serum resistance

In previous work, a factor which enhances the ability of cytidine 5'-monophospho-N-acetyl neuraminic acid (CMP-NANA) to sialylate gonococcal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was liberated at 4 degrees C in diffusates from high M(r) fractions of blood cell sonicates. The diffusates also contained CMP-NANA and converted serum susceptible gonococci to resistance. The enhancer has now been separated from CMP-NANA and material absorbing at 260 nm by HPLC on mu Bondapak-10 NH2. Resistance inducing activity was found only in fractions containing CMP-NANA and recovery was poor (about 25%). However, addition of enhancer fractions to CMP-NANA substantially increased its resistance inducing activity. Blood cell sonicates dialysed at 18-20 degrees C released enhancer in diffusates. These were ultrafiltered (nominal cut off 3000 Da) and fractionated on Biogel P2 which removed saccharides and most material absorbing at 260 nm. Over 90% of a fraction which was enhancer-active in nanogram quantities was identified by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and gas chromatography/mass spectometry (GC/MS) as lactic acid. A fraction with similar properties was obtained from a different batch of diffusate by fractionation on Dowex 1. Authentic lithium L-lactate in nanogram quantities enhanced LPS sialyation by CMP-NANA and increased its serum resistance inducing activity. These results have important implications for gonococcal pathogenicity.

Identification and synthetic pathway of sialyl-Lewis(x)-containing neolacto-series gangliosides in lens tissues. 2. Enzymatic synthesis of sialyl-Lewis(x) gangliosides in monkey and rat lenses

In Japanese monkey lenses, 3H-labeled fucose and N-acetylneuraminic acid were enzymatically transferred to neolactotetraosylceramide (nLc4) and III 3 FucnLc4, respectively, suggesting the presence of a synthetic pathway of IV3 NeuAcIII3 FucnLc4 via III3 FucnLc4 in monkey lenses. Six rat strains, Wistar, Sprague-Dawley and pigmented strains, contained sialyl-Lewis(x) gangliosides in non-cataractous lenses in a strain-specific manner. Glycosyltransferase assay revealed that the transfer of 3H-labeled fucose to nLc4 occurred in all the strains, but that the transfer of 3H-labeled N-acetylneuraminic acid to III3 FucnLc4 was strain-specific. These results suggested that sialyl-Lewis(x) gangliosides were generally synthesized from neolactotetraosylceramide via Lewis(x) glycolipid (III3 FucnLc4) in lens tissues, differing from other tissues. Combining our results, we propose two synthetic pathways of sialyl-Le(x)- containing neolacto-series gangliosides and A-pathway ganglio-series gangliosides in human senile cataractous lens: one to sialyl-Lewis(x) gangliosides from nLc4 via Lewis(x) glycolipid, and the other to GD1a from GM3, via GM2 and GM1.

Lec32 is a new mutation in Chinese hamster ovary cells that essentially abrogates CMP-N-acetylneuraminic acid synthetase activity

LEC29.Lec32 is a glycosylation mutant that was isolated from a selection of mutagenized Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells for lectin resistance. Compared with LEC29 CHO cells, the double mutant exhibited an unusually high sensitivity to the toxic lectin, ricin, indicating increased exposure of galactose residues on cell surface carbohydrates. Structural analysis of LEC29.Lec32 cellular glycoproteins showed a nearly complete lack of sialic acid residues. Genetic analysis demonstrated that the lec32 mutation is recessive and novel. Biochemical analysis showed that the mutant cells contained less than 5% of the cytidine 5'-monophosphate N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) present in parental CHO cells (1.6 nmol/mg of cell protein). A sensitive radiochemical assay used to measure CMP-NeuAc synthetase activity showed that the properties of this enzyme in parental CHO cells were essentially identical to those of CMP-NeuAc synthetase in various mammalian tissues. However, no CMP-NeuAc synthetase activity was detected in LEC29.Lec32 extracts. Mixing experiments provided no evidence for an inhibitor in the mutant CHO cells, and two revertants, which expressed only the LEC29 phenotype, had normal CMP-NeuAc synthetase levels. The combined evidence indicates that the lec32 mutation resides in either the structural gene encoding CMP-NeuAc synthetase or in a gene that regulates the production of active enzyme.

CMP-N-acetyl neuraminic-acid synthetase from Escherichia coli: fermentative production and application for the preparative synthesis of CMP-neuraminic acid

In an optimized sorbitol/yeast extract/mineral salt medium up to 12 U/l CMP-N-acetyl-neuraminic-acid (Neu5Ac) synthetase was produced by Escherichia coli K-235 in shake-flask culture. A colony mutant of this strain, E. coli K-235/CS1, was isolated with improved enzyme formation: in shake flasks with a yield of up to 20.8 U/l and 54 mU/mg protein in the cell extract. With this strain 26500 U CMP-Neu5Ac synthetase was produced with a high specific activity (0.128 U/mg) by fed-batch fermentation on 230-l scale. On a 10-1 scale the enzyme yield was 191 U/l culture medium. The enzyme was partially purified by precipitation with polyethyleneglycol resulting in a three- to fourfold enrichment and a recovery rate of more than 80%; most of the CTP hydrolysing enzymes were removed. The native synthetase was deactivated completely by incubation at 45 degrees C for 10 min, but could be stabilized remarkably by glycerol and different salts. The enzyme was used for the preparative synthesis of CMP-Neu5Ac with a conversion yield of 87% based on CTP.

Molecular cloning of cytidine monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase. Regulation of species- and tissue-specific expression of N-glycolylneuraminic acid

Cytidine monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-NeuAc) hydroxylase, which is the key enzyme for the synthesis of N-glycolylneuraminic acid (NeuGc), has been purified from the cytosolic fraction of mouse liver, as described in our previous paper. The amino acid sequences of the purified CMP-NeuAc hydroxylase, and peptides obtained by lysylendopeptidase digestion, were used to synthesize specific oligonucleotide primers. A mouse cDNA clone of the enzyme was obtained by a combination of the polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The sequence of the clone contained an open reading frame coding for a protein of 577 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 66 kDa. The deduced sequence included the amino acid sequences obtained for the purified enzyme and peptides, and a complete match was obtained for 159 residues. The enzyme has neither a signal peptide sequence nor a membrane spanning domain, which is consistent with localization of the enzyme in the cytosol. Transfection of a cDNA construct to COS-1 cells increased the enzyme activity and the amount of NeuGc. Comparison of the sequence with GenBank data indicated that no similar sequence has been reported so far. Northern blot analysis of various mouse tissues with the enzyme cDNA as a probe indicated that expression of NeuGc is related to the level of CMP-NeuAc hydroxylase mRNA. On Southern blot analysis with the same probe, cross-hybridizing bands were detected in the human and fish genomes.

Transport of adenosine triphosphate into endoplasmic reticulum proteoliposomes

We have reconstituted a partially purified extract from rat liver endoplasmic reticulum membrane proteins into phosphatidylcholine liposomes. The resulting proteoliposomes, of an average diameter of 58 nm, transport intact ATP into their lumen in a temperature-dependent manner; transport was saturable (apparent Km = 0.72 microM) and highly specific: CMP-sialic acid and GTP were transported very slowly or not at all. Transport of ATP was inhibited by DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid) but not by carboxyatractyloside. Previously, we showed that vesicles derived from rat liver and dog pancreas endoplasmic reticulum translocate ATP into their lumen in vitro but in these studies, following incubations with ATP, most of the phosphate was transferred to proteins because of the many kinases, endogenous acceptors for phosphorylation, and ATP binding proteins present in the vesicle membranes and lumen. This reconstituted system, which yielded a highly functional ATP transporter, can be used for further characterization and purification of this and probably other nucleotide transporters of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Previously used reconstitution protocols which were successful for Golgi membrane nucleotide transporters did not yield a functional endoplasmic reticulum ATP transporter.

The effect of increasing nucleotide-sugar concentrations on the incorporation of sugars into glycoconjugates in rat hepatocytes

Treatment of rat hepatocytes with 0.5 mM concentrations of uridine and cytidine results in increased cellular concentrations of UTP, UDP-sugars and CTP, whereas that of CMP-N-acetylneuraminate remained unchanged [Pels Rijcken, Overdijk, Van den Eijnden and Ferwerda (1993) Biochem. J. 293, 207-213]. The incorporation of radioactivity from 3H-labelled sugars into the cell-associated and secreted glycoconjugate fraction was influenced by these altered cellular concentrations of the nucleotides. For [3H]glucosamine, pretreatment with uridine resulted in a reduction of the glycosylation in both fractions. Increases in the secreted fractions were observed for fucose with both uridine and cytidine and for N-acetylglucosamine with uridine only. With [3H]N-acetylglucosamine, similar specific radioactivities for UDP-N-acetylhexosamine and CMP-N-acetylneuraminate were found, regardless of the pretreatment conditions. With [3H]N-acetylmannosamine, the specific radioactivity of CMP-N-acetylneuraminate showed an almost 2-fold increase on pretreatment. The latter increase did not result in an increased incorporation of radioactivity into the glycoconjugates. It was estimated that, in untreated cells, the ratio of radioactivity incorporated from [3H]glucosamine into glycoconjugate-bound N-acetylhexosamine and N-acetylneuraminate amounted to 2:3. In pretreated cells this ratio changed to approx. 2:1. Overall, the data show that pretreatment resulted in an increased incorporation of N-acetylhexosamine into cell-associated and secreted glycoconjugates, accompanied by a reduction in sialylation. It was concluded that an increased availability of UDP-N-acetylhexosamine caused the increased incorporation of N-acetylhexosamine. The elevated cytosolic level of UDP-N-acetylhexosamine (and of compounds like CMP) is suggested to impair the transport of CMP-acetylneuraminate to the Golgi, resulting in reduced sialylation. This study demonstrates that protein glycosylation can be regulated at the level of the availability of the various nucleotide-sugars in the Golgi lumen.