The glycosylation of the complement regulatory protein, human erythrocyte CD59

A multi-mode chromatographic method for the comparison of the N-glycosylation of a recombinant HIV envelope glycoprotein (gp160s-MN/LAI) purified by two different processes

The glycosylation pattern of a recombinant gp160s-MN/LAI variant of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) was studied in relation to two alternative purification techniques one of which involves an immunoprecipitation step. For analysis a multi-mode high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method which combines gel permeation chromatography on the RAAM 2000 GlycoSequencer, weak anion exchange chromatography and normal phase chromatography was developed and profiles were obtained for the fluorescently-labelled glycans released from the two gp160s-MN/LAI preparations. Charged glycans accounted for 77 and 80% of the total glycans for the IAP- and SP-purified samples, respectively. The acidic character of these glycans was mainly due to the presence of sialic acids. However, following sialidase treatment, residual charged glycans were still found. No differences were found in the glycan distributions of the two gp160s-MN/LAI preparations either in their degree of sialylation or in their relative proportion of each separated structure. Although this did not reach statistical significance, a lower proportion of large glycan structures regardless of their charge status was found on the gp160s-MN/LAI prepared by the procedure which involved an immunoaffinity chromatography step.

Identification of a homologue of CD59 in a cyclostome: implications for the evolutionary development of the complement system

We have employed a COS cell expression cloning procedure to isolate a full length cDNA clone encoding a hagfish leukocyte-associated membrane protein (HLMP1). The protein, which is identified by a monoclonal antibody (JB3) generated in our laboratory, is present on the majority of hagfish leukocytes and is also expressed on erythrocytes. The cDNA clone contained an open reading frame encoding a 120 residue polypeptide which exhibits 33% amino acid sequence identity with the precursor protein of human CD59, a leukocyte-associated membrane protein which regulates the action of the complement membrane attack complex on homologous cells. CD59 belongs to a family of structurally related glycoproteins which includes the Ly-6 proteins expressed on mouse lymphocytes. In addition to significant overall sequence homology HLMP1 shows conservation of 8 key cysteine residues with members of the CD59/Ly-6 family. Comparison of the hagfish sequence with that of the mature human CD59 protein suggested a processed protein consisting of 74 amino acids associated with the cell membrane via a GPI anchor. The latter was confirmed by immuno-flow cytometry following treatment of transfected COS cells with phospholipase. Phylogenetic analysis and tissue distribution of this protein in the hagfish are consistent with HLMP1 being a homologue of CD59. A three-dimensional model of HLMP1, constructed using the NMR-determined structure for human CD59 as a template, indicated conservation of a core structure of five strands of beta-sheet and a short helix stabilised by four disulfide bonds. These findings, when taken together with our previous identification of C5a-like chemotactic activity in LPS-activated serum, provide indirect evidence for the existence of the terminal lytic complement pathway (C5 to C9) in these primitive vertebrates.

Characterization in vitro and in vivo of the pig analogue of human CD59 using new monoclonal antibodies

CD59 is the sole characterized regulator of the complement membrane attack complex in humans. It is very widely and abundantly distributed, being present on all circulating cells, endothelia and epithelia, and in most tissues. CD59 analogues in rodents are distributed similarly. Interest in complement regulation in the pig has developed out of the current enthusiasm to exploit this species as a donor in xenotransplantation of organs to humans. We have recently isolated and cloned the pig analogue of human CD59. We here report the development and characterization of monoclonal antibodies against pig CD59. We have used these antibodies to develop efficient methods for the purification of pig CD59 to homogeneity from erythrocyte membranes and have obtained new information on the structure and function of the purified protein. The antibodies were found to function well in immunohistochemistry and have been used to perform a comprehensive survey of the expression and distribution of pig CD59 on cells and in organs of normal pigs. Pig CD59, like human CD59, is broadly expressed but there are some striking differences in tissue distribution, notably the apparent lack of pig CD59 on circulating platelets and on a subset of leucocytes in blood and lymphoid organs. The reported findings have important implications for the current approaches to avoiding complement-mediated hyperacute rejection in pig-to-human xenografts.

Novel forms of protein glycosylation

A large number of new glycans, derived from glycoproteins, has been characterized in the past few years. O-linked fucose was found in epidermal growth factor-like domains of several proteins. For the N-linked glycans of Helix pomatia hemocyanin, novel types of antennae were identified. The positions of noncarbohydrate substituents were established in N-glycans. C-mannosylation of a tryptophan residue was discovered in human ribonuclease 2 and is the first example of C-glycosylation in glycoproteins.

The glycosylation and structure of human serum IgA1, Fab, and Fc regions and the role of N-glycosylation on Fcα receptor interactions

The human serum immunoglobulins IgG and IgA1 are produced in bone marrow and both interact with specific cellular receptors that mediate biological events. In contrast to IgA1, the glycosylation of IgG has been well characterized, and its interaction with various Fc receptors (Fc Rs) has been well studied. In this paper, we have analyzed the glycosylation of IgA1 and IgA1 Fab and Fc as well as three recombinant IgA1 molecules, including two N-glycosylation mutants. Amino acid sequencing data of the IgA1 Fc O-glycosylated hinge region indicated that O-glycans are located at Thr228, Ser230, and Ser232, while O-glycan sites at Thr225 and Thr236 are partially occupied. Over 90% of the N-glycans in IgA1 were sialylated, in contrast to IgG, where < 10% contain sialic acid. This paper contains the first report of Fab glycosylation in IgA1, and (in contrast to IgG Fab, which contains only N-linked glycans) both N- and O-linked oligosaccharides were identified. Analysis of the N-glycans attached to recombinant IgA1 indicated that the Cα 2 N-glycosylation site contained mostly biantennary glycans, while the tailpiece site, absent in IgG, contained mostly triantennary structures. Further analysis of these data suggested that processing at one Fc N-glycosylation site affects the other. Neutrophil Fcα R binding studies, using recombinant IgA1, indicated that neither the tailpiece region nor the N-glycans in the C alpha 2 domain contribute to IgA1-neutrophil Fcα R binding. This contrasts with IgG, where removal of the Fc N-glycans reduces binding to the Fcγ R. The primary sequence and disulfide bond pattern of IgA1, together with the crystal structures of IgG1 Fc and mouse IgA Fab and the glycan sequencing data, were used to generate a molecular model of IgA1. As a consequence of both the primary sequence and S-S bond pattern, the N-glycans in IgA1 Fc are not confined within the inter-α-chain space. The accessibility of the Cα 2 N-glycans provides an explanation for the increased sialylation and galactosylation of IgA1 Fc over that of IgG Fc N-glycans, which are confined in the space between the two Cγ 2 domains. This also suggests why in contrast to IgG Fc, the IgA1 N-glycans are not undergalactosylated in rheumatoid arthritis.

Glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchors of membrane glycoproteins are binding determinants for the channel-forming toxin aerolysin

Cells that are sensitive to the channel-forming toxin aerolysin contain surface glycoproteins that bind the toxin with high affinity. Here we show that a common feature of aerolysin receptors is the presence of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor, and we present evidence that the anchor itself is an essential part of the toxin binding determinant. The glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored T-lymphocyte protein Thy-1 is an example of a protein that acts as an aerolysin receptor. This protein retained its ability to bind aerolysin when it was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, but could not bind the toxin when expressed in Escherichia coli, where the GPI anchor is absent. An unrelated GPI-anchored protein, the variant surface glycoprotein of trypanosomes, was shown to bind aerolysin with similar affinity to Thy-1, and this binding ability was significantly reduced when the anchor was removed chemically. Cathepsin D, a protein with no affinity for aerolysin, was converted to an aerolysin binding form when it was expressed as a GPI-anchored hybrid in COS cells. Not all GPI-anchored proteins bind aerolysin. In some cases this may be due to differences in the structure of the anchor itself. Thus the GPI-anchored proteins procyclin of Trypanosoma congolense and gp63 of Leishmania major did not bind aerolysin, but when gp63 was expressed with a mammalian GPI anchor in Chinese hamster ovary cells, it bound the toxin.

Role of oligosaccharides in the pharmacokinetics of tissue-derived and genetically engineered cholinesterases

To understand the role of glycosylation in the circulation of cholinesterases, we compared the mean residence time of five tissue-derived and two recombinant cholinesterases (injected intravenously in mice) with their oligosaccharide profiles. Monosaccharide composition analysis revealed differences in the total carbohydrate, galactose, and sialic acid contents. The molar ratio of sialic acid to galactose residues on tetrameric human serum butyrylcholinesterase, recombinant human butyrylcholinesterase, and recombinant mouse acetylcholinesterase was found to be approximately 1.0. For Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase, monomeric and tetrameric fetal bovine serum acetylcholinesterase, and equine serum butyrylcholinesterase, this ratio was approximately 0.5. However, the circulatory stability of cholinesterases could not be correlated with the sialic acid-to-galactose ratio. Fractionation of the total pool of oligosaccharides obtained after neuraminidase digestion revealed one major oligosaccharide for human serum butyrylcholinesterase and three or four major oligosaccharides in other cholinesterases. The glycans of tetrameric forms of plasma cholinesterases (human serum butyrylcholinesterase, fetal bovine serum acetylcholinesterase, and equine serum butyrylcholinesterase) clearly demonstrated a reduced heterogeneity and higher maturity compared with glycans of monomeric fetal bovine serum acetylcholinesterase, dimeric tissue-derived T. californica acetylcholinesterase, and recombinant cholinesterases. T. californica acetylcholinesterase, recombinant cholinesterases, and monomeric fetal bovine serum acetylcholinesterase showed a distinctive shorter mean residence time (44-304 min) compared with tetrameric forms of plasma cholinesterases (1902-3206 min). Differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters of cholinesterases seem to be due to the combined effect of the molecular weight and charge- and size-based heterogeneity in glycans.

Rapid, sensitive sequencing of oligosaccharides from glycoproteins

The release of sub-picomole levels of N-linked oligosaccharides directly from 1-5 micrograms of protein in a band on an SDS PAGE gel, coupled with recent advances in mass spectrometry and HPLC, opens the way for the analysis of biologically important glycoproteins that are difficult to purify or are available only in limited amounts. A straightforward HPLC strategy enables the structures of both neutral and sialylated components of the N-glycan pool to be predicted from a single run. The entire pool of sugars may then be sequenced simultaneously, using exoglycosidase arrays.

Mutational analysis of the active site and antibody epitopes of the complement-inhibitory glycoprotein, CD59

The Ly-6 superfamily of cell surface molecules includes CD59, a potent regulator of the complement system that protects host cells from the cytolytic action of the membrane attack complex (MAC). Although its mechanism of action is not well understood, CD59 is thought to prevent assembly of the MAC by binding to the C8 and/or C9 proteins of the nascent complex. Here a systematic, structure-based mutational approach has been used to determine the region(s) of CD59 required for its protective activity. Analysis of 16 CD59 mutants with single, highly nonconservative substitutions suggests that CD59 has a single active site that includes Trp-40, Arg-53, and Glu-56 of the glycosylated, membrane-distal face of the disk-like extra-cellular domain and, possibly, Asp-24 positioned at the edge of the domain. The putative active site includes residues conserved across species, consistent with the lack of strict homologous restriction previously observed in studies of CD59 function. Competition and mutational analyses of the epitopes of eight CD59-blocking and non-blocking monoclonal antibodies confirmed the location of the active site. Additional experiments showed that the expression and function of CD59 are both glycosylation independent.