Effect of glycosylation inhibitors and acidotropic amines on the synthesis, processing, and intracellular-extracellular distribution of alpha-L-fucosidase in B-lymphoblastoid cells

Binding receptors for alpha-L-fucosidase in human B-lymphoid cell lines

An established mechanism for directing newly made acid hydrolases to lysosomes involves acquisition of mannose 6-phosphate residues by the carbohydrate portion of acid hydrolases followed by binding to specific membrane-bound transport receptors and delivery to lysosomes. Two distinct phosphomannosyl receptors (CI-MPR and CD-MPR) have been identified. Alternative mechanisms for trafficking acid hydrolases exist. This report examines means for the possible receptor-mediated intracellular transport of alpha-L- fucosidase in lymphoid cells. The binding of alpha-L-fucosidase to intact cells and to total cell membrane preparations, in conjunction with immunoassays of solubilized membrane preparations, revealed the presence of CI-MPR and CD-MPR on human lymphoid and fibroblast cell lines. The mean level of CD-MPR in nine lymphoid cell lines was 7.2-fold greater than CI-MPR. The mean level of CI-MPR in two fibroblast lines was 3.8-fold greater than CD-MPR. The mean content of CI-MPR was 19.5-fold greater in the fibroblasts than in the lymphoid cells. The CD-MPR content of fibroblasts and lymphoid cells was nearly equivalent. Among these cell lines were a fibroblast and a lymphoid line from the same individual. These results indicate that human B-lymphoid cells are deficient in CI-MPR and suggest that modulation of expression of CI-MPR and CD-MPR in lymphoid cells differs from that in fibroblasts, including cell lines with identical genomes. No specific receptor capable of binding alpha-L-fucosidase independent of mannose 6-phosphate was demonstrable, despite published results that support the existence of a mannose 6-phosphate independent trafficking mechanism in lymphoid cells for this enzyme.

Defective expression of alpha-L-fucosidase by lymphoid cells of a fucosidosis patient

Fucosidosis is an inherited lysosomal storage disease due to a deficiency of alpha-L-fucosidase activity. Exponentially growing lymphoid cell cultures from a fucosidosis patient (JH) had 16-fold lower extracellular alpha-L-fucosidase protein and 72-fold lower intracellular alpha-L-fucosidase protein with negligible catalytic activity as compared with the mean of 19 control cultures. The percentage of total alpha-L-fucosidase protein released extracellularly by JH cells was 71% as compared with 35% +/- 9% for control cells. During a 1.5 h pulse with 35S-methionine, alpha-L-fucosidase was synthesized by JH cells as an intracellular doublet with Mr of 58,000 and 56,000 and by control cells as an intracellular form with Mr = 58,000. During a subsequent 21 h chase with unlabeled methionine, JH alpha-L-fucosidase was entirely secreted. In contrast, only 25%-30% of control enzyme was secreted with the remainder retained intracellularly. Thus, JH lymphoid cells synthesized a reduced amount of alpha-L-fucosidase that was catalytically inefficient and was hypersecreted. Treatment of JH alpha-L-fucosidase with N-glycanase produced polypeptide chains with Mr of 52,000 and 54,000. Previously, treatment of control alpha-L-fucosidase with N-glycancase produced a single polypeptide chain with Mr of 52,000 (Biochem Genet 1988; 26: 401-20). The doublet polypeptide chains of alpha-L-fucosidase in JH cultures may represent expression of two distinct allelic forms of mutant alpha-L-fucosidase.

Synthesis and processing of lysosomal alpha-fucosidase in cultured human fibroblasts

The lysosomal enzyme alpha-L-fucosidase from human skin fibroblasts is synthesized as a 53 kDa glycosylated precursor which is then proteolytically processed to a 50 kDa mature form. This was confirmed by pulse-chase labeling studies with chase times up to 72 h. In fibroblasts treated with 1-deoxymannojirimycin to prevent trimming of high mannose oligosaccharides, endoglycosidase H (endo H) treatment completely deglycosylated and reduced the size of immunoprecipitated alpha-fucosidase by 4-5 kDa, suggesting the presence of two oligosaccharide units. Endoglycosidase H and endo F studies on untreated alpha-fucosidase suggested the presence of one complex-type and one high mannose-type unit, and that the final processing from 53 to 50 kDa did not involve the removal of carbohydrate. Processing was inhibited by the thiol proteinase inhibitor Ep-459, but not by Ep-475 or leupeptin. Since Ep-459 treatment increased both alpha-fucosidase activity (3-fold) and the amount of immunoprecipitable alpha-fucosidase protein in normal human skin fibroblasts, this suggests a role for cysteine-like proteinases either directly or indirectly in lysosomal hydrolase processing and turnover. Subcellular fractionation studies revealed that the proteolytic processing of the 53 kDa precursor to the 50 kDa mature form occurred in the lysosome, or some other dense organelle.

Mammalian alpha-L-fucosidases

Mammalian alpha-L-fucosidases are a ubiquitous group of relatively large multimeric lysosomal glycosidases involved in the degradation of a diverse group of naturally-occurring fucoglycoconjugates. These enzymes are closely related structurally as indicated by immunochemical cross-reactivity and cloning studies. Mammalian fucosidases are sialoglycoproteins and the carbohydrate, particularly sialic acid, contributes to producing multiple isoforms which can differ in various species as well as in different tissues within a given species. alpha-L-Fucosidases exhibit maximal activity at pH values between 4 and 7, have similar kinetic properties with synthetic substrates (PNP-fucoside and 4-MU-fucoside), and exhibit broad substrate specificity on natural substrates. Numerous linkages (alpha 1-2, alpha 1-3, alpha 1-4, alpha 1-6), primarily to galactose and N-acetylglucosamine, can be hydrolyzed but preference is often seen for small mol. wt water-soluble substrates with fucose in alpha 1-2 linkage to galactose. The importance of alpha-L-fucosidase in mammalian metabolism is evidenced by deficiency or absence of its enzymatic activity leading to a fatal genetic disease, at least in humans and English Springer Spaniels.